Ravensworth, Durham
Historical Description
Ravensworth, a village in Lamesley chapelry, Chester-le-Street parish, Durham, on the river Team, opposite Gateshead Fell, 4 miles SW by S of Gateshead station on The N.E.R. The manor belonged to the Lumleys, passed through the Gascoignes and others to the Liddels, and gave them in 1727 the title of Baron. Ravensworth Castle, the seat of the Earl of Ravensworth, was rebuilt in 1808 after designs by Nash; retains two towers of the previous edifice; is in a mixed style of Gothic and Tudor architecture; includes a hall 100 feet long, 35 wide, and 50 high; and contains some Flemish tapestry, many fine old cabinets, and some good paintings by old masters. The shaft of an ancient cross is on the lawn near the castle.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | County Durham | |
| Civil parish | Chester le Street | |
| Poor Law union | Chester-le-Street | |
| Ward | Chester |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Ravensworth from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Ravensworth)
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for County Durham is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Ravensworth are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers covering county Durham online: