Place:Witton le Wear, Durham, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Witton le Wear is a small village in County Durham, England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Wear, 6 km (3.7 mi) to the northwest of Bishop Auckland. Other nearby towns are Crook, 5 km (3.1 mi) and Willington, 8 km (5.0 mi).

The then farming hamlet of Witton le Wear was part of the Witton Castle estate, which was bought in 1816 by Sir William Chaytor for £78,000 from the Stobart family. He redeveloped the castle, and in 1819 developed the Jayne Pitt as part of the large Witton Park Colliery complex. This brought about the development of transport into the area, including the Etherley Incline Railway by George Stephenson, that connected to his Stockton and Darlington Railway at Shildon, and hence onwards via Stockton on Tees to Newport on the River Tees.

After the S&DR was extended into Bishop Auckland, the railway was able to access the [[wikipedia:limestone deposits within the upper River Wear valley. This brought employment to the valley not only through mining, but by the production of both pig iron and cement, which was distributed by the railway to all parts of the United Kingdom. As the price of road haulage dropped, the line fell into disuse and carried its last train in the early 1990s.

end of Wikipedia contribution

Witton le Wear was originally a township 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. In 1937 it was abolished and split between the civil parishes of Crook and Willington, Evenwood and Barony, and Bishop Auckland; with Crook and Willington receiving two-thirds of the area, Evenwood and Barony 30%, and Bishop Auckland the remainder.

Between 1974 and 2009 it became part of the larger Wear Valley non-metropolitan district. Since 2009 County Durham has been a unitary authority.

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.