Memories of New Brancepeth and Ushaw Moor

Memories of New Brancepeth and Ushaw Moor

I offer this piece, having been inspired by the heart warming articles written by Mr McLoughlin and others. Why do we indulge in going back? From my point of view it is partly to enable me to understand why I am what I am today. It is a case of looking at my roots and tracing subsequent developments. It is also a pleasure to look back and there is nothing wrong with doing that, as long as one lives in the present and has hopes and plans for the future.

My mother, Lilian, was one of three daughters born to Richard "Dickie'' Hope and Ethel Hope. The others were Ethel and Doreen. She also had a brother, Norman. Ethel [the daughter] died in 1982. My mother died in 1984. Norman currently lives in Brandon with his sister Doreen. I mention such detail because I am conscious that some of their generation might well remember them.

I attended the New Brancepeth infants and junior school before moving to Ushaw Moor in 1954.I remember my first day at Ushaw Moor County School; my first teacher was Mr Spence, who went on to marry a fellow teacher, Miss Marr. I failed the 11 plus examination and went to Ushaw Moor Modern School. I am aware that the examination was based on a false premise: that intelligence could be measured without certain factors, including cultural advantages, coming into play. The creator of the tests that inspired the 11 plus, Cyril Burt, has been largely discredited. Fortunately quite a few of the 75 or so per cent who were "rejected'' at the age of 11 went on to prove how unfair the system was.

Many worthy pupils from New Brancepeth joined pupils from Ushaw Moor County School and Bearpark School to form Ushaw Moor Modern School in early April 1959: Malcolm Gibb, Edith Smith and Pauline Newman come to mind but I could list several more. Edith and Pauline became members of the school netball team and Malcolm, the gentle giant, should in my view have been picked to play for the school football team. The Ushaw Moor County football team had done very well in 1958/59, having won the league cup and achieved runners up spot in the top [division A] league. Phillip Stoddard was a prolific scorer for us and skipper David Maddocks was a tower of strength at centre half. The Modern School team, despite appearing fairly good on paper, finished about third off bottom in division A in 1959/60.We lost too many games by the odd goal. I was that team's captain but looking back I was not a very expressive leader, partly I suppose, because of my youth.

There are some incidents from my childhood that have stuck in my memory and one other that was relayed to me by my stepfather, Don Albone. In about 1950, according to my late stepfather, a worker at New Brancepeth Colliery, I do not know his name, lost a limb as a result of working alongside one of the pit locomotives. My stepfather, who was one of the locomotive drivers, told me that he was incensed by the colliery management's subsequent treatment of that man and he nearly convinced the colliery workers to come out on strike. At roughly the same period of time a child was rushed to hospital in Durham but very sadly died [I think of appendicitis]. My family lived at the same address on the bottom floor, the child and her family lived on the top floor.

Finally I remember when that brilliant footballer, Len Shackleton, came to Ushaw Moor in the late 1950s to formerly reopen a men's hairdressing shop, which was located a little above the Ushaw Moor Working Men's Club.

W Bell

Family Life

My family was one of the first sixteen families to move onto the new council housing in Ushaw Moor in January 1947. To move from 29 Harvey Street in New Brancepeth into 38 Victoria Court, Ushaw Moor, was a cultural shock even at eight years old. An indoor flush toilet, hot and cold running water and a bath was truly out of this world. It was like winning the Lottery. The first sixteen families were housed in the last four and the first eight numbered houses in Whitehouse Court. We were housed in the last numbered four houses in Victoria Court. I could write a book about those early years in Ushaw Moor but people would not be interested. I find it odd that people do not write their memories for future generations. The first winter there was horrific. I remember waking up to find the snow drifted up to the bedroom windows. The country was at a halt for a number of weeks but the enjoyment from the snow was great for an eight year old. I watched fields being eaten up by housing as the whole of the estate was built up over the next ten years, Oakridge Road up to Ash Avenue, was the second phase, people were housed in decent housing from the colliery rows. Progress was made in strides then, everything was new and exciting after the austerity of the war years. The end of rationing, St. Josephs school and Church, the Store on Durham Road, the freedom to roam down the beck, and the companionship of boyhood friends made life happy. My Dad died in September, 1947, in the County Hospital at the top of North Road in Durham. This was a huge blow but my Mam, God Bless her, took over the responsibility of raising her five children and made a fantastic job of it. Many happy memories. I hope someone reads this and adds their own memories.

BRIAN MC LOUGHLIN

Location: Hebburn, Tyne & Wear

North East History : Echo Memories

North East History : Echo Memories: "Industrial unrest brings hard times and even harder bosses

By David Simpson

Ushaw Moor's original colliery village overlooked the colliery threequarters of a mile west of the present village and was the scene of a troublesome strike in the 1880s. The colliery owner, Henry Chaytor, of Witton Castle, was an uncompromising master.

