Boldon, Durham Genealogy

England Durham

Parish History
Boldon St Nicholas is an ancient parish and includes East Boldon, West Boldon and Hylton Grove.

BOLDON (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union of South Shields, E. division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 4½ miles (N. W.) from Sunderland; comprising the rustic villages of East and West Boldon, and containing 915 inhabitants. The manor has been annexed, time immemorially, to the see of Durham; and gives name to a survey of the possessions of the bishopric, made in 1184, and called "Boldon Buke," it being the first manor which occurs in that record, and on account of the numerous references in it to the services in this district. On Boldon hills, in the spring of 1644-5, some severe conflicts occurred between the army under the command of the Marquess of Newcastle, and the Scots, who then held Sunderland. The parish is situated on the road from Newcastle to Sunderland, and contains 3954 acres, of which two-thirds are arable, and one-third grass land; 63 acres are common or waste: in the valleys the soil is clay. The views from the higher grounds are fine and extensive, and the air is remarkable for its salubrity. The district abounds with limestone. The Shields and Pontop railroad, and the Brandling Junction railroad, run through the parish. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £24. 13. 4., and in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes have been commuted for £539. 10., and there are 148 acres of glebe. The church, which is in West Boldon, is an ancient and very neat fabric, with a spiral tower, and with octagonal pillars and pointed arches; it stands on high ground, and the prospect from the churchyard extends over the whole of the level country northward, the lower vale of Tyne, and the rising grounds in Northumberland. At East Boldon is a parochial chapel. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

From: 'Bockleton - Bolehall', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 290-295. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50810 Date accessed: 24 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/2/38 Date: March 1765-1837 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records. The images of the transcripts 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 1571-1970 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Bo).

Poor Law Unions
South Shields 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.