West Herrington

Any history on Herrington begins with West Herrington, which is recorded as far back as the 1100’s. In the year 1291 a charter was agreed by one Richard Hoton to institute two perpetual chaplains to celebrate mass, one chapel was to be in Herverton  (Harrington) and the other in West Herrington for the family of Sir Thomas De Herrington, his wives Amice and Osanna  his parents Robert and Matilda.

 In 1414 the Rector of Houghton Rev John Newton and Robert Darcy his parishioners of West Herrington were brought before Bishop Langley’s official Ralph Stele and William Tart the Cannon of Darlington. The argument was that two priests be provided for the Blessed Mary of West Herrington to celebrate mass three times a week, the argument won by Robert Darcy and the Parishioners the two priests were installed.

A chapel to the Virgin stood until the sixtieth century, but no relics remain and it probably did not survive the dissolution of the Monasteries. (1536 -39 the suppression of monastic orders in England and the confiscation of their properties by Henry V111 and Thomas Cromwell at the reformation. there were some 650 monasteries, mostly Benedictine or Cistercian, some very small. Henry being bankrupt, sold most of the properties to laymen, who turned some buildings into manor houses e.g. Battle Abbey and demolished others to provide materials for new houses, others became cathedrals and churches. many historically valuable manuscripts were lost through the destruction of the monastery libraries )     There is also on record two men from West Herrington who joined the *Rising of the North (1569), one of the men was killed in the fighting.

The chapel of St. Cuthbert was completed in 1840, the foundation being laid on the 26^th  September 1839. The chapel was paid for by the Rev. E. S. Thurlow the Rector of Houghton, the cemetery was provided by the Earl of Durham. The first recorded burial took place on Nov 16^th 1840 the poor soul was William Curry aged just sixteen weeks from West Herrington Engine. There were to be more deaths in this family the next death was Elizabeth aged three years buried on the 28^th June 1846 the family now having now moved to the Fox Cover the family were still there when the next death in the family occurred this was Isabelle  aged  fourteen years she was buried on Dec 18^th 1854.

A early map dated 1863 shows a group of buildings at the top end of the Fox Cover which is on the route of the Lambton Railway, which suggests Mr Curry worked and lived on the wagon way .The route for the Lambton  Collieries  wagon way ran from Lambton to Sunderland passing through the Fox Cover, a engine would have been used to pull the wagons up the incline to Hasting Hill. Men were employed to operate the rope-hauling engine, thus the name “Engine” in place names i.e. “West Herrington Engine”. A road can be clearly seen which ran from West Herrington to these building at the Fox Cover (now Fox Cover Lane). Another road can also be seen which runs from West Herrington to Old Painshaw which also shows a group of buildings where the New Pit stood part of this road follows what is now the track from McClaren way down to Lady Beatrice Terrace.

New Herrington

The first mention of New Herrington in the church records is on the 19^th January 1856 it was the burial of George Hemitley aged twenty years. The first civil record is in the 1861 census of West Herrington. New Herrington is recorded having streets called South West Row and South East Row  also Herrington Engine Cottages, something to do with the Lambton wagon way perhaps.

New Herrington is described in the year 1894 has having chapels belonging to Christians and a Christian Lay Church. A lecture hall with seating for four hundred people. A billiard hall, recreation and reading rooms in connection with the Co-operative Stores. There was also “two hole in the wall” post boxes, one located in West Herrington with the collection time of 3.30 p.m. the other was in New Herrington with two collection times 1.15 and 8.10 p.m., the nearest post office was Philadelphia.

A list of prominent people was also published mainly shop owners.

William Aittis – shoemaker.

George Ashmore – butcher.

Charles Banks – butcher.

Robert Clark – fruiterer.

Mr. Raine – Manager of the Co-op store.

Tom Errington – draper.

Robert Gaff – fruiterer.

Rev.Frith.

Robert Oliver – wine, spirit, ale porter and grocer,

Mr.Young – Mine Manager.

Miss Ann Miller of Herrington Burn.
Mention of the burn it is described as a well of boiling fresh pure spring water in abundant supply, the main source of water for the village of Herrington. It then goes on to say it is now piped off due to a fatal epidemic.

