Mainsforth is a small village in County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is situated to the east of Ferryhill

Ferryhill

Ferryhill is a town in south-central County Durham, England with a population of around 11,651 people, making it the 8th biggest town in the County. It is in the Durham County Unitary area...

, and lies within the ecclesiastical parish of Bishop Middleham

Bishop Middleham

Bishop Middleham is a village in County Durham, in England. It is close to Sedgefield.-History:Bishop Middleham lies in a valley about 9 miles south-west of Durham. Although much of County Durham had probably first been settled in the Mesolithic period, the first evidence for occupation in the...

 The earliest settlement in Mainsforth may have been on Marble (Narble Hill). It has been suggested, without great historical foundation, that this was a Danish settlement.

From medieval times through to the early twentieth century the village was in effect a small collection of farms and farm workers' cottages.

Mainsforth Hall was a significant building in the centre of this small village, until its demolition in the 1960s. The Hall was for many years the dwelling of the Surtees family. The most famous member of the family was Robert Surtees

Robert Surtees (antiquarian)

Robert Surtees was a celebrated English historian and antiquary of his native County Durham. Surtees was born in Durham, and educated at Kepier School, Houghton-le-Spring, and later at Christ Church, Oxford. Although a student of law he never practised as a lawyer...

(1779-1834), the great County Durham historian.

Today the hamlet contains several farms and older cottages and some modern executive style detached dwellings. It retains its character principally because of the many trees in the village and because of the retention of the wall of Mainsforth Hall in the centre of the village.