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St Andrews Church, Greystoke |
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Greystoke Parish church is where the first records of the
Heskett family in Cumberland are to be found in the late 16th century. The name Greystoke is believed to have derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "Creikstak" meaning "the place of the meandering stream. The first mention of Greystoke church in historical records comes in 1255 when Thomas de Vipont was consecrated Bishop of Carlisle. It is a very large church with a lot of character. I visited Greystoke in 1998 and it was hard to believe my ancestors had been married, christened and buried their almost 450 years earlier |
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St Andrews Church , Dacre |
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The village of Dacre has been inhabited for well over a 1000 years. Like
Greystoke it would appear that it takes its name from the small river flowing through
called Dacre Beck. It is recorded that in 698AD there was a monastery in Dacre and the
present church built on the same site. It is not known when the church was built but the
earliest known vicar was Nicholas de Appleby who left the church in 1296AD.
Parish records were begun in 1559 and it was in 1564 that Alexander Heskett whom it is said came from Stainton married Frances Harrison. They appear to have lived around the Dacre area as the children were christened there and many of them married from there. Records seem to show that my line of Heskett’s were there till the late 17th century when they moved on to Hesket in the Forest. |
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DACRE BEARS |
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The four corners of the graveyard are marked by carved stone figures known as the Dacre Bears. The bears are thought to be medieval but very little is known about them although many theories have emerged through the years. |
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ST GREGORY'S KIRKNEWTON |
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Kirknewton is bordered by the parishes of Wooler and Doddington. Kirknewton was the first parish John Heskett came to after his ordination in 1776. He married his first wife Jane Pringle from Doddington in 1780, she died a year later. His second wife Dorothy Morton came from Wooler, he married her in 1783. They had three sons. Dorothy died in 1787. John then came to Sunderland |
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ST PETERS MONKWEARMOUTH |
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St Peters was built in 674AD as a monastery in Monkwearmouth Sunderland. John Heskett (1753-1810} came to Sunderland from Kirknewton Northumberland where he had been a minister after his ordination in 1776 at Durham Cathedral. He also conducted services at St Michael's which was in Bishopwearmouth Sunderland. Sunderland was divided into two by the River Wear and when the first bridge over the river connecting Bishopwearmouth with Monkwearmouth was opened in 1796 John Heskett was one of the officiating clergy. |
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ST MICHAELS BISHOPWEARMOUTH |
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St Michael's stands in the centre of Bishopwearmouth . The picture was painted in 1806. It dates back to the 13th century and has had many changes in its time. John Heskett was an incumbent at St Michael's during the time he was in Sunderland. The new bridge of 1796 would have made this journey much easier. The church was once the centre of a village green, now it is in the centre of the busy city of Sunderland. It is still in use today unlike some of the other churches which have been closed. |
