Hunstanworth, 1848

HUNSTONWORTH, or Hunstanworth, a parish, in the union of Weardale, W. division of Chester ward, N. division of the county of Durham, 8 miles (N. N. W.) from Stanhope; containing 567 inhabitants. The hospital of Kepier seems to have had possessions here for a considerable period prior to the Dissolution, upon which event the estate was granted to William, Lord Paget, the founder of the house of Beaudesert. Nearly one-half of the lands now belong to the trustees of Bishop Crewe's charity, who are lords of the manor. The parish is bounded on the north by the river Derwent, which is formed here by the union of the two rivulets called Beldon beck and Nuckton beck, and which divides it from Northumberland: the Derwent leadmines are principally in the parish. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of R. Capper, Esq., the impropriator, and has a net income of £60. The church is a small neat structure, almost entirely built towards the close of the last century, on the site of a very ancient edifice.