Escomb, Durham Genealogy

England Durham



Parish History
Escomb parish was formerly a chapelry of Auckland St Andrew, Durham but was established as a parish in 1743. The much earlier church building was replaced.

ESCOMBE, a parochial chapelry, in the union of Auckland, N. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 1¾ mile (W.) from Bishop-Auckland; containing 510 inhabitants. The township comprises 929 acres, of which 557 are arable, 365 meadow and pasture, and the remainder gardenground; the surface is undulated, and the scenery agreeably diversified. The neighbourhood abounds with coal, of which there are extensive mines in operation in the hamlet of Etherley-Lane; the produce is conveyed by railway. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £200; patron, the Bishop of Durham. The tithes have been commuted for a rent-charge of £8, and the glebe comprises 40 acres. The church is an ancient structure. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

From: 'Erith - Essex', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 181-186. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50950 Date accessed: 25 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.

The parish registers from 1543 onwards are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL reference (EP/Es).

The Bishop's Transcripts collection held in the University of Durham Library Archives and Special Collections can be viewed free online at FamilySearch Historical Records.

The transcripts with gaps are held under reference DDR/EA/PBT/2/102 are for March 1765 - 1849. See seperate series of transcripts for Escomb in the St Nicholas Auckland transcripts May 1795 - 1803. There is also a transcript series in the Howe manuscript collection at University of Durham Library Archives and Special Collections reference HBT/31 for the year 25 March 1709 - 25 March 1710. Durham Bishop's Transcripts: The Howe Manuscript Collection

Due to the gaps in the Durham Bishop's Transcripts in most parishes in the post 1760 transcript collection it is advisable to search the original parish registers.

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.