Directories/Gazetteers

The Critical Review, or, Annals of Literature, Tobias George Smollett, 1789

The parish of Washington, to the south of Jarrow, is the next object of of our historian's attention. It received the keels at Fatfield Staithes, which load for the port of Sunderland.

History, Directory, and Gazetteer, of the Counties of Durham and Northumberland, 1828

Fatfield, a village in the township of Harraton, 3 miles N.E. of Chester. The village is situated on the north bank of the Wear and has a ferry over that river and also a number of staithes on the shore, belonging to the collieries of Lord Durham, Mr Davison and others. In 1708 a coal mine near this village exploded and killed 69 persons.

An historical, topographical, and descriptive view of the county palatine of Durham, 1834

Fatfield, a bustling village on the north bank of the Wear, three miles north-east of Chester, where the Sunderland keels take in their lading at the staithes. Here are also a corn-mill, an iron foundery and a manufactory of coal tar, lamp black and coke. On September 28, 1813, an explosion took place in the Hall Pit near this place when upwards of thirty men and boys were killed.

An historical, topographical, and descriptive view of the county palatine of Durham, 1834

South Biddick:

This village and township, in the chapelry of Penshaw, is situated on the Wear, four miles north-east-by-east of Chester-le-Street. It was anciently called Bedyke, probably from the Saxon, being surrounded by a dyke or foss. Supposing the present mansion to stand on the scite of the ancient Bedyk, the whole spot could have been easily insulated by a trench communicating with the Wear, and from which circumstance it may have received the name of Biddic-Waterville, which it bears in some old records.

The ancient tenure of South Biddick was in villenage. Boldon Book:

"The villains of South Bedic hold their vill to farm, and pay 5s. and provide 160 men to mow in harvest, and 36 carts to lead (the lord's) corn at Hocton." In 1335, Alianor de Colley died seized of the manor of South Bedyk nigh Newbotell, held of the bishop in chief by homage, fealty, the fourth part of a knight's fee, and suit at the county court of Durham, val. i?4, leaving Gilbert son of Walter de Colley her son and heir, who styled himself Dominus de Bedyk-Waterville in 1336, and covenanted with William son of Alan de Slikeburn that his lands should descend without alienation to his son Roger de Colley, and Matilda daughter and heiress of William de Dunelm. The manor was soonafter held in equal moieties by the families of Dalden and Burnynghill, derived not improbably from coheiresses of Roger de Colley. The Daldens' share, by marriage, descended in the Bowes family, which ultimately obtained both portions of the manor. After the death of the KnightMarshal, Biddic-Waterville became the seat of George Bowes, Esq., his second son by the first marriage, whose son, Sir George Bowes, Knt., afterwards of Bradley, and heir male of the whole family, is also styled of Biddic-Watervilie in 1630.* This Sir George Bowes sold the estate to. the Lambtons.-f- Robert Lambton of Biddick, Esq., intermarried with Anne Delavale, 1670. The estate was afterwards vested in Freville Lambton of Hard wick and Biddick, the younger, Esq.; and on his death, in 1723, descended to his half-brother, Nicholas Lambton, Esq. Mrs. Mary

* Mr. Bowes, who died in 1006, appears by his will to have been an honest, upright man, depressed by apprehensions for the welfare of a numerous family. He wrote the following paper, which was copied from the original by Mr. Surtees, in hope of disposing of his property advantageously:—

"An olde Particuler of Bidick nere Newcastle f_and of a rent as it semeth out of Sledwish], A° 1595.

"The Scite and yearely vallue of Biddicke.

"1. The whole domaine doth containe 464 acres of medowe and pasture, and no parte thereof either is or hath bene arable these 16 years last past, being letten for two yeares togeather at £114 rent per ann.

"2. There is a fishinge belonginge to the land, wherein good store of salmon and salmon-trouts have been yerely taken, which I do not valhie, for ye' the same is uncertaine.

"3. There is a navigable river runninge alonge the dotnaine, and there is coles gotten in five severall places, the furthest place thereof is not 3 miles from the house; and I have sonke a shafte within the do* maine, haveing onely bestowed £4 charges, and have alreadye gotten some coles, which if the seame of coles prove to be 3 quarters of a yeard thicke, the same with £200 stocke will yeald £200 per ann. clear benentt.

"4. The House is scited within 6 miles of Newcastle, and 6 miles from Durham, and 2 miles from Chester.

"5. The of the House, as by a boke of every particuler doth appeare, doth amount to £1040 and

more.

