Wingate Grange, Durham Genealogy

England Durham



Parish History
Wingate Grange Holy Trinity was created in 1842 from Castle Eden, Durham St. James;  Kelloe, Durham St. Helen Ancient parishes.

Parts of this parish became part of these parishes: Deaf Hill-cum-Langdale St. Paul (1874); Hutton Henry St. Francis (c. 1925)

WINGATE-GRANGE, a township and ecclesiastical district, in the union of Easington, S. division of Easington ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 1 mile (W. by S.) from Castle-Eden, and 6½ miles (E. S. E.) from Durham; the township containing 2625 inhabitants. The district was separated from the parishes of Castle-Eden and Kelloe, for ecclesiastical purposes, in 1842. It is about two miles in length, from east to west, and one mile in average breadth, comprising an area of nearly 1700 acres, of which 1200 are arable and pasture in nearly equal portions, 360 woodland and plantations, and the remainder sites of buildings, roads, and waste. The soil is generally of a clayey kind, varying in fertility: those portions of it which are naturally of inferior quality have within the last few years been greatly improved by draining and the use of lime. The substratum is chiefly magnesian limestone, which is quarried for burning into lime, and for building purposes. Coal abounds on the lands of Wingate and Wingate-Grange; on the latter, Lord Howden and others opened a mine in 1838, and, in the course of the following year, discovered a rich bed called the "Caradoc Wallsend" coal. The Wingate branch of the Hartlepool railway terminates at the colliery; and the Hartlepool, Clarence, and York and Newcastle Junction railway passes through the southern portion of the district. Since the establishment of the colliery, the village of WingateGrange, containing more than 400 houses, has been built. An iron-foundry, also, was established in 1841, near the line of the Junction railway, within the district, but from its proximity to the Trimdon colliery in the adjoining parish, it is called the Trimdon foundry. The church was built in 1840, by subscription, at an expense of £1300, of which £300 were given by the owners of the colliery; it is a neat structure in the early English style. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Bishop of Durham, with a net income of £150. The impropriate tithes have been commuted for £184. 17. 11., payable to Christ's Hospital, Sherburn; and the vicarial for £43. 16. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists.

From: 'Winestead - Winmarleigh', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 613-618. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51413 Date accessed: 21 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.

The following records for churches in the ancient parish of Kelloe are also available at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL:-


 * Cassop cum Quarrington 1868-1986 (EP/CQ).
 * Coxhoe 1868-1982 (EP/Cox).
 * Thornley 1843-1989 (EP/Tho).
 * Wheatley Hill 1912-1995 (EP/WH).
 * Wingate Grange 1841-1989 (EP/WGr).

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

Poor Law Unions
Easington 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.