Bishopric and Cathedral Estates (16th-20th centuries)
| The bishops of Durham and the Cathedral each owned extensive estates and manors in County Durham and Northumberland, as well as in Allertonshire and some other parts of Yorkshire. In addition to detailing the administration of the church's substantial agricultural and industrial resources, these manorial records include the property transactions of leasehold and copyhold tenants, many of whose names and family relationships would otherwise remain unrecorded. Such records can also inform our understanding of community life, and provide fine detail on particular properties and buildings, including many 19th-century maps. Guides to tracing the history of a property using these collections are available. Until 1733 such records are in Latin. Even earlier manorial documents can be found in the Palatinate of Durham records series held in The National Archives, and which date back to the 14th century: microfilm copies of these are also held in our search room. Records relating to Cathedral estates are held at 5 The College in the Cathedral Close.
Bishopric Estates records | Halmote Court records description | Guide to Cathedral records | 
Southwick detail of a Cathedral estate plan of Monkwearmouth, Southwick and Fulwell townships, with leaseholders' names. Surveyor: J. Mowbray. Scale: 8 chains to an inch. 1779. Ref: DCD/E/AA/4/1. |