Gateshead Fell, Durham Genealogy

Durham

Parish History
St John's Church was built in 1825 and was created out of the mother-parish of St Mary Gateshead. It includes High Fell, Low Fell, Wrekington and Sheriff Hill.

GATESHEAD-FELL, an ecclesiastical parish, in the parish and union of Gateshead, locally in Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham. This place derives its name from Gateshead, and from having been a fell or common contiguous to it. The common was inclosed, and separated from the parish of St. Mary, Gateshead, by an act of parliament obtained in 1809, the award of which made the extent 631 acres, exclusively of all public and private roads, quarries, &amp;c.: the manorial rights are in the Bishop of Durham. The surface rises from Gateshead to Beacon Hill, very steeply up the old road to Durham; and the views present some of the most extensive and beautiful scenery in the north of England, embracing the ocean to the north and east, the whole navigable course of the river Tyne, the Cheviot hills, Tynemouth Priory, Ravensworth Vale and Castle, the Cathedral of Durham, and numerous seats. The soil is in general unproductive. The grindstones from the quarries here, known as "Newcastle grindstones," have been celebrated for centuries, and are exported to all parts of the world. Coal-mines have been in operation for more than a hundred years, and still afford employment to numbers of the inhabitants. The living is a rectory not in charge, in the patronage of the Bishop: the tithes have been commuted for £106, and there are 2 acres of glebe, with an excellent rectory-house, surrounded by ornamental grounds. The church is in the early English style, with a graceful spire, which is seen in every direction for 15 miles; it was consecrated 30th August, 1825, having been erected at a cost of £2742, towards which the incorporated Society contributed £350: of upwards of 1000 sittings, more than one-half are free. Besides morning and evening service at the church, evening service is performed at the hamlet of Wreckington; and there are places of worship for Wesleyans, Primitive Methodists, and Methodists of the New Connexion. A library, newsroom, &amp;c., have been established. William the Conqueror, in 1068, gained on the Fell a victory over Malcolm II., King of Scotland, who had invaded the kingdom in support of Edgar Atheling.From: 'Gateshead - Gedding', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 283-287. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50978&amp;amp;strquery=gateshead Date accessed: 05 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 DDR/EA/PBT/2/113 August 1825-1863 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 1825-1986 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/GF).

Poor Law Unions
Gateshead 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.