"6. The yearelye rent of the domaine amounteth to £114 as aforesaid: yt is to be remembred y" the same is letten at ye same rate as it hath bene for theis 40 years last past, so as growinge yearely above 260 loads of hay, they which take ye said grounds have for these 4 yeares last past, and do so contynue, to leade me 60 waineloads of coles, I payinge onelye 15d. at the cole-pitts for every waineloade, as also they nude 30 dales mowinge, I onelye paying 6d. a-piece without either meate or drincke: and 20 haymakers, I payinge onelye Id. to every haymaker, without meate or drincke.

"7- I paid for the land £1640.

"Sale of the House and Groundes.

"I will absolutely take £2200, to be paid £200 before the last of January now instant, and £1000 the first of Aprill next, and £1000 the first of August next, and you to enter presentlye, I giving general! warrantie, and you to have whatsoever shall be fixed to the frehold, as staires, glasse, brewing vessel!, and stalling, &c. I will sell £60, £70, or £80 per annum of the demaine at 15 years' purchase, which to be laid by yourself, and you to have so much ground as hathe bene usually for 20 yeares last past letten at the rate, provided I will let you have no parte of my housinge."

Lastly, Mr. Bowes offers to mortgage his estate for £1600, to be repayed at the end of three years, or the sale to be absolute, "anil for yat the recept of so greate a some will greatlye benefitt me, yf I do redeme my lands, I will, above all interest, at the expiration of the said 3 years, give you £100, in such sort as the same shal be without danger of the statute, and procure you such securytye for payment thereof as shal be to your likeinge; and this nppon myne honour, to take no advantage as I am a gentleman."

+ Joseph Lampton, or Lambton, a member of the family at South Biddick, suffered in defence of his religion during Queen Elisabeth's attempt to extirpate the Catholic priesthood from the land. He was educated at the college at Rheims, from whence he went to the English college at Rome in 1589. Being erdaiped a priest, he was sent to Kngland, whera he was immediately apprehended, tried, and condemned. He suffered at Newcastle in the flower of his age, and in sight of his friends and relatives, on July 27, 1593. Being cut down alive, a felon attempted to rip him up; but his heart failed him, and he chused rather to die than go on with the operation. A butcher from a neighbouring village was then prevailed upon by the/ sheriff to execute the cruel sentence—Challvncr't Memoirs of Missiqnartf Priests, vol. i. page 159.

Lambton, only daughter and heiress of Nicholas Lambton, lately devised this estate, and other considerable property, to Mr. John Dawson, who assumed the name of Lambton. The estate was since sold by auction to the Marquis of Londonderry, who afterwards sold the hall, with a part of the lands, to the Lambtons of Lambton, and they are now occupied by William Henry Lambton, Esq., a younger branch of that family.

The village of South Biddick lies in a low, sequestered situation, and, like most other villages, enjoys the convenience of having joiners, shoemakers, tailors, a blacksmith, and a public house. There is also a boat-builder in the place. This village, says Messrs. Parson and White, in their Directory, "was formerly inhabited by banditti, who set all authority at defiance; nay, the officers of excise were afraid of surveying the two public houses, unless protected by some of the most daring of the colliers, who were rewarded for their trouble. There were in the village about ten shops or houses where contraband spirits were publicly sold without any licence. The press-gang were at one time beat out of the place with the loss of two men, and never more were known to venture into it; for if they were known to be in the neighbourhood, the * Biddickers'' used to sound a horn, the signal for them to fly to arms; fires were lighted in various places; the keels in the river were seized, with which they formed a bridge of communication with Fatfield (another place on the opposite side of the river, equally as lawless as their own), and kept watch and ward till the danger was past; in consequence of which it became a receptacle for such as had violated the laws of their country."*

* Here, it is said, James Drummond, generally styled Duke of Perth, sought shelter and safety after the defeat of Prince Charles at Culloden. James Drummond (6th Earl and 3d Duke of Perth) was born May 11, 1713. As his father had died at Paris in 1717, he was sent at an early age to the college of Douay, from which he was afterwards removed to the Scots college at Paris. About the time of his majority, he returned to Scotland, and seems to have been in some degree under the influence of his mother, Lady Jean Gordon, only daughter of the Duke of Gordon, a woman of great spirit and activity, and warmly attached to the House of Stuart- On going to join the chieftains in 1745, tradition states that he turned round, when losing sight of his seat, and, as if anticipating the result, exclaimed, "Oh! my bonny Drummond Castle, and my bonny lands!" He was first lieutenant-general at the battle of Preston Pans, and commanded at the sieges of Carlisle and Stirling. He commanded the left wing of the army at the decisive battle of Culloden, where he was severely wounded, and fled on horseback from the field; and, according to the common opinion, embarked for France, but died on the passage..

