2,925 baptisms at Washington Holy Trinity in Chester-le-Street district, from the beginning of the register in 1600 to the end of 1767.

These are from H.M. Wood’s transcript with some checking against the parish register, where Wood’s transcript was found to be accurate. No baptisms exist for 1606-1611, 1616, 1621-24, 1626-28, 1633, 1638, or 1641, and the earliest baptisms appear to have been copied from other documents and some dates are unclear. From Wood’s comments at the beginning of this transcript: “In consulting this register, it is necessary to observe that the entries during a long period, especially from 1603-1660, are transposed & interpolated; many of them have been traced over with fresh ink by a later hand and many of them are not original entries at all but copies from other documents now lost. Long lists of entries have evidently been made at one and the same time by the same hand, as if they were a compilation from an older register.”

These baptisms were all in Latin, so we have translated them to English, in most cases leaving the Latin and English forms of the names for you to see. Many dates were expressed as feast days or saint’s days, so the dates have been added in square brackets, and the pre-1752 Jan-Mar dates have been converted to the modern dating system (i.e. Jan 1633 following Dec 1633 becomes Jan 1634).  We have also annotated some place names in square brackets to help you understand where the place is in today’s terms. Abodes mentioned in this set include Barmston, Biddick, Biddick Burn, Cat Dean, Coxgreen, Great Usworth aka Magna Osworth, Houghton le Spring, High Farm House, Leam Spring House, Little Usworth aka Parva Osworth, the Mount, Mount Stables, North Biddick, New Houses, Offerton Haugh, Oxclose, Red Row, Springwell House, Washington, Washington Wood, Washington Windmill, Washington Woodside, Whitley Burn House, and Woodhouse.

Before Apr 1669, the only parent named in Washington baptisms was the father. The first mothers appear in April 1669 and appear fairly consistently until 1723, when they start disappearing and then appear only occasionally until July 1755, after which they appear in most baptisms to the end of 1758 and then disappear again, appearing in only a handful of baptisms in the 1759-1767 period. Abodes and father’s occupations start appearing in July 1729 and appear fairly consistently until 1737, when occupations become sporadic until mid-1767 when they become consistent again.

Examples:

• 15 Feb 1600 Barbara Harle, daughter of Thomoe [Thomas] Harle
• 14 Oct 1649 Agnes Margaret Macarre, daughter of Alex’r Macarre, Sun[day]
• [25] Apr 1669 Radolphus [Ralph] Bracke, son of Roberti & Annoe [Ann] Bracke, festo St Marci
• 29 Nov 1702 Joh’es [John] Galley, of Off[erton] Constab., son of Gulielmi [William] & Annoe [Ann] Galley
• 24 Aug 1726 George Brough, son of Robert & Dorothy Brough
• 8 Jun 1755 Ruth Steel, of Cat Dean, daughter of James Steel
• 9 Oct 1763 Abraham [Wylam/Hall], bastard child of Richard Wylam (jun’r, farmer) & Elizabeth Hall, by her Master
• 6 Sep 1767 Matthew Clavering, of N Bidd [North Biddick], son of Ralph Clavering (pit’n [pitman])

We now have baptisms at Washington from the beginning of 1600 to the end of 1847.