History of Houghton-le-Spring
The small village of Houghton-le-Spring is situated 4 miles to the
east of Chester-le-Street and Lumley, and is steeped in history dating
back to the later Stone Age. It is thought that Houghton-le-Spring
derived its name from the Norman times, as it contains the French
element ‘le'. However the village could have also derived its name from
Hoctona, which is the name of the settlement in the Boldon Books of
1183.
The ‘Hough' part is thought to have come from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘a point of land projecting into a plan'. The ‘le spring' is thought to be an addition from maybe a Lord from the Manor by that name or it could have been due to the many limestone springs in the area. It is considered that in the 14 th century the village consisted of 27 tenants, a watermill, brew house, oven and forge.
The history of Houghton-le-Spring is centred on St Michael and All Angels church, and Bernard Gilpin, who was the ‘Apostle of the North'. Bernard Gilpin was a much loved figure, who was renowned for his devotion of spreading the Christian Gospel, and for his generosity to the poor. He was born in 1517 and died in 1583. Gilpin was first appointed Archdeacon of Durham and in 1557 he became the rector at Houghton-le-Spring. Gilpin's tragic and unexpected death took place on the 4 th March, in the market place at Durham , where he was knocked down by an ox. The tomb of Bernard Gilpin is located in the south transept of St Michael and All Angels church. The tomb of Gilpin is a massy alter of freestone, with some ornaments of chain work on the sides. On each side of the tomb in raised letters is the inscription ‘BERNARD GILPIN' RECTOR HUJUS ECCLESLÆ ORBIT QUARTO DIE MARTII AN.DOM.' This translates to ‘Besides this tomb, there are a number of others in the church, that bear names of some note.
