Title: Archdeacon Charles Thorp, Rector of Holy Cross Church, Ryton
Photographer: Unknown
Date: Date Unknown
Reference Number: 05_04
Item Description: Charles Thorp became Rector of Ryton in 1807. In 1831 he became an Archdeacon of Durham and involved with the University of Durham. He died aged 78 on 10th October, 1862. The earliest record of a church in Ryton is 1112 in connection with the foundation of Kepier Hospital. In 1314 a composition was made between the master of Kepier Hospital and the rector of Ryton to the sum of two marks a year. The Holy Cross which is situated in the west of the village and is the oldest building in Ryton dates back to 1220. The Architecture of the Church is Gothic, and the spire towers 120ft, it was built in three stages, it is octagonal and made from oak and covered in lead. The stainglass windows are believed to date from 1450
The first rector Alexander de Nola was Italian and was appointed by Walter de Gray, Archbishop of Durham. There have been several distinguished rectors of Ryton, Thomas Secker (1727) who was to become the Archbishop of Canterbury. Charles Thorp (1807) Virtual Founder and first warden of Durham University. The Hon. Richard Byron (1769) brother of William fifth Lord Byron.
The image is taken from one of a number of glass plate negatives collected by W.A. Cocks of Ryton. W.A. Cocks was a keen local historian, archaeologist and an inveterate collector. He not only collected and played pipes, but also made them. He helped to produce the first ever book of plans for making Northumbrian pipes and researched extensively into the history of the pipes in the region. His collection of glass plates date from the late 1890s to the 1950s. Many of the early images were taken by J.P. Dalton, Surveyor to Ryton Urban District Council between 1898 and 1905. The plates are numbered and an annotated notebook in Cock's hand accompanies the collection from which title and date information is taken.
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