Gainford Durham Family History Guide

Gainford is an Ancient Parish in the county of Durham.

Other places in the parish include: Bolam, Westham, Summerhouse, Staunton and Streatham, Streatlam and Stainton, Streatham and Stainton, Stainton with Streatlam, Stainton and Streatlam, Sledwick, Pierse Bridge, Piers Bridge, Piercebridge, Morton Tynemouth, Morton Tinmouth, Morton, Marwood, Langton, Houghton le Side, Headlam, Cleatlam, Cleatham, Westwick, and Alwent and Selaby.

Alternative names:

Parish church:

Parish registers begin:

Parish registers: 1560
Bishop’s Transcripts: 1763

Nonconformists include: Independent/Congregational, Roman Catholic, and Wesleyan Methodist.

Table of Contents

Adjacent Parishes

Parish History

Gainford

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

GAINFORD, a village and a township in Teesdale district, and a parish partly also in Darlington and Auckland districts, Durham. The village stands on the river Tees, at the boundary with Yorkshire, and adjacent to the South Durham and Lancashire Union railway, 7¾ miles WNW of Darlington; consists mainly of one wide street, extending parallel with the river; and has a station with telegraph on the railway, and a post-office under Darlington. A Roman station was here; and many vestiges of it exist; and numerous Roman coins have been found. A castle also is said to have been built here by Egfrid, Bishop of Lindisfarne; but no trace of it exists, either in structure or in local tradition.

The township comprises 2, 274 acres. Real property, £4, 451; of which £70 are in quarries. Pop., 735. Houses, 153.

The parish contains also the townships of Cleatlam, Headlam, Langton, Morton-Tinmouth, Whorlton, Westwick, Barnard-Castle, Stainton-with-Streatlam, Marwood, Pierse-Bridge, Denton, Summerhouse, Houghton-le-Side, and Bolam. Acres, 24, 145. Real property, £39, 147. of which £1, 352 are in mines, £377 in quarries, and £620 in gas-works. Pop., 7, 264. Houses, 1, 375. So many as 4, 477 of the pop. were in Barnard-Castle. The property in various parts is much subdivided. The manor belonged anciently to the Baliols, and belongs now to the Duke of Cleveland.

The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value, £801. Patron, Trinity College, Cambridge. The church was originally built by Egfrid, bishop of Lindisfarne; underwent such changes as now to present no marks of great antiquity; has a tower; contains some brasses; and is in good condition. The chapelries of Barnard-Castle, Denton, Bolam, and Whorlton are separate. There are several dissenting chapels and some charities, besides those in Barnard-Castle. The total of charities is £171. Sir Samuel Garth, the author of the “Dispensary,” was a native. Gainford is mentioned by Sir Walter Scott in his “Rokeby:” He views sweet Winston’s woodland scene, And shares the dance on Gainford green.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

Piercebridge

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

PIERSEBRIDGE, a village and a township in Gainford parish, Durham. The village stands on the river Tees at the boundary with Yorkshire, adjacent to the South Durham and Lancashire Union railway, 5 miles W by N of Darlington; occupies the site of the Roman station Magæ or Magis, on Watling-street; and has a post-office under Darlington, and a r. station with telegraph.

A three-arched bridge here crosses the Tees; and was the scene of a skirmish, in 1644, between the royalists and the parliamentarians. A chapel was founded, at the end of the bridge, by King Baliol of Scotland. A small square camp is on the N side of the river; and a tumulus is on the S side. The township comprises 920 acres. Real property, £1, 321. Pop., 211. Houses, 54.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].