Place:Gateshead, Durham, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Gateshead is now a town in Tyne and Wear, England, and the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. It was part of County Durham until the creation of Tyne and Wear in 1974.

The town lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne. Gateshead and Newcastle are joined by seven bridges across the Tyne, including the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. The town is known for its architecture, including the theatre complex the Sage Gateshead, the statue the Angel of the North and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. Residents of Gateshead, like the rest of Tyneside, are referred to as "Geordies". Gateshead's population in the UK census of 2011 was 120,046.

Gateshead was an ancient parish in the Chester Ward of County Durham with no dependent townships. It was made a municipal borough in the 1830s and became a county borough in 1888. In 1974 the new county of Tyne and Wear was formed and Gateshead became part of the larger Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Gateshead.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.

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.