Place:Willington, Durham, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Willington is a former mining village in County Durham, England, in the foothills of the Pennines and near the River Wear close to Crook, Bishop Auckland and Durham City.

Like many communities in the area Willington's economy was largely based on coal mining. The closure of the colliery in 1967 therefore affected the local economy. Since 2000 the area has benefited from housing development and increased transportation links.

Although a handful of job opportunities remain, work for many residents is now located outside the village, and Willington functions largely as a satellite village for Bishop Auckland and Durham.

Willington was originally a township in the ancient parish of Brancepeth in County Durham. It became a separate civil parish in 1866. From 1894 until 1937 it was an urban district. In 1937 the urban district was abolished and the parish was absorbed into Crook and Willington which was also an urban 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 Willington from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"WILLINGTON, a village, a township, and a chapelry, in Brancepeth parish, Durham. The village stands on the Durham and Bishop-Auckland railway, 5 miles N of Bishop-Auckland; and has a post-office, designated Willington, County of Durham, and a [railway] station. The township comprises 1,485 acres. Real property: £3,246; of which £1,000 are in mines. Population in 1851: 965; in 1861:, 2,393. Houses: 441. The increase of population arose from extension of coal mining.

"The chapelry was constituted in 1858. Population in 1861: 3,784. Houses: 686. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Durham. Value: £300. Patron: the Rector of Brancepeth. The church is good; and there are a New Connexion Methodist chapel and a national school."

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.