Mainsforth | |
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![]() Mainsforth | |
Location within County Durham | |
Civil parish | |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Mainsforth is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bishop Middleham, in the County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. [1] It is to the east of Ferryhill. The earliest settlement in Mainsforth may have been on Marble (Narble Hill). It has been suggested, without great historical foundation, that this was a Danish settlement. In 1961 the parish had a population of 229. [2] From medieval times through to the early twentieth century the village was in effect a small collection of farms and farm workers' cottages.
Mainsforth Hall was a significant building in the centre of this small village, until its demolition in the 1960s. The hall was for many years the dwelling of the Surtees family. A notable member of the family was Robert Surtees (1779–1834), a County Durham historian. [3]
Mainsforth Colliery, active from 1872-1968, lay between the village and Ferryhill Station.
The name Mainsforth is of Old English origin. The second element is ford . The first is unknown, but may be one of the personal-names Maino or Maegen. [4]
Mainsforth was formerly a township in the parish of Bishop-Middleham, [5] from 1866 Mainsforth was a civil parish in its own right, [6] on 1 April 1983 the parish was abolished and merged with Bishop Middleham and Ferryhill. [7]