Elwick Hall, Durham Genealogy

England Durham

Parish History
Elwick Hall is an ancient parish and the church of St Paul has a boundary which places Elwick itself in the neighbouring parish of Hart, Durham.

ELWICK-HALL, or West Parish (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Stockton, N. E. division of Stockton ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 4 miles (N.) from Wolviston; containing 165 inhabitants. The parish is situated on the road from Stockton to Sunderland, and comprises 4321a. 3r. 18p., of which about 3250 acres are arable, 70 woodland and plantations, and the remainder meadow and pasture. The surface is boldly varied, rising into hills of considerable elevation, of which one to the north-west of the church, called the Beacon Hill, commands an extensive view of the Cleveland hills and the sea, with the mouth of the river Tees, and the bold headlands of Huntcliffe and Rowcliffe. The soil is generally a cold clay, and the principal crops are wheat and oats. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £20. 18. 1½., and in the gift of the Bishop of Durham: the tithes have been commuted for £267. 15., and the glebe comprises 367 acres. The church, which is situated on an eminence rising from a narrow dell that separates it from the village of Elwick, in the parish of Hart, is an ancient structure with a low massive tower at the angle of the south aisle. In the churchyard is a vault containing the remains of Sir James Allan Park, judge of the court of common pleas from 1816 till his death, on the 8th of December, 1838.

From: 'Eltham - Ely', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 167-173. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50947 Date accessed: 29 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 1592-1987 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Elw).

Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections DDR/EA/PBT/2/100 for years 1762-1870 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.

The parish includes material for 1709-10 in Durham Bishop's Transcripts: The Howe Manuscript Collection

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
Stockton 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.