THE BEGINNING - Coal Mining in the Victoria Garesfield Area.
The first reports of mining in the area were near Chopwell, dating back before the 14th century. A pit was also worked there from 1605 – 1645. These pits would probably have been bell pits, the miners accessing seams near the surface. The first deep pit was the Maria pit near Greymore Hill, started in 1756, and by 1767 there was Whitefield Colliery near Chopwell, producing 31 800 tons per year and one at Barlow Fell producing 13 200 tons. The 'Garesfield' name 1765 was the year that saw the beginning of the ‘Garesfield’ pits with the opening of a pit near Ash Tree farm, Low Spen. In 1801, this was followed by the opening of another on land belonging to a certain Mr Gair and known as 'Gair's Field', at High Thornley by the Marquis of Bute. The pit at 'Gair's Field' produced excellent coking coal for which it became renowned and the name evolved into Garesfield. By 1819, there were four pits in operation known as Garesfield number 1, 2, 3 and 4. In 1837, the pit at Garesfield farm closed and a new drift was started at High Spen: the Garesfield Bute Pit (ownership passing to the Consett Iron Company in 1890). Other pits that were subsequently opened nearby also used the Garesfield name as a mark of quality of their own coal and name. Transcription of an advert for Garesfield coal from the Morpeth Herald, 2 March 1878.
(Original - see opposite) The Miners’ Bond
At the time of initial mining activity in the area and indeed at the time of the opening of Victoria Garesfield, the miners employed in the various pits in the area would have been bonded workers, for up until 1872 all the miners of Northumberland, Cumberland and Durham were employed under the Bond system by which they were tied to their employer for a year*. By the terms of the bond, miners was obliged to work continuously at one colliery for a whole year. Any miner breaking the bond was liable to arrest, trial and imprisonment. After 1809 the annual Bond was usually entered into around April 5th, when a colliery official would read out the rate of pay and the conditions available at the pit to assembled workers and would-be workers. The bonding was the only time in the year when a miner and his family could lawfully move from one pit village to another in search of higher wages, better conditions and housing. Every year the bonding system saw up to a quarter of the mining population of the three counties on the march to a new start, a new life, elsewhere; thousands of families taking to the road every April from 1809-1844 and 1864-72. *(or for a month from 1844 – 1864) Even after the abolition of the Bond, the miner, by the very nature of his work, was inevitably an ‘itinerant’ worker, obliged to up and move on following a pit closure, or forced by circumstance in the search of better work and living conditions. A short taste of up-rooting - 1962
When Victoria Garesfield closed, the National Coal Board and the Union endeavored to find miners work elsewhere. My father and I were offered work in Nottingham where there was a shortage of labour. Our jobs were organised but we had to find our own accommodation. As the two wage-earners of the family and with the prospect of higher earnings, we had little option but to accept to move away. I was twenty at the time and remember feeling unhappy and upset at being away from my family and home. Some good was to come of bad however, as we were to move back home after only a few months, my father having suffered a heart-attack. Ownership
Victoria Garesfield Colliery, lying just south of Beda Hills and adjacent to Lintzford Lane, was developed around 1870 by local farmer and landowner Thomas Ramsay, son of George Heppel Ramsay, a prominent entrepreneur in the Blaydon district in the 19th century and Justice of the Peace for the Durham area. Thomas Ramsay reportedly acquired the mining leases about 1860 and opened colliery on the lease around 1869 trading as the Victoria Colliery Co, the colliery then consisting of a drift driven into the hillside near Palis Burn; the aptly named Speculation drift - the first of many. In April 1876, Messrs. Priestman and Peile took a controlling interest and the colliery came under the ownership of the Victoria Garesfield Colliery Company. During the 1880s, after buying out the remaining shareholders, Priestman and Peile were listed as the sole owners. Entry in Whellan's 1894 Directory of County Durham: The Victoria Garesfield Colliery is situated about a mile south of Garesfield, and is working the same royalties as that colliery. At both these collieries large quantities of excellent coke is made, as well as fire brick, and further developments may be expected. This colliery is being worked by Messrs. Priestman. Between 1897-98 there was a period during which the colliery proprietors were noted as 'The Owners of Victoria Garesfield Colliery' and in 1899, Victoria Garesfield was one of four collieries along with Lilley Drift, Blaydon Burn and Waldrige that were amalgamated under 'Owners of Priestman Collieries' with Messrs. Priestman and Peile running the operation. Priestman and Peile thereafter became Priestman Collieries Ltd. and later the Priestman Coal Company. The Priestman Coal Company would seem to have been a charitable employer, investing in its workers' welfare. In 1883,it opened a reading room and a mixed school for some 200 pupils in Victoria Garesfield. Known as 'the British School Victoria Garesfield', it operated under a system that allowed for the tuition of the masses of children by older partially educated children with a minimum of staff. By 1851, the British School in Victoria Garesfield was one of 1,500 such schools in the country. The building of the school was followed by that of the chapel in 1885/1886, which the colliery owners supported through the donation of bricks from their brickworks. In 1904, a school room for Sunday school was added to the chapel. Priestman Collieries Ltd. also provided rent-free accommodation and allotments for the men in in their employ at Victoria Garesfield, along with free electricity and free coal for heating. In 1927 my great grandfather,Thomas Minks, an overman at Victoria Garesfield, was presented with a clock by the directors of the colliery in recognition of 50 years of service and on the occasion of his 50th wedding anniversary.
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Transcription of an article in the York Herald, May 17th 1873,
which makes reference to 'Ramsay's Victoria Garesfield.' Victoria House: formerly the Headmaster's house (orignal buiding being the section to the left). Followng the closure of the school in 1908, the school building was also converted into dwellings - now 'School Houses'.
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The colliery remained under the ownership of Priestman Collieries until 1947 when it was nationalised and became the property of the National Coal Board.
At the time of nationalisation, at Victoria Garesfield there were some 290 men employed at the colliery: 227 working underground and 63 at the surface. |
The Colliery - Coking Coal
As much of the coal in the Chopwell and High Spen area was high quality coking coal, ideal for the malleable iron founding industries of County Durham, in 1861/2 the Marquis of Bute had 193 bee-hive coke ovens built at Whinfield , half a mile from Victoria Garesfield on the track which took their coal to the Tyne. Whilst these ovens had initially been supplied from Chopwell, with the opening of Victoria Garesfield colliery in 1870, it in turn became the main supplier, most of the coking coal extracted from its Victoria and Brockwell seams. A wagon way to transport the coal from Victoria Garesfield to Whinfield was built the same year the colliery opened and remained in operation until 1962.
