Place:Benfieldside, Durham, England

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Benfieldside from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"BENFIELDSIDE, a township and a chapelry in Lanchester parish, Durham. The township lies on the river Derwent, and on a branch of the Northeastern railway, 4 miles N of Cold Rowley; and has a [railway] station. It is a watering place, and has coal mines; and its post town is Medomsley, under Gateshead. Acres: 1,834. Population: 4,026. Houses: 728.

"The chapelry was constituted in 1847. Population: 9,223. Houses: 1,575. The living is a vicarage in the [diocese] of Durham. Value: £300.* Patron: [alternately] the Crown and the Bishop. The church is good; and there are two Methodist chapels and a R. Catholic one."

Benfieldside was originally a township in the chapelry of Medomsley, under the ancient parish of Lanchester. It became a separate civil parish in 1866. From 1894 until 1937 it was an urban district. In 1937 the urban district was abolished and absorbed into Consett.

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia and illustrates its present situation

Benfieldside is a parish in County Durham, England. Although not a village in its own right (ecclesiastically it incorporates Shotley Bridge, Bridgehill and much of Blackhill), it is signposted and locally known. From a governance point of view it is a ward of Consett with a population taken at the 2011 census of 6,637.

Research Tips

• County Durham Archives. Durham County Record Office is located on the Lower Ground Floor of County Hall, the administrative headquarters of Durham County Council, in Durham City.
• Northumberland and Durham FHS covers both Northumberland and the northern part of County Durham. The Family History Society have a research centre in Percy House in central Newcastle upon Tyne (full address on website), open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm. Browse the website to see what else the society can provide.
• The Cleveland, North Yorkshire & South Durham Family History Society covers the southern part of County Durham as well as the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire on the south side of the River Tees. Their homepage includes a map to show the society's coverage. (Once again, full address and other details on the website)
• Further information from GENUKI
• Ordnance Survey map of Durham 1832 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time. This map includes the boundaries of the various Wards (or "hundreds") in existence at that time.
• Ordnance Survey map of Durham 1900 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• Ordnance Survey map of Durham 1944 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• English Jurisdictions 1851, a parish finding aid provided by FamilySearch, particularly helpful in large towns and cities.
• Unfortunately, the Victoria County History for Durham is limited in its coverage. It only includes the cathedral city of Durham, including an account of the cathedral itself. Also covers Stockton Ward in the south-east of the county (bordering North Yorkshire) including Hartlepool and Stockton on Tees.