Place:Hunwick and Helmington, Durham, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Hunwick is a semi-rural village in County Durham, England. There are actually two villages that are often referred to collectively as Hunwick, Hunwick and New Hunwick although it is generally accepted that the two villages are now as one. In the 2001 census Hunwick had a population of 952.

Hunwick is an ancient village dating from Saxon times when it belonged to the Cathedral church of Durham. Hunwick stands between Bishop Auckland and Crook. It was later given to the Earls of Northumberland, but it returned to the ownership of the church when Henry VIII re-endowed Durham cathedral. The village itself was probably destroyed during the Harrying of the North in the late 11th century, and was rebuilt with two rows of houses arranged around the village green.

end of Wikipedia contribution

Hunwick was originally a township and chapelry in the ancient parish of Auckland St. Andrew in County Durham. It became a separate civil parish in 1866. From 1894 it was part of Auckland 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.

At some point the name of the civil parish changed to Hunwick and Helmington, noting the existence of the village of Helmington within the parish. However, Helmington Row was a separate parish based on a separate village to the north and was a township in Brancepeth ancient parish.

A nineteenth century description

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

"HUNWICK, a village, a township, and a chapelry in Auckland-St. Andrew parish, Durham. The village stands near the river Wear, and the Sunderland and Bishop-Auckland railway, 2½ miles NW by N of Bishop Auckland; and has a station on the railway. The township includes also Helmington, and bears the name of Hunwick and Helmington. Acres: 1,560. Real property: £8,132; of which £5,967 are in mines, and £134 in quarries. Population in 1851: 486; in 1861: 1,203. Houses: 227. The increase of population was caused chiefly by the opening of new collieries.

"The chapelry is larger than the township, and was constituted in 1845. Post town, Bishop Auckland. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value: £300. Patron: the Incumbent of Auckland-St. Andrew."

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.