Place:Hunstanworth, Durham, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

Hunstanworth is a small village in the west of County Durham, England. It is situated approximately 10 miles to the west of Consett, southwest of the village of Blanchland in Northumberland. The population of the village as taken at the 2011 UK census was 116.

The village was designed and built around the original 1781 parish church. The Reverend Daniel Capper commissioned architect Samuel Sanders Teulon to create the village in the 1860s, and Teulon delivered a vicarage and stable block, school and school-house and a mix of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses, all constructed of sandstone.

Hunstanworth was a township in the ancient parish of Edmundbyers. It became a separate civil parish in 1866. From 1894 until 1912 it was part of Weardale Rural District. Between 1974 and 2009 it became part of the larger Wear Valley non-metropolitan district. Since 2009 County Durham has been a unitary authority.

A nineteenth century description

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

"HUNSTONWORTH, a parish in Weardale [registration] district, Durham; on the river Derwent, at the boundary with Northumberland, 8 miles NNW of Stanhope [railway] station. Post town, Riding Mill, Northumberland. Acres: 10,380. Real property: £4,390; of which £1,000 are in mines. population in 1851: 615; in 1861: 778. Houses: 131. The increase of population was caused by an influx of lead miners from Wales and Cornwall. The manor belonged to Robert Corbert; was given by him to Kepier hospital; and passed, through several hands, to Messrs. Joicey. A considerable tract is held by the Trustees of the late Bishop Lord Crewe, and was left by him for charitable purposes. Much of the land is moor and mountain. Lead ore is extensively mined; and there are large smelting mills and a huge water wheel. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value: £220.* Patrons: Messrs. Joicey. The church was rebuilt in 1865, at a cost of £2,500; and is in the decorated English style. An arched vault, 45 feet long and 25 wide, probably used as a store for goods and cattle in the time of the Border raids, is in the churchyard. There is a Methodist meeting room."

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.