:''See also
Thornley in
Weardale
Weardale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in County Durham, England. Large parts of Weardale fall within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) – the second-largest AONB in England and Wales. T ...
.''
Thornley is a village in
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
, 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 about 5 miles (9 km) to the east of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
and 5 miles (7 km) west of
Peterlee
Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east and Durham to the west. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also create ...
. Thornley is part of the
Sedgefield parliamentary constituency of which
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
was the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
from 1983 until 2007.
Governance
An
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
in the same name exists. This ward stretches south to Trimdon Foundry with a population taken at the 2011 Census of 7,085.
History of Thornley
Mining
As with most villages in the area, it grew rapidly with the development of coal-mining in the region. The first shaft was sunk in 1835 and the first coals were delivered via a new mineral railway line to
Hartlepool
Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...
shortly thereafter. The village thus played a major role in the development of Hartlepool as a port. Thornley miners played a key role in the formation of the
Durham Miners' Association
The Durham Miners' Association (DMA) was a trade union in the United Kingdom.
History
The union was founded in 1869 and its membership quickly rose to 4,000, but within a year had fallen back to 2,000. In December 1870, William Crawford becam ...
, the first meeting of which was held in the grounds of the village's Half-Way House public house in 1869. The colliery closed in 1970 with the loss of over 900 jobs and there is now little evidence to be seen of its once extensive plant and machinery.
Rebuilding
Easington Rural District Council's policy in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s was to actively discourage development and employment in the ex-colliery villages of East Durham in favour of the
new town
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
of
Peterlee
Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east and Durham to the west. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also create ...
. One of the oldest surviving buildings in the village, the Half-Way House was extensively refurbished and extended in the late 1970s and renamed The Crossways Hotel. The building was demolished in early 2008 and planning permission has been given for the building of housing on the site. Permission has also been given for the demolition of another old building, Gore Hall Farm, for the same purpose.
Only recently has new house building been sanctioned by the council in the so-called 'bottom end' of the village. In the meantime, two estates of 20th century
council housing
Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...
have recently been demolished due to the decline in the village's population since the closure of the colliery, Thornlaw North and Coopers Close. The latter was built as recently as 1968 at the expense of a children's recreation ground, several mature trees and many local garden
allotments which were also not replaced. The
demolition
Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
of the Thornlaw North estate has allowed the council to sell the land to a large housebuilding company,
Persimmon plc
Persimmon plc is a British housebuilding company, headquartered in York, England. The company is named after a horse which won the 1896 Derby and St. Leger for the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII). It is listed on the London Stock Ex ...
, to build 'executive' housing. A small amount of
affordable housing
Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...
will be built. This project is now (December 2007) well advanced. The council believes that one consequence of the reduction in population is that existing services will be threatened. Plans for the Cooper's Close site have yet to be revealed.
St Bartholomew's Church in the heart of the village, which dates from 1843, was demolished in September 2007. Houses are to be built on the site and many gravestones in the churchyard have already been moved. However, its stained glass windows have been preserved and are currently held in storage for possible future display. The village once had two cinemas, The Hippodrome, built in 1912 and The Ritz, built in 1938: both have been demolished.
Lt
John Scott Youll
John Scott Youll Victoria Cross, VC (6 June 1897 – 27 October 1918) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth ...
, a former electrician
at Thornley Colliery, was awarded the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
during his service with the
Northumberland Fusiliers
The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution an ...
in Italy in World War One. The village's war memorial had a special monument added to it in his honour in 2005.
Sport
A
greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...
and whippet racing track known as the Thornley Greyhound Stadium and earlier the Halfway House running grounds (because of the Halfway House Inn situated next door) existed on the junction of Dunelem Road and the A181. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the
National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom.
History
The National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) was formed in 1928 and this body would be responsible for regulation, licensing and the r ...
) and was known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks. The stadium was active in 1936 and was still in place in 1967 but had been demolished by 1976.
Gallery
Image:Pitwheelthornley.jpg, This memorial pit wheel was put in place in 1990. The tree-lined area to the rear covers the site of the actual colliery. The road is the former High Street. Photograph taken in May 2006
Image:Thornley_Pit_Wheel_Sign.jpg, The inscribed stone at the base of the Pit Wheel, photographed in May 2006
Image:HighStThornley.jpg, The former High Street, Thornley, photographed in 2006. The War Memorial and Colliery Inn are visible in the distance. The colliery was off the picture to the right. Photograph taken in May 2006
Image:Hartlepool_St_2005.JPG, Hartlepool St Thornley, in 2005. This was once the main shopping street of the village
Image:Coopers_Close.JPG, Looking up towards St Bartholomew's Church and the remains of the Coopers Close Estate, Thornley, 2005. The housing at the right of the picture was demolished in 2007
File:St Bartholomew's Church (Thornley, Durham).JPG, St Bartholomew's Church, Thornley. This photograph was taken in 2005 after the church's closure but prior to the removal of its stained glass windows. The church was demolished in September 2007
Image:John_Scott_Youll_VC_Memorial_2005.jpg, The Thornley War Memorial in 2005, with the John Scott Youll VC Memorial in the foreground and St Bartholomew's Church to the rear
Image:Thornley War Memorial.JPG, The Thornley War Memorial in 2005, prior to the addition of the John Scott Youll VC monument. The colliery was directly opposite to the Memorial. Hartlepool Street ran down to the right and High Street up to the left.
References
External links
* http://www.wheatleyhill.com/Thornley/index.htm
* http://www.oldthornley.com
* http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/t002.htm
* https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005943/http://www.durham.gov.uk/miner/projects.nsf/581cd74a9c6aa8b080256d48003758cb/49810d53a07666df80256e8b003b1a4b?OpenDocument
* https://archive.today/20130505132238/http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/columnists/memories/durham/3945525.Ex_con_fights_his_way_to_colliery_fame/
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Villages in County Durham