Phoenix Row incorporating Belts Gill and Softley Dene Farm (formerly Glebe Farm) is a hamlet of about 30 houses in
County Durham, in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is situated half a mile north of
Low Etherley and 2.5 miles west of
Bishop Auckland.
Etherley Incline Railway
The hamlet is built on part of the site of the former Etherley Incline Railway, opened in 1825. Initial distribution of coal from the
Witton Park Colliery
Witton Park Colliery was a coal mine in Witton Park, Witton-le-Wear near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, Northern England.
Development
Part of the Durham Coalfield, coal stocks were known throughout the area to be close to the surface, allowin ...
was undertaken by horse and cart, but due to the volumes of coal extracted and cost of distribution, a new method of transport was required.
George Stephenson
George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians
In the history of the United Kingdom and the ...
was contracted to build a suitable railway to bring the coal down from the hills, and constructed the Etherley Incline Railway with iron rails held on stone blocks. A stationary
beam engine controlled the descent of wagons that ran from the colliery to the
River Gaunless
The Gaunless is a tributary river of the Wear in County Durham, England. Its name is old norse, meaning useless.A Potted History of West Auckland - Martin Connolly The Gaunless Viaduct, built in 1825, was the tallest viaduct on the South Durh ...
. Horses then pulled the wagons to the foot of the
Brusselton Incline, which descendend into . From here, the
Stockton and Darlington Railway transported it to Newport on the
River Tees.
The Etherley Incline closed in 1843,
[ and today it is designated by ]English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
as an ancient monument
In British law, an ancient monument is an early historical structure or monument (e.g. an archaeological site) worthy of preservation and study due to archaeological or heritage interest. The ''Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 ...
, and as such is protected.
History
Phoenix Row was built in the 1840s, originally of local sandstone, Stobart brick and red pantiles to house families of miners and farmworkers. Nearby Witton Park Ironworks also provided some employment until its closure. The people of Phoenix Row built their own Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
chapel (now a private house) and they had a cricket team which played at the New Inn Fields. Phoenix Row's bracing climate was credited in the local press for breeding tall, strong sportsmen - "sturdy six-footers". At one time the majority of the houses in the hamlet were occupied by members of just three families - Watsons, Grays and Stubbs - and their in-laws.
In the 1960s Phoenix Row was threatened with the dreaded Category "D" notice, a death sentence for many post-industrial County Durham mining communities. However the determined villagers fought the Category "D" notice tooth and nail. Showing remarkable community spirit, they united under the banner of P.R.I.D.E. (the Phoenix Row Improvement & Development Effort) and succeeded in getting the Category D threat lifted, modernising their homes and saving their village for future generations.
References
Villages in County Durham
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