WILLINGTON, a village, a township, and a chapelry, in Brancepeth parish, Durham. The village stands on the Durham and Bishop-Auckland railway, 5 miles N of Bishop-Auckland; and has a post-office,‡ designated Willington, County of Durham, and a r. station. The township comprises 1,485 acres. Real property, £3,246; of which £1,000 are in mines. Pop. in 1851, 965; in 1861, 2,393. Houses, 441. The increase of pop. arose from extension of coal mining.—The chapelry was constituted in 1858. Pop. in 1861, 3,784. Houses, 686. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Durham. Value, £300.* Patron, the Rector of Brancepeth. The church is good; and there are a New Connexion Methodist chapel and a national school.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))