Villages and Parishes

Presents the case study used for this book. This study of social and economic development examines three neighbouring villages in the bishopric of Durham: Bishop Middleham, Cornforth, and Sedgefield, and with several smaller settlements and farms were two ecclesiastical parishes. In the part of County Durham most resembling southern England, with nucleated settlements and manorialized open fields, and close to several towns, they provide a counterpoint to the development of mining villages such as Whickham in the northern part of the county. Their growth offers a contrast to depictions of northern England as poor and different from southern England. Each village evolved slightly differently, demonstrating the complexity of rural development and its dependence not only on local contexts and institutions but also on individuals.