Norton, Durham Genealogy

Parish History

St Mary Norton is an ancient parish and from within it in 1237 grew the parishes of Stockton-on-Tees.

"The Church - This ancient and venerable edifice, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, stands on a slight elevation near the village to the north. It is a cruciform structure, consisting of nave, transept - from the intersection of which springs the central tower - aisles, and chancel. The parts of the original building still remaining are said to belong to pre-Conquest or Saxon times, and the date of their erection is uncertain. These are the north and part of the south transepts, and the tower; but the massive piers and semicircular arches by which the latter is supported seem strongly to indicate an early Norman origin. The nave as it now stands was built during the Norman Transitional period, which prevailed from 1145 to 1190.

"The church has passed through many periods of restoration, the principal one being in the year 1876, carried out with questionable taste in the Tudor Gothic style. All the stained glass in the church is of modern date and of more than average excellence; the windows in the south wall of the chancel, representing incidents in the life of Bernard Gilpin, vicar of Norton, 1554, are of especial interest and value. Norton is the mother-church of the adjacent town of Stockton-on-Tees, and in 1237, when a chapel was erected at Stockton, the parishioners were permitted to have therein baptism, burial and all other ecclesiastical rights, but were still required to visit the mother-church at Norton on the feast of the assumption of the Blessed Virgin (the 15th of August) bringing with them their offerings."

[From History, Topography and Directory of Durham, Whellan , London, 1894]

Parish Records

Durham University Library Archives and Special Collections DDR/EA/PBT/2/198 1762-1846 Parish Register transcripts are available to search free online at Record Search. The transcript collection also includes DDR/EA/PBT/2/199 Burial Ground register transcripts Norton Friends 1865-1893

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 1574-1989 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Nor).