At the height of operations, the Whiinfield works produced some 68 000 tonnes of coke per year.
As much of the coal in the Chopwell and High Spen area was high quality coking coal, ideal for the malleable iron founding industries of County Durham, in 1861/2 the Marquis of Bute had 193 bee-hive coke ovens built at Whinfield , half a mile from Victoria Garesfield on the track which took their coal to the Tyne. Whilst these ovens had initially been supplied from Chopwell, with the opening of Victoria Garesfield colliery in 1870, it in turn became the main supplier, most of the coking coal extracted from its Victoria and Brockwell seams. A wagon way to transport the coal from Victoria Garesfield to Whinfield was built the same year the colliery opened and remained in operation until 1962.
At the height of operations, the Whiinfield works produced some 68 000 tonnes of coke per year.
Whinfield Coke Works, Highfield, c. 1920 ( view from Highfield 'Top' Road showing Nell Terrace to bottom right)
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Photograph left explained by Alan Wainwright whose grandfather frequented the Whinfield works and whose father John was the blacksmith,welder and fitter there from leaving school until closure in 1962:
The structure to left of the street is the Depot, known locally as 'The Dippots' The railway branched to there from a junction beside the Victoria Institute, Highfield. The metal safety fence was to stop children from falling down into the hopper, the site being a favourite play area for local children. Below the hopper was an entrance where the lorries used to be filled with coal directly from the trucks above. A close look at the photo reveals 6ft metal railings (in front of the trucks) that went from the top crusher down to Pipe bridge - these were to keep the public off the railway tracks. The large black building to the left of the chimney was where my father John worked. The more modern buildings at the rear housed the furnace and the labs. |
The remains of the beehive coking ovens at Whinfield- due to the high quality of their produce - the last to have operated in Great Britain.
Five of the ovens - Nos. 108 - 110 along with Nos. 192 and 193 have been preserved as a National Monument. Photographed February 2015 by Alan Wainwright (photos 1, 2 & 4).
Five of the ovens - Nos. 108 - 110 along with Nos. 192 and 193 have been preserved as a National Monument. Photographed February 2015 by Alan Wainwright (photos 1, 2 & 4).
The Victoria Garesfield Colliery Tubway
Although some coal was used locally, most of it had to be transported to the River Tyne where it could be loaded onto ships and transported to London or elsewhere. This was done using wagonways or tubways, which carried coal wagons or smaller coal tubs. These were the first railways and were in use from about 1650 in North East England. The wagonways were first made of wood and the wagons and tubs were drawn by horses or could go downhill under their own weight controlled by a brake worked by the driver, called the wagoner. The building of the wagonways often involved considerable engineering works, such as Causey Arch built in 1725/26 at Tanfield, which is the oldest railway bridge in the world.
As technology developed, wooden rails were replaced with iron rails and mechanical haulage systems replaced horses. Iron-rail tubways were used in varous tunnels of the drifts at Victoria Garesfield. Starting in 1860, eventually three main tunnels were dug together with two remote access drifts. The tunnel in the Coronation Drift ran directly under Chopwell Wood from Victoria Garesfield, and came up to the surface in a cut close to the nearby village of Chopwell. Men returning to the area after the First World War found work in this drift tunnel, and it became known locally as 'The Barracks'.
Although some coal was used locally, most of it had to be transported to the River Tyne where it could be loaded onto ships and transported to London or elsewhere. This was done using wagonways or tubways, which carried coal wagons or smaller coal tubs. These were the first railways and were in use from about 1650 in North East England. The wagonways were first made of wood and the wagons and tubs were drawn by horses or could go downhill under their own weight controlled by a brake worked by the driver, called the wagoner. The building of the wagonways often involved considerable engineering works, such as Causey Arch built in 1725/26 at Tanfield, which is the oldest railway bridge in the world.
As technology developed, wooden rails were replaced with iron rails and mechanical haulage systems replaced horses. Iron-rail tubways were used in varous tunnels of the drifts at Victoria Garesfield. Starting in 1860, eventually three main tunnels were dug together with two remote access drifts. The tunnel in the Coronation Drift ran directly under Chopwell Wood from Victoria Garesfield, and came up to the surface in a cut close to the nearby village of Chopwell. Men returning to the area after the First World War found work in this drift tunnel, and it became known locally as 'The Barracks'.
From the screens at Victoria Garesfield colliery where the coal arrived in tubs, it was loaded into coal wagons on the railway, the colliery being linked by a 1.5 mile branch railway line to the North Eastern Railway just north of Rowlands Gill station.
At Victoria Garesfield, for many years the shunting was undertaken by two almost identical locomotives - Stephenson saddeltanks. Originally named Victoria No. 4 and Victoria No. 5, in NCB days they were renamed Area No. 6 Nos. 1 and 2, and in addition to these two regular locomotives, a further four were used at various times.
In the photo directly below, locomotive No. 2 is seen standing outside its shed, which was unusual in that it was accessed by a short tunnel which opened out into a cut in the woods.
At Victoria Garesfield, for many years the shunting was undertaken by two almost identical locomotives - Stephenson saddeltanks. Originally named Victoria No. 4 and Victoria No. 5, in NCB days they were renamed Area No. 6 Nos. 1 and 2, and in addition to these two regular locomotives, a further four were used at various times.
In the photo directly below, locomotive No. 2 is seen standing outside its shed, which was unusual in that it was accessed by a short tunnel which opened out into a cut in the woods.
Tunnel through which the locomotives passed to access the locomotive shed.
Alan Wainwright explains the map of the various tub/wagon lines:
Starting at the engine sheds (red dot), the sheds being the first grey building to the right of the 'd' in Garesfield. The pit manager’s house is beside the horseshoe bridge (situated at the place of the gap in the red line). The wagon line then went through the pit buildings, the short left hand fork going to the screens where the coal first went to be sorted.
The main line then carried on through the bridge under Lintzford Lane, the first right hand branch going to the slag heap where the slag waste was tipped. Many folks around the area would go there every day with their sacks to collect the bits of coal the sorters had missed. They would spend most of their day there and collect maybe one bag of coal.
The next right hand branch went to the ‘Crusher” where the coal was prepared to make the coke in the beehive coke ovens. I remember as a lad my grandfather used to take me into the crusher “bait cabin” where he would talk with his two friends - both aptly named by the way - one was 'Black Harry', also the gamekeeper who lived in a cottage beside Sherburn farm, the other 'Nigger' J. Lawson. Whilst unpolitically correct today, their names were devoid of any racial or pejorative sentiment at that time: as these men worked amongst the finely crushed coal all day, their nicknames simply fitted their faces when they ended their shift each afternoon.