In the Case published by his grandson, Thomas Drummond of New Penshaw, setting forth his claims to the honours and estates of the Earldom of Perth, this statement is denied, and a variety of evidence is adduced to prove that it is unfounded. It is therein stated, that, after the battle, he skulked for some time in disguise about the woods of Drummond Castle, and, as soon as opportunity offered, sailed for Shields, and finally fixed his residence at Biddick. Here he lodged with a pitman named John Armstrong, whose daughter he married. After this event, he removed, under the protection of Nicholas Lambton, Esq., to the " Boat House," adding the profits of a huckster's shop to that of the ferry. Here he died in June, 1782, in the 70th year of his age, and was buried at the chapel of Penshaw. His eldest son, James, was a quiet, timid, inactive man; and, after a laborious life, died February 7> 1823, leaving several sons and daughters, of whom the eldest son is Thomas Drummond, born April 3, 1792, who is the Ciaiinant. The chief proofs and evidences of the identity of the Duke of Perth with his grandfather, rest on the reported declarations of his two daughters, Mrs Ann Atkinson and Mrs Elizabeth Peters. They expressly state, that their father visited Drummond Castle in the garb of a beggar; that he declared the scars on his person were in consequence of wounds received at Culloden; and that they had heard both General Lambton and N. Lambton, Esq., say that they knew he was the rebel Drummond- There is also a quotation from a. letter written to him by his brother, Lord John Drummond, dated April 16, 1747, wherein it is said, "I think you had better come to France, and you would be out of danger, as I find you are living in obscurity at Houghton-le-Spring,—I doubt that is a dangerous place vet," &c. "You say it is reported you died on your passage to France—I hope and trust you will still live in obscurity," &c.

Hagar & Co.'s Directory of the County of Durham, 1851

BIDDICK NORTH, or NORTH BIDDICK, is a village in the township of Usworth, parish of Washington and in the union and ward of Chester-le-Street. It is situated near the Washington railway station, 6 miles west of Sunderland, 4 miles north-east of Chester-le-Street, 6 miles from Gateshead, 9 miles from Durham and 267 miles from London. In the census returns for 1851, it is included with Usworth. Here are saw mills, coke ovens and a manufactory of spades, colliery implements, &c. It has greatly increased within the last few years.

BIDDICK SOUTH is a township, in the Chapelry of Penshaw, parish of Houghton-le-Spring, union of Chester-le-Street and ward of Easington, 4 miles north-east by east of Chester-le-Street, 8 miles from Gateshead, 7 miles from Sunderland, 8 miles from Durham and 266 miles from London; containing, by the census of 1851, 570 inhabitants including Lambton and part of Bourn Moor. In the Boldon Book, this manor was represented as belonging to the see of Durham, of which it was successively held by the Colleyes, the Conyers, Burnynghills, Daldons, Hedworths, Bowes, Tylliols, Colvills and Moresbys. It subsequently passed to a branch of the Lambton family who anciently spelt their name Lampton, but are now extinct. Miss M. Lambton, the last of that family who enjoyed the South Bidick estate, left it by will to John Dawson, who had been in her service and afterwards assumed the name of Dawson Lambton and had a grant of arms. The estate was subsequently sold by auction to the Marquis of Londonderry, who afterwards sold the hall with part of the lands to the Lambtons of Lambton. South Biddick is a sequestered situation and was formerly inhabited by banditti who set all authority at defiance, nay the officers of excise were afraid of surveying the two public houses unless protected by some of the most daring of the colliers who were rewarded for their trouble. There were in the village about ten shops or houses where contraband spirits were publicly sold without any license. The press-gang were at one time beat out of the place with the loss of two men and were never more known to venture into it, for if they were known to be in the neighbourhood, the Bidickers used to sound a horn, the signal for them to fly to arms, fires were lighted in various places, the keels in the rivers were seized with which they formed a bridge of communication with Fatfield (another place on the opposite side of the river equally as lawless as their own) and kept watch and ward till the danger was past. In consequence of which it became a receptacle for those who had violated the laws of their country. It was here that the unfortunate James Drummond, commonly called the Duke of Perth, took refuge after the rebellion of 1745-6, under the protection of Nicholas Lambton Esq., of South Biddick, where he lived in obscurity and concealment till 1782, when he died, and was buried at Penshaw.

CHARTERS HAUGH is a village adjoining Fatfield in the township of Harraton, and parish, union and ward of Chester-le-Street from which place it is three miles north-east. The places of worship are the chapel of ease and a Wesleyan Methodist chapel. In the census returns for 1851 it is included with Harraton.

FATFIELD is a village in the township of Harraton and parish, union and ward of Chester-le-Street from which place it is three miles north-east. The village is situated on the north bank of the Wear, over which there is a ferry, also a number of staithes on the shore belonging to the adjacent collieries. In 1708, 69 persons were killed by an explosion in a coal mine near this village. In the census returns for 1851 it is included with Harraton.

CHARTERS HAUGH

Trades

Atty James, day school

Fawcett Thomas, grocer and cartwright

Forster Joseph, farmer

Hoggart George, victualler, Peareth Arms

Humphrey William, agent, Copperas manufactory

Lindsay George, copperas manufacturer, office, Ayre’s Quay, Sunderland

Neville Thomas, joiner and cabinet maker

Robinson William, commercial clerk

Wanless Luke, farmer

Weatherspoon Thomas, farmer and grazier

FATFIELD

Trades

Cawthorne Frederick, victualler Ferry Boat, and agent

Curry Thomas, overman, Harraton Colliery

Hall Thomas, black and shoeing smith

Harrison Ann, grocer

Harrison John, victualler “Dun Cow”, butcher and grocer

Hay Thomas, staithman

Heslop George, farmer

Hewett Thomas, draper

Humble Joseph, tailor

Hutchinson Valentine, tailor

Hutchinson William, grocer and farmer

Johnson Thomas, carrier

Kirkup Thomas & Co., grocers

Lockie Ann, victualler “Board”, Square

Maughan Henry, victualler, “Shoulder of Mutton” and butcher

Maughan Ralph, butcher

Noble James, grocer

Ramsay Nathan S., cabinet maker

Robinson Benjamin, boot and shoe maker and leather cutter

Robinson John, boot and shoe maker, Long Row

Robson, Joseph, victualler, “Beamish Staith House” and joiner and cabinet maker

Stokoe John, grocer and draper

Swinhoe John, grocer

Turnbull Matthew, colliery agent

Turnbull William, victualler, “Staith House” and engineer

Tweddell John, corn miller

Young Thomas, grocer and draper

HARRATON

Durham Right Hon. the Earl of, Lambton castle

Trades

Lightfoot George, farm bailiff for Messrs Henry Stobbart and Co., Outside hall

Lowrey Joseph, farmer, Ricklington House

Morris William, farmer, Vigo

Stobbart Henry and Co., farmers, Outside hall

Post Office Directory of Northumberland & Durham, 1858

HARRATON is a township, containing the villages of PICTREE, CHATERS HOUGH and FATFIELD. It forms, for ecclesiastical purposes, part of the district parish of Birtley and was formed by an Order in Council in 1850, out of the parish of Chester-le-Street. Chaters Hough is situated 3 miles north-east of Chester-le-Street. There is a Wesleyan chapel here and a school where Divine service is performed on Sundays. Fatfield is situated on the north bank of the river Wear, three miles north-east from Chester-le-Street. Pictree is a hamlet 1½ miles north-east from Chester-le-Street. These townships are comprised in the Chester-le-Street mother parish and poor law union. There are chapels for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists. The population in 1851 was 1,614 and the acreage is 2,394. The soil and subsoil are clay. The Earl of Durham is the lord or the manor and chief landowner. The chief crops are wheat, oats and turnips. A considerable portion of Lambton Park is in this township. The castle and gardens being on the north side of the river Wear are also in the township of Harraton. The collieries here were worked out about 1835.

Drapers

Hewitt T., Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Farmers

Heslop G., Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Grocers and Teadealers

Harrison J., Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Stoker J., Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Leather Cutters

Robinson B., Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Publicans

Board: J. Carr, Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Board: J. Harrison, Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Board: Mrs A. Lockey, Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Ferry Boat: J. Waddell, Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Peareth Arms: W. Winn, Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Shoulder of Mutton: Mrs A. Maughan, Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Wheatsheaf: Mrs E. Henderson, Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Schools (for boys)

Hardy J., Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Shopkeepers

Kirkup & Co., Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Young, T., Fatfield, Chester-le-Street

Kelly's Directory of Durham, 1890

Fatfield, situated on the north bank of the River Wear, 3 miles north-east from Chester-le-Street, 2 south-west from Washington station and 1½ west from Pensher Station on the North Eastern Railway is an ecclesiastical parish formed Oct. 29 1875 from the parishes of Birtley and Chester-le-Street and includes the villages and hamlets of Fatfield, Chartershaugh, North Biddick, Harraton, Nova Scotia, Pelaw and Picktree in the Chester-le-Street division of the county, Chester-le-Street petty sessional division and union, Durham County Court district, rural deanery of Chester-le-Street and archdeaconry and diocese of Durham. The church of St George, built in 1877, at a cost of £4,500, defrayed by the Earl of Durham, is a building of red brick in the Gothic style, consisting of a chancel, nave, north transept, south porch and a small turret with spire at the north-east angle of the nave containing one bell; there are 320 sittings. The register dates from the year 1876. The living is a vicarage, yearly value £300, with residence, in the gift of the Earl of Durham and held since 1876 by the Rev William Samuel Reeman, of St Bees. There are Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels here. A bridge is about to be built across the river Wear here, to a new road now in course of construction which will considerably shorten the route between the Houghton-le-Spring district and Newcastle-on-Tyne. The population in 1881 was 2,227.

Sexton, Robert Robson

Post, M.O.O., S.B. and Annuity & Insurance Office – Mrs Jane Spoors, sub-postmistress. Letters through Washington Station, arrive at 8:15a.m.; dispatched 4:15p.m. Letters for Pelaw and Picktree, by Chester-le-Street. Washington Station is the nearest telegraph office.

National School (mixed & infants), built in 1876 for 400 children; average attendance, 251; Robert H. Jeffries, master; Miss Sarah Scott, infants’ mistress.

North Biddick, formerly a detached portion of Usworth township, was by a Local Government Order, dated December 20, 1880, transferred to Harraton township; it is situated on the north bank of the river Wear, 4 miles north-east from Chester-le-Street and near the Washington station of the North Eastern railway. In this hamlet, on the north bank of the river Wear, are the “Worm Hill” and the site of the “Worm Well,” the principal spots connected with the singular and famous legend of the “Lambton Worm;” the hill is an artificial mound of conical shape; the well, 26 yards distant from the hill, and between it and the river, is now hardly, if at all, traceable.

Fatfield

Reeman Rev. Wm. Samuel, Vicarage

Commercial

Archer John, Dun Cow P.H.

Brown Jane Ann (Mrs.), Ferry Boat Inn, Chartershaugh

Carr Thos. Colliery engineer, Harraton

Hall Thomas, farmer, Fatfield House

Harraton Colliery (Thomas Robson, agent; John Southern, manager)

Humble Jane (Mrs.), grocer and draper

Kirkup Thomas, grocer

Oswald John, boot and shoe maker

Oswald Peter, farmer, Harraton Hall

Ranson Edward, shopkpr., Nova Scotia

Slowther George, Peareth Arms P.H., Chartershaugh

Southern Jn., colliery manager, Harraton

Winship Michael, shopkeeper

Pelaw

Armstrong William, Pelaw House

Reed Thomas, Pelaw Cottage

Picktree

Coxon William Walter, farm bailiff to Earl of Durham

Parkin Charles, builder

North Biddick

Lowton William

McLean William Henry

Berriman John, Biddick Inn

Boiston John, Railway Tavern

Forster & Son, frmrs. Nth. Biddick Farm

Gilhespy Matthew, grocer

Haggan Peter, boot & show maker

Henderson Edward, Victoria P.H.

Hunter Mary Ann (Mrs.), beer retailer

Nicholson George, beer retailer

Walker Isaac, general dealer

Kelly's Directory of Durham, 1914

Fatfield

Reeman Rev Wm. Samuel, Vicarage

Commercial

Archer Mary Ann (Mrs), Dun Cow P.H.

Birtley & District Co-operative Society Limited (branch)

Carr Fras., colliery enginr., Harraton

Hall Thomas, farmer, Fatfield House

Harraton Colliery (George William Minto, manager)

Morris Alexander, farmer, Harraton Hall (letters through Birtley)

Oswald J.H. & Sons, boot & shoe makers

Ranson Edwd, shopkpr, Nova Scotia

Scott Thomas, head gamekeeper to Earl of Durham, Lambton kennels

Todd John, Ferry Boat Inn

Wilson John, hair dresser

Picktree

Cook James Falshaw, Picktree House

Nixon Robert, farm bailiff to Earl of Durham

Oates Frederick, builder

North Biddick

Oxley John J., North Biddick Hall

Berriman James, Biddick Inn

Chester-le-Street Co-operative Industrial Society Limited (branch)

Collins William, Victoria P.H.

Fatfield and District Workmen’s Social Club & Institute Ltd (William Lister, sec.)

Forster George Emmerson, farmer, North Biddick Farm

James Thomas E., Railway Tavern

Lawson Robert, beer retailer

North Biddick Colliery

Scott John, news agent

Smith Thomas, artificial teeth maker

Tuck Frederick, Victoria Bridge Inn

Walton Ernest William, assistant overseer, 20 Wormhill Terrace

Wilson Henry, builder