In the north-west angle formed by Easedale Gardens and the Pelaw Main wagonway, on Ravensworth Golf Course, there is a raised platform "with a typically rounded Roman corner. The top of the platform has medieval rig and furrows and one side has been landscaped away. The prominent corner is full of stone". There appears to be a bank round the top of the two visible sides. The site is close to the junction of two Roman roads, Chester-le-Street to the Tyne, and the Wrekendyke.

"A 4th century Roman coin (Emperor's name not given) found in the garden of 77 Lynthorpe by G. Jackson in 1963". Dated C4.

With 16 farmers holding 25 oxgangs (each of 12 acres) this was a substantial village in the late C12. By c. 1380 5 bond tenants held a total of 14 messuages and 22 bovates (each of 12 acres). Does this suggest shrinkage even then, and amalgamation of holdings? In the early C15 the manor of Morton was held by the Lumleys; in the late C15 the bishop leased the manor or vill of Morton to Richard Errington; in 1525 Wolsey leased the manor and grange to Richard Belasyse, and Sir Richard Belasis held the "Manor Farme or Towne of Morton" in 1647 when it was described as already enclosed. In the late C17/early 18th century the estate was sold to John Lambton. Today it is a single farm, with a large stone farmhouse and some unimpressive farm buildings. Whelan (1856) lists the township as having a population in 1801 of 188; in 1811, 251; in 1821, 308; in 1831, 295; in 1841, 185 and in 1851, 185 souls. The lord of the manor and principal landowner is Earl of Durham. Dated C12th.

The earliest documentary reference is 1112. At the time of Boldon Buke (a 1183 survey of land belonging to the Bishop of Durham, Hugh du Puiset) Houghton (Ottona) was clearly an important centre of the Bishop's estate, - 13 cotmen, 3 half cotmen, bailiff, smith, carpenter, pounder, with work services owed from other vills. Temp. Hatfield's Survey 4 free tenants, 23 tenants of demesne lands, extensive bond lands and exchequer lands, watermill, brewhouse, oven, onetime forge. Described by Surtees as one of the great copyhold manors of the see of Durham, as well as the centre of an extensive parish. Originally a substantial village, still showing its C17 and 18th century prosperity, on an E-W axis. At the W end is the rectory, separated from the church by the main road from Durham, then the church on the N side of Church Street, in the centre Quality Hill (now Nesham Place) with Houghton Hall on its SW corner, and at the E end, awkwardly attached, Market Place. In 1483 Bishop Dudley granted leave to the rector “to enclose and fortify and embattle a tower” (removed in the late 18th century). In 1574 the Kepier Grammar School was founded and built, and in 1668 the Davenport and Lilburne almshouses were constructed. By 1794 Houghton-le-Spring township has a population of 996 persons in 225 families. Further expansion led to the establishment of a weekly market by 1825; around the same time there were 21 inns and public houses, 2 beer shops and a large brewery on the Durham road. In 1829 Houghton Colliery opened employing over one thousand people. Whelan (1856) lists the township as having a population in 1801 of 996; in 1811, 1356; in 1821, 2905; in 1831, 3917; in 1841, 3433 and in 1851, 4075 souls. By 1891 the population had risen to 37, 921 on account of the collieries and quarries in the area. The landowners in 1856 were the Earl of Durham, Marchioness of Londonderry, the Hon. And Rev. John Grey, Thomas Robinson, M.D.C. Moneypenny and Mr Back. Terraced housing was built on the north side of the town. Large handsome houses were built on Nesham Place. Houghton Feast is an annual festival which has been enjoyed every October for 800 years. Bernard Gilpin introduced the roasting of an ox to the festival in the 16th century. Today Newbottle Street is the main street. Originally called Newbottle Lane, the shops were all on the east side. The properties on the west side were not added until 1907. Newbottle Street became prominent after Sunderland Street was demolished in the 1960s to build the A690. Dated C12th.

In origin Rainton manor was part of the ancient estate of St. Cuthbert. The property of the prior and convent of Durham, it was usually called Rainton manor. It was, however, specifically described as the manor of "Estrainton", let for 5 pounds p.a., in the bursar's account of 1365-6. A cursory examination of the bursar's accounts for 1345-81 suggests that this manor was usually let, but at the time of the Black Death it was in hand and run by a sergeant (1349- 52), and in 1350-1 there is record of the building of a new grange there.

