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. […]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 […]THE MEMOIRS OF Thomas Russell 1847-1928 (during the short time he lived in Wheatley Hill) - 10 May 1879 Wheatley Hill Colliery Cheap emigration to Australia and America Fair from Durham to Pennsylvania £ 6. 6s.6d Fair from Durham to Ohio £ 7.12s.0d Fair from Durham to Illinois £ 8.11s.6d Fair from Durham to Texas £11. 8s.6d Assisted passage to Canada £ 4.15s.0d Stem Ship Lorents to Australia £15. 5s.0d Apply […]
Moses and the Children of Israel By a Geordie Lay Preacher - Noo aa’ve just cum ower the neet from Kingdom Haal I Gatesheed t tell ye aal aboot Moses an the Children ov Israel. Noo ye all knaa hoo Moses wus fund I’ the bullrushes be Phareh’s dowter (leastways that wus er story). Weel yors later Moses an ees lads wor workin I the clarts b […]
Coal Mining In East Durham – Part 2 - (from Geordies, Yankees & Canucks by William Wonders) At Thornley, as at other new mines in East Durham, the landowner, Henry John Spearman was not directly involved in developing or operating the colliery. Instead, he leased the mining rights to the partners of the Thornley Coal Company. As Lords of the Manor of the Thornley […]
Coal Mining In East Durham – Part 1 - (from Geordies, Yankees & Canucks by William Wonders)The second half of the 17th Century saw rising land values as a result of which yeomen farmers increasingly prospered in the East Durham area. By the 18th Century wealthy businessmen and professionals from the cities began to purchase land for investment purposes, though the agricultural quality of […]
Wheatley Hill Colliery Times of Descent and Ascent - DESCENT ASCENT 1st Shift 3.00am – 3.15am 10.30am – 10.45am Back Shift 9.35am – 9.50am 5.05pm – 5.20pm Night Shift 4.10pm – 4.25pm 11.40pm – 11.55pm Tubloading 10.00pm – 10.10pm 5.25am – 5.35am EVERYONE MUST BE AT THEIR PLACE OF DESCENT OR ASCENT WHEN THE BUZZER BLOWS
A trip to the Durham Records Office - During a recent trip to the Durham County Records Office, looking for plans of the 1950’s council housing built in Wheatley Hill, I came across some interesting information concerning our village: 1910’s Several planning applications the from Mr Welford who was building lots of houses/shops in the Granville Terrace/Ashmore Terrace areas 1922 An application for […]