History

The settlement was established more than 1,000 years ago and is steeped in history. The High Ford, crossing the river between Eryholme and Neasham was part of the Great Road North. Neasham, being the first village on the north side of the river, was the gateway to the Land of the Prince Bishops. Each newly appointed Bishop of Durham was met at the ford in the middle of the Tees, where County Durham officially begins, and presented with the Falchion by the Lord of Sockburn Manor. The Falchion in this inaugural ceremony had been used by the returned crusader Sir John Conyers, who slew the famous Sockburn Worm. This ceremony still takes place today – although the mid-point of nearby Croft bridge has been substituted for the middle of the ford at Neasham.

Neasham Civil Parish extends beyond the village to incorporate the nearby village of Low Dinsdale (which also has roots going back over a thousand years), and settlements at Sockburn, Neasham Covert and Brasscastle as well as many outlying farms and agricultural cottages; and extends from the north bank of the meandering Tees northwards to the edge of the village of Middleton St. George and westwards upstream to Hurworth.

The Parish has over 400 electors in just over 200 dwellings, and whilst most of the houses in Neasham Village have been built within the last 50 years, there remain several buildings dating back to the 1700’s (many of which are listed), with a further residential expansion in the early part of the 20th Century.