The line then forked off again to the left, beside where the Highfield Victoria Institute was - this being a recreational facility where local youths and men (from both Victoria Garesfield and Highfield) would go to play billiards, darts, dominos and cards etc. Although sadly destroyed in a fire one Guy Fawkes night many years ago, the shell of the institute can still be seen today. The line went about two hundred yards where there was a building with a hopper. The trucks used to tip the coal into coal lorries which were driven away for distribution. I think this depot closed in the late 1950s.
The branch line into the coke ovens was just beside the bottom crusher building (in the “V” of the junction). There was a bridge attached to this crusher building which allowed the public to get from Highfield to the Villas. There were several railway lines into the coke ovens area. The lines were constructed so that the top of the trucks were level with the height of the working area. The coke was extracted from the ovens with huge shovels which were attached to arched jibs by chains. This made it easier for the workers to load the coke into the trucks. As the trucks left the coke works there was a “weigh cabin” where each truck was weighed and the tonnage of coal / coke was recorded as it left the site.
The line then went under Pipe bridge and the 'Squeaky Bridge', then joined the main Consett-Newcastle railway line. The junction was approximately a hundred yards or so past the old Towneley Arms in Rowlands Gill. This line also served Dewenthaugh coke works and the Staithes at Dunston then went onto the main national railway.
Water used in the coking process was stored in the cooling ponds which were about 60yds x 40 yds (3.5 x 5.5m). The coolers were a great attraction to all the young lads in Highfield as they were laden with frogs and small fish and we used to spend many happy hours there. The water was pumped from the River Derwent at the Pump house in Chopwell woods next to the exit of the Pallis burn. There is still evidence of the building to be seen.
Starting at the engine sheds (red dot), the sheds being the first grey building to the right of the 'd' in Garesfield. The pit manager’s house is beside the horseshoe bridge (situated at the place of the gap in the red line). The wagon line then went through the pit buildings, the short left hand fork going to the screens where the coal first went to be sorted.
The main line then carried on through the bridge under Lintzford Lane, the first right hand branch going to the slag heap where the slag waste was tipped. Many folks around the area would go there every day with their sacks to collect the bits of coal the sorters had missed. They would spend most of their day there and collect maybe one bag of coal.
The next right hand branch went to the ‘Crusher” where the coal was prepared to make the coke in the beehive coke ovens. I remember as a lad my grandfather used to take me into the crusher “bait cabin” where he would talk with his two friends - both aptly named by the way - one was 'Black Harry', also the gamekeeper who lived in a cottage beside Sherburn farm, the other 'Nigger' J. Lawson. Whilst unpolitically correct today, their names were devoid of any racial or pejorative sentiment at that time: as these men worked amongst the finely crushed coal all day, their nicknames simply fitted their faces when they ended their shift each afternoon.
The line then forked off again to the left, beside where the Highfield Victoria Institute was - this being a recreational facility where local youths and men (from both Victoria Garesfield and Highfield) would go to play billiards, darts, dominos and cards etc. Although sadly destroyed in a fire one Guy Fawkes night many years ago, the shell of the institute can still be seen today. The line went about two hundred yards where there was a building with a hopper. The trucks used to tip the coal into coal lorries which were driven away for distribution. I think this depot closed in the late 1950s.
The branch line into the coke ovens was just beside the bottom crusher building (in the “V” of the junction). There was a bridge attached to this crusher building which allowed the public to get from Highfield to the Villas. There were several railway lines into the coke ovens area. The lines were constructed so that the top of the trucks were level with the height of the working area. The coke was extracted from the ovens with huge shovels which were attached to arched jibs by chains. This made it easier for the workers to load the coke into the trucks. As the trucks left the coke works there was a “weigh cabin” where each truck was weighed and the tonnage of coal / coke was recorded as it left the site.
The line then went under Pipe bridge and the 'Squeaky Bridge', then joined the main Consett-Newcastle railway line. The junction was approximately a hundred yards or so past the old Towneley Arms in Rowlands Gill. This line also served Dewenthaugh coke works and the Staithes at Dunston then went onto the main national railway.
Water used in the coking process was stored in the cooling ponds which were about 60yds x 40 yds (3.5 x 5.5m). The coolers were a great attraction to all the young lads in Highfield as they were laden with frogs and small fish and we used to spend many happy hours there. The water was pumped from the River Derwent at the Pump house in Chopwell woods next to the exit of the Pallis burn. There is still evidence of the building to be seen.
Brickworks
Along with coal, fire-clay was also extracted at Victoria Garesfield (most coal seams having an underlying layer of clay). From 1875 to 1928 a firebrick works operated in the colliery yard at Victoria Garesfield,producing a ready source of building materials and employing some twenty or so workers.
The hand-moulded bricks produced here were marked V.G.C. and were used in the construction of various buildings and houses erected at the colliery. The bricks were
light-buff/yellow in colour, a type then common across the Durham coal field.
Along with coal, fire-clay was also extracted at Victoria Garesfield (most coal seams having an underlying layer of clay). From 1875 to 1928 a firebrick works operated in the colliery yard at Victoria Garesfield,producing a ready source of building materials and employing some twenty or so workers.
The hand-moulded bricks produced here were marked V.G.C. and were used in the construction of various buildings and houses erected at the colliery. The bricks were
light-buff/yellow in colour, a type then common across the Durham coal field.
Initial Electricity and Water Supply
Electricity supply to the Victoria Garesfield site was provided by the colliery owners using waste heat from the coke ovens at Whinfield and transmitted by overhead line to the colliery. At Victoria Garesfield Colliery, electricity was also used to provide a water supply for the works. At the time of the opening of the colliery there was no public supply, and even when it did arrive at the turn of the century, it could not provide the vast quantities of water needed in the coke-making process and indeed to provide the steam for electricity generation. |
The water supply for the colliery was obtained from the River Derwent near Lintzford and an electrically driven pump then sent it up through Chopwell Woods, on a route roughly parallel to Lintzford Lane, to a reservoir at the colliery.
In the mid nineteenth century, the settling tanks by Pallis Burn - originally built for the paper mill at Lintzford - were also used to cool water from the mine workings at Victoria Garesfield, bricks from the colliery brick works being used for their repair.
