Low Dinsdale Parish, 1848

DINSDALE, LOW (St. John), a parish, in the union of Darlington, S.W. division of Stockton ward, S. division of the county of Durham, 5 miles (S.E. by E.) from Darlington; containing 169 inhabitants. This parish, which is separated by the river Tees from the county of York, comprises by measurement 1,082 acres, whereof 643 are arable, 265 pasture and meadow, and 40 woodland: the soil in the higher lands is a strong clay; near the Tees it is rich and fertile. The river here runs over a bed of red sand, which is sometimes raised for building purposes. The Stockton and Darlington railway passes through a remote part of the parish, where is a station. A sulphureous well was discovered in 1789, at the depth of seventy-two feet from the surface; it received the name of Dinsdale Spa, and has become a place of resort during the summer season. The spa is surrounded by a beautiful plantation, which westward extends nearly a mile along the margin of the Tees, intersected with shady walks; and above the plantation, and immediately behind the spa, is the Dinsdale hotel. About two miles up the Tees are the remains of an old bath, the water of which is of a sulphureous quality; below the village is a productive salmon-fishery. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £4. 11. 5½., and in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Durham: the tithes have been commuted for £194, and there are 70 acres of land in the parish of Hurworth, and 2 in Middleton, belonging to the living, and also a glebe-house. Francis Place, the painter, was born here; he died at York in 1728.