Historic Settlement Patterns in Weardale

Edmundbyers

The earliest settlement in the Edmundbyers area consists of prehistoric farmsteads scattered on the lower south facing valley slopes of the Burnhope Burn. Evidence for settlement on the village site dates to Anglo-Saxon times, but the extent of settlement at that time appears to be small, possibly restricted to one or two farmsteads. The layout of the present day settlement probably owes its origins to the 12th century when the Bishops of Durham planned a village green layout around which farmsteads and houses could be built on the north and south east sides of the triangle. The west side of the green was dominated by the new church. The layout of the village appears to have remained much the same despite war, famine and plague until the 18th century when agricultural reform resulted in a decrease in tenant numbers and an increase in the size of the farms. At this time a number of farms were built set back from the green frontage on the north and south east sides of the green, but the church remained in isolation apart from the rectory, which was attached to it. The village green as well as much of the upland area to the north, east and west of the village was enclosed, thus changing the character of the village forever. However it was not until the 21st century that the green was completely developed, leaving only a small strip of land, which may still hide the buried remains of part of early Edmundbyers.

 

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