Durham Diocesan Records

This collection contains the records of the central administration of the Church of England within the diocese of Durham. These records relate to the following. 

• Formal duties carried out by (or in the name of) the Bishop of Durham, in relation to clergy, parishes, churches etc (Episcopal administration, ref DDR/EA)
• Work of the Diocesan Synod (and before it, of Diocesan Conference), of the committees that own and administer diocesan property, finances etc, and of societies that are closely associated with the diocese (Diocesan administration, ref DDR/DA)
• Functions of the bishop's Chancellor (i.e. judge), in connection with marriage licences, faculties for church alterations and other judicial matters in the bishop's Consistory Court (Jurisdiction and courts, ref DDR/EJ)
• Formal oversight of the clergy and parishes within the diocese by the bishops, exercised by a process called visitation(Visitation and oversight, ref DDR/EV)
• Work of the bishop's own staff, dealing with more personal concerns and duties carried out by the bishop in person or relating to his household and estates (BIshops’ Office records, ref DDR/BP)
• Records of other central diocesan officials, including archdeacons, rural deans and the officials responsible for the peculiar jurisdictions of the Bishop of Durham and of Durham Cathedral; (ref DDR/A,D,P)
• Some non-diocesan material deposited for safe-keeping in the Diocesan Registry (within DDR/EA/RGN)

Records generated by individual Church of England parishes are not held among the Durham Diocesan Records, but by the relevant County Record Office. See under related collections below for information on separate collections of records associated with the Bishop of Durham and the Church of England.

Geographical scope and jurisdictions covered by the collection

Until 1882, the Diocese of Durham covered an area roughly coterminous with the historic counties of Durham and Northumberland, together with the parish of Alston (with Garrigill and Nenthead chapelries) in Cumberland, and Girsby and Over Dinsdale in Yorkshire (part of Sockburn parish). There were two exceptions to these neat boundaries (until 1837). 

• Crayke in North Yorkshire formed a detached part of Durham diocese.
• Hexham and Hexhamshire, though within Northumberland, formed a detached part of York diocese.

In addition, there were a few areas which were subject for certain purposes to the jurisdiction of someone other than the relevant diocesan bishop (until 1846). These purposes typically included the proving of wills, granting of marriage licences and rights of visitation. These special or peculiar jurisdictions were as follows (see DDR/P catalogue for full details):

• Thockrington in Northumberland (a peculiar of a canon of York Cathedral)
• Northallerton and Allertonshire in North Yorkshire (peculiars of the Bishop of Durham, and of the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral)
• Howden and Howdenshire in East Yorkshire (a peculiar of the Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral)

In 1882, the diocese was divided. The newly created Newcastle diocese embraced the whole of the historic county of Northumberland, together with Alston and its chapelries in Cumberland. The diocese of Durham then became roughly co-terminous with the historic (pre-1974) County Durham. Several series of loose items were split at this stage, so that some pre-1882 material was transferred to Newcastle diocese (and is now at Northumberland Archives). Details are given within the detailed catalogues.

Constituent parts of the diocese

The Diocese of Durham is part of the Church of England Province of York, and consists of several closely-interrelated (but autonomous) bodies. 

• The Bishop of Durham leads the church within the diocese, and undertakes spiritual functions for which episcopal orders are required (such as ordinations, confirmations and consecrations).
• The Spiritual Chancellor is the judge within the bishop's consistory court, where matters subject to his spiritual jurisdiction are considered. These include ecclesiastical concerns (such as clergy discipline, granting of licences for marriages where banns have not been published, and faculties for alterations to church buildings and consecrated churchyards), but also matters previously considered religious but now dealt with in secular (civil) courts (such as, until the 19th century, proving of wills, upholding marital contracts and rights, and many forms of defamation or slander).
• The Synod (since 1970) or Conference (1929-1970) is akin to a 'parliament' for the diocese. Its principle committee is called the Board of Finance, which owns all diocesan property and is a charitable body in its own right. Most of the non-episcopal administration of the diocese is carried out by this and by the other boards and committees that report to Synod.

The collection has been arranged following the pattern outlined within Contents above.

Items under 30 years old may only be produced if a reader has obtained permission to see them from the depositor (consult library staff for details of where to seek permission for specific items), except for items in the public domain which are made available with no closure period. Longer closure periods apply for certain classes of documents, usually to protect sensitive personal data.

The Durham Diocesan Records relate to all parts of the central diocesan structures, as summarised above. They have been deposited by the following officers (details are included within the catalogues listed below). 

• The Diocesan Registrar is appointed by the bishop, as registrar to both bishop and chancellor, and also acts as registrar to the Synod. The Registrar holds the bishop's seal and is the legal officer for the diocese. Most of the Durham Diocesan Records have been deposited by Registry staff on behalf of the Registrar, notably almost all the records in sections DDR/EA, DDR/EJ, DDR/P, most of DDR/EV/VIS, and parts of the other sections. The earliest deposit dates from c.1948, with additional deposits made frequently since.
• The Bishop's Chaplain, also known as the Senior or Domestic Chaplain, heads the Bishop's Office (within Auckland Castle), and undertakes work in which the bishop is personally involved. The bishop's chaplain or secretary has deposited most of the records within the section DDR/BP, and the clergy visitation returns within DDR/EV/RET. The first deposit from the bishop's office was made in 1973, with many additional deposits since.
• The Diocesan Secretary is secretary to both Synod and the Board of Finance. Based at the Diocesan Office (at Cuthbert House, Stonebridge, Durham), the Diocesan Secretary has deposited much of the material within the Diocesan Administration section (DDR/DA).
• Other diocesan committees are also supported by the Diocesan Office, and parts of section DDR/DA have been deposited by officers of those committees (notably the DIocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches, DDR/DA/DAC).
• Some diocesan societies are run independently (but supported by the Diocesan Office), and parts of section DDR/DA/ORG have been deposited by officers of those societies (notably the Durham Lesotho Link).
• The Director of Education and her/his staff (based at Church House in North Shields, as part of a Joint Education Team with Newcastle diocese) have deposited the Board of Education records within DDR/DA/EDU.
• Offices of the relevant Archdeacons have deposited the more recent records of archdeacons within DDR/A (older ones having been deposited by the Diocesan Registrar).
• The Warden of Auckland Castle (employed by the Church Commissioners, before Auckland Castle was transferred to the Auckland Castle Trust) has deposited some of the Auckland Castle estate records within DDR/BP/EST.