Drifts and Seams Drift mines were used in areas where the coal seam was nearly horizontal and outcrops occurred at the surface, this being common in the Durham coal field. The mine was developed directly from the surface with entry to the seam at the outcrop and mining progressing inwards. Miners would dig into the bankside and follow the seam, in some cases seams were linked underground by drifts Drift mines required little preparatory work as the mine itself and coal production began almost as soon as work underground commenced, the mine simply following the seam underground. The SPECULATION DRIFT This was the first drift driven in 1869 into the Brockwell seam (3ft - 3ft 6in). It was located just north and west of the village next to Chopwell Wood and was connected to the screens by a tub way. The HOOKERGATE DRIFT The second drift, driven shortly afterwards and also into the Brockwell seam, was the Hookergate drift with plans to work reserves to the north of the lease in the Hookergate-High Spen area. Given the distance to the screens, an overland tub way crossing the colliery sidings on an elevated gantry was built. The CORONATION DRIFT This drift was driven in around 1902 and named to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VII. The entrance lay just behind Alexandra Street and north of the Speculation Drift and it ran right under Chopwell Wood coming to the surface in a cut close to Chopwell. Also known as the 'West Way', this drift worked mostly the Stone Coal and 5/4 (Bottom Busty) seams then a small area of the Tilley seam. It closed on 1 March 1934. The ASHTREE and RICKLEES travelling drifts To provide access to the Hookergate drift and allow men to access the Brockell seam workings as they progressed northwards, two travelling drifts were driven. The first was the Ashtree drift, one mile north of the colliery next to Spen Lane in High Spen in 1906. Almost two miles further north of the main colliery site, a second travelling drift was driven at Ricklees in around 1920. Stables were built at Ricklees to reduce the travelling time required to reach the coal face. The original stable building can still be seen today, the exterior much unchanged. The VICTORIA seam To compensate for the loss of the Coronation Drift abandoned in 1934, the incredibly thin Victoria seam - just 14-16 inches thick - was opend from the Speculation Drift workings. |
At Victoria Garesfield, the stables were located in front of the aptly named 'Stable Row', where 12 or so ponies that worked at the Victoria seam were housed. Located underground inside the pit itself, there were also stables for some 20 to 30 ponies that were used to work the Brockwell seam. These stables were white-washed to provide extra light, as the only time the ponies were taken outside was during the two weeks holidays at the pit in the summer. The ponies were otherwise kept in excellent conditions, given the importance of their role as a vital work tool. Pit ponies were generally put to work from the age of four and retired in their early teens. At Victoria Garesfield I remember seeing new ponies dragging sledges in the field behind the drift; being trained in pulling.
In the 1930s, two Clydesdale horses were reportedly used for heavier work around the colliery as well as, when required, for pulling the hearse from the village up the hill to nearby St Patrick's Church.
From the various drifts at Victoria Garesfield, some six seams were initially accessed:
the Brockwell, the Five Quarter, the Stone Coal, the Three Quarter and the Tilley with the addition of the Victoria seam in 1930, the first three having been worked since 1800 when Garesfield A pit was started. In 1961, as resources had been depleted and the closure of the colliery imminent, the last two seams being worked were the Brockwell and the Victoria. Dates of seams worked courtesy of the DMM 1914 - Brockwell, Five Quarter, Stone Coal, Three Quarter, Tilley 1921 - Brockwell, Five Quarter, Three Quarter, Tilley 1930 - Brockwell, Five Quarter, Stone Coal, Three Quarter, Tilley, Victoria 1935 - Brockwell, Five Quarter, Stone, Three Quarter, Tilley, Victoria 1950 - Brockwell, Five Quarter, Stone, Three Quarter, Tilley, Victoria 1955 - Brockwell, Stone, Three Quarter, Tilley, Victoria1960 - Brockwell, Victoria 1961 - Brockwell, Victoria |
Number of men employed at Victoria Garesfield
With 346 miners employed soon after its beginnings, Victoria Garesfield’s highest employment point was in the early nineteen hundreds; a result of the onset of the First World War. At the time of its closure in 1962, it provided employment for some 205 men.
With 346 miners employed soon after its beginnings, Victoria Garesfield’s highest employment point was in the early nineteen hundreds; a result of the onset of the First World War. At the time of its closure in 1962, it provided employment for some 205 men.
Opposite is a sack-barrow found at Victoria Garesfield which would have been used at the screens there. Whilst miners received their coal allowance 'loose' outside their coal houses in the back yard, coal for managerial staff was bagged up prior to delivery.
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Accidents and Fatalities
Accidents and fatalities recorded at Victoria Garesfield were relatively few, the first fatality being recorded in 1883. This involved the unfortunate Mathew Veile, aged 20, recorded as having been run over by wagons on the surface. The last fatality occurred in 1942, with the death of John Drummond, a charge hand, killed by a fall of stone.
In respect of accidents at the pit, when researching this information I discovered that my own grandfather, Gilbert Featherstone, had been involved in an accident in 1930:
Watson, James, 05 Jan 1930, aged 47, Stoneman, killed in a shot firing accident; he and Gilbert Featherstone had decided to light two fuses simultaneously - contrary to the usual custom - and when one shot did not take effect, Watson ran up to check it and was caught by the second explosion.
Accidents and fatalities recorded at Victoria Garesfield were relatively few, the first fatality being recorded in 1883. This involved the unfortunate Mathew Veile, aged 20, recorded as having been run over by wagons on the surface. The last fatality occurred in 1942, with the death of John Drummond, a charge hand, killed by a fall of stone.
In respect of accidents at the pit, when researching this information I discovered that my own grandfather, Gilbert Featherstone, had been involved in an accident in 1930:
Watson, James, 05 Jan 1930, aged 47, Stoneman, killed in a shot firing accident; he and Gilbert Featherstone had decided to light two fuses simultaneously - contrary to the usual custom - and when one shot did not take effect, Watson ran up to check it and was caught by the second explosion.
