Although "Foletesbi" was granted by Geoffrey, bishop of Durham (1133-40) to Thorald of London, the latter also acknowledged the prior and convent as lord. At the same time it appears to have been given to the prior and convent by Bishop Puiset (1153-94), who specified its boundary with Boldon, and also by Robert fitzRoger. Greenwell suggests, not very convincingly, that it was perhaps a new vill which had been carved out of the moor earlier in the C12. Thereafter it was held from the prior and convent usually by one tenant or his heirs - heirs of John of Farnacres in 1346, Sir William Hylton in 1419 by socage, Roger Thornton of Newcastle in 1430 by military service and suit of the prior's court, and in ?1464 (by then inherited by the Lumleys?) for 10s p.a. They alienated it to Baron Hylton before 1539, had the prior and convent lost it before the Dissolution? The estate was split up at the dispersal of the Hylton lands in 1750, and in 1755 there were 3 farms. The above grid square includes the farms of North and South Follingsby.

Geophysical survey and evaluation around the modern farmhouse failed to produce any evidence for early occupation. Excavation on the 19th century farmhouse is planned.

In 2019 an archaeological watching brief was conducted at South Follingsby Farm in advance of development. The watching brief was conducted in the eastern part of the site. Over 13m of a truncated squared sand stone block, wall foundations were identified. The wall was constructed on a north-east to south-west alignment with up to three courses surviving. Walls were identified alongside the eastern side of the foundations. These were constructed out of unworked sandstone blocks of variable shapes and sizes. Floors associated with the walls had rough rubble stone block surfaces with smaller sub-rounded stones. Two pits containing animal bones were also recorded. In the pond area of the site, 12 machine sawn timber posts on a north-west to south-east alignment. The posts were set in concrete black cinder/clinker. These may represent the position of a former boundary. A low-level strip was also conducted to find evidence of earlier features. A north-west to south east linear cut feature which contained animal bones and a sherd of green glazed pottery was encountered. In 2019 an excavation was also conducted at South Follingsby Farm. The excavation targeted the location of the 19th-century South Follingsby Farmstead. Four ranges of the farmstead and the central courtyard were excavated. The excavations provided the opportunity to understand the level of preservation of the building and the functions of the different rooms. Few structural remains remained of the west and north range due to modern truncation. An extension adjacent to the north range was identified. The south range comprised of a rectangular building. A circular ring with a diameter of 7.7m was identified mid-way along the southern wall. This was filled with ash, cinder and small stones. This feature was interpreted as the circular path walked by a horse turning a gingang. There was no structural evidence related to the presence of a gingang except for the presence of two worked sandstone blocks. Concrete foundations for a structure built over the site of the gingang were also identified. Dated C12th.

The earliest reference to a mill, not specifically described, at Heworth is 1279. The first reference to a windmill was 1354-5 when 21d was spent on the repair of its sailyards. By 1373 there were 2 mills here, a watermill and a windmill, and both were let for a term of 9 years to a group of 7. In 1380 the windmill was let for a year. The prior and convent still had 2 mills at Heworth in 1464. The location of this mill is a guess: the high ground near Upper Heworth seems a likely site. Dated C14th.

The manor of Felling was an estate of 220 acres carved out of Heworth waste in the C13 by the prior and convent of Durham, and given to Walter de Selby. The manor lay between the Mereburn (the boundary with Gateshead on the west) and the Blakburn (the boundary with Heworth on the east), "now a mere sewer, running through the modern village of Felling". The manor was held, in order, by the Selbys, who eventually forfeited the estate, Ralph de Epplyngden and, from 1331, by the Surtees family, by military service, suit of court, and 40s p.a. By 1605 it was in the hands of Robert Brandling. The above grid ref is to Felling Hall, as marked on 1st ed. OS 6". Surtees noted that it was suffering from mining subsidence in 1820, and it does not now exist. Was this the medieval site? The post-medieval village of Felling presumably had an industrial origin. Dated C13th.

Both Heworths are mentioned in Henry II's confirmation of the property to the prior and convent of Durham, and both are regularly listed in the bursar's accounts as paying tithes to Jarrow. A C14 rental lists 23 named tenants in Upper Heworth, two of whom were millers and one a reeve. They held 11 tofts and 10 cottages. In 1424 there were 12 bondage holdings, and in 1539 the village was held by 4 men, a half, a quarter, and 2 sharing a quarter. In 1580 there were 8 tenements held between 4, and some evidence of developing industry with 2 quarries. The first ed. OS 6" map appears to show a settlement reduced to 2 farms and a P.H. lying at the junction of High Heworth Lane and the road (now Albion Street) from Windy Nook. Dated C12th.

Both Heworths are mentioned in Henry II's confirmation of their property to the prior and convent of Durham, and both are regularly listed in the bursar's accounts as paying tithes to Jarrow. A C14 rental lists 15 named tenants in Nether Heworth, one of whom was a miller, also the smith of the vill and the messor. They held 16 tofts and 2 cottages. In 1424 there were 12 cotmen. In the early19th century Heworth was arranged on 3 sides of a triangle through which passed the road from Jarrow to join the road from Felling to Boldon. Degradation of the village plan began with the railway, and today the great roundabout covers the western half of the village, and the church is quite cut off. Only the 18th century hall is a visible marker of the SE quarter of Nether Heworth. Dated C12th.

Heworth was one of the manors of the Prior and Convent of Durham: how they acquired it is unknown. In 1279 (earliest reference) it was leased out for 27 years, and was described as lying west of Colepath, from Heworth dam where Colepath begins, to the water of Tyne, with the Saltmeadows below the Haynyng. There are references to a tithe grange (1396), a grange (1401-68), and a bovaria (1344) On the strength of the Church Commission map Fielding equates it with Heworth Grange, shown on 1st ed. OS 6" in the fork formed by the junction of the roads from Low Felling and High Felling (High Lane), today on the south side of the Felling Bypass and built over. Dated C13th.

The earliest reference to a mill, not specifically described, at Heworth is 1279. By 1373 there were two mills here, a watermill and a windmill. In the bursar's account of 1373-4 the watermill is described as waste and therefore producing no rent, though in the same account the bursar paid the tenant for its repair. Slightly contradictorily, in 1373 in the Halmote Court all the tenants of the two Heworths were required to repair the roof of the mill. In the same year 7 people leased both mills for a term of 9 years. The prior and convent still had two mills at Heworth in 1464. Location uncertain, but note that in 1539 there was a watermill at Over Heworth. Dated C14th.

The Popplin Well ("effervescent?"), on Gateshead Fell, is listed in the unclassified section by Honeyman in his note, but he adds no further information.

"The Chill Well on Gateshead Fell, where the king's justices in eyre met the lords of the franchises of Durham, Hexhamshire, Tyndale and Redesdale, who claimed freedom from his jurisdiction. The well was used as a convenient landmark, but does not seem to have been considered holy. (Northumb. Assize Rolls (1279), Surtees Soc. vol. 88, pp. 358-9". Dated C13th.

Welford notes one mention of this well: 1403: a tenement bounded on the south by a spring called St. Marywell. Source 2 cites only Welford, but then gives a date of 1330. Dated C14th.