Allensford Woods Local Nature Reserve

Allensford is a small country park and hamlet in County Durham, in England. It is where the A68 trunk road crosses the River Derwent, about 2 miles SW of Consett, and 1 mile north of Castleside. A small hamlet called Mosswood is situated half a mile to the north west on the A68, completing the settlement. Allensford was first recorded as Aleynforth in Bishop Hatfield's survey of c. 1382. The placename is sometimes listed as Allansford; "At Allansford...is a bridge over the Derwent into Northumberland, surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery on that stream; there are a few cottages on each side of the river". It is uncertain when a bridge replaced the ford. However, a bridge was in existence in the late 17th century when the structure was in a "very ruinous and in greate decay” according to the Northumberland Quarter Sessions for 1687–1697. The modern bridge carries the A68 between Darlington and Edinburgh over the River Derwent. Allensford Mill farmhouse was originally called

Location

County Durham