Sanitary conditions in his terraces were appalling and wooden huts housing additional miners were described as 'the most wretched dwellings it was possible to conceive'.

Conditions in Chaytor's mine were no better, and men complained of working in 18in of water. Chaytor hated unions and appointed Thomas Robinson, a ruthless colliery manager who assigned the best seams to his favourite employees and reduced the wages of others. Robinson was especially hard on miners with union connections. Before 1881, two union representatives were removed from the colliery."

more......

Old Store Ushaw Moor

Broughs store at the bottom

of Station Road operated a delivery service which covered a large

area of the Deerness Valley. They created employment for at least

22 people in 1914.

a policeman called JOCK

mike kipling

Location: ushaw moor

Ushaw Moor Memories:

some one was talking about a policeman called JOCK, that was jock allen he did ride a green motorcycle and he was killed in an axxident while riding it. i was raised in ushaw moor, i was born 26/2/1946 and lived my early years at the top end of ushaw terrace. we then moved to bracken court number 4 we were one of the first to move into the new houses. i remember climing on the partly built houses as they built the rest of bracken court and oak ridge road. does anyone rember the little store at the bottom of bracken court. i rember two of the storemen that used to run it. first there was chris kitchener, who lived just through the cut. then there was hugh gradey who lived along oak ridge road. i still remember the che mist shop ar the bottom of station road on the righthand side. the general store in the same area run by defty,s then the proctors. chip shops we had a boat loads, betty,s,hoppers, lukes, babs, jacksons. i,ll close for now and come back on again at a later date with more blasts from the past hoppers

Relley Bridge

Opening of New Relley Bridge

See More PHOTOS Here

Durham Miner Project - Ushaw Moor 1800 to Present - Timeline

Durham Miner Project - Ushaw Moor 1800 to Present - Timeline: "1900April � one fatal accident on the surface.

1903December � one man run over by tub.

190916th February � Stanley Pit Disaster. The explosion caused the loss of 175 men and boys.

1932November � 2 lives lost due to explosion of firedamp."

Ushaw Moor Co-Op -- brian mcloughlin-- Tue Nov 16 1:42:17 GB-Eire 2004

Tonight I would like to concentrate on the building where Mc Cormicks shop is now situated in Durham Road. This building was constructed in the years leading up to the First World War by the New Brancepth Cooperative Society. If we start from the first department of the store from the Broompark end then this was the Greengrocery department. There was a female employee worked in this department but I cannot remember her name. Next was the Butchery Department. The butcher was Norman Ridley and he lived in a flat behind the Butchers shop. The butchers shop was huge and in the war years when I was a child there was a lack of fresh meat. The shop was spotless and you could literally eat your food off the floor. (My Dad was serving his time as a bricklayer in 1915 on this site when as an eighteen year old boy he volunteered for the Army and enlisted with the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.) The thing that fascinated me as a young child was the size of the walk in fridge in the butchers shop. There were no domestic fridges in those days; it was the first fridge I can remember.

Next to the Butchers traveling towards the Flass was a loading area which was used among other things to take goods up to the Hardware Department upstairs in the store by means of a pulley system. The main door to the store led into the Grocery and Hardware Departments. The stairs leading to the Hardware Department rose directly from the main door. It was a very limited magic world of shoes, bedding, lino, furniture, cloth, buttons, cottons, and high ceilings. The man in charge was Eddie Manford whose family originated from Pringle Place at New Brancepeth. If you turned to the right inside the main door you entered the magic world of the Grocery Department. Butter and cheese came in barrels in those days, the wooden barrels were stripped from their contents and the butter or cheese was cut into portions with thin steel wires. Everything was measured out and placed into strong paper bags and it was magic to watch sugar, flour, raisins, currants, biscuits, and other commodities expertly weighed and bagged very quickly. The men behind the counters were known personally, Kit Kitchen Billy Calvert amongst them and they were on first name terms with all customers. The bill was made out by the server but you took the bill to the office. The "office" was a small area enclosed by a wooden partition which looked out onto Durham Road. There was a small hatch where the transaction took place. The lady, again I cannot remember her name took the bill and asked for your check number. She then gave you a small paper check which registered the money you had spent The smell in the different departments were magic, numerous unwrapped commodities side by side, they blended to create individual smells for each Department. Last but not least was the Cobblers, this situated on the gable end of the store where the road led down to High View. The smell of leather and chemicals in the polishes was magic, plus the sound of the high speed lathes, or a knife cutting leather and the nails being hammered into the leather repairs. Danny Henderson from Mew Brancepeth worked there and I knew the cobbler as "Cody" who I think came from Esh Winning. Our check number was 27. An article on the "Dividend" is in the pipeline. I hope readers enjoy this and add their own memories to this excellent website. Please add to this article.

