Usworth, Durham Genealogy

England Durham  Durham Parishes

Guide to Usworth, Durham family history and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
USWORTH, GREAT and LITTLE, an ecclesiastical district, in the parish of Washington, union of Chester-le-Street, E. division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 5 miles (S. E.) from Gateshead.

Additional information: Holy Trinity Usworth was entirely rebuilt about 1831, and again enlarged in 1883. Usworth was an ancient chapelry in the parish of Washington.The parish register dates from 1603, but the date of the first recorded rector is as early as 1278, his name being William de Clifford.

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 DDR/EA/PBT/ 2/257 contains only material for the year 1837 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records.

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 1835-1983 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Us).

The following records for churches in the ancient parish of Washington are also available at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL:-


 * Usworth Colliery, St. Michael 1904-1959 (EP/Us.SM).

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

Census records
Poor Law Unions

Chester le Street 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