Washington, Durham
Historical Description
Washington, a village, a township, and a parish, in Durham. The village stands near the river Wear, 1 mile NNW of Washington railway station, and 6 miles SE by S of Gateshead, and has a post and money order office called Washington Village, under Washington station (R.S.O.); telegraph office, New Washington. The station is on the N.E.R., at the intersection of the Stanhope and Tyne railway. The township comprises 1973 acres; population. 3322; of the ecclesiastical parish, 3914. The manor was held in the 12th century by the family of Wessington, and passed in the time of Richard III. to the Washingtons, a descendant of whom was the famous George Washington, first president of the United States. There are ironworks, brick-works, a large colliery, and extensive chemical works. The parish contains also Usworth and Barmston townships. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Durham; net value, £200 with residence. Patron, the Bishop of Manchester. The church, rebuilt in 1832, consists of chancel, nave, transepts, and S porch. The rectory of Usworth is a separate benefice. There are Wesleyan and Roman Catholic chapels.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
Ancient County | County Durham | |
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 Washington from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Washington)
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for County Durham is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Washington are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- 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: