Crook, County Durham
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Crook is a
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
in the
Durham County Council Durham County Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of County Durham (district), County Durham in North East England. The council is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority, bein ...
unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...
and
ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...
of
County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, England. It is located on the edge of
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. The u ...
and sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to Weardale". Crook lies about south-west of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...
, north-west of
Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham, England, Durham. M ...
and from Willington. The
A689 road The A689 is a road in northern England that runs east from the A595, to the west of Carlisle in Cumbria, to Hartlepool in County Durham. The road begins west of Carlisle, just outside the city at the A595. The initial stretch was recently co ...
from Durham leads up through
Wolsingham Wolsingham is a market town in Weardale, County Durham (district), County Durham, England. It is situated by the River Wear, between Crook, County Durham, Crook and Stanhope, County Durham, Stanhope. History Wolsingham sits at the confluence ...
and Stanhope into the upper reaches of Weardale. Until 1974, the town was in
Crook and Willington Urban District Crook and Willington was an urban district in County Durham, England, from 1937 to 1974.
and had a parish council.


History

Crook first appeared as an agricultural village around 1795 although its surrounding districts; Billy Row, Stanley, White Lea and Helmington Row, were established much earlier.The development of Crook: some background history
In these days Crook was predominantly farmland; however, it also had an Inn and a blacksmith shop, consequently the primary field of employment was within the agricultural industry. 40 years later; Crook became a mining village, and thrived as the coal was very close to the surface and soon there were over 20 mines around the Crook area. By the end of the nineteenth century the town had developed rapidly, in population and economy. However, the local population declined in the following century, as the coal mines and industries closed. With at one point over 34% of the population being unemployed. Crook's football team,
Crook Town F.C. Crook Town Association Football Club is a football club based in Crook, County Durham, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Sir Tom Cowie Millfield. The club won the FA Amateur Cup five times. History Crook Town Football ...
, have won the
FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footb ...
five times, most recently beating
Enfield F.C. Enfield Football Club is an English football club that is currently a member of the . The club plays its home matches at Hertingfordbury Park in Hertford, Hertfordshire, which it shares with Hertford Town. Traditionally based in Enfield, Gre ...
in 1964, before the cup was abolished in 1974. This record is second only to Crook's near neighbours,
Bishop Auckland F.C. Bishop Auckland Football Club is a football club based in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. They are one of the most successful amateur sides, having won the FA Amateur Cup ten times and reached the final on a further eight occasions. Nic ...
The club have also reached the third round of the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
and formed a key role in the development of
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...
, playing a number of friendly matches in the 1910s and 1920s.


Landmarks


War memorial

There is a
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...
in Crook's town centre.


The Devil's Stone / The Blue Stone

An erratic, originally part of the
Borrowdale volcanic group The Borrowdale Volcanic Group is a group of igneous rock formations named after the Borrowdale area of the Lake District, in England. They are Caradocian (late Ordovician) in age (roughly 450 million years old). It is thought that they represen ...
and found at Dowfold Hill, is situated in Crook's
market place A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...
.


Amenities

The centre of Crook, a designated conservation area, features a variety of shops and businesses with the market held on Tuesday mornings and a few stalls on a Saturday. There are prominent churches, the centrally located St Catherine's CE and Our Lady Immaculate & St Cuthbert's RC on Church Hill. Grade 2 listed St Andrew's Church is an LEP between URC and Methodist Churches. On top of the hills to the east sits Crook Golf Club. Crook was home to the first purpose built
cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...
in the north of England, built as the Electric Palace and opened on 21 November 1910. Some of the building's original interior features remain.


Education


Nursery


Crook Nursery School

Crook Nursery is an average-sized school that serves the immediate area.


Primary


Crook Primary School

Crook Primary School was opened formally in 1950. A larger than average community school that shares a site with Crook Nursery School, it has a pupil capacity of 371. Marilyn Tempest – a teacher – retired after thirty years of employment on 30 April 2014 and received a standing ovation from the then current pupils and teachers. During an interview with
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 the ...
, she said "I have had the most wonderful time here, teaching is the best job in the world.".


Hartside Primary School

A smaller than average primary academy, it has a pupil capacity of 210.


St Cuthbert's RC Primary School

An average-sized primary academy, with a pupil capacity of 210.


Culture

Empire Electric Palace Theatre stage events including
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
s. Crook Carnival is held in early July and features a parade, rides, stalls and live music. Crook's annual Winter Light Parade is held at the end of November and culminates with switching on the town's
Christmas lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom ...
. Crookfest is a one day
music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...
held on the Sunday of the early May Bank Holiday weekend, across three stages, within Crook AFC's
ground Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the solid terrestrial surface of the Earth * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical circ ...
. Crook has a relatively large number of
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
s and eateries for a town of its size.


Notable people

* Brian Foster, particle physicist and Donald H Perkins Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Oxford *
Jack Greenwell John Richard Greenwell (2 January 1884 – 20 November 1942) was an English football manager and former player. He is Barcelona's longest serving manager, having coached the club for ten consecutive seasons (initially as player-coach, then as ma ...
, FC Barcelona's first official coach, won two Spanish Cups and four Catalan titles * Darren Holloway, former professional footballer with English Premier League side
Sunderland AFC Sunderland Association Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Formed in 187 ...
. Also played for Wimbledon, Bradford City, Darlington and Gateshead (loans Carlisle United, Bolton Wanderers and Scunthorpe United) * Doug McCarthy, former professional darts player; four time
BDO World Darts Championship The BDO World Darts Championship was a professional darts tournament organised by the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and held annually from 1978 to 2020. The championship was first held at the Heart of the Midlands Nightclub in the Englis ...
1979–1982 *
Bill Rowe William Neil Rowe, (born June 4, 1942) is a former politician, lawyer, broadcaster, and writer in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Rowe was born in Grand Bank and is the son of the late Liberal Senator Frederick William Rowe and the late Ed ...
, two time BAFTA Award for Best Sound winning sound engineer who worked on over 160 films between 1955 and 1992 *
Constantine Scollen Father Con Scollen OMI. (4 April 1841 – 8 November 1902) was an Ireland, Irish Catholic, Missionary priest who lived among and evangelized the Blackfoot, Cree and Métis peoples on the Canadian Prairies and in northern Montana in the United S ...
, missionary priest among the Blackfoot and Cree peoples of Canada in the late 19th century * Nigel Wright, former three time English light welterweight professional boxing champion; two time challenger for British and Commonwealth titles


Transport

Bus To the north a once a day Crook to Consett service 765. A once an hour
Arriva North East Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United Kingdom. ...
service 1 runs to Tow Law Monday to Saturday. Towards Willington and Durham the
Arriva North East Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United Kingdom. ...
X46 services runs every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday and every 30 minutes on Sundays. Towards the south (Bishop Auckland and Darlington) Weardale Travel run every hour to Bishop Auckland with their service 101 and
Arriva North East Arriva North East operates both local and regional bus services in County Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva UK Bus, which operates bus and coach services across the United Kingdom. ...
service 1 runs every 30 minutes during the day Monday to Saturday.


Landscape

Crook has a backdrop of traditional and modern buildings. The hills surround the town on all sides apart from the south side of the town. The tallest hill stands at 300 metres above the town, about 980 ft. The highest point in the town is on West Road where the height is 210 metres (about 690 ft). Approximately 2 miles to the west of Crook on the A689, back towards
Wolsingham Wolsingham is a market town in Weardale, County Durham (district), County Durham, England. It is situated by the River Wear, between Crook, County Durham, Crook and Stanhope, County Durham, Stanhope. History Wolsingham sits at the confluence ...
and
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. The u ...
is the surviving
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Harperley POW Camp 93 Harperley POW Camp 93 is a surviving purpose-built World War II Prisoner of War (PoW) camp built to accommodate up to 1,400 inmates at Fir Tree, County Durham, Fir Tree near Crook, County Durham in the northeast of England. A work camp for low ...
.


Gallery

File:CrookMarketJune2010.jpg, Crook Market File:CrookChurchHillJune2010.jpg, Looking up Church Hill File:CrookHopeStreet.jpg, Shopping in Hope Street File:CrookViewFromHoleInTheWallFarm.jpg, A view across Crook


References


External links


Crook Past and Present
{{authority control Towns in County Durham Unparished areas in County Durham