Whilst difficult conditions which involved working in damp, cramped positions in the dark with very little light meant that arthritis, rheumatism and miners' nystgmus were common health complaints for miners, men at Victoria Garesfield were at one time also exposed to yellow jaundice. In his document 'High Spen - A Hundred Years', Alex Johnson recounts how in the 1920s the rats in the mine were eliminated following the manager offering 'payment for tails'. In 1936, Bartholemew McNaughton, a shifter, died from the effects of yellow jaundice caused by the presence of rats in the colliery - several men at the colliery having been taken ill with the virus. On 28 Aug 1936 his widow was awarded £600 compensation by Priestman Collieries Ltd at Newcastle County Court. If possible, miners who had developped a health complaint would be assigned to positions requiring less physical effort such as working at the screens or at the 'off-takes' - intersection points where tubs arriving from the surface were intercepted and ropes changed prior to their dispatch to the different districts. The article opposite from the 'Nottingham Evening Post' of March 13th 1936 records the awarding of compensation to Thomas Carter who worked at Victoria Garesfield for four years. |
1st February 1936, Page: 231, Column: 2
Mystery Illness Of Miners
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The village – a community 1878 - 1962 It was in the 1881 Census that the village was first identified as Victoria Garesfield; although there were no street names recorded, just that of the village. Victoria Garesfield developed around the same time as the village of High Spen, and for the same reason; miners needed accommodation. In the earliest days of the village, two streets appeared out of the undifferentiated housing: Chopwell Cottages and Cowen’s Row, although there was no reference to Cowen’s Row in the two later censuses – perhaps some of it had been renamed – and Chopwell Cottages had been renamed Albert and Alexandra Streets by 1911. Victoria Garesfield - population According to data available in the various UK census, the number of inhabitants in Victoria Garesfield was: 1881: 425 1891: 641 1901: 560 1911: 514 Data: Alan Wright – ‘Chopwell Township. Aspects of Residency'. |
The table below was compiled using data from the 1911 census and indicates both the occupation and place of origin of those people living in the village in 1911.
Whilst many of those living and working at the colliery were originally from villages in Cumbria and Northumbria, some had come to Victoria Garesfield from much further afield. As the data indicates, it was not uncommon for some families to employ a domestic servant and board others in the employ of the colliery.
Whilst a sense of ‘otherness’ is thought to have existed within many mining communities, I cannot say this is something I felt, perhaps since most villages surrounding Victoria Garesfield were of similar socio-economical make-up; Chopwell, High Spen, Low Spen, Greenside, Barlow, Rowlands Gill, Blaydon etc. all having or having grown up around a mining communitiy.
I would, however, agree that through practices firmly embedded in my community, succeeding generations were prepared for employment in the mine and that ‘anticipatory socialisation’, where an understanding of the conditions and requirements of work were gained prior to entry in the workplace, certainly prevailed. I lived in the heart of the colliery village, the pit was on my doorstep, the pit yard was my playground, the wagon line along which the coal tubs were transported had been the route I walked along to school, and both my grandfather and my father had been miners at Victoria Garesfield. When my turn came at the age of 15, this was something that seemed logical, and when a year later I was of legal age to work underground, I do not recall feeling nervous or frightened at the prospect of harsh, physical work in an extremely uncomfortable confined space, nor of spending eight hours a day in almost total darkness – that was just how things were.
I would, however, agree that through practices firmly embedded in my community, succeeding generations were prepared for employment in the mine and that ‘anticipatory socialisation’, where an understanding of the conditions and requirements of work were gained prior to entry in the workplace, certainly prevailed. I lived in the heart of the colliery village, the pit was on my doorstep, the pit yard was my playground, the wagon line along which the coal tubs were transported had been the route I walked along to school, and both my grandfather and my father had been miners at Victoria Garesfield. When my turn came at the age of 15, this was something that seemed logical, and when a year later I was of legal age to work underground, I do not recall feeling nervous or frightened at the prospect of harsh, physical work in an extremely uncomfortable confined space, nor of spending eight hours a day in almost total darkness – that was just how things were.
Religion – Primitive Methodism
Methodist Chapels were a common feature of mining communities and Victoria Garesfield was no exception. The Methodist movement believed in saving the soul of the labouring poor; their 'God' was a 'God' of the oppressed; against the tyranny of the rich. To many, Primitive Methodism was perceived as a democratic, progressive form of religion and one through which the ‘power of the masters’ could be opposed; indeed in the 19th and early 20th century active trade unionists were often Primitive Methodists. Methodism was introduced early in the local area, John Wesley preaching at Low Spen on various occasions, the earliest recorded visit being June 1743. As itinerant preachers, Primitive Methodists were mobile within the communities, they were literate, used to speaking in public and they reportedly inspired trust. Methodism took on a greater presence in the area from the 1840s as the population around the colliery in High Spen increased. A Primitive Methodist Chapel was opened there in 1867, the Chapel at Victoria Garesfield being built in 1885. In the 1920s and 1930s all the chapels had good congregations and were the social centres for many people in these villages. |
Indeed, the general influence of Primitive Methodism was reflected in the lodge banners, many of which, especially the earliest banners, displayed allegorical religious and mythological images. There would appear to have been a strong link between Primitive Methodism and the creation of the Durham Miners Association as Thomas Hepburn, the father of the DMA (also leader of the Durham miners from the 1830s) was also a Primitive Methodist.
The Primitve Methodist Chapel in Victoria Garesfield had been built in 1885 using bricks donated by the Priestman Coal Company and erected in the main by the voluntary efforts of the men who worked at the pit. The original chapel building can be seen in the 'rear view' photo above right and was the central section with the two, tall arched windows. In 1903 proposals were approved for the addition of a Sunday school and a building to house the choir and organ.
The Primitve Methodist Chapel in Victoria Garesfield had been built in 1885 using bricks donated by the Priestman Coal Company and erected in the main by the voluntary efforts of the men who worked at the pit. The original chapel building can be seen in the 'rear view' photo above right and was the central section with the two, tall arched windows. In 1903 proposals were approved for the addition of a Sunday school and a building to house the choir and organ.
A bible presented by the Victoria Garesfield Primitive Methodist Sabbath School 16 June 1878 to Annie Clarkson for reciting at their anniversary.
Annie Robson Clarkson would have been 14 when she received the bible. In the 1881 census Annie was living in one of the wooden duckets with her parents James, cartman at Victoria Garesfield born 1840 in Aberdeen and Hannah born the same year in Ryton, her brothers and sisters Diana 14, Hannah 11, James Lancelot 6 and William 4. The family also had 2 lodgers in their home.
With thanks to Allan Rayner of Barnard Castle.
With thanks to Allan Rayner of Barnard Castle.
Pauline Smith from Victoria Garesfield and Joe Ray from Chopwell were the last couple to be married in the Chapel on 13 October 1962.
Welfare - the Durham Miners Association and the Colliery Lodge
The Durham Miners Association was formed in 1869 to represent the miners of County Durham and it was most influential in the mining communities prior to the creation of the welfare state in 1948 – it, in essence, having constituted a mini welfare-state for the miner and his family who, up until its creation, had virtually no welfare provision, ‘Poor Law Commissions’ being the only refuge for the unemployed.