    In the early 1800’s there was a group of collieries namely Newbottle and Success collieries they were owned by John Neasam

there were grouped under the name of Newbottle Colliery, Neasam sold the group to the Lambton family.  The Lambton family on the whole, treated the work force quite well compared to the other colliery owners.  The Lambtons were later to sell the company to John Joicy. The company’s name was then changed to “The Lambton  Hetton and Joicy Coal Company”

 The first miner’s safety lamp invented by Dr Clancy was tested in one of Londonderry's pits (Herrington Mill pit)

Many of you will know before the birth of Tyne & Wear  New Herrington was a  category “D” village  in the County of Durham , the local council being Houghton - Le -Spring Urban District Council. Since 1966 Herrington has lost a school but gained an industrial estate build on the site of former colliery houses, Old Row East and West,  George Street East and West and Catherine Terrace to name a few,  at least the name Freezemoor lives on in the name of the road leading into the industrial estate. Sadly there is now  no colliery and what is left of the pit heap will soon be gone forever. All traces of the reasons why New Herrington was created in the first place will soon be gone.

                No longer a thriving shopping parade where you buy anything from a fancy hat to a tin bath. The CO -OP with windows lit up with fairy lights at Christmas time, Rickaby’s mobile shop being pulled round the streets by his faithful horse Bella, us kids following the horse drawn carts loaded with coal so we could earn two bob for shovelling the coal into the coal house via the hatch,  great big lumps of coal in them days. Playing football on the green using the washing poles for goal posts,  mind you if there was washing hung out you had to be a good runner when the woman came out to check her washing, building bonfires and keeping the wood in the back yard for weeks to stop other kids from stealing it I remember when George Street was pulled down the bonfires were massive come November 5th of course we always had the biggest bonfire didn’t we.

                Another memory I have is lessons with  Mr. Forster fondly nick named “The Goul”,  in certain lessons we used to get him talking about the war he would talk for hours what an education, incidentally he was also an excellent artist.  

                I can also remember a family of gypsies with a horse drawn caravan camping on the George Street site before the playing fields were laid, one  of the children used to love carnation milk sarnies uck!,  can anyone remember the  travelling fair calling each year.

You may ask where did we all come from ...........

MIGRATION OF THE MASSES

A close look at the any census will reveal that the population had originated from far and wide ,Cornwall and Scotland etc.

Men who upped  roots to find work in the mining communities My great grandfather one William Wilson moved from Dundee in the 1880's described as a Coppersmith he came to find work, and along with my great grandmother lsabella settled down in Herrington and reared a family they lived the rest of their lives in the community and are  now both buried together in the Church yard .Another family the Calvesbent'S hailed from Colchester  John the head of the family found work at the pit as a store Keeper along with his wife Anne and children Anne Mary and James settled into No 3 Fenton Terrace in or around 1881,the family had lived in Philadelphia previous to that.

This migration of the work force was the result of the opening up of the Northumberland and Durham coalfields

       The coal was needed to fire the country into the Industrial Revolution, The railways opened up the whole country and also connected whole communities together and of course used coal to drive the steam trains This enabled people to travel and move about a lot easier previous to the coming of the railways.

    Talking about railways there was quite a large industrial railway on our door steps called the Lampton Railway, but that's another story...

1876

  It was decided to give the hewers at Herrington pit 6d more per shift, which was equal to 10% of their pay. On condition they except the "Billy Fairplay" mode of working.

June 10th 1936

A young Herrington girl aged 16 years, was killed, when she ran onto a railway line and was knocked down by a train near Grange Over Sands station. Margaret Wheatley was employed by a Mrs Dyer, she was looking after her employer's dog when it ran onto the railway, Margaret without thinking ran after the dog, but tragically she was hit by the train, she died the next day in Ulverston Hospital Lancashire. Her father and mother, Joseph and Rachel lived in No 27 Catherine Terrace. She was buried on Sunday 14th June in St Cuthbert's Church yard. She was later honoured (the highest achievable by a member of the public) by the R.S.P.C.A. who also paid for and erected her grave stone. if you look carefully at the wording on the headstone, the day she died is recorded as the 4th June, when in other reports the date she died is Saturday 10th June 1936.

 The same Sunday that Margaret was buried the men at the New Pit voted to return to work after a underground fire had started in the Hasting Way of the five quarter seam, the fire had been discovered by John Davison the brakeman. The men had been concerned that there was still a danger, the area had been inspected by the check weighman Mr. C. Bassett, who through the men's spokesmen Mr. T. Pigford, had requested the inspector of mines be involved. This would help to determine the cause of the fire.

    A party from the management including Mr. J.N.O. Rodgers,  the sub agent for L.H.J.C. (Lambton, Hetton and Joicey Collieries ) Mr. Fry the colliery manager and members from the mines rescue from Houghton, Elswick and Lambton depots, inspected the area, and it was declared safe.

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