Durham Miner Project - Deerness Valley Railways - a history 1943 - 1947

Durham Miner Project - Deerness Valley Railways - a history 1943 - 1947

Durham City Villages

Durham City Villages: "The history of the Deerness valley goes back a long way as a Roman road called DERE STREET passed through this area. It crossed the River Deerness somewhere between Ushaw moor and Esh on its way towards the Roman fort at Lanchester.
Read more about the history of the Durham City villages in the archives of
The Northern Echo's Durham Memories by David Simpson
Memories by David Simpson

Soldier Story.com - Links from I was There , an autobiography by Frank Proctor

Soldier Story.com - Links from I was There , an autobiography by Frank Proctor:

"The Soldier at sea before D-Day:

I never experienced any cringing with those aboard. I suppose they were all trained soldiers ready to do what soldiers are expected to do. So whatever was at hand we would get on with it, whether it was enjoying the canned fruit, battling the very rough sea, taking cover from hostile aircraft, or discussing the chances of survival. As one lad lightly commented when we were strafed at random by a German aircraft, 'I thought one of those bullets had my name on it.' It had grazed his cheek. This was a survival game. "

A Passage from A Soldiers Story by Frank Proctor, former resident of Ushaw Moor,.

My memories of Ushaw Moor

I have a vivid memory of time I spent in this village, as a child I remember hardly ever being in the house, I was either up the woods, near ushaw college, or down the beck, "catchin minners". Life seemed so much better then. Well those were the days, by the way,, great site....:)

James William Chappell

Ushaw Moor Historical Website: "James William Chappell was reputedly the first person in Durham County to own a bicycle with pneumatic tyres. He is seen here with the machine he rode to London and back in 1890. "

ANN HIRD OCTOBER 2004

I don't know if it's the same enid greenwell as dated queensland Feb. 2003 but we used to be great friends till she moved to australia with her family when she was 11 she also had a younger sister .we used to go to a place called broadgate i have only just found this sight i was born in the village and have lived here all my life i went to ushaw moor infants & junior school then the secondary school i was born in 18 dale street .we used to go on the ushaw moor club trip some times on coaches or on the trains from ushaw moor station my mother rhoda hird sill lives in the village if any one can remember her but sadly my father died a albert hird .if you are the same enid greenwell did you live in ushaw terrace and if you visit this sight again i would like to hear from you i have found this sight very good as a lot of the people i knew when i was growing up in the village.

Brian McLoughlin 23rd June 2004

I read the "Autobiography of Frank Proctor" some time ago and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I would recommend this book to any of the older generation in Ushaw Moor.

Frank was a very strong character who went as a very young man with a number of friends to work on the farms in Canada. He suffered homesickness as one by one his friends returned to the Ushaw Moor area and he was left alone in a strange country thousands of miles away from his home.

He was a very strong Christian and it was his faith that carried him through these difficult times. He was, as a young man, very strongly influenced by Vicar John Welby who was the vicar at Saint Lukes CE Church on the Esh Winning road.

He married in Canada and shortly after joined the Regina Rifles and served with the Canadian Army in Europe throughout the entire Second World War. He managed to visit Ushaw Moor on leave a couple of times during the War.

This man was a tribute to his home village and the hard times he suffered as a young man. His faith in God had a major bearing on his life but this book is about Franks' life and his family.

His early memories of Ushaw Moor are fascinating, his mother was stewardess at the "Bush" at the bottom of the village for a while.



Again I would recommend anyone of the older generation to read the book.

B. Drysdale , Billingham 28th June 2004

I enjoyed reading about Martin and Ruby Gallagher. My Gran and Grandad lived at 28 Arthur St. and as a child I was often sent to the little shop. It was a happy place, Ruby was always singing. My Gran never called her Ruby Gallaher it was Ruby Deaton. Also in Arthur St. were Mrs. Quinn, Mrs. Jolly , Mrs. Nanncarrow and the Wallige family. They were friendly with the Young family who lived in Whitehouse Lane.
The place I liked most was the Co-Op Store. I think the Manager was called Kilpatrick. Sometimes we had to go upstairs to the shoe dept. It was like an Aladdin's Cave. All kinds of boxes and drawers, I would have loved looking inside them, but all my Gran ever bought were Portland shoes. Another of my favourite places was the Empire Cinema. Upstairs, at the front, my head on the wide rail watching anything and everything, and a bag of Cherry Lips, magic.
My Gran kept the Doctors surgery when it was in Arthur St. Does anyone remember Dr. Dickinson? He was there when Dr. Millyard came to Ushaw Moor. Anyone wanting the Dr. would phone my Gran on 'New Brancepath 202' and leave a message for the Dr. to call.
Other names from my early years in Ushaw Moor are Billy Defty, Tommy Hall, John Aberdeen and Susan Lough. Susans' family had the shoe shop on Station Rd.
Did anyone go to the Christmas parties at the Baptist Chapel? They were great fun, games and food, all home made by the ladies of the Chapel. We all had to wind different coloured cotton around our knives forks and spoons so that we didn't get them mixed up. They were held in the school room of the chapel, it seemed huge. The tables were set up on tressles, and everyone contributed plates and bowls, I wonder if they were returned to their owners?
Well I hope I have set some memories stirring. My Gran and Grandad were Janet and Jo Henderson, my Aunt Cissie and Uncle Jack lived next door at No.29 Arthur St. My Mams name is Peggy Elliott and she lives near me in Billingham. Looking forward to reading some more memories.

Keep them coming.

Ernie Lang Hobart, Tasmania Thu Jun 17th 2004

Fantastic - I've only just found this site (17 June 2004) and am really keen to provide input - when I have the time. But for the moment this will suffice (hoping it might capture some response from long "lost" friends.

I grew up at Red House Farm (College Road), attended Ushaw Moor primary then Whinney Hill. Parents still alive and well living in Seggiston, brother Malcolm still in area - lives in West Pelton - and sister Margaret lives in Witton Gilbert. I guess I am the "black sheep" having left in 1958 to join Merchant Navy and then for good in 1970 when I emmigrated to Oz (Perth).

Like I said, more when I have the time.

Brian Mc Loughlin Mon April 6th 2004

I have looked into the UM site for the past couple of years and I have met Paul Clough who runs the site and I think it is a great shame that more residents and ex-residents do not use this great facility. Hebburn, where I have lived for over thirty years has a great website, many residents of the Town use the website, and also many ex-residents who now live all over the globe contribute to the site. The photos and memories on the Hebburn web site are an ongoing part of the past and the present of Hebburn. I know that many persons that I grew up with are still resident in the Ushaw Moor area but their names and memories are not recorded on the Ushaw Moor web site. Does anyone remember Crook Store, Malones, Metcalfes the Bakers , Joe Lowerys Ice Cream Shop, Jack Maltby the Barber, Fred Parkinsons Butchers, Lukes Fish Shop and many of the other shops on Station Road.

I think it would be a tribute to the village of Ushaw Moor and Paul Clough if more people contributed their memories to this excellent web site. Your Community Web Site could be an ongoing Forum for discussion about the future of the village if more younger computer literate residents took an interest in the web site. I enjoy contributing my memories to the village web site where I spent my formative years, I would like to think that in thirty years time the present children of Ushaw Moor will be contributing their memories to the Web Site. If present residents do not contribute their memories or their opinions now this excellent facility may come to an end.

Barbara Porter Australia Feb. 24th 2004

My grandfather Frederick Vickers worked at the Ushaw Moor coal mine and lived at 29 Ladysmith Tce. All his children were born there including my mother Jane, born 1916. During WW11 I went to live with my grandparents for a short while and went to Ushaw Moor Infant School. I often saw Vicar Welby as the manse was at the end of Ladysmith Tce and I once went to tea there. My grandfather owned a big allotment in front of Ladysmith Tce where he grew vegetables and kept hens and pigs. Neighbors would come to buy fresh vegetables from him and Chrysanthemums when available. I spent many hours in summer collecting blackberries for my grandmother's yummy blackberry and apple pies. No one seemed to worry about us wandering off on our little adventures in those days although I was very young.

Happy times.

Roy Lambeth Nov 30th 2003

Ushaw Moor


Having failed my 11+ exam, in September 1959 I went to Whinney Hill Secondary Modern School (i was living in Musgrave Gardens in Gilesgate, Durham). Some of the more senior boys tried to make us feel welcome by fiding out our interests and introducing us to senior with similar interests. Being a trainspotter I was introduced to the late Stephen Dent who lived at 22 Whitehouse Lane in Ushaw Moor (he was related to the Tallentyre Dent family - the bakers shop at the cross roads). His Father worked as a clerk with British Railways in Newcastle. One saturday I was invited to go with him to meet some of his railway friends. I went from Durham to Ushaw Moor by bus (United No.44), found Whitehouse Lane and headed up the back street as instructed. Since very few gates had numbers on them I soon lost count so I asked directions from an elderly lady, but before I got my information I was ushered into her kitchen and fed homemade cakes with a cup of tea. Being from a housing estate in Durham, this surprised me but I was to find out that it was typical of mining communities. Then I learned why I was in the back street. She told me that the front door was only used for "Hatches,Matches & Dispatches" but the back door was ALWAYS open.

Having found Stephen, he took me down to Ushaw Moor Railway Station and introduced me to Jack Railton the station porter. The station had been closed to passengers for many years but it was kept open 5 1/2 days a week for parcels. There was a very old passenger coach in the siding that customers would use to leave parcels if the office was closed. Jack took us over the wooden viaduct to meet Jack Hammill (don't know his spelling) the signalman at New Brancepeth Signal Box (see my picture in the Gallery).

