We now have a YouTube Channel and Video Memories Page - We have a new youTube channel which can be found at Wheatley Hill History YouTube Channel and also duplicated in our website - Subscribing on the youTube channel will mean you being automatically notified as new videos are uploaded.
Wheatley Hill and the Great War - Over the 2014-2018 commemoration period of The Great War, Wheatley Hill History Club was awarded two significant grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund – one to look at the life of local VC hero Thomas Kenny and the second to collect the responses of modern-day residents of the village to the atrocities of the war. […]Next Meeting – July - 30 July 2025Mary Ann Cotton – Tom Huchinson All meetings are held in Wheatley House 11:00am – Noon, Entrance is £3 which includes raffle and refreshments, Membership not essential – everyone welcome
HERITAGE LOTTERY GRANT AWARD - THE MAN THEY NAMED A TOWN AFTER – As you know from previous newsletter articles, Peterlee is celebrating 75 years since it became a new town in east Durham. Exhibitions and other events are planned to mark the event, but the History Club felt that the man himself, Peter Lee, had been overlooked. With this […]
Back from the Dead at Gallipoli: William Wilson of Wheatley Hill - To most Wheatley Hill folk of a certain age, 'The Dardenelles' is just the curious nickname for those many rows of identikit colliery houses that used to be at the back of the village's front street. But to one local man the name meant something much more
Remembering the Winding Engines - Wheatley Hill Colliery was lucky to have two very fine winding engines. The History Club has had a film of the winding engine working at Wheatley Hill colliery in 1968 restored for future generations to enjoy. You can find out more information and the video at a dedicated page here
Tribute to Local Historian, Owen Rowland - Wheatley Hill History Club didn’t know how lucky it was in May 1995, when Owen Rowland came to one of our first meetings. He was looking for a hobby, and thank goodness he chose local history! This quiet, unassuming man who was liked and gained the respect of everyone he came into contact with, dedicated […]Remembrance 2020 - 2020 will be a year none of us will forget. The year that caused major disruption to every aspect of our lives and the year in which all major celebrations were cancelled, including the Remembrance. Wheatley Hill has had one of the most successful Remembrance Day parades and attendances in the local area for many years, […]
ENGEL’S ENGLAND - By Matthew Engel, 2014 The following is an (edited) extract from the above book from the author’s three-year travel through England. He travelled through thirty-nine counties and included Wheatley Hill in his final write-up in the County Durham section. The book was loaned to us by History Club member Brian Maddison, who felt it could be […]
PEACE, PERFECT PEACE - Our event on Remembrance Sunday 2019 marked the end of our Heritage Lottery Funded project. Over the last two years, we have been working with Lonely Tower Film & Media on collecting the thoughts of today’s Wheatley Hill Community about the atrocities of the First World War. Lonely Tower have produced two wonderful multi-media presentations, […]
St Bartholomews Church Windows - These four windows were installed in St Bartholomew’s Church, Thornley in 1866 and 1868 respectively in memory of local landowners H J Spearman and George Wilkinson. When Thornley church was demolished several years ago, they came under the ownership of the demolition contractor responsible for pulling the church down. A member of Wheatley Hill Heritage […]
Closure of Wheatley Hill Pit 1968 - CLOSURE BEWILDERS THE PITMEN OF WHEATLEY HILL One of the many puzzled men at Wheatley Hill Colliery which closes down tonight, is Mr William Gibson of Burns Street, a chargehand fitter at the colliery and secretary of the Wheatley Hill Lodge of the Mechanics’ Association. He said, “Look around the pit. You will not see […]
WHAT’S IN A NAME? Wolmerhausen Street, Wheatley Hill - When Wheatley Hill pit was sunk in 1867 it was the third colliery in the small empire of the Thornley Coal Company who were also responsible for the collieries at Thornley and Ludworth. It is not clear who the sinkers of Wheatley Hill colliery were but Thornley was sunk by the eminent engineer from Durham […]
The Martyrdom of the Mine – Part One - Edward (Neddy) Rymer was a coal miner who worked at pits in Durham, Yorkshire, North Wales, Nottingham and Lancashire. He was a union activist and blacklisted from many coal mines and coalfields as a result of this. The following extract is from the above publication and it should be remembered that it is the account […] The Martyrdom of the Mine – Part Two - Edward (Neddy) Rymer was a coal miner who worked at pits in Durham, Yorkshire, North Wales, Nottingham and Lancashire. He was a union activist and blacklisted from many coal mines and coalfields as a result of this. The following extract is from the above publication and it should be remembered that it is the account […]