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England Yorkshire  Doncaster

Guide to Doncaster history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



History
With the UK Government redefining of counties and jurisdictions in 1972, Doncaster, while historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, is now considered a location in South Yorkshire. As this will not be of any help for Family History researchers, it is identified above as part of the historic county of Yorkshire.

Doncaster is a large market town and is part of a greater metropolitan area with a population of about 300,000.

Possibly inhabited by earlier people, Doncaster grew up at the site of a Roman fort constructed in the 1st century at a crossing of the River Don. The 2nd century Antonine Itinerary and the early 5th century Notitia Dignitatum (Register of Dignitaries) called this fort Danum. The first section of the road to the Doncaster fort had probably been constructed in the early 50s, while a route through the north Derbyshire hills was opened in the latter half of the 1st century. The main route between Lincoln and York was Ermine Street, which required parties to break into smaller units to cross the Humber in boats. As this was not always practical, the Romans considered Doncaster to be an important staging post. Several areas of known intense archaeological interest have been identified in the town, although many, in particular St Sepulchre Gate, remain hidden under buildings. The Roman fort is believed to have been located on the site that is now covered by St George's Minster, next to the River Don.

Doncaster is generally believed to be the Cair Daun listed as one of the 28 cities of Britain in the 9th century History of the Britons traditionally attributed to Nennius. It was certainly an Anglo-Saxon burh, during which period it received its present name: "Don-" (Old English: Donne) from the Roman settlement and river and "-caster" (-ceaster) from an Old English adaptation of the Latin castra ("military camp; fort").

By the time of the Domesday Book, Hexthorpe in the wapentake of Strafforth was described as having a church and two mills. The historian David Hey says that these facilities represent the initial settlement at Doncaster.

As the 13th century approached, Doncaster matured into a busy town; in 1194 King Richard I granted it national recognition with a town charter. In 1248, a charter was granted for Doncaster's market to be held around the Church of St Mary Magdalene, built in Norman times. In the 16th century, the church was adapted for use as the town hall. It was finally demolished in 1846. Some 750 years on, the market continues to operate, with its busy traders located both under cover, at the 19th-century 'Corn Exchange' building, and in outside stalls.

By 1334, Doncaster was the wealthiest town in southern Yorkshire and the sixth most important town in Yorkshire as a whole, even boasting its own banker. By 1379, it was recovering from the Black Death, which had reduced its population to 1,500. In October 1536, the Pilgrimage of Grace ended in Doncaster. This was a rebellion led by the lawyer Robert Aske, who commanded 40,000 people of Yorkshire against Henry VIII in protest about the monarch's Dissolution of the Monasteries.

The Medieval township of Doncaster is known to have been protected by earthen ramparts and ditches, with four substantial gates as entrances to the town. These gates were located at Hall Gate, St Mary's Bridge (old), St Sepulchre Gate and Sunny Bar Today the gates at Sunny Bar are commemorated by huge 'Boar Gates'; similarly, the entrance to St Sepulchre Gate is commemorated with white marble 'Roman Gates'. The boundary of the town principally extended from the River Don, along a route formed by what is now Market Road, Silver Street, Cleveland Street and Printing Office Street.

Because access into town was restricted, some officeholders secured charters to collect tolls. In 1605, King James I granted to William Levett of Doncaster, brother of York merchant Percival Levett, the right to levy tolls at Friar's and St Mary's bridges. Having served as mayors and aldermen of Doncaster, the Levetts probably believed they could control a monopoly. In 1618 the family began enforcing it but, by 1628, the populace revolted.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the town of Doncaster continued to expand, although it suffered several outbreaks of plague between 1562 and 1606. Each time the plague struck down significant numbers of the town's population.

Doncaster has traditionally been a prosperous area within the wapentake of Stafford and Tickhill. The borough was known for its rich landowners with vast estates and huge stately homes such as Brodsworth Hall, Cantley Hall, Cusworth Hall, Hickleton Hall, Nether Hall and Wheatley Hall (demolished 1934). This wealth is evidenced in the luxurious and historic gilded 18th-century Mansion House on High Street. This land ownership developed over what is an ancient market place and large buildings were erected in the 19th century, including the Market Hall and the Corn Exchange. Perhaps the most striking building is St George's Minster, constructed in the 19th century and promoted from a parish church in 2004.

Cemeteries (Civil)
Linthorpe Cemetery


 * 13 Albany Street
 * Middlesbrough TS1 4DB

Teesside Crematorium


 * Acklam Rd
 * Middlesbrough TS5 7HD
 * Phone: +44 1642 817725

Acklam Cemetery


 * Middlesbrough TS5 7YR

Thorntree Cemetery


 * 21 Creekwood
 * Middlesbrough TS3 9RL

Thorntree Roman Catholic Cemetery


 * Cargo Fleet Ln
 * Middlesbrough TS3 8PE
 * Phone: +44 1642 817725

North Ormsby Cemetery


 * 51 Cranmore Rd
 * Middlesbrough TS3 8HW

The following web sites can provide additional information on Middlesbrough Cemeteries:


