Birtley, Durham Genealogy

England Durham  Durham Parishes



Parish History
BIRTLEY, a township, in the parish and union of Chester-le-Street, Middle division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham There is a place of worship for Wesleyans; also a Roman Catholic chapel. Birtley St. John the Evangelist was created in 1850 from Chester-le-Street St. Mary and St. Cuthbert.

Parts of this parish became part of these parishes: Fatfield St. George (1875); Washington, Oxclose Local Ecumenical Partnership (1972)

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 Reference number: DDR/EA/PBT/2/30 Date: 1850-1880 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records; however images for the parish transcripts are not yet loaded and await engineering.

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 1850-1994 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Bir).

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

Poor Law Unions
Chester le Street 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