Great Stainton Parish, 1848

STAINTON, GREAT (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Sedgefield, N. E. division of Stockton ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 6 miles (N.E. by N.) from Darlington; containing, with the township of Elstob, 150 inhabitants, of whom 128 are in the township of Stainton. This place, called also Stainton-le-Street, derived that name from its situation on a Roman vicinal road leading from Old Durham and Mainsforth, through Bradbury, Mordon, and Sadberge, to the ford across the river Tees at Sockburn. The parish occupies elevated ground commanding extensive views of the sea and the Cleveland hills, and comprises 1948a. 36p., of which two-thirds are arable, and the remainder meadow and pasture; the soil is generally of a strong clayey quality. The village is situated on the road to Sedgefield, and the western branch of the Clarence railway passes through the township of Elstob. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £12. 13. 4., and in the patronage of the Crown; the tithes have been commuted for £283. 3.; the glebe comprises 47 acres. The church is situated on rising ground to the west of the village, and is a neat structure consisting of a nave and chancel: the parsonage-house is a commodious residence, fronting the south. A school was founded and endowed in 1749, by the Rev. Thomas Nicholson, and has since received several donations, chiefly from the trustees of Lord Crewe's charities.