Denton, Durham Genealogy

England Durham



Parish History
Denton St Mary former ancient chapelry was created in 1837 from chapelry within Gainford Ancient Parish and includes Hougton le Side..

"Denton, it is believed, has had no less than four chapels at various periods, each one having to be replaced on account of the ruinous state it was allowed to fall into. The first chapel is supposed to have been of Norman Foundation, which gave place to an Early English edifice, this being entirely rebuilt in 1810, and of no particular style. During the rebuilding, an ancient stone coffin was discovered, supposed to be that of a Knight Templar, and later a cover of Frosterley marble of the same shape, and about the same size, with a sculptured figure of a female carved upon it, was also found. The following inscription in Lombardian French runs round the cover, Hic gist Aubrey de Coynners sa compayn - Here lies the wife of Aubrey de Conyers. The present chapel is a neat stone building in the Early English style, consisting of nave and chancel, with a south porsh at the west end. The chancel fittings and pulpit are of oak and of good design. The chapel is built almost on the site of its predecessor, and will seat 100, having been built at a cost of £1400."

[From History, Topography and Directory of Durham, Whellan, London, 1894]

DENTON, with Houghton-le-Side, a chapelry, in the parish of Gainford, union of Darlington, S. E. division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 5½ miles (N. W.) from Darlington; containing 119 inhabitants. Denton appears to have belonged to the Balliols, and was afterwards held by the Beauchamps and Nevilles, their successors in the honour of Barnard-Castle. The township comprises by measurement 956 acres of land, which, with the exception of the glebe, is wholly the property of Matthew Culley, Esq., of Fowberry Tower, in the county of Northumberland. Limestone of excellent quality for building is found here, and there is a productive quarry in operation. The Hall, an old mansion of various age and architecture, was probably erected for the most part about the time of Charles I. The village is in a sheltered situation, and watered by a small rivulet; it was once a town of some importance, and is said to have been burnt by Malcolm, King of Scotland, on his route to Cleveland: considerable vestiges of ancient buildings may be traced in the neighbourhood. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Vicar of Gainford, and has a net income of £50; impropriators, the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge. The great tithes have been commuted for £136. 12. 5., and the vicarial for £63; there are 22 acres of glebe belonging to the vicar of Gainford, and 5 to the incumbent of Denton. The chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, was rebuilt by subscription about 1810, and enlarged in 1836.

From: 'Denby - Denton, West', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 28-32. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50917 Date accessed: 21 March 2011.

The church has now been deconsecrated and is a private residential dwelling.

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/2/75 Date: 1765-1882 Related material at DULASC: Denton transcript 1843 is included with Gainford transcripts DDR/EA/PBT/2/110 Related materials (elsewhere): Transcripts for 1756-1757 are among the Howe manuscriptsDurham Bishop's Transcripts: The Howe Manuscript Collection at Durham Cathedral Library. Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records. Engineering work is pending to load the Denton transcripts fully and differentitate them from the Gainford transcripts. At present the available images are found under Gainford 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.

The Parish Registers for the period 1576-1993 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/De).

Poor Law Unions
Darlington 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.