Place:Southwick, Durham, England

source: Family History Library Catalog

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

Southwick is a former village and now a suburb on the north banks of the River Wear in the City of Sunderland in the county of Tyne and Wear. According to the UK census of 2011 it had a population of 10,535. Before 1974 it was located in County Durham.

Southwick borders with Castletown and Hylton to the west, Monkwearmouth to the east, greenbelt farmland to the north, and the Wear to the south although the Queen Alexandra Bridge links Southwick to central Sunderland.

end of Wikipedia contribution

Southwick was originally a township in the ancient parish of Monkwearmouth, Durham. It became a separate civil parish in 1866. In 1894 it was made an urban district and took on the name Southwick on Wear. In 1928 Southwick Urban District was abolished and the parish was absorbed into Sunderland County Borough.

A nineteenth century description

A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Southwick on Wear from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:

"SOUTHWICK, a village, a township, and a chapelry, in Monk-Wearmouth parish, Durham. The village stands on the river Wear, 1½ mile NW of Sunderland [railway] station; consists of two parts, High and Low; carries on ship-building, glass-making, brick-making, and pottery-work; and has a post-office under Sunderland. The township comprises 1,018 acres. Real property: £10,626; of which £343 are in quarries. Population in 1851: 2,721; in 1861: 4,263. Houses: 626. Population in 1868, between 6 and 7,000. The property is much subdivided. The chapelry was constituted in 1847. Population: 4,683. Houses: 704. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Durham. Value: about £500. Patrons: the Dean and Chapter of [Durham]. The church is modern; and there are Wesleyan, United Methodist, and Primitive Methodist chapels, an Alexandra institute, 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.