A Mapp Of The Bishopricke Of Durham – 1673

Author: Richard Blome
Publisher: Richard Blome
Price: £125 including postage in the UK
Publication Date: 1673
Edition: First edition
Sheet Size: 35.7cm x 30.4cm
Condition: Very good plus

Condition:

Original copper-engraved map. Early hand-colouring. Sheet size: 35.7cm x 30.4cm. Blank to the verso. Minor age toning and browning which is mainly confined to the margins. In very good plus, bright, clean condition overall.

The County Palatine Of Durham In The 17th Century: A Brief Account

1. Constitutional and Political Context: The Palatinate of Durham

In the 17th century, County Durham was not a normal English county. It remained a county palatine, governed by the Bishop of Durham, who exercised quasi-regal powers on behalf of the Crown. These included:

• Appointment of judges and sheriffs
• Control over courts, taxation, and militias
• Issuing of writs in the bishop’s own name

This exceptional autonomy originated in the medieval need to defend the Anglo-Scottish border. By the 1600s, although the border wars had subsided, the palatine system remained intact, making Durham one of the most semi-autonomous regions in England.

Key implications:

• Royal authority was mediated through episcopal power.
• Central government reforms often met resistance.
• Durham did not send MPs to Parliament until 1654, during the Interregnum.

2. Geography and Settlement

County Durham was predominantly rural, with settlement patterns shaped by:

• River valleys (Wear, Tees, Derwent)
• Moorland and upland areas in the west
• Coastal communities in the east

Major settlements:

• Durham City – ecclesiastical and administrative centre
• Bishop Auckland – seat of the bishops (Auckland Castle)
• Darlington – emerging market town
• Stockton-on-Tees – small but growing port
• Sunderland – developing coal-export harbour

Villages were typically nucleated, with open-field systems still in use in parts of the county early in the century.

3. Economy: Agriculture, Coal, and Trade

Agriculture

Most people lived from subsistence mixed farming, including:

• Oats, barley, and rye
• Cattle and sheep grazing
• Small-scale dairy production

Enclosure increased slowly during the century, particularly after the Civil War, leading to:

• Improved productivity for landowners
• Displacement and insecurity for smallholders and cottagers

Coal Industry

Coal was the county’s most important economic asset.

• Durham coalfields expanded significantly during the 17th century.
• Coal was transported via wagonways to rivers and ports.
• Sunderland and the Wear became central to the London coal trade.

This led to:

• The rise of coal-owning gentry and merchant elites
• Labour disputes, including early forms of organised resistance by keelmen and miners
• Environmental degradation around pits and rivers

Durham coal increasingly underpinned England’s urban growth.

4. Religion and the Church

Religion was central to life in 17th-century Durham.

Anglican Dominance

The Church of England was institutionally powerful, reinforced by:

• The authority of the bishop
• Durham Cathedral as a symbol of continuity and order

Recusancy and Dissent

Despite this, the county had:

• Persistent Catholic recusant families, especially among the gentry
• Growth of Puritan and later Nonconformist communities

During the Civil War and Interregnum:

• The episcopate was abolished (1646)
• Durham Cathedral was desecrated and used for secular purposes
• Ministers were expelled or replaced with Presbyterian or Independent preachers

The Restoration (1660) reinstated episcopal authority, but religious pluralism never entirely disappeared.

5. The Civil Wars and Interregnum (1642–1660)

County Durham was deeply affected by the national crisis.

Allegiances

• The bishop and much of the elite leaned Royalist
• Some towns and ministers supported Parliament

Key impacts:

• Military occupation and requisitioning
• Heavy taxation and forced loans
• Disruption of trade and agriculture

The abolition of palatine powers under the Commonwealth marked a temporary collapse of Durham’s unique constitutional status.

During the Interregnum:

• Durham was governed more directly from London
• Political participation increased slightly
• Radical religious ideas gained traction, including Quakerism

6. Social Structure and Daily Life

Social Hierarchy

Durham society was stratified:

1. Bishop and senior clergy
2. Gentry and coal-owning families
3. Yeomen farmers
4. Artisans and tradesmen
5. Labourers, miners, and servants

Social mobility was limited but possible through:

• Coal investment
• Marriage alliances
• Education (notably Durham Cathedral’s grammar schools)

Living Conditions

• Housing was basic, often timber-framed or stone cottages
• Diets were monotonous and vulnerable to harvest failure
• Disease outbreaks (plague, typhus) occurred sporadically

Poor relief was administered through the parish system, with varying effectiveness.

7. Law, Order, and Custom

The bishop’s courts handled:

• Criminal justice
• Land disputes
• Moral offences (fornication, drunkenness, Sabbath-breaking)

Customary practices remained strong:

• Manorial courts enforced local norms
• Seasonal festivals persisted, though increasingly criticised by Puritans

Witchcraft accusations were relatively rare compared to other English regions, though belief in magic and folk remedies was widespread.

8. Late 17th Century Developments

By the century’s end:

• Coal exports had expanded dramatically
• Sunderland eclipsed older ports
• The gentry increasingly identified with national rather than purely palatine interests

The Glorious Revolution (1688) had limited immediate impact locally, but it confirmed:

• Protestant supremacy
• Parliamentary authority over exceptional jurisdictions like Durham

The palatinate survived, but its autonomy was steadily eroding.

9. Character of 17th-Century County Durham

In summary, County Durham in the 17th century was:

• Constitutionally anomalous
• Economically transitional
• Religiously contested
• Socially hierarchical but evolving

It combined medieval structures of authority with the early forces of modern capitalism and state centralisation, making it one of the most distinctive counties in early modern England.

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