Mainsforth, Durham

Description
Mainsforth, a township in Bishop Middleham parish, Durham, 1 mile from Ferry Hill station on the North-Eastern railway, and 7 1/2 miles east of Bishop Auckland. Post town and money order office, Bishop Middleham; telegraph office, Ferry Hill. Acreage, 653; population, 158. Mainsforth Hall belonged to the Huttons, passed to the Snrtees, and is notable for the residence in it of the late Robert Surtees, the county historian and antiquary. Sir Walter Scott often visited it, and he planted an oak tree, which nourishes at the end of the house-terrace. An association, called the Snrtees Society, in memory of Mr Pioberfc Surtees, was formed immediately after his decease, for publishing unedited manuscripts relating to the North of England. An antler of a moose deer was found in the township, and an ancient camp is here, occupying 16 acres.