Barnard Castle, Durham Genealogy

England Durham

Parish History

Barnard Castle St Mary was created in 1723 from a 12th century chapelry in Gainford Ancient Parish,

The medieval history of the town is dominated by the castle and the Balliol family who owned it. The castle was built in the late 11th century. Bernard Balliol gave land to the townsfolk and the market in the town was established. When the castle was built it outer defences may have surrounded the small church of St Margaret, which was probably the parish church. A new parish church, dedicated to St Mary was built outside the walls. The Church of St Mary is believed to have been built in the twelfth century. It was a chapelry in the gift of the vicar of Gainford. It was not the only religious establishment in the town. In around 1230 a small hospital was founded on Newgate Street. It had its own chapel. An Augustinian friary was also founded in the town in the late 14th century.

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 Reference number: DDR/EA/PBT/2/17 Date: 1762-1846  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 1609-1954 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/BC).

Non Conformist Records

Congregational

• Congregational Church: Baptisms, marriages & burials 1806-1908 copies of pre-1837 baptism registers are available (M5/1-5).

Methodist

• Barnard Castle Circuit (Primitive): Baptisms 1831-1934
• Barnard Castle Circuit (Wesleyan): Baptisms 1803-1957, Marriages 1849-1882
• Newgate: Baptisms 1953-1974 

Roman Catholic

• Catholic Church: Baptisms, marriages & burials 1847-1974
  

Census records

Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

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

Web sites

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

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