A lodge - a union organisation - was formed at almost every oolliery, and each lodge provided a ‘Colliery Welfare and Institute’ funded through membership subscriptions to provide recreational, welfare and educational resources.
The Durham Miners Association was formed in 1869 to represent the miners of County Durham and it was most influential in the mining communities prior to the creation of the welfare state in 1948 – it, in essence, having constituted a mini welfare-state for the miner and his family who, up until its creation, had virtually no welfare provision, ‘Poor Law Commissions’ being the only refuge for the unemployed.
A lodge - a union organisation - was formed at almost every oolliery, and each lodge provided a ‘Colliery Welfare and Institute’ funded through membership subscriptions to provide recreational, welfare and educational resources.
Victoria Garesfield’s welfare hall was situated at Low Spen on William Morris Avenue. I recall enjoying many a hearty (subsidised) meal at the canteen as well as going to the dances held there that were very popular, attracting people from miles around. The hall also hosted many a function for local residents.
There was also an institute in Highfield on Victoria Terrace, which was built in 1901 by Whinfield coke works. Local youths and men from both Victoria Garesfield and Highfield would go to the institute to socialise. In addition to a reading room where a game of dominoes or cards was to be had, it also had a room with billiard tables. For those with welfare needs and or personal/social problems, the lodge was often the only source of assistance. Death and serious injury naturally being a constant concern for a miner and his family, lodges, in collaboration with the Durham Aged Mineworkers' Houses Association and through subscriptions paid by its members, also helped to fund homes for retired miners as well as much needed convalescent homes for whilst most miners enjoyed rent-free accommodation, prior to nationalisation a miner’s home was the property of his employer and if injured, ill and unable to work he could be simply turned out of his home. A retired miner would also have to give up his tied accommodation when he left work. The DAMHA grew from the vision of Joseph Hopper, a miner and lay preacher, who believed that a man who had served in the coal mines all his life deserved better than to be evicted from his tied colliery home when he retired. A small weekly levy voluntarily donated from miners’ wages, plus donations of land and materials from mine owners and others, allowed homes to be constructed and let free of charge. It was in 1922 that the Aged Miners Homes were built in Rowlands Gill; indeed the 1920s were the most prolific era for home building in the history of the Association, and by 1923 over 1 600 ex-mine workers were housed in aged miners homes. |
The Victoria Garesfield Lodge in 1924 requested that the Durham Miners Association consider the provision of a home for injured miners. Consideration was given but no progress was made until 1930 when following negotiations between the Coal Owners Association and the D.M.A. Conishead Priory at Ulverston was bought for £35,000 and was opened on 23rdAugust 1930. This convalescent home provided accommodation for 170 miners who usually stayed for two weeks. A miner would apply to his lodge for a place and if successful he would travel by train from Bishop Auckland to Ulverston, often with a little financial assistance from the lodge.
Prior to the advent of the National Health service, the local Nursing Association ambulance which was housed, maintained and manned by Thompson's garage in Rowands Gill was funded by weekly payments made by local miners and their families, including those from Rowlands Gill, High Spen and Victoria Garesfield.
Prior to the advent of the National Health service, the local Nursing Association ambulance which was housed, maintained and manned by Thompson's garage in Rowands Gill was funded by weekly payments made by local miners and their families, including those from Rowlands Gill, High Spen and Victoria Garesfield.
Every lodge had its own banner, earlier banners, as already stated carrying more religious images, later banners portraying more ideals of social equality between employers and workers. Victoria Garesfield’s lodge banner, of damask silk, sported a center portrait of James Keir Hardy (1856-1915), founder of the Independent Labour Party.
The Victoria Garesfield banner is thought to have been stored at the Welfare Hall in nearby Low Spen and destroyed in the fire that destroyed the building in the late 1980s.
The Victoria Garesfield banner is thought to have been stored at the Welfare Hall in nearby Low Spen and destroyed in the fire that destroyed the building in the late 1980s.
VICTORIA GARESFIELD LODGE BANNER 1953. Back left: John Thompson (my dad), Back right: Harry Hunter.
Front row left to right: Matt Joyce, Gilbert Featherstone (my grandfather), John Armstrong, George Jamieson, George Kell, Bob Dobson, George Beverly, Tom Charlton. Photo taken in front of the Welfare Hall at Low Spen. Photo courtesy of Bill Middleton, Durham Mining Museum.
1939 - 1945
By the outbreak of war there were about 20 volunteer Air Raid Wardens in Highfield and Victoria Garesfield, the Head Warden being Henry Braun, the Council Housing Manager, from Highfield. From the village of Victoria Garesfield itself, the wardens were:
Rowland Coleman of 12 Alexander St. (Miner)
Wilfred Gardner of 47 Victoria Terrace (Miner)
Issac Storey of 18 View Terrace (Miner)
Sarah Clark of Clavering House (Household Duties)
Cissie Davidson Clavering Cottage (Household Duties)
Jane McNab of 12 View Terrace (Household duties)
The Urban District was organized under five divisions, A-E., Victoria Garesfield, along with Highfield, Rowlands Gill and Lockhaugh, coming under division “C”.
Warden Posts were established in the populated parts of each division and in the “C” division a purpose-built warden post was established at each village. Post C4 was in the colliery yard of Victoria Garesfield Colliery.
The Casualty Service was also well served with volunteers: there being at least 30 in the Victoria Garesfield, Highfield and Rowlands Gill area.
The Deputy Overman at Victoria Garesfield Colliery, Mr. G. W. McNab of View Terrace, was the Superintendent of the Rowlands Gill First Aid Party Depot. First Aid Party members from the village included miners R. Gibson of Albert Terrace and William Scott of 40 Victoria Terrace.
Closely associated with the First Aiders was the Ambulance Service. Whilst there had been no public ambulance service prior to the war, there were a number of ambulances within the Blaydon Urban District Council area. The "High Spen, Victoria Garesfield, Rowlands Gill and District Nursing Association" had an ambulance based at Towneley Garage in Rowlands Gill. This ambulance, financed by subscription, was available free to subscribers and on payment to everyone else. Priestman Collieries had three ambulances at Chester South Moor, Ottovale and Norwood - all outside the U.D.C. area but on call to all of Priestman's collieries.
A number of buildings were designated as Rest Centres and Feeding Centres to be used temporarily by people made homeless by bombing or unable to cook meals because of bomb-damage. That nearest to Victoria Garesfield was centre No. 179 at St Patrick's Church Hall which could feed and accommodate up to 50 people. Local food shops were nominated to supply food to Feeding Centres, with T. Murray of Ramsey Street, High Spen was the supplier for St Patrick's Church Hall.
