Bishop Middleham, Durham Genealogy

England Durham

Parish History
Bishop Middleham is an ancient parish and there are records of a church in 1146 being presented to the prior and convent of Durham by Osbert, nephew of Bishop Flambard. St Michael's church dates from 1230.

MIDDLEHAM, BISHOP'S (St. Michael), a parish, in the union of Sedgefield, N. E. division of Stockton ward, S. division of the county of Durham; containing, with the townships of Cornforth, GarmondswayMoor, Mainsforth, and Thrislington, 1434 inhabitants, of whom 511 are in the township of Bishop's-Middleham, 4 miles (N. E.) from Rushyford. This place is of considerable antiquity: its church was given in 1146 to the convent of Durham, by Osbert, nephew of Bishop Ralph Flambard; and soon afterwards, the manor appears to have been conveyed to the see of Durham, the bishops of which resided here, up to the end of the 14th century. Their castle was situated on a lofty brow of limestone, overlooking the marshy level of the Skerne; and the last remaining portion of it, a low oblong arched room, was removed some years since. The parish is in several parts marshy, and there is little wood, except the plantations around the principal houses. The produce of a colliery here is shipped on the Tees; limestone is abundant, and is quarried for building and for manure. The village is on the sides of two hills ascending from a deep vale, through which the road runs. At Cornforth are paper-mills and tile-kilns. A halmote court for the manor is held once in six months, at Middleham, Cornforth, and Sedgefield, in rotation, for the recovery of debts under 40s. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 19. 2., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income £152; impropriators, W. Russell, R. Surtees, and H. Williamson, Esqrs. The great tithes of the township of Bishop's-Middleham have been commuted for £219, and the small tithes for £76. The church, originally a handsome structure in the early English style, and said to have been erected by Bishop Anthony Beck, has been much disfigured by injudicious alterations and repairs; it contains a fine old font of Stanhope marble.

From: 'Mickleover - Middlesex', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 301-306. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51147 Date accessed: 21 March 2011.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections Reference number: DDR/EA/PBT/2/32 Date: 1769-1867 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records. The parish register transcript images have not yet been loaded and await engineering.

The dates of the post-1760 transcripts have been noted in detail and sometimes only cover years. For most parishes in the collection there are gaps in the sequence of transcripts. It is advisable to consult the original parish registers for these years and events.

The Parish Registers for the period 1559-1957 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/BM).

FamilySearch Historical Records includes England Durham Marriage Bonds and Allegations (FamilySearch Collection)

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Poor Law Unions
Sedgefield Poor Law Union, Durham

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Durham Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.