Gainford, Durham Genealogy

England Durham  Durham Parishes

Parish History
GAINFORD (St. Mary), aparish, in the unions of Teesdale, Darlington, and Auckland, chiefly in the S. W., but partly in the S. E., division of Darlington ward, S. division of the county of Durham; comprising the chapelries of Barnard-Castle, Denton, and Whorlton, and the townships of Bolam, Cleatlam, Gainford, Headlam, Houghton-le-Side, Langton, Marwood, Morton-Tynemouth, Pierse-Bridge, Stainton with Streatlam, Summerhouse, and Westwick. There are churches at Barnard-Castle, Denton, and Whorlton; and in the village is a place of worship for Wesleyans.

Gainford St Mary is an ancient parish and the present church is believed to have been built in the thirteenth century by the community of St Mary's Abbey ,York. The earlier church on the site is referred to by Simeon of Durham as the burial place of Edw or Edwine in 801. He had entered the monastic community of Gainford as a former Northumbrian chief.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections DDR/EA/PBT/2/110 1763-1851 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records. The transcripts include transcripts for 1843 for the parish of Denton, Durham

The dates of the post-1760 transcripts have been noted in detail and sometimes only cover years. For most parishes in the collection there are gaps in the sequence of transcripts. It is advisable to consult the original parish registers for these years and events.

The Parish Registers for the period 1560-1980 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Gai).

FamilySearch Historical Records includes England, Durham Diocese, Marriage Bonds and Allegations (FamilySearch Historical Records)

Poor Law Unions
Teesdale Poor Law Union, Durham

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Durham Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain