Stranton, Durham Genealogy

Parish History

All Saints Stranton is an ancient parish including Brierton and Seaton Carew. In 1841 Seaton Carew formed a chapelry and in 1859 Christ Church West Hartlepool was formed within the Stranton parish.

The church is Norman but has had several alterations and additions with inscribed dates of 1664 and 1699. In 1890 restoration of the interior was carried out.

As West Hartlepool grew in population the number of churches grew and Stranton's role in the area diminished.

STRANTON (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Stockton, N. division of Stockton ward, S. division of the county of Durham; containing, with the townships of Brierton and Seaton-Carew, 2106 inhabitants, of whom 1491 are in Stranton township, 2½ miles (S. W. by W.) from Hartlepool, on the road to Stockton. Since the formation of the harbour at Hartlepool, this place has become the scene of busy employment in ironfoundries, ship-building yards, and other works connected with maritime trade. A harbour and docks were opened at Stranton in the summer of 1847. Limestone abounds, and used formerly to be quarried to a great extent, and the lime shipped coastwise. The Stockton and Hartlepool railway approaches close to the sea-coast at New Stranton, and is carried along the verge of the sea by an embankment of puddled clay. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £17. 16. 0½., and in the patronage of Sir M. W. Ridley, Bart., with a net income of £303; impropriators, John Stephenson, Esq., and others. The great tithes of Stranton township have been commuted for £103, and the small for £220. The church, which is situated on an eminence in the centre of the village, exhibits specimens of various styles; the tower serves as an excellent landmark to mariners. At Seaton-Carew is a second incumbency. The Wesleyans have a place of worship. There is an excellent school at Stranton, founded by the Rev. Christopher Fulthorpe, with an endowment of £30 per annum, for which fifteen children receive instruction; and in the hamlet of Middleton, in the parish, is a commodious national school, built in 1840. An immense quantity of human bones was discovered in draining a morass adjoining the Slake, supposed to have been those of the Scots who fell at the siege of Hartlepool in 1644: on a farm called Tunstal, about two miles south-west of the spot, are vestiges of an encampment.

From: 'Stradbrook - Stratford, Water', A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 238-244. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51312 Date accessed: 27 March 2011.

Resources

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/2/245 1762-1844 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at FamilySearch Historical Records.

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 1580-1995 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Str).

The following records for churches in the ancient parish of Stranton are also available at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL:-

West Hartlepool, Christ Church 1854-1973 (EP/Ha.CC).
West Hartlepool, St. Aidan 1890-1995 (EP/Ha.SA).
West Hartlepool, St. James 1870-1956 (EP/Ha.SJ).
West Hartlepool, St. Matthew 1902-1945
West Hartlepool, St. Nicholas 1929-1933
West Hartlepool, St. Oswald 1892-1977 (EP/Ha.SO).

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

Non Conformist Churches

Census records

Census records from 1841 to 1911 are available online. For access, see England Census Records and Indexes Online. Census records from 1841 to 1891 are also available on film through a FamilySearch Center or at the FamilySearch Library.

Poor Law Unions

Stockton 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.

Web sites

Contributor: add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.