Wearhead
Sign in to saveWearhead is a village in the civil parish of Stanhope, in County Durham, England. It is situated at the top of Weardale between Cowshill and Ireshopeburn. It is named after the nearby source of the River Wear which runs eastwards for approx to Sunderland. In the 2001 census Wearhead had a population of 210.
Wikidata facts
- Population
- 210
- Image
- Houses in Wearhead - geograph.org.uk - 616757.jpg
- Dialing code
- 01388
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- Commons category
- Wearhead
- OS grid reference
- NY858395
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6 sectionsContents
- Railways
- Decline and revival
- Landmarks
- See also
- References
- External links
Wearhead is a village in the civil parish of Stanhope, in County Durham, England. It is situated at the top of Weardale between Cowshill and Ireshopeburn. It is named after the nearby source of the River Wear which runs eastwards for approx to Sunderland. In the 2001 census Wearhead had a population of 210.
The first settlement at Wearhead may have been a farmstead, possibly a summer base for the Bishop's cattle which would have been taken to lower ground in winter. East of the village lies a steep hillside, which has evidence of shallow shafts and hushes which were the early methods used to extract lead and iron. In County Durham there were rich deposits of lead lying within a circle of about 10 miles' radius drawn around Wearhead, hence the lead-mining industry of Weardale and Teesdale.
On the map
3 mapped locations