South Church, County Durham

South Church
St. Andrew's parish church
South Church Location within County Durham
OS grid reference	NZ217284
Unitary authority	County Durham
Ceremonial county	County Durham
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Durham
Fire	County Durham and Darlington
Ambulance	North East
List of places UK England County Durham 54°39′03″N1°39′52″W / 54.6507°N 1.6645°W / 54.6507; -1.6645

South Church is a village just south of Bishop Auckland in County Durham, England.

St Andrew's church is the largest church in County Durham ^{[1] [2]} and a Grade I listed building. The church was built in the thirteenth century and acted as a collegiate church. ^[3] The astronomer and mathematician Thomas Wright was buried in the churchyard of St Andrew's after his death in 1786.

The area between the River Gaunless and the Bishop Auckland town boundary is currently unparished, but 2023 proposals recommend taking this area into the town. However, the village spills across the Gaunless into Dene Valley parish, so that part is parished already.

South Church railway station opened in 1842 but was in operation for only about three years. ^[4] Nowadays the area is served by Bishop Auckland railway station.

References

1. Hutchinson 2005 , p. 70
2. Pevsner, Nikolaus; Elizabeth Williamson (1985), County Durham, The Buildings of England (2 ed.), Penguin, p. 411, ISBN   978-0-14-071009-0
3. Hutchinson, Tom (2005), The History of Bishop Auckland, Seaham: The People's History, p. 4, ISBN   978-1-902527-59-8
4. Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 215. ISBN   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.