Bishopwearmouth, Church of St. Michael

HER Number:
161

District:
Sunderland

Site Name:
Bishopwearmouth, Church of St. Michael

Place:
Bishopwearmouth

Map Sheet:
NZ35NE

Class:
Religious Ritual and Funerary

Site Type: Broad:
Church

Site Type: Specific:
Parish Church

General Period:
Medieval

Specific Period:
C12?

Form of Evidence:
Extant Building

Description:
A pre-Conquest church here has been suggested on the basis of an early documentary reference to South Wearmouth, supposed Saxon stones found on the site, the appearance of the tower in an antiquarian illustration and various written and pictorial descriptions. However, while written descriptions suggest 12th century and later features, a pre-Conquest church is not supported by the evidence currently available. Successive rebuildings have removed most of medieval fabric. LISTED GRADE 2*

Easting:
3928

Northing:
5695

Grid Reference:
NZ39285695

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 161 >> W. Hutchinson, 1787, The History of...Durham, Vol. II, pp. 511-13 R. Surtees, 1816, The History of...Durham, Vol. I, pp. 227-232 W. Fordyce, 1857, The History of...Durham, Vol. II, pp. 428-435 T.J. McKitterick, 1923, Bishopwearmouth Church J.W. Corder, 1951, Bishopwearmouth Church, Antiquities of Sunderland, Vol. XX (1932-43), pp. 48-56 H.L. Robson, 1973, Seating and Seat-Holders in Bishopwearmouth Parish Church 1632 & 1658, Antiquities of Sunderland Vol. XXV (1970-73), pp. 26-39 G. New, 1976, Bishopwearmouth Parish Church Churchwarden's Accounts 1661-1671, Antiquities of Sunderland, Vol. XXVI (1974-76), pp. 47-67 N. Pevsner & E. Williamson, 1983, The Buildings of England, County Durham p. 451 T. Corfe & G. Milburn, 1984, Buildings and Beliefs, pp. 6-7 P. Nicol, 1988, Bishopwearmouth Church 1790-1981, Durham County Local History Society Bulletin, 40 (May 1988), pp. 4-42 H.M. Wood, 1903, Notes on the Rectors of Bishopwearmouth from A.D. 1200 to 1900, Antiquities of Sunderland, Vol. II, 29-71; Peter Ryder, 2011, Historic Churches of County Durham, p74