Silksworth is a suburb of the
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland () is a metropolitan borough with city status in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is named after its largest settlement, Sunderland, spanning a far larger area, including nearby towns i ...
,
Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...
. The area can be distinguished into two parts, old Silksworth, the original village and township which has existed since the early middle ages, and New Silksworth, the industrial age colliery village which expanded north west of the original settlement. The former colliery being situated to the north west of the village near to the
Gilley Law
Gilley Law or otherwise known as Lakeside Village is a neighbourhood in Sunderland, England.
Geography
Gilley Law is situated to the Southwest of Sunderland City Centre and is bordered by Farringdon, New Silksworth and Doxford Park. The stream ...
. The population of the ward was 10,931 at the
2011 census.
History
Old Silksworth
The area of Silksworth has been subject to human activity since the Bronze Age, with archaeological sites of ancient
barrows having been discovered on the surrounding hills. The name of the place itself is thought to be of Anglo-Saxon origin and means ‘the worþ (enclosure) of Sigelac (a man's name)'. The first reference to the location appeared in the Middle Ages and is first referenced in a list of appendages of South Bishopwearmouth in King Athelstan’s gift to the See of Durham in 930 AD. The area became a township of
Bishopwearmouth
Bishopwearmouth is a former village and parish which now constitutes the west side of Sunderland City Centre, merging with the settlement as it expanded outwards in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is home to the Sunderland Minster church, which ...
, of which neighbouring
Farringdon was a hamlet of.
New Silksworth
New Silksworth emerged as a coal mining village in the 19th century. In 1871, according to the Census there were approx 800 people living in the Silksworth and Tunstall areas, the local area was mainly farmland and where most people worked on the land. However about 350 were men and their families who were constructing the new colliery. To exploit the rich coal reserves in the area the Silksworth Colliery shaft was sunk in 1869 funded by the Londonderry Coal company. Ten years later in 1879 the local population had risen to 4707 for the Silksworth and Tunstall areas. The increase in population was mainly due to the migration of people to the area seeking work at the new Silksworth colliery. According to the census returns the miners came from Ireland, Scotland,
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
and even from the United States and Germany. The miners and their families had moved to the colliery areas seeking employment and also colliery housing was provided for the miners by the mine owner
Lord Londonderry
Marquess of Londonderry, of the County of Londonderry ( ), is a title in the Peerage of Ireland.
History
The title was created in 1816 for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry. He had earlier represented County Down in the Irish House of ...
. The miner's life was not an easy one, working conditions underground were very dangerous and the work very arduous. When Silksworth Colliery eventually closed in 1971 it was a massive blow to the local community as many of the local people and businesses relied on the colliery for their livelihood. Just about all remnants of the former Silksworth colliery have now gone and the former mine site has since been converted into Silksworth Sports Complex. Facilities at the sports complex include:
* Silksworth Ski Slope the North East of England's largest
artificial ski slope
A dry ski slope or artificial ski slope is a ski slope that mimics the attributes of snow using materials that are stable at room temperature, to enable people to skiing, ski, snowboarding, snowboard or Tubing (recreation)#Snow, snow tube in pla ...
and activity centre. This is featured on the Sunderland version of the boardgame 'Monopoly'!
* Recreational boating lake near Gilley Law which is home to a variety of water fowl birds, ducks, swans and also near the boating lake is a freshwater fishing lake.
* Silksworth Community Swimming Pool, Tennis and Wellness Centre formally The Puma Centre including a children's Outdoor Adventure Play Area which is a great facility for kids and toddlers with swings, zip wire, climbing frames, slides, sand pit and pic nic area etc.
* Athletics Running track
* All weather floodlit football pitches
* Skateboard park (Near the Ski slope)
Notable buildings:
Doxford House formerly Silksworth House.
