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Kirk Merrington Church of St John

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Merrington Church Tower

In the civil parish of Spennymoor. In the historic county of Durham; County Palatinate of (Modern Authority of Durham, 1974 county of County Durham).

This site has been described as a;
Fortified Ecclesiastical site.
  Confidence: It is probable that this site was a medieval fortification or palace.   Nothing visible remains.
This is the site of the medieval church of St John the Evangelist. It was originally built in C11 or early C12. William Cumyn fortified it in 1143-4, when the chancel was probably destroyed, Church tower fortified and church yard embanked. The church was dismantled and rebuilt in 1850, though the Norman arches were built into C19 fabric. in 1144. No remains of fortification.
This is a Grade 2* listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 112247)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is NZ26233146

Air Photo from multimap logo

Air Photo and general mapping

1st edition OS Map from old maps logo

Mid to late 19th century maps

Modern Map from Ordnance Survey logo

Landscape form and features

Modern Map from streetmap logo

General location and route planning

Geograph British Isles geography.org.uk logo
occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 24189
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is D1335 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

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The information on this web page may be derived from information compiled by and/or copyright of English Heritage and other individuals and organisations. All the sources given should be consulted to identify the original copyright holder and permission obtained from them before use of the information on this site for commercial purposes. I do not receive any income from this site and I fund it myself.
The bibliography owes much to various bibliographies produced by John Kenyon for the Council for British Archaeology, the Castle Studies Group and others.
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*The listed building may not be the actual medieval building, but a building on the site of, or incorporating fragments of, the described site.

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This record last updated on Wednesday, October 28, 2009

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