***See more of Roy Lambeth's Photo's HERE

From this first meeting in late 1959, until the closure of the Deerness Valley line I was a regular visitor to both station and signal box. In July 1960 I even travelled out to Ushaw Moor on Miner's Gala Day and went to The Big Meeting by train. During the next few years until the line's closure I would meet Stephen en-route to Esh Winning where we would go to The Big Meeting by train from Waterhouses Station at Esh Winning. In later years I spent several happy afternoons with Jack during his retirement at his home at Langley Moor. Stephen joined the Railways when he left school and had periods as Station Inspector in the Manchester area and Blackburn before going to the Bristol area where I lost touch with him. Several of his extensive collection of signal box photographs have been published in the railway magazine Backtrack where one day I saw the credit "The late S.C.Dent"

Roy Lambeth Nov 30th 2003

Relly Mill,

As a frequent trainspotter at Durham Station, I got to know most of the staff quite well. I would often end up on the footplate of the steam banking engine - with complete approval of all but the Railway Police who just turned a blind eye. If I agreed to carry the daily water supply to the signal boxes, I was allowed to travel in the guards van. This is how it worked. After the last of the rush hour trains heading south each morning that all needed banking out of the station, the banker would go to the old engine shed site and pick up 2 blue spot fish vans and a goods guards van and shunt them into the parcel bay at the south end of the station. I would have to take the water churns (galvanised steel about 5 gallons capacity) and fill them in the Left Luggage Office with the help of the attendant Billy White. When the 5 churns were loaded we would head out over the viaduct, taking the Bishop Auckland line at Relly Mill Junction. At Deerness Valley Junction I would take one of the churns up the long steps to the signal box returning with the empty one, while the engine would go into Broompark sidings a drop off the fish vans and run round the guards van. Then it would be off to Baxter Wood Nos.1 & 2 Signal Boxes where I delivered the water and again collected the empties. Then it was under the bridge of the Bishop Auckland line to Bridge House Signal Box on the main line for another delivery, finally heading back to Relly Mill for the last water delivery. It was then hell-for-leather back to Durham to drop off the guards van and cross all the tracks at Durham North Signal Box in time to bank the 10.16am to Kings Cross. Sundays was slightly different because there was more time to do it and each box got a delivery of signal oil (paraffin) for the signal lamps and often one of the Baxter Wood boxes would be closed (switched out). It was on my first trip to do this in about 1957 that I found the added attraction of Relly Mill with all the traffic on the Consett line in addition to the main line. Miner's Gala day was always worth a visit. I usually went there after all the banners had gone in and before they started coming out again because every available siding in the Relly Mill area had passenger trains stabled awaiting return to Durham. Standing on the road bridge you could see at least 20 passenger trains and their engines all sitting quietly awaiting their next turn of duty.
Happy Days

Brian Mc Loughlin Mon Oct 27th 2003

The schools in Hebburn are closed this week for the autumn half term holiday and this brings back memories of my own far off school days in Ushaw Moor. Tatie picking week was the first week of the holidays and you offered your labour to one of the local farmers. I picked spuds for Ernie Laing, the first farm on the College Road, another year for George Dixon at the College farm. another year for Billy Osborne at Broadgate Farm and another year for Stephensons at the farm behind Broom Crescent. It was back breaking work for young people, the tractor was at the beginning of your plot as soon as you had straightened your back after picking up the taties from the last row. If it was wet it was double the hard work. Half an hour for dinner, which was a sandwich and a drink of water and then the afternoon session began. I can still feel the exhaustion and the back ache even after all these years. I can still pick out the fields I picked the taties in.Billy Osborne was the worst payer at 6 pence an hour (2 1/2 new pence) and everyone wanted to work at the College Farm as George Dixon paid one shilling an hour (5 new pence) and the first Wednesday back at school he delivered a sack of taties and a couple of turnips to your home.The individual plots along the row were paced out by the farmer and marked with empty sacks (harn sacks) and you had to watch that the person on the next plot did not move the sack to their advantage and left you with more taties to pick. It was great to put your pail over your shoulder at the end of the day and go home which might be a walk from near Broadgate to Ushaw Moor. The novelty of being paid a wage at 11 years old was tremendous especially handing over the money to my Mother at the end of the week.I was in the North East of Scotland last week and saw taties being harvested by machines and it dawned on me that potatoes are no longer grown in this area, at least not in the amounts they were grown in the past. I can vividly remember closing my eyes to go to sleep at night and seeing taties in the soil in front of my eyes.The second week was easy as you could relax but as my mother preserved fruit for over the winter then blackberry picking was on the agenda in a big way. Most mothers preserved fruit for use over the Winter as fruit was not available all the year round as it is today. One of the best spots for blackberries was the small disused quarry above the demolished Ushaw Moor Colliery village. There were also plenty to be found in the derelict allotments on the East side of the village. Blackberry picking was a long tedious job and your hands and arms were covered in scratches from thorns but the end result of a blackberry pie with Carnation milk for Sunday afternoon tea was worth the effort. Life was pretty austere in those days and most people were in the same boat but I can never remember being bored as kids are today with everything that they have to keep them active.

Judith Vincent Greenwich 12th July 2003

Compared to those memories I have read this evening mine are very mundane but a few names might spark others memories. My Grandad was Martin Gallagher who built and ran the little grocers shop at the top of Arthur Street with his wife Ruby. They had two daughters, Shirley and Isabel (my Mam). Auntie Shirley and her husband, Tom Wilson (from Bearpark), succeeded to the shop then it passed to my Auntie Lily and her husband Bert. It finally closed around 1979/80. My Mam and Dad were living at 13 Arthur Street when my sister and I were born in 1964 and 1966.

We moved to Gilesgate in 1969 but I still spent a lot of my childhood visiting relatives in Ushaw Moor, by then my Grandad had moved to 11 Whitehouse Lane. I remember my sister and I being taken up to the allotments - to me it was like stepping into another world, pigeons everywhere! We would go for walks along the College Road then call in at "the shop" where we were allowed to choose a cake each. My favourite to this day is a peach melba.

My Grandad had a lovely Border Collie called Taff who used to fly to the back gate every time he heard a noise in the back street. In the end, the wall had to be re-pointed as a consequence of his regular pounding.

I used to love going to see Auntie Lily in the shop. Surely every childs dream is an auntie who lives in a sweet shop! I remember the awe in which the electric meat slicer was held and how odd it seemed that the eggs (all white shells in those days)were counted out from trays into paper bags. The smell of paraffin still instantly brings back memories of the shop. I always wondered why the sign board read "H & L Adams" when my uncle was called Bert, I couldn't believe it when he told me his real name was Herbert!

My Grandad moved from Whitehouse Lane into 16 Cochrane Terrace then to a nursing home in Coundon (where he was born in 1909) and died in 1996. The rest of us have spread all over the place, I live in London, my sister in Cardiff, Auntie Shirley and Uncle Tom in Guisborough and my Mam in Northumberland. Auntie Lily still lives in Ushaw Moor and I visit her with my children.

Brian Mc Loughlin 17th June 2003.

The last entry from Margaret Mc Lean is a wonderful description of a childhood spent in Ushaw Moor. Her Dad I think was the son of Jack Mc Dermott who was the landlord at the Flass for a lot of years. Her Dad Maurice worked at New Brancepeth Colliery and I think he was a brickie. Her Uncle John worked at Ushaw Moor Colliery. Maurice and Ellen moved into Oakridge Road and I think were neighbours of Jonty and Irene Ramm when the houses were built in the 1950s. Margarets e mail was full of memories and so refreshing. I hope she visits the site again and adds more of her memories. Jack Mc Dermott was the landlord of the Flass and I have many happy memories of enjoying a drink in that establishment. Good beer, (Deuchars beers) I think was the beer Jack sold. When the weather was inclement and you were en route to Durham for a night out you could enjoy a beer in Jacks whilst watching out of the bay window for the bus arriving in Ushaw Moor from Esh winning You then supped your beer and then jumped on the bus.

Thanks Margaret for setting off a chain of happy memories.

Margaret Maclean (Nee McDermott) Stockton-on-Tees 8th June 2003

I was born at 9.30 in the evening on the 10th August 1945 at the Flass Inn, Ushaw MoorMy mother Ellen McDermott (nee Cavanagh) was born locally, and who married my father Maurice Patrick McDermmott on 5th December 1943. I attended St Johephs RC Junior School and then moved onto St Leonards RC Secondary Modern School in Durham during 1952.I have fond memories of my childhood in Ushaw Moor. Mr Cairnes and his little dog, the old man, who lived next door to my friend, Thelma Haliburton. And 'Jock' the policeman, (I didn't ever know his real name) who, with the the sound of his little green motorbike left us children in sheer dread of doing something wrong - Usually playing on the grass! And playing down the 'beck' where we were not allowed for (as I now know) safety reasons. And for being sent to Stevenson's Farm for eggs and going home empty handed, say the farm was 'shut' because I wouldn't brave the aggressive turkeys who were loose in the farmyard.
These are such happy memories of such a safe place. A place of friendship and security. A place where values were learned. And a place that will never be forgotten...

Yours, John Harland, now retired and living in Norfolk.. 2nd May 2003

I was a pitlad born in Spennymoor. I started work at Chilton Colliery in 1944. I left in 1948 to volunteer for service in the R.A.F. I eventually arrived back in Durham and was employed as an Ambulance Driver-Attendant at the H.Q. Depot, Framwellgate Moor. Bobby Alderson was our Head driver. I remember him with affection. He was a highly organised man who ran our Depot with great efficiency. In my view, he was a credit to Ushaw Moor and a credit to the (then) Durham County Ambulance Service. I look back on my service there with considerable nostalgia, remembering a great work-force. In the course of my duties, I passed through Ushaw Moor very often.

