Witton Gilbert, Durham

Historical Description

Witton Gilbert, a village and a parish in Durham. The village stands 3½ miles NW by W of Durham, took the latter part of its name from Gilbert de la Ley, the owner of the manor in the time of Bishop Pudsey, or from Gilbert de Latona, who is the first styled Dominus de Wittona, has a station on the N.E.R., and a post and money order office under Durham; telegraph office, Sacriston. The parish includes Findon Hill and Fulforth hamlets, and comprises 3251 acres; population of the civil parish, 4215; of the ecclesiastical, 2602. There is a parish council, and the village is lighted by electricity. A lepers' hospital was founded here by Gilbert de la Ley. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Durham; gross value, £285 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The church was rebuilt in 1863, and is in the Early English style. There are a reading-room and institute, and a Methodist New Connexion chapel.

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 Witton Gilbert from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Witton-Gilbert (St. Michael))

Land and Property

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

Maps

Online maps of Witton Gilbert 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:

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