John Dixon Dipton Innkeeper 1770s-1780s

[Elliven]

An interesting story has recently emerged about the coffin of a young child having been discovered during the partial demolition and rebuild (in 1888) of an old inn in Dipton.  The building is now dedicated to the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides.  At the time of the discovery it was known as the Black Bull but had previously been known as the Rose and Crown.  The exact age of the inn is unknown but it is believed to have been 18th Century and there were coins found near the coffin - one dated 1721 and the others dated 1773.
I have discovered that the landlord's name was John Dixon in 1779 and he had been there for several years before and after that date so he is a definite possibility as the father of the child.  At first I thought it might have been an unwanted stillborn child that had been hurriedly disposed of by an unmarried mother but a press report describes the coffin as an elaborate pattern embellished with tinsel and gilt and ornamental beading - so it was not cheap.
I have no idea why it was buried there but I doubt if it could have been buried without the full knowledge of the landlord.
Can anyone help with advice on a source of information on the landlord as I know nothing about him other than his name.  There was no church or graveyard in the village at the time and the village was more or less split between the parishes of Tanfield and Lanchester.  It is now one village named Dipton but at the time it was the hamlets of Hilltop, Dipton, Collierley and Pontop.  The pub is in what was then Collierley (sometimes called Collierley Dykes).  I am specially interested in his age, his wife's name, their marriage date and the names and dates of birth of any children.  Many thanks.

[AlanBoyd]

There is nothing to say that this is the correct John Dixon but...

There are the following baptisms of Dixon, abode: Collierley Dykes at Lanchester All Saints
1768 Thomas Dixon of Collierley Dykes, son of John & Margaret Dixon
1770 George Dixon, as above

A possible marriage for John and Margaret Dixon
Lanchester All Saints
29 Dec 1766 John Dixon married Margaret Wheatley, both of this parish, by banns 
Witnesses: Thomas Smith; Thomas Wheatley; Elizabeth Errington; William Bywater

then there are these baptisms, abode: Dipton at Lanchester All Saints, all John and Margaret Dixon
John 1774
Margaret 1776
Jane 1780
Mary 1782

and there is a matching burial for Jane, abode: Dipton at Lanchester All Saints:
1781 Jane daughter of John Dixon

[Elliven]

Thank you AlanBoyd,

As you say, there is nothing to say that this is the correct John Dixon but how many people of that name would live in Dipton at that time?  We must also remember that it was just a string of hamlets and this was before the village population was inflated by the deep coal miners and people looking for employment at the iron works.

This is, at least, a starting point and there is no proof but I will get nowhere by ignoring the evidence altogether!  If I can find evidence that this John Dixon was an innkeeper, that will be almost proof in itself as there were only two inns in the whole collection of hamlets.  There surely could not be two innkeepers in this small area at the same (correct) time with the same name (even a common name) with children the right age.

Of the children you found, only Jane can be eliminated as she was buried in Lanchester.  So your evidence is very promising.

[Elliven]

AlanBoyd

You wrote: "and there is a matching burial for Jane, abode: Dipton at Lanchester All Saints:
1781 Jane daughter of John Dixon"  My search cannot find this burial so can you please tell me where it is recorded?

Many thanks

[AlanBoyd]

All of the information that I posted was from Durham Records Online.

Burial, Lanchester, All Saints
2 May 1781 Jane Dixon, of Dipton, daughter of John Dixon

[Elliven]

AlanBoyd,

Thank you, that information and source enables me to justify eliminating her from my search.

[Elliven]

AlanBoyd

This is turning out to be quite a story!  I cannot find any deaths for the other children in the family but I am increasingly sure that the child in the coffin was Jane Dixon.  She was baptised so there was no reason for her to be buried in unhallowed ground but I find that the Dixon family had lived there since at least 1766 and I cannot see them allowing somebody else to bury a child on their property.

In order to do this, all they had to do was register the child's death and inform the authorities of the burial.  In registering the death at their parish church, the name would be added to the Bishops Transcripts but I have seen the one in question and it makes no mention of her being buried in the churchyard.  It just records her death at Dipton.

The coffin measured about 30 inches and she was less thn 18 months old.  It was an expensively made coffin trimmed with silver foil and gilt and ornate beadwork so I am sure it was not some illegitimate child hurriedly buried by a panicked unmarried mother.

It had to be re-buried somewhere after its discovery in 1888 and by this time, a church had been built in the village so that is the obvious place.  Unfortunately that church closed down and its records were placed in the County Records Office which will be closed for the next few months whilst that office is transferred to a new site.  So it will take some time but I will not give up!

[AlanBoyd]

Very interesting. When you say “it makes no mention of burial in the churchyard” does that mean other records DO say this?

[JenB]

Very interesting. When you say “it makes no mention of burial in the churchyard” does that mean other records DO say this?

Here is the relevant page of the Bishops Transcripts.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-D1ZQ-M7V?i=135&cc=1309819&cat=1809309

The Dixon burial is in exactly the same format as all the others on the page as far as I can see.

In order to do this, all they had to do was register the child's death and inform the authorities of the burial.  In registering the death at their parish church, the name would be added to the Bishops Transcripts

There was no requirement to register a death until 1837 when Civil Registration began