Place:Lamesley, Durham, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Lamesley is a village and civil parish which has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England since 1974. Prior to 1974 Tyne and Wear south of the River Tyne was part of County Durham. The village is on the southern outskirts of the original county borough of Gateshead, near to Birtley. The parish includes Kibblesworth, Lamesley village, Eighton Banks and the modern housing estate of Northside.

The population of the civil parish at the 2011 UK census was 3,742, dropping from 3928 in 2001.

A contemporary sculpture entitled The Angel of the North by Anthony Gormley is located on a minor hilltop in the parish.

Lamesley was originally a chapelry in the ancient parish of Chester le Street, in County Durham. It became a separate civil parish in 1866. From 1894 until 1974 it was part of Chester le Street Rural District. In 1933 and 1937 it lost large areas to Gateshead and the neighbouring parish of Whickham respectively.

A nineteenth century description

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Lamesley from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72: LAMESLEY, a parochial chapelry in Chester-le-Street district, Durham; on Urpeth burn and the river Team, 4 miles S of Gateshead [railway] station. Post-town: Gateshead. Real property: £13,075; of which £6,373 are in mines, £112 in quarries, and £1,000 in railways. Population in 1851: 1,914; in 1861: 2,233. Houses: 366. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to Lord Ravensworth. There are extensive collieries, beds of ironstone, and quarries for grindstones. The living is a [perpetual] curacy in the diocese of Durham. Value: £138. Patron: Lord Ravensworth. The church was rebuilt in 1759; has a tower of 1821; and contains a carved pulpit. There are chapels for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists, national schools, and charities £40.

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.