In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Harton like this:
HARTON, a township-chapelry in Jarrow parish, Durham; on the coast, 2 miles S of South Shields r. station. Post town, South Shields. Acres, 1,537; of which 144 are water. Real property, £8, 672; of which £4, 000 are in mines, and £300 in quarries. Pop., 877. Houses, 176. The name is a corruption of Heorte-dune, signifying "the hill of stags;" and, like the names Hart, Hartness, and Hartlepool, commemorates the ancient abundance of harts on the Durham sea board. An extensive colliery at West Harton is 215 fathoms deep. A cavern on the coast is called the Fairies' Kettle cave. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Durham. Value, £300.* Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The church was built in 1868.
Harton through time
A Vision of Britain through Time includes a large library of local statistics for administrative units. For the best overall sense of how the area containing Harton has changed, please see our redistricted information for the modern district of South Tyneside. More detailed statistical data are available under Units and statistics, which includes both administrative units covering Harton and units named after it.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Harton, in South Tyneside and County Durham | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/5561
Date accessed: 20th June 2013
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