Monkwearmouth, Durham Genealogy

England Durham  Durham Parishes



Parish History
WEARMOUTH, MONK (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Sunderland, E. division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham. A church district named All Saints' has been endowed by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, patrons, the Crown, and the Bishop of Durham, alternately. There are places of worship for Baptists, Independents, Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists, members of the Church of Scotland, and Seceders.

St Peter Monkwearmouth is an ancient parish and a church stood on the site for many centuries. It is referred to by the Venerable Bede and the early church was built on the banks of the River Wear as part of a monastic settlement by Benedict. The church was restored in 1875 after earlier removal of thirteenth century architecture.

In 1844 the parish of All Saints Monkwearmouth was created from this ancient parish.

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.

"In 1790, the parish registers were destroyed by the fire which broke out in the Hall, then the residence of the minister, excepting the register of Marriages from 16th October 1785, of Baptisms from 2nd September 1779, and of Burials from 3rd January 1768."

[From History, Topography and Directory of Durham, Whellan, London, 1894]

The Parish Registers for the period 1683-1987 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Mo.SP).

Parish Registers for, Monk-wearmouth for the period 1683-1903 are on microfilm at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections DDR/EA/PBT/2/182 May 1766-1869 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records. In view of the loss of parish material the transcripts are particularly valuable.

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


 * Monkwearmouth, All Saints 1847-1984 (EP/Mo.AS).
 * Roker 1916-1980 (EP/Mo.AS).
 * Monkwearmouth, St. Andrew 1907-1984 (EP/Mo.SA).
 * Monkwearmouth, St. Cuthbert 1880-1939 (EP/Mo.SP).
 * Monkwearmouth, Venerable Bede 1873-1962 (EP/Mo.SP).

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

Poor Law Unions
Sunderland 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