The placename ‘Hunstanworth’ is Old English for ‘Hunstan’s Enclosure’ and indicates that there has been human settlement in the area at least as early as 450 AD. It is mentioned in the 1183 Boldon Book – the Bishop of Durham’s account of labour, money and produce owed to him by custom – and also appears as Hunstanesworde in Special Charters of the Dean and Chapter of Durham in 1195.
The meanings of County Durham placenames are already well documented. But what about the buildings and geographical features that were only locally known in the parish, such as Nonsense and Hard Struggle? They aren’t marked on any map, but they can tell us so much about the area. Even now they are only just within living memory; soon these placenames will be forgotten forever, and the fascinating reasons as to how they earned those names will also be lost.
This section aims to record some of those places and buildings, their purpose and the stories they can tell.
Directory of 1856
You can find the History, Topography and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham, Whellan, William and Co 1856 here.
