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Seaham Harbour, Durham

Historical Description

Seaham Harbour, a seaport town and an ecclesiastical parish in Dalton-le-Dale parish, Durham. The town stands at the S side of the mouth of Seaham Dene, and at the terminus of the Sunderland and Seaham railway, 6 miles S by E of Sunderland; occupies ground which was formerly waste and wild; dates from only 1828, when both itself and its harbour were begun to be formed; commands an extensive view of both sea and coast; carries on an extensive trade in the export of coal and lime; has a foundry and extensive bottle-works; publishes one weekly paper; and has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Sunderland. For parish council purposes it is governed by an urban district council consisting of nine members. It is a seat of petty sessions, has a station on the railway, county court office, two banks, police station, coastguard station, masonic and oddfellows' halls, a custom-house, and an infirmary. A cemetery of 4 acres with two mortuary chapels was formed in 1885. In 1893 a memorial hall was built by the workmen of the bottle-works in memory of their late employer, Mr R. Candlish. In connection with this hall are reading and recreation rooms. In 1894 Lord Londonderry erected a Conservative working-men's club. The harbour comprises one dry and two wet docks, a tidal basin with accommodation for 300 ships, and a lighthouse. The National Lifeboat Institution has a station here. The ecclesiastical parish was constituted in 1843, and is conterminate with Dawdon township. Population, 9044. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham; gross value, £333 with residence. Patron, the Marquis of Londonderry. The church, built in 1841, is in the Perpendicular style, and consists of chancel, nave, N aisle, and embattled western tower. It was restored and enlarged in 1885. There are Presbyterian, Free and Primitive Methodist, Wesleyan, and Roman Catholic chapels.

Transcribed from The Comprehensive Gazetteer of England & Wales, 1894-5

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Ancient CountyCounty Durham 
Civil parishDalton le Dale 
Poor Law unionEasington 
WardEasington 

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.


Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Seaham Harbour from the following:


Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for County Durham is available to browse.


Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers covering county Durham online:

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