Shadforth, 1848

SHADFORTH, a chapelry, in the parish of Pittington, S. division of Easington ward, union, and N. division of the county, of Durham, 4½ miles (E. by S.) from Durham; containing 2,000 inhabitants. It consists of the township of Shadforth and one-half of that of Sherburn, comprising by computation 3,000 acres. The surface is varied, and marked by long ridges of hills, with valleys intervening; the soil in the vales is of a productive kind, but very inferior on the higher land. The greater portion of the population is employed in collieries, the coal being abundant and of the best quality; and there are several quarries of limestone, which is used for building purposes and for the roads, and also burned into lime. The York and Newcastle railway passes near. The living is a perpetual curacy, endowed with the rectorial tithes of Shadforth and Pittington townships, and in the patronage of the Dean and Chapter of Durham: the tithes have been commuted for £266, and the glebe consists of about 12 acres. The chapel or church is a neat structure in the early English Style, erected in 1839, at an expense of £1,100, and containing 500 sittings, of which all are free: it is dedicated to St. Cuthbert. There are places of worship for Independents, Primitive Methodists, and Wesleyans. One of the towers of an ancient castellated mansion which belonged to Walter de Ludworth, still remains.