What is "laithkirk"

Laithkirk is a small hamlet of three houses and a small church in County Durham, in England. All of the houses in Laithkirk are accessed by an unnamed road which connects the B6277 and the B6276. The hamlet is the final settlement (baring a caravan park) that lies in Lunedale, before the Lune river joins with the Tees. It is situated in Teesdale between Mickleton and Bowbank, near to Middleton-in-Teesdale.