Tunstall village

First mentioned in 1183, in c.1382 there were 13 named tenants, 14 messuages, 1 cottage, a windmill and a common oven. Probably in the late 16th century the township was divided in two, - one half being held by 1 tenant, the other half, with 3 tenants, remaining undivided. Enclosure was completed in 1671 when the village consisted of 6 sets of farm buildings plus 10 cottages (most on the north side of the green), and had a windmill, a common well (in Ox pasture), lime kilns and limestone quarries. Originally a 2-row green village of oval outline, with a back lane along the north side, by the 17th century it had shrunk to little more than the north row, the south row being largely empty and described as "old walls". In 1856 the village seems to have consisted of just 4 farms and a smithy. Whellan's trade directory (1856) lists Tunstall as containing 8701 acres and with a rateable value of £1221. in 1801 it contained 53 inhabitants; in 1811, 50; in 1821, 64; in 1831, 75; in 1841, 64; and in 1851, 70 inhabitants. Inhabitants in 1856 included Robert Craggs (blacksmith) and John Gregson Huntley a potato dealer who lived at Tunstall Hill farm. All the lands in the township in 1856 were held by lease under the see of Durham; the principal lease holders are William Dawson, Esq., Edward Dale, Esq., John Gregson, Esq., J.M.Ogden, Esq., and Thomas Benson, Esq (Whelan). An evaluation on Paddock Lane in 2013 revealed heavily disturbed deposits and modern brick.