Barnard Castle, Durham Genealogy

Guide to Barnard Castle, Durham family history and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Parish History
BARNARD-CASTLE, a market-town and chapelry, in the parish of Gainford, union of Teesdale, SW division of Darlington ward, S division of the county of Durham, 25 miles SW by W from Durham, and 244 NNW from London. There are places of worship for Independents, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans.

Additional information: Barnard Castle St Mary was created in 1723 from a 12th century chapelry in Gainford Ancient Parish.

The medieval history of the town is dominated by the castle and the Balliol family who owned it. The castle was built in the late 11th century. When the castle was built it outer defenses may have surrounded the small church of St Margaret, which was probably the parish church. A new parish church, dedicated to St Mary was built outside the walls. The Church of St Mary is believed to have been built in the twelfth century. It was a chapelry. It was not the only religious establishment in the town. In around 1230 a small hospital was founded on Newgate Street. It had its own chapel.

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
Barnard Castle parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Records are also available at the Durham County Record Office.

Old Parish Table
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/2/17 Date: 1762-1846 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 1609-1954 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/BC).

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

Non Conformist Records

 * Congregational Church: Baptisms, marriages & burials 1806-1908 copies of pre-1837 baptism registers are available (M5/1-5).
 * Methodist:
 * 1) Barnard Castle Circuit (Primitive): Baptisms 1831-1934
 * 2) Barnard Castle Circuit (Wesleyan): Baptisms 1803-1957, Marriages 1849-1882
 * 3) Newgate: Baptisms 1953-1974
 * Roman Catholic
 * 1) Catholic Church: Baptisms, marriages and burials 1847-1974
 * Independent/Congregational
 * Society of Friends (Quaker)
 * Unitarian

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

Websites
Barnard Castle on GENUKI