Merrington, Durham

Historical Description

Merrington or Kirk Merrington, a village, a township, and a parish in Durham. The village stands on an eminence½ 1¼ mile SSE of Spennymoor station on the N.E.R., and 4½ miles ENE of Bishop Auckland; adjoins the ground on which the English forces encamped before the battle of Neville's½ Cross; commands a very extensive view along the valley of the Wear and to the hills of Yorkshire; is a large place; and has a post and money order office of the name of Kirk Mer-ringtou under Ferryhill; telegraph office, Mount Pleasant. The township, including part of Low Spennymoor, comprisesr 1961 acres; population, 2128; of the ecclesiastical parish of Kirk Merrington, 2638. The parish contains also the township of Middlestone. The Local Government Act, 1894,, for parish council purposes, divided the township of Kirk Merrington into two separate parishes, one called Merrington and the other Merrington Lane. Coal is worked. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham; net value, £270 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Durham, who are lords of the manor. The old church was. Norman and of interesting character, and was the scene in. 1144 of a -furious fray between W. Comyn, who invaded the bishopric of Durham, and three barons of the bishopric-palatinate. The present church was built in 1854 on the site of the old one and in imitation of it; is of oblong form with a massive central tower 72 feet high; and retains the chancel-screen of the old church. The churchyard contains an incised coffin-shaped stone said to mark the grave of Hodge of Ferry who slew the famous Brawn. The vicarage of Ferry-hill is a separate benefice. There is a Wesleyan chapel here-and also at Low Spennymoor.

Administration

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

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

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Merrington from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Merrington (St. John the Evangelist))

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:

• Hartlepool Mail
• Northern Echo
• Durham County Advertiser
• Teesdale Mercury