Place:School Aycliffe, Durham, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

School Aycliffe is a village located in County Durham, England. It is situated a short distance to the west of Newton Aycliffe and to the east of Heighington, County Durham. The name derives from a Viking called Scula who owned land in the southern part of Durham.

School Aycliffe is split into two by the road named School Aycliffe Lane. One side has the older, original estate. This is part of the County Durham unitary area, formerly the Borough of Sedgefield. The other side is now a new housing estate named 'The Chestnuts', and part of Borough of Darlington. The now closed Aycliffe Hospital, a mental health institute, was located here.

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.