Muggleswick, Durham Genealogy

England Durham



Parish History
The Muggleswick All Saints parish is a large and Ancient Parish. The earlier church stones were reused in the building in 1728 of the parish church which has no recorded dedication. Further rebuliding was underataken in the 1850's. The parish includes Muggleswick Common Cold Rowley and Rowley and is a peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Durham.

MUGGLESWICK, a parish, in the union of Lanchester W. division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 14 miles (S. W.) from Gateshead; containing 421 inhabitants. This place, anciently Muggesley, was granted by Bishop Pudsey to the convent of Durham in exchange for Hardwick; and in the thirteenth century, Hugh, Prior of Durham, inclosed a park here, with a chapel, hall, and dwellings, and apartments underground for secreting cattle during the incursions of the Scots. The park, now inclosed, was in 1662 the scene of several seditious meetings, at which numerous conspirators had for their object to destroy the reformed clergy. The parish is bounded on the north by the river Derwent, and comprises by computation 5921 acres, whereof 1232 are pasture and meadow, 950 arable, 340 wood, and about 3400 moorland and common; it abounds in game, and the right to shoot is leased by the Dean and Chapter, who are lords of the manor. Along the bank of the river is a range of hills, in which are some very productive mines of lead-ore containing silver, for smelting which there is a mill in the neighbourhood; and at Castle Side, a village whose population is on the increase, are two mills. In the reign of Charles I., Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, held these mines. Cold Rowley, in the parish, is a hamlet on the summit of the bleak heights between the vale of Lanchester and the Derwent. The Stanhope and Tyne railway passes through the parish. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter, the appropriators, and has a net income of £93. The church was rebuilt in 1829, at a cost of £300. Dr. John Carr, the translator of Lucian's Dialogues, was born here.

From: 'Muccleshell - Mundsley', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 356-359. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51163 Date accessed: 26 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/2/184 1765-1852 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 1780-1975 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL.

The Parish Registers are deposited at Northumberland Record Office, Melton Park, North Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 5QX for the periods:-


 * Baptisms 1813-1903
 * Marriages 1813-1975
 * Burials 1813-1902

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

Poor Law Unions
Lanchester 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.