Place:Durham St. Mary le Bow with St. Mary the Less, Durham, England

According to English Jurisdictions (see Durham References below) Durham St. Mary le Bow with St. Mary the Less was a small parish directly to the east of Durham Cathedral in the centre of the city of Durham.

The two parishes joined in the late 1600s into one "ancient parish". In 1866 they became a civil parish. It was part of Chester Ward until 1829 when Durham Ward was formed. The civil parish was absorbed into the City of Durham civil parish and municipal borough in 1916. (Sources: A Vision of Britain through Time on Durham St. Mary the Less and A Vision of Britain through Time on Durham St. Mary le Bow)

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.