Doxford House is a derelict 18th century manor house adjacent Doxford Park in the Silksworth area of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It is a Grade II* listed building
The manor house formerly known as Silksworth House, was constructed in 1775–1780 by William Johnson who on his death in 1792 left the property in his will to his friend Hendry Hopper. In 1831 Priscilla Hopper then heiress to the estate married William Beckwith of Thurcroft. He was High Sheriff of Durham in 1857. The Beckwiths moved to
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
in about 1890 and the house was let out.
In 1902, Charles David Doxford of (William Doxford & Sons Ship Builders) brother of Theodore Doxford, took out a 99-year lease on the 24-acre (97,000 m2) estate. On his death in 1935, his daughter, Aline Doxford bought out the lease. On her death in 1968, she bequeathed the house and estate to Sunderland Corporation who gave the house its present name Doxord House and turned the gardens of house into Doxford Park.
In 1989 the house became a student's hall of residence for
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
University and from about 2000 to 2006 was occupied by the Lazarus Foundation, a drug rehabilitation charity. Plans to turn the house into apartments were proposed in 2008 but the conversion of the house into apartments was never carried out.
The latest proposal for re development of Doxford House is to restore the property back into a private family residence with work ongoing in 2014.
The Miners Hall, Blind Lane, Silksworth
The Miners Hall is located in Blind Lane, Silksworth. The hall is a prominent building in Blind Lane and was built in 1893. The hall was a spacious building constructed of brick and stone. The building was used as a meeting place for the miners and their families, it was also used for social events, wedding receptions, engagement parties etc. The Silksworth Colliery Brass Band also practiced and performed in the hall. The Miners hall front facade and roof was recently refurbished. The hall is now currently used as a builder's storage facility.
St Matthews Church, C of E Church, Silksworth
St Matthew's Church opened in 1872 three years after Silksworth Colliery opened in 1869, the Church played a large part in the formation of the new mining community of Silksworth with the input of miners and their families. The churchyard contains the
Commonwealth war graves
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mi ...
of 12 British servicemen of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and 4 of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
St Leonard's RC Church, Silksworth.
St. Leonard's Roman Catholic Church opened in 1873, four years after Silksworth Colliery opened in 1869, the funding for the building of the church and rectory being provided by Priscilla Maria Beckwith of Silksworth House.
Located behind Blind Lane was the Ebenezer Chapel 1883 (now the Independent Methodist Church)
The Temperance Hall 1912, located at the top of Tunstall Terrace which is now the Calvary Christian Fellowship
Notable people
250px, Mural of Bobby Gurney on the Golden Fleece Pub, Silksworth
*
Joe Clennell
Joseph Clennell (19 February 1889 – 28 February 1965) was an English footballer who played in the Football League for Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Cardiff City, Stoke City, Bristol Rovers and Rochdale.
Career
Clennell was born in N ...
- professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
er
*
Bobby Gurney
Bobby Gurney (13 October 1907 – 14 April 1994) was a football forward who is the highest goal scorer in the history of his only senior club as a player, Sunderland.
Early years
Born in Stewart Street, Silksworth, Sunderland, his father J ...
- professional footballer and
Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
record goalscorer
*
Ernest Levitt
Ernest Levitt (2 April 1893 – December 1979) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre half in the Football League for Brentford.
Career
Born in the northeast of England, Levitt began his career in Scotland with Dun ...
- professional footballer for
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
and also played for New Silksworth
*
Richie Taylor
Richard William "Richie" Taylor (born 20 June 1951) is an English former professional footballer who played as a winger in the Football League for Sunderland and York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football c ...
- professional footballer for Sunderland (1968-1972) and
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
*
Billy Thompson - British and European lightweight champion boxer, born in New Silkworth
[Fraser, Paul (2013)]
North East Boxing Future is Bright
, ''The Northern Echo
''The Northern Echo'' is a regional daily morning newspaper based in the town of Darlington in North East England, serving mainly southern County Durham and northern Yorkshire. The paper covers national as well as regional news. In 2007, its t ...
'', 16 February 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2015
References
External links
Silksworth Sports Complex* https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28359/monopoly-sunderland-edition
{{T&W places
City of Sunderland suburbs
Sunderland