Merrington, Durham Genealogy

England Durham



Parish History
St John the Evangelist church Kirk Merrington was rebuilt in 1851 on the site of the ancient parish church. The parish is a peculiar belonging to the dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral; the parish includes Chilton, Hett and Middlestone.

MERRINGTON (St. John the Evangelist), a parish, in the unions of Auckland, Durham, and Sedgefield, S. E. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham; containing, with the chapelry of Ferry-Hill, and the townships of Chilton and Hett, 1704 inhabitants, of whom 431 are in the township of Merrington, 3¾ miles (E. by N.) from Bishop-Auckland. The soil is in general light and gravelly, resting upon limestone, but in some parts clay on hard blue whinstone; the surface is hilly, and the scenery much diversified. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £14. 4. 9½., and in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Durham: the tithes of the vicar have been commuted for £376. The church is principally in the Norman style, and stands on elevated ground. There is a district church at Ferry-Hill. On the usurpation of the see of Durham by Comyn, about 1143, this place was seized by his nephew, who partly encompassed the church with a ditch and vallum, and occupied it with armed men.

From: 'Menwith - Merryn, St.', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 291-295. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51144 Date accessed: 25 March 2011.

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Merrington like this:

MERRINGTON, a village and a township in Auckland district, and a parish partly also in Durham and Stockton districts, Durhamshire. The village strands on an eminence, 1½ mile SSE of Spennymoor r. station, and 3¾ ENE of Bishop-Auckland; adjoins the ground on which the English forces encamped before the battle of Neville's Cross; commands a very extensive view, along the valley of the Wear, and to the hills of Yorkshire; is a large place; and has a post office, of the name of Kirk-Merrington, under Darlington. The township comprises 1,934 acres. Real property, £3,331; of which £275 are in mines. Pop. in 1851,504; in 1861,926. Houses, 160.—The parish contains also the townships of Ferryhill, Chilton, and Hett. Acres, 8,024. Rea l property, £12,165; of which £4,172 are in mines, and £17 in quarries. Pop. in 1851,2,673; in 1861, 4,046. Houses, 767 The property is much subdivided. Coal is worked. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value, £300.* Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The old church was Norman, and of interesting character; and was the scene, in 1144, of a furious fray between W. Comyn, who had usurped the bishopric of Durham, and three barons of the bishopricpalatinate. The present church was built in 1854, on the site of the old one and in imitation of it; is of oblong form, with a massive central tower 60 feet high; and retains the chancel-screen of the old church. The churchyard contains an incised coffin-shaped stone, said to mark the grave of Hodge of Ferry, who slew the famous Brawn. The vicarage of Ferryhill is a separate benefice. There are a national school, and charities £19.

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/ 2/158 1762-1884 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 1579-1967 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Mer).

Poor Law Unions
Auckland 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.