 * billiongraves: Linthorpe Cemetery


 * findagrave: Acklam Cemetery


 * interment.net: Cleveland records

Parishes
All Saints


 * Linthorpe Rd
 * Middlesbrough TS1 3PR

Church of St. Columbia

Wilson St
 * Middlesbrough TS1 1SH
 * Phone: +44 1642 824779

St Barnabas'


 * 1 St Barnabas' Rd
 * Middlesbrough TS5 6JR
 * Phone: +44 1642 812622

St Mary's


 * Church Ln
 * Middlesbrough TS5 7DY
 * Phone: +44 1642 819980

St George's


 * 25 Spencer Rd
 * Middlesbrough TS6 9BD
 * Phone: +44 1642 281182

Christ Church


 * 75B High St
 * Eston, Middlesbrough TS6 9EH
 * Phone: +44 1642 281182

St Timothy's


 * Crosscliff
 * Middlesbrough TS8 9JJ
 * Phone: +44 1642 592649

St Peter and St Paul's


 * 1 High St
 * Stokesley, Middlesbrough TS9 5
 * Phone: +44 1642 710405

For other local parishes, consider accessing the following 3 Yorkshire Parish websites:


 * Yorkshire parishes A-I
 * Yorkshire Parishes K-R
 * Yorkshire Parishes S-Y

Non Conformists
Other Christian and non Christian religious groups follow:


 * Baptists
 * Evangelical
 * Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
 * Christian Fellowship
 * Congregational Church
 * Elite Christian Spiritualist
 * Jehovah's Witness
 * Jubilee Church
 * Lutheran
 * Methodist
 * New Life Church
 * Pentecostal
 * Roman Catholic

Non Christian populations include:


 * Buddhists
 * Hindu
 * Jews
 * Muslims
 * Sikhs
 * Taoists

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the UK government, from July 1837 to the present day.


 * Tees Valley Indexes


 * ukbmd.org Middlesbrough


 * Middlesbrough Council BMD


 * Yorkshire BMD

Local Histories

 * englandnortheast: Middlesbrough History


 * Middlesbrough then and now


 * Secret Middlesbrough by Paul Chrystal


 * The History of Middlesbrough; Evolution of Industry by William Lillie

Maps and Gazetteers

 * Mapquest: Warrington


 * oldmapsonline: Warrington


 * Warrington Council Maps


 * visionofbrotain: Warrington Gazetteer

Newspapers

 * The Gazette Live


 * The Northern Echo, Tees Valley News

Occupations
Middlesbrough lost a large part of its heavy industry base in the second half of the twentieth century. However it is still a vibrant manufacturing economy with many opportunities for employment in the manufacturing sectors.

Business in Middlesbrough is still dominated by the nearby chemical industry which until 1995 in this locality was largely owned by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). The fragmentation of that company led to many smaller manufacturing units being owned and operated by a number of multinational organizations. The last part of ICI itself completely left the area in 2006 and the remaining companies are now members of the Northeast of England Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC).

The port of Teesport, owned by PD Ports, is also vital to the economy of Middlesbrough and the port owners have their offices in the town. Teesport is 5.5 miles (9 km) from the North Sea and 3 miles (5 km) east of Middlesbrough, on the River Tees. Teesport is currently the third largest port in the United Kingdom, and among the tenth biggest in Western Europe, handling about 50 million tons of domestic and international cargo per year. The vast majority of these products are still related to the steel and chemical industries made by companies that are members of NEPIC.

Middlesbrough also remains a stronghold for engineering based manufacturing and engineering contract service businesses. It also has a growing reputation for developing digital businesses particularly in the field of digital animation as a result of spin-out activity in this new industry from the Middlesbrough-based Teesside University.

The following data provides information on the changes in types of employment available in Middlesbrough and the larger Tees Valley.

The structure of the Tees Valley economy has changed markedly over the past 40 years. In 1973 almost 43% or 122,000 of the 284,000 employee jobs in Tees Valley was accounted for by the Manufacturing sector. Construction accounted for 9.4% of jobs and around 46% of employees worked in the Service sector (132,000).

By 2003, manufacturing had declined considerably, with service sector employment generating significant numbers of new jobs (45,000 since 1993, offsetting the fall in manufacturing). By 2014 and following the 2008/09 recession, Tees Valley employee numbers stood at 261,000, combined with a further 31,500 self-employed to take the number of jobs to 292,500. Manufacturing employment had fallen to under 25,000 by 2014 with Construction below 14,000. Jobs in Utilities were broadly unchanged at 4,000 and Services was up to 218,000.

Societies

 * Cleveland Family History Society


 * Cleveland and Tees-side History Society


 * Yorkshire Group of Family History Societies


 * Cleveland, North Yorkshire, and Durham Family History Society

Archives

 * Teesside, Middlesbrough archives


 * The National Archives; Teesside


 * Love Middlesbropugh; Teesside Archives


 * Newspaperarchive.com; Teesside Archives

Web Sites

 * wikipedia, Middlesbrough


 * Middlesbrough Council


 * North Yorkshire County Council