Explore Your Archives Week

Why not use the County Archives to research some South Moor history?

People are being encouraged to discover and explore County Durham’s history next week by delving into thousands of original records and documents.

Colin Wild, Durham County Record Office volunteer, with archivist David Butler at the record office.

Durham County Record Office is supporting national Explore Your Archives Week, which runs until 26 November, by reminding people of the amazing resources available to anyone who is interested in local and family history.

The archives held by the record office occupy five miles of shelving and span almost 900 years.

They relate not only to the current County Durham and Darlington areas but also the historic County of Durham before 1974, which covered the area between the River Tyne and the River Tees.

Members of the public can use the archives for a wide range of purposes, from researching family history and viewing plans of your house to accessing hospital or care records or investigating environmental issues.

Archives are of huge relevance

Cllr Ossie Johnson, Durham County Council’s Cabinet member for tourism, culture, leisure and rural issues, said: “Archives are our collective memory, offering a written record of people’s day to day lives. They provide unique access to our past but are also of huge relevance today.

“Durham County Record Office holds an extensive range of fascinating documents covering a wide range of subjects and a large geographical area.

“Explore Your Archives Week is the perfect time to discover the information that is so readily to hand.”

The oldest items in the record office’s collection date back to the beginning of the 12th Century but many of the documents are recent and are of relevance today.

Liz Bregazzi, county archivist, said: “People would be amazed by the breadth of enquiries the record office receives on a daily basis.

“The documents we hold can help people establish rights of way, prove their citizenship and even secure a school place.

“Only recently, we helped someone complete probate on a property, where the house deeds had been lost, by supplying information from the electoral register.

“And another member of the public came to us to research a war memorial and found a long lost family elsewhere in the country.”

For more information, visit Durham County Record Office. To make an appointment to visit the record office, call 3000 267 619.

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New Training Community session

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New Training Session for updating website has finally got underway Tuesday 21st November

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Website Credits

The South Moor Heritage Trail website could not have been produced without the key help of Anita Carroll.

Anita is a resident of Quaking Houses whose own Great Uncle, Samuel Ward was a miner killed during WWI.

Following painstaking research Anita has brought together details of hundreds of South Moor and Quaking House miners which form a large part of this website and we are extremely indebted to her for her work.

The depth of Anita’s research can be shown by the list of sources she acknowledges:

Source Information:

  • Memorial Park 1914-1919, South Moor, Co Durham. (accessed 2006)
  • Commonwealth War Graves Commission (updated to 2014) Available at; http://www.cwgc.org/(accessed December 2013) 
  • Military-Genealogy.com, comp. UK, Soldiers Died in the Great War, 1914-1919 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: British and Irish Military Databases. The Naval and Military Press Ltd.
  • Jack Marshall, comp..Great Britain, Royal Naval Division Casualties of The Great War, 1914-1924 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Jack Marshall, comp. The Jack Clegg Memorial Database of Royal Naval Division Casualties of The Great War.
  • com. UK, Royal Navy and Royal Marine War Graves Roll, 1914-1919 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: War Graves Roll. The Naval and Military Press Ltd.
  • com. 1911 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA), 1911.
  • com. 1901 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives, 1901. Data imaged from the National Archives, London, England. The National Archives gives no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or fitness for the purpose of the information provided. Images may be used only for purposes of research, private study or education.
  • Durham Pals 18th, 19th& 22nd Battalions of The Durham Light Infantry in the Great War by John Sheen. Published by Pen & Sword, Barnsley, South Yorkshire 2007, accessed 5 Nov 2014
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