Sunderland St John, Durham Genealogy

England Durham

Parish History
Sunderland St John Parish was created in 1875 from Sunderland Holy Trinity Sunderland, Durham parish.

The chapel of St. John, which stands at the head of Barrack-street, on a site given by Marshall Robinson, Esq., was built in 1769, chiefly at the expense of John Thornhill, Esq.; it is a spacious edifice of brick, with a square tower, and contains sittings for the soldiers in the barracks. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the Bishop; net income, £288.

From: 'Summercotes - Sustead', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 261-271. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51318 Date accessed: 24 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 1875-1965 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/SU/SJ)

The following records for churches in the ancient parish of Sunderland are also available at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL:-


 * Deptford 1845-1948 (EP/Su.SA &amp; EP/BiW).
 * Grangetown 1907-1981 (EP/Gra).
 * Hendon, St. Ignatius 1889-1968 (EP/SuSIg).
 * Hendon, St. Paul 1852-1969 (EP/Su.SPa).
 * Middle Hendon 1876-1967 (EP/Su.SB).
 * Pallion, St. Luke 1869-1975 (EP/Pa)

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
Sunderland 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.