Emergency Provisions to ensure that goods, particularly food, would be available after heavy bombing were considered during the early part of 1940, and retailers were encouraged to form Traders' Mutual Aid Pacts. These were arrangements between retailers whereby they would come to each other's aid if premises were damaged by enemy action. Localised pacts included an agreement between Messrs. Murray and Cumberledge at High Spen, whilst Messrs. Whitfield who had shops at Victoria Garesfield, Highfield and Rowlands Gill entered into agreement with Messrs. Curry of Dene Crescent, Rowlands Gill.
The local Highfield Platoon of the Home Guard was grouped with Victoria Garesfield, High Spen, Chopwell and Blackhall Mill to form the High Spen Company. Whilst their meetings were held mainly at St. Patrick's Church Hall, the colliery offices at Victoria Garesfield were also made available rent free.
(Above information adapted and taken from: ‘Rowlands Gill and the North-East 1939 – 1945’ by Brian Pears.)
Bevin Boys who worked at Victoria Garesfield included two men from London; Billy Spencer and Harry 'Cocker' Jennings.
"BY THE LONG ROAD THEY TROD WITH SO MUCH FAITH AND WITH SUCH SELF-SACRIFICING BRAVERY WE HAVE ARRIVED AT VICTORY
AND TODAY THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE 1939-1945
COMMISSIONED BY MINERS OF SPEN AND VICTORIA COLLIERIES AND BRITISH LEGION, HIGH SPEN BRANCH"
(Inscription on the War Memorial commemorating First and Second World War,in the grounds of St Patrick’s Church, High Spen.)
AND TODAY THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD THEY DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE 1939-1945
COMMISSIONED BY MINERS OF SPEN AND VICTORIA COLLIERIES AND BRITISH LEGION, HIGH SPEN BRANCH"
(Inscription on the War Memorial commemorating First and Second World War,in the grounds of St Patrick’s Church, High Spen.)
In 1941, a public air raid shelter was built nearby next to St Patrick’s Church Hall and on the night of October 12th that same year, the inhabitants of Victoria Garesfield had a close call when the Luftwaffe dropped 3 bombs on their doorstep in Chopwell Wood just west of Pallis Burn.
The bombs, possibly been intended for nearby industrial targets in Consett, left three craters that are today known as ‘the bomb ponds’, and are still visible near Carr House Dene.
The bombs, possibly been intended for nearby industrial targets in Consett, left three craters that are today known as ‘the bomb ponds’, and are still visible near Carr House Dene.
HOUSING AND AMENITIES
Electric street and domestic lighting.
A privileged village, Victoria Garesfield was the first village in the High Spen area to get electric street lighting. This was introduced in the village around 1897, elsewhere only gas and oil were being used, when following the request of the local council, "in view of the poor state of lighting" the colliery owners agreed to light Victoria Garesfield only using eleven 50 candle-power lamps, every night from September 1st to April 30th (the "lighting season"), with the exception of four nights at full moon when lighting was not considered necessary. The contract to light the village was signed on December 2nd 1897, the colliery to supply the poles and fittings, the colliery workmen to do the installation work.
The first houses in the local area to have electric lighting were also at Victoria Garesfield (along with Lilley Drift, Rowlands Gill). The houses supplied were those of Priestman Collieries Ltd. employees and officials, where supplies were unmetered, plus workers’ houses where 2 light bulbs were permitted. This represented a considerable privilege at the time as domestic electricity only became widespread after the First World War.
Electric street and domestic lighting.
A privileged village, Victoria Garesfield was the first village in the High Spen area to get electric street lighting. This was introduced in the village around 1897, elsewhere only gas and oil were being used, when following the request of the local council, "in view of the poor state of lighting" the colliery owners agreed to light Victoria Garesfield only using eleven 50 candle-power lamps, every night from September 1st to April 30th (the "lighting season"), with the exception of four nights at full moon when lighting was not considered necessary. The contract to light the village was signed on December 2nd 1897, the colliery to supply the poles and fittings, the colliery workmen to do the installation work.
The first houses in the local area to have electric lighting were also at Victoria Garesfield (along with Lilley Drift, Rowlands Gill). The houses supplied were those of Priestman Collieries Ltd. employees and officials, where supplies were unmetered, plus workers’ houses where 2 light bulbs were permitted. This represented a considerable privilege at the time as domestic electricity only became widespread after the First World War.
Source: Brian Pears - http://www.bpears.org.uk/Misc/Water_Supply/
Domestic water supply.
In the late 1870s, Victoria Garesfield was one of the many small mining communities which lay within the district of the Blaydon Local Board (a Sanitary Board).
It was however, the neighbouring Ryton Local Board that first undertook to supply water to its district, organising the building of two service reservoirs at Greenside. By March 1882, both RLB reservoirs were in use and the inhabitants of Victoria Garesfield petitioned the Blaydon Local Board for access to water from the pipe that passed so close to the village.
The BLB took almost two years to prepare their plans to supply High Spen, Barlow and Winlaton with water from the RLB pipe, Victoria Garesfield initially excluded from the scheme. In April 1884, however, after further petitions and the threat of a letter to the Local Government Board, the BLB decided to include it. Supplies were to be by street fountains and also directly into houses - stand-pipes being the only method in place at Victoria Garesfield up until then.
By the middle of 1885, water was being supplied to Victoria Garesfield and on 19 October that year the reservoir located on the edge of Chopwell Wood and the village was filled.
As a result of a growing number of connections to the system, it became increasingly difficult to maintain supplies to the higher areas. In 1886 and 1887, severe droughts affected demand and made matters worse; in the summer of 1887 supplies to the reservoir at Victoria Garesfield were cut off every weekend and diverted to a nearby RLB reservoir at Rockwood Hill.
In the late 1870s, Victoria Garesfield was one of the many small mining communities which lay within the district of the Blaydon Local Board (a Sanitary Board).
It was however, the neighbouring Ryton Local Board that first undertook to supply water to its district, organising the building of two service reservoirs at Greenside. By March 1882, both RLB reservoirs were in use and the inhabitants of Victoria Garesfield petitioned the Blaydon Local Board for access to water from the pipe that passed so close to the village.
The BLB took almost two years to prepare their plans to supply High Spen, Barlow and Winlaton with water from the RLB pipe, Victoria Garesfield initially excluded from the scheme. In April 1884, however, after further petitions and the threat of a letter to the Local Government Board, the BLB decided to include it. Supplies were to be by street fountains and also directly into houses - stand-pipes being the only method in place at Victoria Garesfield up until then.