Typical of we Durham lads, when we go down memory lane, the sentimentality is overwhelming and the silent tears begin to flow. Why is it that we should have such deep feelings for the mining industry? I was scared stiff to go down the pit and I did everything possible to stay out of them. My brother worked the whole of his working life in that industry and not a word of encouragement. That is, unless you count "Maggie's" epithet, namely that "We were the enemy within". I can always write up a little something for you if you request it. I have already written of my experience of going to Chilton to seek work, as a chapter in my unpublished autobiography.


You have done the miners proud with your excellent website. I will certainly be a regular visitor.


I wish you all the best of health and thank you all for many fond memories.

Brian Mc Loughlin 10th April 2003

I have not been on the Ushaw Moor site for a number of weeks but when I looked at the Railways programme on the site this afternoon it brought back many happy memories of 'train spotting' at Relly Mill bridge. It was a great place to look at the trains from, it was a very busy junction in those far days in the early 50s. The sun seemed to shine all the school holidays then. Steam trains roared by on the main North East Coast line, destination boards on the sides of the carriages told us where the trains were bound for. Kids in those days got as far as Durham on the bus or went to South Shields on the 'Club Trip' so these trains were going to places we had never been to, no holidays away for most people in those days. Some passenger trains had magical names to us kids, 'The Tyne Tees Pullman,' 'The Aberdonian' 'The Flying Scotsman' are some I can remember and my favourite was the train with the 'Fred Olsen Line' boards on the sides. This train eventually went to Scandinavia aboard a ferry from the Tyne.Passenger trains rattled past going to Bishop Auckland via Brandon and Brancepeth, most were hauled by Tank engines or 'tankies' as we called them. Coal trains came past from the Deerness Valley line at regular intervals, it was not long after the Second World War and the pits worked six days a week. There were collieries at New Brancepeth, Ushaw Moor, Esh Winning, Waterhouses and East Hedley Hope in those days. These trains were hauled by 'Q' class locomotives. Then there were trains going to Consett via Bearpark and Lanchester. Some trains for Consett used the rails at the Relly Mill end of the cutting running away from Durham City so we only saw them at a distance.A lad I knew named John Grimes lived in the Railway houses which were situated between the main line and the Bishop Auckland branch line. John was bound for Malaya with the Army during his National Service the last time I saw him. These engines and trains are now museum pieces and the subjects of numerous books, they had a special fascination for me and I have never lost the love of those steam engines. We kids used to shank from Ushaw Moor and back again, bait was a bottle of water and a couple of sandwiches. I can never remember the word bored used by us kids, we had the run of the roads, there was very little traffic and we could wander the roads at our will. I can remember a train crash at Brandon Colliery where people were killed, the main line trains had been detoured for some reason when the accident happened. On one occasion I remember the Royal train standing overnight on the Deerness Valley line between New Brancepeth colliery and Ushaw Moor colliery on the embankment overlooking the beck. It was carrying the late Princess Margaret to some engagement in the Durham area. There was a photograph of a passenger train on the viaduct at Ushaw Moor and this train used to carry lads from the Deerness Valley into Durham and return them at night. These lads attended the Durham Johnson School which in those days was situated in South Street overlooking the Cathedral. The only other time the line carried passengers was the Saturday of the Big Meeting and Club trips. Happy days, a half a crown and an orange on the Club trip and you owned the world.
Thanks for the people who submitted the photographs which brought back so many happy memories.

Go HERE for Relly Mill Junction PHOTOS.

Enid Cavallaro (Nee Greenwell) Bundaberg Queensland Australia 18th Feb. 2003

I was reading this page tonight and enjoying the stories when as my page scrolled down I came across the words "My grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Hudson". I thought to myself, hang on Elizabeth Ann Hudson was my great grandmother. I kept scrolling and found myself reading about us, my family. The lady writing is my mothers cousin Sheila. My mother was one of the 5 Mitchell cousins she mentioned. I was born in Ushaw Moor and lived the first 11 years of my life in Ushaw Terrace, until my family moved to Australia in 1967.I went to the Ushaw Moor Infants school, where my best friend was Margaret Turnbull. and spent my childhood playing on the village green. I remember walking to the pit with my grandfather James Mitchell when I was very young to pick up his pay. Going to the allotments at the top of the street with our neighbour Mr Dunn, going with my dad to the baths in Durham for swimming lessons and going to the shop on the corner of our street and buying frozen Jubblies for a penny.I remember staying with my Great Aunt Lallie Hudson and having midnight tea parties in front of the fire while she told me stories of her childhood.My husband and I went to England in October 1999 and I took him to see the village. In many ways it was like walking back 30 years for me, a few things had changed but the important things that I remembered from my childhood were all still there.

Sheila Richardson 1st January 2003

My grandmother, Elizabeth Ann Hudson used to live in the miners cottages at 10 Cochrane Terrace. It was a tiny place with only 2 rooms, a passage way and a scullery. When I first started going to stay with my grandma in the 1940's, there was still a privy at the bottom of the garden. The railway line ran along the bottom of the gardens and many a time I've been startled while in "contemplation"!