"Moreslawe", which Greenwell believed originally to have been the moor of Rainton, was first mentioned in the C12 when there was one grant (perhaps 2) of land there to the prior and convent of Durham. In 1345/6 there were 10 tenants holding between them 12 tofts with acreages ranging from 4-32, but by 1539 there were just 3 tenants, and again in 1580, all paying the same rent. A plan and terrier of 1805 suggest there may have been little change, other than perhaps enclosure, in the intervening period. A wide green or street had one farm on N, 2 farms and 3 smallholdings on S, a lane coming in from W, and road out to Hetton on E. The farms were all of c. 140 acres. There had been expansion by the mid C19, 2 terraces typical of mining settlements being built in the SE quarter, but today this has been landscaped away, and all that survives is the SW farm, a small terrace on the N side, and ?onetime pub on the S. The north row had largely vanished by 1805. Described by Ian Nairn in 1964 as 'not much now, and steadily getting less as the farms shrink and the old mining rows are pulled down. Yet a fine site, a green on a ridge-top with a view out over the whole of northern Durham'. Dated C12th.

It is generally agreed that this Roman road connected the fort at South Shields (E) with the Roman road from Chester-le-Street to the Tyne (W). Versions of the name are recorded from the C13. A considerable stretch of the road is still in use, from Jarrow Slake to Wrekenton at NZ 2812 5926. W of there it is now largely built over. Wright obtained a section at NZ 310614, where it was 16 ft wide, and another on the E side of Long Bank, Wrekenton, where it was 19 ft across. At High Eighton, NZ 2724 5860, however, he found nothing, and he argues that earlier antiquaries have not proved its line to the west either. Note that Selkirk has recently published an air photo which he believes may show the road running on. At its east end its route from Jarrow Slake to the fort is also unknown. Until comparatively recently long stretches of the Wrekendyke formed parish boundaries. A watching brief in 2005 during water mains renewal on Newcastle Road (A194) at Primrose Bridge, South Shields did not record any archaeological remains, however ground levels have been raised here for the creation of the modern road. Paul Bidwell argues for a pre-Hadrianic date for the Wrekendyke. Research by David Armstrong contained within the HER as additional information.

It has been generally agreed since the 18th century that a Roman road connected Chester-le-Street with a bridge across the Tyne. Two stretches are thought to lie under existing roads:
a) Durham Road through Birtley
b) Old Durham Road - High Street - Bottle Bank through Gateshead.
Between these stretches, in open country, Wright located it in 3 places in 1938-9:
NZ 2714 5695, beside Coach and Horses PH, he found a raised causeway suggesting there had been a bridge over Leyburnhold Gill. No traces today.
NZ 2707 5835 (garden of 15 Chambers Cres.) he obtained a cross-section of the E half, 8 feet, of the road, the remainder being under the back lane.
NZ 2704 5876, the road was 17 feet 6 inches wide, and built in 3 layers of 6 inch and 8 inch grade sandstone blocks. He could see nothing "further north across the golf course and Mossheap quarries".

As of the Emperor Trajan: NERVAE TRAIANO AUG...on obverse SPQR. VIA TRAIANA SC on reverse, around a reclining figure. Found in the garden of 23 Cotswold Gardens, Lobley Hill, Gateshead, by Mr. Maurice Carter, in January 1969. Identification by C.M. Daniels. Dated C2.

Bede refers to St. Hilda, and to a monastery/nunnery not far from the mouth of the Tyne. 1. In 648 Aidan gave St. Hilda "the land of one family on the north side of the river Wear; where for a year she also led a monastic life, with very few companions". 2. "...a monastery lying towards the south, not far from the mouth of the river Tyne, at that time consisting of monks, but now...inhabited by a noble company of virgins, dedicated to Christ...". 3. In 686 "...a nunnery...not far from the mouth of the river Tyne". Though various sites have been suggested it seems now to be agreed that the most probable is in the vicinity of St. Hilda's church, South Shields. It is not known how long this house survived, and it is thought that it was probably destroyed by the Danes. Dated C7th.