Staindrop, Durham Genealogy

England Durham



Parish History
St Mary Staindrop is an ancient parish and part of the church building incorporated into the later church is Saxon.

The parish includes Cleatham, Hilton, Raby ,Wackerfield,Langdale and Shotton.

STAINDROP (St. Mary), a market-town and parish, in the union of Teesdale, S. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham; comprising the townships of Hilton, Ingleton, Langleydale with Shotton, Raby with Keverstone, Staindrop, and Wackerfield; and containing 2436 inhabitants, of whom 1399 are in Staindrop township, 11 miles (W.N.W.) from Darlington, and 244 (N. N. W.) from London. This place, formerly called also Stainthorp, or "the stony town," was granted by King Canute, who had a mansion at Raby, to the monastery at Durham. It is pleasantly situated on the road from Barnard-Castle to BishopAuckland, in a valley, and consists chiefly of one long well-built street. In the vicinity are very extensive works for smelting lead-ore. A market on Saturday, and fairs on the Vigil of St. Thomas the Martyr and two following days were granted to the inhabitants in 1378, by Bishop Hatfield, but after a time, fell into disuse; the market, however, has been revived, and is well supplied with provisions. The magistrates hold petty-sessions every alternate Saturday. The parish comprises about 14,000 acres. The living is a vicarage, annexed to the rectory of Cockfield; impropriator, the Duke of Cleveland, whose tithes in the township of Staindrop have been commuted for £302. The church, formerly collegiate, is a handsome structure exhibiting portions in the early, decorated, and later English styles, with a square embattled tower rising from the centre, and contains some ancient monuments to the Neville family. There are places of worship for the Society of Friends, Independents, and Wesleyans; and schools supported by subscription. The collegiate establishment was founded in the reign of Henry IV., by Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, in honour of the Virgin Mary, for a master, six priests, six clerks, six decayed gentlemen, six poor officers, and other men; its revenue, at the Dissolution, was £170. 4. 6.

From: 'Stain - Stainton, Market', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 170-175. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51294 Date accessed: 30 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/2/235 1765-1898 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records. In addition the DDR/EA/PBT/2/236 Burial Ground transcripts for the Staindrop Friends 1867-1891 are included.

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 1635-1973 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Stai).

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

Poor Law Unions
Teesdale 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.