Old Ravensworth village

The name "Raueneswrthe" first appears before 1128, and in later medieval references is usually given as "Rauenshelme". The vill is first mentioned before 1328. An early map (probably 18th century) shows strips in the open fields east of the village, while a slightly later map (pre-1818) shows the same fields divided and enclosed. On both maps the houses are arranged around a green or wide street, roughly on the site of today's crossroads. The Tithe Map of 1846 is very similar and suggests that "Old Ravensworth" consisted of 3 farms, north-east, south-east and south-west of the crossroads, with a possible smallholding to the north-west. The 1851 census lists 10 households in Old Ravensworth - the 3 farmers, 3 coalminers, 1 stonemason, 1 blacksmith, 1 agricultural labourer and 1 shoemaker. On the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map (1858) the north-east farm (Ravensworth Town Farm) is absent, and by 1919 the south-west one (Ravensworth Farm) had also gone. The 2 stone houses north-west of the crossroads and the farm house to the south-east have been renovated and altered, but the latter retains an original chimney buttress.