Parish Notes Durham

Weardale St John the Baptist (St John's Chapel)

[Population 1911: 1,132]

Church

The Chapel of St. John, from which the town derives its name, was rebuilt by Sir Walter Blackett, Bart., aided by a legacy of £50, bequeathed by Dr. Hartwell. It is a neat plain edifice, consisting of nave, chancel, aisles, and western tower; and is fitted up with oaken pews, which furnish accomodation for upwards of 400 persons. There are galleries over the aisles and at the west end; the latter contains an organ, erected by subscription about six years ago. The font is at the west end, near the entrance. In the ancient chapel there was a chantry, dedicated to Jesus our Saviour and St. John the Baptist, for which Bishop Booth granted his license, dated the 4th June, 1465, to Robert Rhodes, for the maintenance of a chaplain, with a yearly stipend of £5, to be paid out of the manor of Whitley. The burial ground is of considerable extent, having been recently much enlarged. The registers commence in 1788. The chapelry is bounded on the north, north-east, and east by the chapelry of Rookhope, on the south by the parish of Middleton-in-Teesdale, and on the west by Heathery Cleugh chapelry. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the deanery of Darlington, and its annual value is stated to be £186. Patron, the rector f Stanhope; incumbent, the Rev. William Green.

The Parsonage House is situated in a garden north of the church. [Whellan's History, Topography and Directory of Durham (and Newcastle) (1856), pages 317-18.]

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Topography

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History

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The Parish Chest

EP/SJ 1/7 Burials 1788-1812

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Non-Parochial Records

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Monumental Inscriptions

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