Place:Heworth, Durham, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is condensed from an article in Wikipedia

Heworth has been a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England since 1974. Prior to 1974 it was located in County Durham.

In common with most villages in the area, its history has been intertwined with the fortunes of the quarrying and mining industries. Two large quarries operated in the area, at Windy Nook (which is now infilled and used as a public recreation area) and Low Burn, which is now the site of a Garden of Remembrance and a cemetery. Heworth Colliery occupied a site to the south-east of Windy Nook quarry, with its own connection to the Pelaw Main Waggonway giving access to the Pelaw Main coal staithes (or wharves) on the River Tyne at Bill Quay.

A 19th century description

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

"HEWORTH, a town, a township, a chapelry, and a [registration] sub-district in Jarrow parish, and Gateshead [registration] district, Durham. The town stands adjacent to the river Tyne, and to the Darlington and Brandling railway, near Pelaw Junction station, 2½ miles ESE of Gateshead; and has a post office under Gateshead.

"The township lies partly within Gateshead borough; includes the chapelries of St. Albans and Felling, constituted in 1843 and 1866; and comprises 2,786 acres of land, and 67 of water. Real property: £27,435; of which £9,286 are in mines, £938 in quarries, and £700 in iron works. Population in 1851: 8,869, in 1861: 10,315. Houses: 1,570. The increase of population was caused by the extension of chemical works. Population of the part within Gateshead borough: 838. Houses: 132. Ship building is carried on in several yards; coal is extensively mined and exported; and paper, pottery, glass, and chemicals, are manufactured.

"The chapelry was at one time co-terminate with the township, but was curtailed and made ecclesiastically parochial in 1843. Rated property: £19 902. Population in 1861: 7,680. The property is subdivided. The living is a [perpetual] curacy in the diocese of Durham. Value: £234.* Patrons: Lady James and Thomas Drewett Brown, Esq. The church was rebuilt in 1822; is in the pointed style, with an embattled tower; and contains 668 sittings. A monumental column is in the churchyard, commemorative of the death of 91 persons, in 1812, by an explosion in Felling colliery. There are a national school and a mechanics' institution.

"The sub-district is co-terminate with the township."

Heworth was a chapelry in the ancient parish of Jarrow. It became a separate civil parish in 1866, but from 1835 until 1894 it was within Gateshead Municipal or County Borough. (Gateshead grew sufficiently to become a county borough instead of a municipal borough in 1888.) In 1894 Heworth became part of Felling Urban District. Heworth was increased in size in 1936 when the parish of Monkton was abolished.

In 1974 this part of Durham became part of the district of Borough of Gateshead within the county of Tyne and Wear.

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.