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- source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- source: Family History Library Catalog
- the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia
Gainford, or Gainford on Tees, is a village on the north bank of the River Tees in County Durham, England on the county border with North Yorkshire. It is half-way between Barnard Castle and Darlington. The population, according to the 2011 UK census, was 1,241 including the village of Denton.
Legend has it that residents on the two sides of the river disputed ownership of a ford across the Tees. In the eventual battle, residents of the Durham side of the river gained the ford, and their village became known as Gainford. On the Yorkshire side of the river lies the site of the deserted village of Barforth or Barford, said to be named in memory of its residents' attempt to barricade the ford during the dispute.
For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Gainford, County Durham.
Gainford was an ancient parish in the Darlington Ward of County Durham. It was made a civil parish in the 19th century and became part of the Barnard Castle Rural District from 1894 until 1974. Between 1974 and 2009 it became part of the larger Teesdale non-metropolitan district. Since 2009 County Durham has been a unitary authority.
A list of the townships and chapelries of the ancient parish is given below.
A nineteenth century description
A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Gainford from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:
- "GAINFORD, a village and a township in Teesdale [registration] district, and a parish partly also in Darlington and Auckland [registration] 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. Population: 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. Population: 7,264. Houses: 1,375. So many as 4,477 of the population 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. ..."
Townships in Ancient Parish
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