By the middle of 1885, water was being supplied to Victoria Garesfield and on 19 October that year the reservoir located on the edge of Chopwell Wood and the village was filled.
As a result of a growing number of connections to the system, it became increasingly difficult to maintain supplies to the higher areas. In 1886 and 1887, severe droughts affected demand and made matters worse; in the summer of 1887 supplies to the reservoir at Victoria Garesfield were cut off every weekend and diverted to a nearby RLB reservoir at Rockwood Hill.
In its early days, the system was not without problems and for their domestic water inhabitants of Victoria Garesfield on occasion had to resort to one of their previous sources of water; ‘Kitty’s well’ in Chopwell Wood. Although referred to as such, Kitty’s well not an actual well but rather a stream with clear-running water located in the vicinity of the locomotive shed, in the area known to the villagers as ‘Low Crags’. |
Housing
Management and skilled workers, it is true to say, were housed in what constituted more premium accommodation, in 1911 the colliery manager lived in ‘Chopwell Villa’, a detached house in a private setting, outside the immediate vicinity of the colliery, with a tennis court to the rear – reserved for the use of management and qualified employees. In my youth, the pit manager lived in Victoria House, the chief electrician and chief engineer in the two wooden houses behind School Row, slightly separate from the rows where the miners lived. Otherwise, there would seem to have been little, if any, hierarchy in the house allocation list, with the exception of the coal hewer who, always at a premium, would generally be placed at the top of any waiting list.
As accommodation in Victoria Garesfield was provided rent-free, in the event of a shortage, single men, often from outside the local area, were lodged as boarders in houses where there happened (or not) to be space available. In the 1911 census, 14 families in Victoria Garesfield recorded a ‘boarder’ or ‘borders’ in their household. As the 1911 census indicates, some families also employed a domestic hand, to assist with the endless household chores, in exchange for accommodation and a symbolic wage.
Management and skilled workers, it is true to say, were housed in what constituted more premium accommodation, in 1911 the colliery manager lived in ‘Chopwell Villa’, a detached house in a private setting, outside the immediate vicinity of the colliery, with a tennis court to the rear – reserved for the use of management and qualified employees. In my youth, the pit manager lived in Victoria House, the chief electrician and chief engineer in the two wooden houses behind School Row, slightly separate from the rows where the miners lived. Otherwise, there would seem to have been little, if any, hierarchy in the house allocation list, with the exception of the coal hewer who, always at a premium, would generally be placed at the top of any waiting list.
As accommodation in Victoria Garesfield was provided rent-free, in the event of a shortage, single men, often from outside the local area, were lodged as boarders in houses where there happened (or not) to be space available. In the 1911 census, 14 families in Victoria Garesfield recorded a ‘boarder’ or ‘borders’ in their household. As the 1911 census indicates, some families also employed a domestic hand, to assist with the endless household chores, in exchange for accommodation and a symbolic wage.
When my family grew from three to five with the arrival of my two brothers, we were able to move from a duckett to a stone house at No. 50 Victoria Terrace, this greatly increasing the amount of space and the level of comfort we enjoyed. The brick houses had two bedrooms plus a large attic area, along with a spacious living room and separate kitchen - the wooden ducketts consisted of a single bedroom which had to be shared by the whole family.
As two of the drifts worked by the colliery were located externally to Victoria Garesfield, (Ashtree Drift, Low Spen and Ricklees Drift, Greenside), and as there was a limited number of houses in the village itself, many of the men employed at Victoria Garesfield colliery lived in the nearby village of High Spen. In 1912 the colliery owners had taken over a considerable number of houses here, most of them concentrated in the rows of streets known as ‘the Ramsays’ which had been built in 1883 and included streets named Short Row West, Short Row East, Long Row West, Long Row East, Queen’s Row, King’s Row, North Cross Row, South Cross Row, Back Ramsay St. and Front Ramsay St..
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At Victoria Garesfield, whereas most houses were of brick, built using, in the main, bricks produced at the colliery's brick-yard, as already mentioned one particularity was the wooden ducketts. As wood was not at all commonly used in the construction of houses in the area, this may perhaps suggest the ‘temporary’ nature of some of the dwellings erected there. That this colliery village was all but demolished following the closure of the pit, may also lie in the fact that the village had, in essence, been little more than a temporary ‘work camp’; its community, as with all mining communities, having simply been located where there was coal to be mined, destined to move on once reserves had been depleted. |
When the colliery closed on April 13th 1962, the people of the redundant mining community generally dispersed to the nearby villages of Highfield and Winlaton, and later Rowlands Gill, where council houses were largely available. Home ownership at the time was a concept mostly foreign to the working-classes for obviously pecuniary reasons, and for the miner there was the additional reason that accommodation, as basic as it may have been, had always 'come with the job'.
In respect of the village itself, whilst the pattern of destruction which had occurred with the closure of the Spen pit two years previously repeated itself in Victoria Garesfield, the destruction was more complete; all of the ducketts and many of the other houses were demolished and the colliery buildings levelled, the chapel survived an extra year to be demolished in 1963. The National Coal Board returned the land to the Forestry Commission and then…
In respect of the village itself, whilst the pattern of destruction which had occurred with the closure of the Spen pit two years previously repeated itself in Victoria Garesfield, the destruction was more complete; all of the ducketts and many of the other houses were demolished and the colliery buildings levelled, the chapel survived an extra year to be demolished in 1963. The National Coal Board returned the land to the Forestry Commission and then…
A village so dear to me
In hindsight, it is clear that the demolition of the duckets - wooden structures with no interior sanitary facilities - would be inevitable at some point, even if at the time the demolition may have seemed brutal. Looking at the preserved haven of the village as it is today, it can only be considered a blessing that no property development has been permitted to date, and that Victoria Garesfield, the small, rural colliery village that meant so much to so many and that will always be so dear to me – was returned to nature.
In hindsight, it is clear that the demolition of the duckets - wooden structures with no interior sanitary facilities - would be inevitable at some point, even if at the time the demolition may have seemed brutal. Looking at the preserved haven of the village as it is today, it can only be considered a blessing that no property development has been permitted to date, and that Victoria Garesfield, the small, rural colliery village that meant so much to so many and that will always be so dear to me – was returned to nature.
NOTE: The Victoria Garesfield Tribute Tub is the craftsmanship of Graham Robson of Carrville, Durham - GRANGE IRON COMPANY.