Cockfield, Durham Genealogy

England Durham

Parish History
St Mary Cockfield is an ancient parish and includes the hamlet or village of Woodland. The stone church was built in the thirteenth century and restored in 1868.

COCKFIELD, a parish in the union of Teesdale, S. W. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 12 miles (N. W. by W.) from Darlington; containing, with the township of Woodland, 944 inhabitants. This parish comprises 4416a. 20p., whereof 400 acres form a common of uninclosed land; the soil is clay, with a substratum of freestone of a most excellent and durable quality, the ancient church of Darlington, which was built with it, being still in high preservation. The great basaltic dyke, bisecting a dyke of earlier formation, runs through the parish; and there is coal, the mines of which, though they have been wrought for nearly five centuries, are even now slightly productive. An extension of the Stockton and Darlington railway, from St. Helen's station to Cockfield, is of great convenience for the transport of produce. The living is a discharged rectory, with the vicarage of Staindrop, lately annexed, valued in the king's books at £9. 18., and in the gift of the Duke of Cleveland: the tithes of the parish have been commuted for £220, and the glebe consists of 16 acres, with a house. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. On Cockfield Fell are traces of ancient intrenchments. This was the birthplace of the ingenious Jeremiah and George Dixon, of whom the former, more particularly, was employed in scientific investigations of importance.

From: 'Coates - Cocking', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 647-654. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50887 Date accessed: 30 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 1578-1966 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Coc).

Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections DDR/EA/PBT/2/56 1766-1867 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.

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

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

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

Web sites
Contributor: add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.