EVENWOOD RAMSHAW & DISTRICT HISTORY SOCIETY (EXTRACT)
Evenwood is a medieval settlement. Study of place names can give an indication of age of settlements. There is no mystery in the name – level wood. It is assumed that the land between Evenwood and Cockfield, now farmed by Evenfield and Buckhead farms was under tree cover and Craggwood is a remnant of the ancient woodland. As cultivation of the land took hold, tree felling occurred and fields were formed. There is evidence of “rig and furrow” farming in the fields west of the village green and at Evenwood Gate.
It is a generally held belief that the area known as Evenwood was given to the church of Durham by King Canute (otherwise known as Cnut circa 994 – 1035). He was King of England 1017 – 1035, Denmark from 1018 and Norway from 1028. He made many gifts to the church in the hope of buying salvation for his soul and he visited Durham as a pilgrim during the episcopacy of Eadmund. At this time the Danes became Christian and protectors of the church. Canute gave the church land and a mansion house at Staindrop, Raby and the villages of Shotton, Evenwood, Wackerfield, Aycliffe, Eldon and Ingleton.
In 1066, the Normans invaded England and defeated the Saxon King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. William I, otherwise known as the Conqueror wrought havoc to those Saxons who did not obey his rule. He placed his Norman earls into positions of power to look after his conquered lands. In 1086, his officials compiled the “Doomsday Book” which was an in depth survey of who owned what, its value and what taxes could be levied. The survey did not take in land to the north of the river Tees thus the land we now know as County Durham and Northumberland was not included. His total domination had, within a generation, almost eradicated the Saxon aristocracy and imposed a feudal society run by a small number of Normans. The name of John de Evenwood crops up in historic documents and it is assumed that he was one of Williams “henchmen” looking after our part of the world!
A survey of Durham was not undertaken until 1183. Bishop Hugh Pudsey organised the work – it was called “the Boldon Buke” simply because Boldon was the first village recorded. Evenwood was not included although the village must have existed as a result of Canute’s gift to the church.
In 1294, Sir John Hansard, the Lord of Evenwood was involved in a number of transactions which led to the estate being taken by Bishop Bek. It provides evidence that there was a place called Evenwood – whether it was a small settlement around a hunting lodge for the Bishop of Durham may be open to question. Briefly, a meeting took place at the episcopal manor of Evenwood when King Edward I came to the County of Durham to mediate between Bishop Bek and the Durham monks.
In 1331, Bishop Beaumont granted the Manor of Evenwood to Lord Ralph de Neville. Bishop Hatfield’s survey records that several people held lands at Evenwood:
-
Lord Neville held Colt Park (of the inheritance of John de Evenwood)
-
John de Sadberg
-
Hugh Willison held lands and tenements
-
Thomas Hansard held the Barony tofts and 18 July 1368 there was a lease for a bloomery (an iron furnace) in Gordon and Evenwood Park, the wood to be provided by Allan, a fellow in the service of the Bishop.
-
Bishop Hatfield and Fordham were appointed Park Keepers at Evenwood
-
Walter de Hallyk had coal works within Deanfield and Morley, in the Barony of Evenwood.
Coal mining leases have been granted by the Bishop of Durham in the immediate area since the 1300’s therefore there must have been settlements built around any such coal mine to house those who worked there.
The 14th-, 15th-, and 16th-centuries were largely periods of misery and want in Durham, and steady depopulation due to the ravages of the Scots and outbreaks of plague resulted in neglected fields and devastated villages. Only after 1603 when England and Scotland were united did stable conditions prevail in Durham.