In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Oxneyfield like this:
OXENHALL, a hamlet in Darlington parish, Durham; on the river Skern and the North eastern railway, 2¼ miles S of Darlington. Four round pools, called Hell-Kettles, are here; measure from 84 to 90 feet indiameter; are popularly believed to be fathomless; havewater strongly impregnated with sulphur, like that of the neighbouring spas of Croft and Dinsdale; were long, and still in some measure are, regarded locally with superstitions feeling; and are supposed, by some persons, to have originated by earthquake.
Oxenhall is clearly an earlier name of Oxenfield, despite having a separate entry in the Imperial Gazetteer. For example, E. Mackenzie and M. Ross, An historical, topographical, and descriptive view of the county palatine of Durham (Newcastle upon Tyne: Mackenzie and Dent, 1834) describe "Oxenhall, Oxen-le-Field, or Oxneyfield, a constablewick belonging to the township of Darlington, from which place it is distant 3 miles south" (vol. 2, p. 151; available on Google Books: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7zEQAAAAYAAJ). All modern and nineteenth century topographic maps use the name Oxneyfield. Additional information about this locality is available for Darlington
Oxneyfield through time
Oxneyfield is now part of Darlington district. Click here for graphs and data of how Darlington has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Oxneyfield itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Oxneyfield, in Darlington and County Durham | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/25869
Date accessed: 05th November 2024
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