Monk Hesleden

Monk Hesleden is a village in County Durham, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 5,722. It is situated a short distance to the south of High Hesleden, to the north-west of Hartlepool.
Hesleden is believed to be derived from the local word Dene 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 Hessleden Denes, that border the village. As for the "Monk", that may either refer to the Church which, once existed, or perhaps some earlier monastic foundation. Or that more likely, the lands around it may have once belonged to the Bishopric of Durham. This had been a common feature, throughout the Palatine of Durham, before the Reformation. The Prince Bishops, later Bishops, had an Archdeaconry in nearby Easington, and it is recorded that a great deal of land in the area lay under their ownership.

Wikipedia