Monk Hesleden is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England.
[3] Hesleden is believed to be derived from the local word Dene(den) meaning a deep forested Valley, and Hesle a corruption of Hazel, so the original meaning may have been, "Forested Valley of the Hazel trees", which are common in the Nesbit, Crimdon and Hesleden Denes, that border the village.
For a long time, St. Marys' was the only local church, until the construction of St. James at Castle Eden, in the 1760s.
Even with the advent of the collieries at Blackhall, Hesleden, and Horden, for a great deal of time, St. Mary's was the only local Anglican church, and with Castle Eden, the only local cemetery, so despite the village's dwindling population, the church had survived.
Unfortunately the church received some minor vandalism in the 1960s, and the council demolished the structure, leaving us today with only the Graveyard and a post, somewhat like a tombstone, marking the site.