Transfers of stray items from the Durham Diocesan Records have also been received from Durham Cathedral Library, the Borthwick Institute for Archives, Durham County Record Office and Northumberland County Record Office.

Fuller background information on the Diocese of Durham and its constituent parts and functions is included within the online Administrative Histories for the Durham Diocesan Records.

Detailed catalogues of the collection are available as follows: 

• Episcopal Administration (DDR/EA) (excluding clergy and layworkers' papers)
• Clergy and layworkers' papers (DDR/EA/CL)
• Jurisdiction and courts (DDR/EJ) (excluding marriage licence and faculty records)
• Marriage licence bonds and allegations (DDR/EJ/MLA/1)
• Faculty papers (DDR/EJ/FAC/3)
• Visitation and oversight (DDR/EV)
• Bishops' Office records (DDR/BP)
• Diocesan administration (DDR/DA)
• Archdeacons and archdeaconries (DDR/A)
• Rural deans and deaneries (DDR/D)
• Peculiar jurisdictions (DDR/P)

Borthwick Institute for Archives, University of York: York Diocesan Archives

Church of England Record Centre, London: records of the central administrative bodies of the Church of England

Durham County Record Office: most of the surviving records for ecclesiastical parishes in County Durham (including parish registers of baptisms, marriages and burials)

Durham Cathedral Library: archive collections include bishops' papers (Van Mildert, Henson, Ian Ramsey and Lightfoot Trustees). The J.J. Howe, Christopher Hunter, James Raine and Sir Cuthbert Sharp manuscripts contain either related material or strays from and transcripts of material within the Durham Diocesan Records

Northumberland County Archives Service: Newcastle Diocesan Records

Northumberland Archives Service: most of the surviving parish records for ecclesiastical parishes in the historic county of Northumberland (including most of the surviving original parish registers of baptisms, marriages and burials)

National Archives, Kew: Palatinate of Durham Records

Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Head of Archives and Special Collections (e-mail PG.Library@durham.ac.uk) and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. The Library will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Parts of this collection were previously referenced separately, as follows. See also lists of previous accession references within the Administrative Histories guide. 

• AUC: Records deposited by the Bishops' chaplains, and originating from (or kept within) the Bishops' office within Auckland Castle, were until 2011 part of the separate Auckland Castle Episcopal Records collection. See notes within the catalogue of the DDR/BP section for further details.
• DDBFR: Until 1995, records deposited by the Board of Finance (DDR/DA/FIN and other parts of DDR/DA) were referenced as a separate collection.
• DDBER: Until 1995, records deposited by the Board of Education (DDR/DA/EDU) were referenced as a separate collection.
• DDR Lesotho: Records of the Durham-Lesotho LINK (DDR/DA/ORG/1) were until 2011 referenced by 'Lesotho' accession numbers.

Frequent accruals are received, generally annually from the Diocesan Registry, ca. quarterly from the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches, and less regularly from the offices of the archdeacons or other parts of the diocese.

• Add MSS 866-867, diary of Thomas Chaytor, Durham diocesan registrar, early 17th century
• Booth & Lazenby Papers (BLP)
• Church Commission Deposit of Durham Parsonage House Plans and Benefice and Chapelry Income Papers (CCP)
• Cosin Letter Books (CLB)
• Durham Cathedral Archives (DCD)
• Durham Probate Records (DPR)
• Gibson Volumes: GBV 1
• Hayton, Lee and Braddock (Architects) Records (HLB)
• Hudleston Papers: these include a biographical card index re clergy of the Northern Province of the Church of England, 16th-20th centuries (HUD)
• Small Gifts and Deposits: various items, including SGD 40 (papers of H.C. Ferens, Durham diocesan registrar)
• Wood Plans and Drawings (WOD)

• Palatinate of Durham Records (PAL)

• Church Commission Deposit of Durham Bishopric Financial and Estate Records (CCB)
• Durham Bishopric Halmote Court Records, chiefly re copyhold properties (DHC)
• Smiths Gore Papers, land agents to Church Commissioners (SMG)
• Small Gifts and Deposits: SGD 93/1-2, two vouchers re Auckland Castle etc, 1796-1797

• Van Mildert Papers (VMP)
• Thorp Correspondence, of Charles Thorp, archdeacon of Durham and warden of the University of Durham (THO)
• Clavering of Greencroft MSS: CLV 458-479, papers of the Archdeacon of Northumberland, the Bishop of Durham, and the Bishop's agent, 1721-1809
• University of Durham Records (UND)

See the bibliography section of the online Administrative Histories for the Durham Diocesan Records for a general bibliography, and the separate catalogues listed above for editions of specific items.