I remember going with a gill can to collect milk from Joe Lowery the milkman, and one of the highlights of my stay was attending one of the Vicar's garden parties where games were organised for the youngsters, My aunt, Lallie Hudson was a seamstress at the chorister school in Durham; my father was James Hudson, there were 8 children in the family all told. My cousins, the 5 Mitchell girls lived initially on Station Road before they moved into local authority housing higher up the village. Three of them are now in Australia and I was able to visit them 3 years ago

Brian Mc Loughlin 17th December 2002.

I have been looking at the site this evening and there is an entry about the Station House at Ushaw Moor. I remember this area well. As a child up to the age of eight years I lived at 29 Harvey Street, New Brancepeth. I attended St Josephs school in Ushaw Moor and in the summer we walked to and from school. We used to use the footpath from the station and the path ran between the Station House and the fence alongside the railway. I don't know if the path still exists. We generally got there when the pupils from the Johnston Grammar School train were alighting from the train and if we knew anyone (Edgar Halpin who lived in Church Street, New Brancepeth) we would commence our travels in their company. This was the only passenger train to use the line and it carried pupils from the Johnston School who lived in the Deerness Valley. I think it terminated at Esh Winning. I am getting away from the point of my narrative. I remember this was a pair of semi detached houses.
Johnny Hamill who was the signalman at Ushaw Moor lived in one and two elderly ladies, I believe they were spinsters who taught at one of the schools at New Brancepeth lived in the other. The houses were in great condition and there was a large well tended garden adjoining them and every summer they grew VERY tall sunflowers. Mick Hamill who lived there was a lad about my age. He was a great lad who had a great nature and always had a huge smile on his face. Micks brother John died when he was a boy and I can remember that this badly affected all the children who knew him. The last time I saw Mick he was in the Life Guards (The Army) and he was a very smart soldier. In those days every male who was not in a reserved occupation was conscripted into the Armed Forces for two years. The sun always seemed to shine in those days or did it? The Station Master in those days was Jack Railton who lived in Woodbine Terrace in New Brancepeth. Jack was always extremely smart in his LNER uniform. I believed Jack started his railway life at Langwathby in what is now Cumbria. Whilst in this area I can remember the blacksmiths shop which was situted at the rear of Neeshams Bottling Plant which was the last part of the bottom terrace as you left Ushaw Moor. The blacksmiths name was Clive Brown and he lived in Esh Winning. It is hard to picture horses being shoed in that area when you look at it now. Also worth a mention is the Station Hotel which stood opposite Broughs. It is (or was) a magnificent building both outside and inside. The ceilings were very high and the woodwork and fittings in the bar were of a very high standard. I was in a few times for a drink and I was always very impressed. I could never understand why the railway company built such a large and imposing building at the bottom of a small mining community. There were stables at the rear of the Hotel and they were used by a hawker by the name of Cud Hall. Cud sold greengroceries in the area from a flat cart. I think Cud lived up the Gilesgate area. I hope I haven't strayed too far from the Station House and I hope this brings back memories of that area to some people.

Brian Mc Loughlin 12th November 2002.

I wonder how many people traveling the road between Esh Winning and Ushaw Moor realise that they are passing through an area where a small mining community and a pit existed between forty and fifty years ago. The site of Ushaw Colliery village and the site of the pit are now almost lost.
My most vivid memory of the village is of walking through the remains of the streets in the village and the cleanliness of the place and the sight of the coal fires burning in the early winters evening, the warmth especially accentuated where the light in the house was not lit. The sparkling of the fender and the ornaments spread a glow and a warmth to the traveller outside the window.
I never lived in the village but I have many memories of the area as a young lad. There was a Chapel situated next to the Colliery Managers house which still stands on the right hand side of the road before entering Ushaw Moor. Does anyone remember that chapel. Were marriages conducted there? I can only remember one member of the congregation and that was Mr Ralph Wilson who was also the foreman electrician at New Brancepeth Colliery, he was also the organist at the chapel. I remember he used to read the electricity meter when we lived at 29 Harvey Street at New Brancepeth. Ralph also played cricket for Ushaw Moor. The chapel only was a small building but obviously it meant a lot to the villagers of Ushaw Moor Colliery.
I know that a number of persons have written books about the history of the Deerness (Dearness?) Valley but we should all contribute to the these books. A lot of people have memories of the Deerness Valley which will be lost when they pass on. This site is an ideal way of storing these memories and as Paul Clough works so hard people should support him with their memories. If older people do not have a computer then they could ask their children or grandchildren to put their memories of the area on the website. In the late 19th century the people of this small village were subjected to unbelievable hardships by the Colliery Owners, they were evicted, man, woman and child, in the depths of winter. They fought and stood by their principles, they were poorly educated but they were the salt of the earth. We should never forget those long dead people who were the victims of their own time but who were very courageous and endured crippling hardships.