Monkwearmouth

Monkwearmouth Township

"In 1801 its population numbered 1103; in 1811, 1091; in 1821, 1278; in 1831, 1498; in 1841, 2155; in 1851, 3366; in 1861, 3343; in 1871, 5507; in 1881, 8355; and in 1891, 8505."

"In 1801 there were 4239 inhabitants; in1811, 4264; in 1821, 4924; in 1831, 6051; in 1841, 7742; in 1851, 10,109; in 1861, 15,139; in 1871, 16,641; in 1881, 17,765; and in 1891, 20,564."

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

Monkwearmouth, St. Peter

"Monkwearmouth Parish Church - This venerable edifice, which is dedicated to St. Peter, is of very ancient foundation, but little now remains of the original structure except the western porch and part of wall. "It is 1218 years since the pious servant of Christ, Biscop surnamed Benedict, began to build a monastery in honour of the most blessed Peter, the chief of the Apostles, on the north side of the mouth of the Wear. The venerable and devout King of Northumbria, Ecgfrid, gave him a site and helped him in the work." That is what Bede tells us.

"The church has undergone frequent repairs and alterations. Towards the close of the eighteenth century, lamentable want of taste was displayed in the removal of the thirteenth century arcade, and in the erection of unsightly galleries. In 1875 it was carefully and intelligently restored, in s style more in harmony with and more worthy of its rich historical associations. The church as it now stands may be described as consisting of nave, chancel, north aisle, with short transept and north porch.

"The Church formerly possessed a chantry, dedicated to St. Lawrence, which was founded here in 1220 by one of the Hetoif family, to whom the advowson of the living formerly belonged. The living is a vicarage in the deanery of Wearmouth. The revenue of the benefice, which is about £420 a year, is derived from tithe rent-charge, from funds administered by Queen Anne's Bounty and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, from the rent of a house and stables in Monkwearmouth, and from surplice fees. The patron is the Bishop of Durham, and the vicar the Rev. C.G. Hopkinson, M.A."

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

Roker

There is a picture (11 kbytes) of the parish church of St. Andrew, Roker; supplied by George Bell.

"In 1790, the parish registers were destroyed by the fire which broke out in the Hall, then the residence of the minister, excepting the register of Marriages from 16th October 1785, of Baptisms from 2nd September 1779, and of Burials from 3rd January 1768."

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

The Parish Registers for the period 1683-1987 are deposited at Durham County Record Office, County Hall, Durham, DH1 5UL (EP/Mo.SP).

Marriage indexes for

• 1559-1799 (58 kbytes),
• 1800-1812
• 1813-1826 and
• 1827-1837

from the George Bell Collection of Durham and Northumberland Indexes.

The Marriages (1560-1837) are included in the Joiner Marriage Index.

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

• Monkwearmouth, All Saints 1847-1984 (EP/Mo.AS).
  • Roker 1916-1980 (EP/Mo.AS).
• Monkwearmouth, St. Andrew 1907-1984 (EP/Mo.SA).
• Monkwearmouth, St. Cuthbert 1880-1939 (EP/Mo.SP).
• Monkwearmouth, Venerable Bede 1873-1962 (EP/Mo.SP).

"Roker is a pleasant maritime suburb, overlooking the outer harbour on the north-east, and is within easy distance from the centre of the town. (Sunderland - Ed) Great improvements were effected here in 1885-86, when the splendid parapeted walks and carriage-way, leading to and extending along the sands, were completed, at a cost to the corporation of £10,306. An additional attraction is the North Pier of the new harbour, now approaching completion, which forms a magnificent promenade, extending into the sea a distance of half a mile. With adequate accommodation for visitors, Roker, with its picturesque coast and beautiful park, bids fair soon to become one of the most popular seaside resorts on the north-east coast."

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

• Geograph
• Flickr

• Ask for a calculation of the distance from Monkwearmouth to another place.

Adrian Abbott has provided a transcription of a handwritten document at Sunderland Library entitled "Reflections of Southwick From The year 1847" by Luke Crown.

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference NZ401581 (Lat/Lon: 54.916093, -1.375265), Monkwearmouth which are provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)

• All places within the same township/parish shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby townships/parishes shown on an Openstreetmap map.
• Nearby places shown on an Openstreetmap map.