Collierley, Durham Genealogy

England Durham

Parish History
Collierley St. Thomas was created in 1843 from Lanchester, Durham All Saints Other places in the parish include: Billingside, Dipton, Kyo, and Pontop.

Parts of this parish became part of these parishes: Annfield Plain St. Aidan (1914); Beamish St. Andrew (1873); Burnopfield St. James (1871); Dipton St. John the Evangelist (1883); Greencroft Mission (After 1900)

COLLIERLY, a township, in the parish and union of Lanchester, W. division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 10½ miles (S. W.) from Gateshead; containing, with the villages of Dipton and Pontop, 853 inhabitants. About sixty years ago this township was nearly all waste and uninclosed land, and very thinly inhabited; but by the recommencement of coal-mining (formerly carried on to a considerable extent, and employing numerous people), and the formation of a railway, it has acquired its present importance and increased population. The township comprises by computation 1700 acres, of which about 500, mostly arable, are the property of the Marquess of Bute; the soil is chiefly clay, and, though cold and inferior, produces good oats. The surface is generally elevated; Pontop Pyke is the highest ground in the district, being upwards of 1000 feet above the level of the sea. The Pontop Pyke colliery was first opened in the year 1743, and the working of it was renewed in 1834 by the Stanhope and Tyne Railway Company: the railway passes through the district, and conveys the coal to the shipping at Shields. The townships of Collierly, Kyo (containing the populous village of Annfield), Billingside, and part of Greencroft, were formed, in 1842, into a district parish for ecclesiastical purposes, with a population of 2000. A church dedicated to St. Thomas had been consecrated in 1841; it is a neat structure in the early English style, with a campanile tower and lancet windows, and contains 300 sittings, of which 250 are free. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £150; patron, the Bishop of Durham. There are places of worship for Primitive Methodists and Wesleyans.

From: 'Colkirk - Coltishall', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 663-668. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50890 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.

The Parish Registers for the period 1841-1993 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Col).

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.