Ferryhill is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

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, with an estimated population in 2018 of 9,362. The town grew in the 1900s around the

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

industry. The last mine officially closed in 1968. It is located between the towns 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 ...

Newton Aycliffe Newton Aycliffe is a town in County Durham (district), County Durham, England. Founded in 1947 under the New Towns Act 1946, New Towns Act of 1946, the town is to the north of Darlington and to the south of Durham, England, Durham. It is the ...

Sedgefield Sedgefield is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It had a population of 4,986 in the 2021 census. It has the only operating racecourse in County Durham. Etymology The name ''Sedgefield'' is of Old English origin. It ...

Shildon Shildon is a town and civil parish in County Durham (district), County Durham, in England. The population taken at the 2011 Census was 9,976. The town has the Locomotion Museum, due to it having the first , built in 1825, and locomotive works on ...

Spennymoor Spennymoor is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is south of the River Wear and is south of Durham. The civil parish includes the villages of Kirk Merrington, Middlestone Moor, Byers Green and Tudhoe. In 2011 the paris ...

and the cathedral city 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 ...

Geography

Ferryhill sits on the western edge of the Ferryhill Gap, a natural gateway in limestone escarpment that outcrops on the Eastern Durham Plateau. The main settlement lies along the 'SW-NE' ridge, with later developments made to the south of the ridge. Ferryhill lies on the medieval Great North Road, which used to be the A1. It was bypassed when the Ferryhill Cut was excavated in 1923. The road is now the A167, which leads to Durham and

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

to the North, and to

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

in the south. Ferryhill Carrs is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and designated local nature reserve at the Eastern edge of the town. Ferryhill County Durham 2019

Sections of Ferryhill

Dean Bank Dean Bank is situated on the west incline of Ferryhill, County Durham, in England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers ...

Ferryhill Station Ferryhill Station is situated to the south east of Ferryhill, next to Chilton Lane and near the site of Ferryhill railway station, a few miles south of Durham. Notable People * The former Durham cricketer Bob Cole was born in the village. * A pl ...

Ferryhill railway station Ferryhill railway station was located in Ferryhill, County Durham, Northeast England. It was located on what became the East Coast Main Line between and , close to the junctions with several former branches, including the extant freight-only ...

Chilton Lane Chilton Lane is situated a short distance to the south-east of Ferryhill, and immediately to the south of Ferryhill Station. Nearby are Great Chilton, East Chilton, Chilton Grange and Little Chilton. History Chilton Lane was developed as ...

The Carrs The Carrs is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham, England. It is situated on the eastern outskirts of Ferryhill, between the town and the East Coast Main Line railway. The Carrs is an area of wetland that has formed in the l ...

Mainsforth Colliery Mainsforth Colliery was situated between Ferryhill and the small hamlet of Mainsforth in County Durham, England, United Kingdom. It was adjacent to the former Ferryhill railway station in the Ferryhill Station area of the town. Mainsforth Collie ...

Neighbouring settlements

Kirk Merrington Kirk Merrington is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated between the towns of Bishop Auckland and Ferryhill. It is part of the Spennymoor Spennymoor is a town and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is south of the ...

Chilton, County Durham Chilton is a town in County Durham, England. It is situated a few miles to the east of Bishop Auckland and a short distance to the south of Ferryhill, on the A167. History Chilton was originally a mining town and called Chilton Buildings. T ...

Mainsforth Mainsforth is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bishop Middleham, in the County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is to the east of Ferryhill. The earliest settlement in Mainsforth may h ...

Bishop Middleham Bishop Middleham is a village in County Durham, in England. The population of the parish as taken at the 2011 census was 1,275 It is close to Sedgefield. History Bishop Middleham lies in a dry valley about 9 miles (14 km) south-east of ...

West Cornforth West Cornforth is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the south of Cornforth, near the A1(M) motorway, Coxhoe, Ferryhill and Spennymoor. It is known locally as “Doggie”, but the etymology of this name is uncertain. It ...

History

Ferryhill Town Hall Ferryhill Town Hall is a municipal building in Chapel Terrace, Ferryhill, County Durham, England. The structure accommodates the offices and meeting place of Ferryhill Town Council. History The building was financed by public subscription and ...

, a prominent landmark in the town, was completed in 1867.

Facilities

Ferryhill has a weekly Friday market in the town centre marketplace, run by Ferryhill Town Council. There have been many improvements to the town, including the award-winning Mainsforth sports complex, Surtees Doorstep Green, King George V rec corridor improvements at

, new Town Centre public toilets paid for by funding from Sedgefield Borough Councillors and is now run by Ferryhill Town Council and a youth cafe for the town's young people. Part of Dean Bank Park has been used to enhance sporting facilities, and the remainder has recently been the subject to consultation by the Town Council. The final plans include a £70,000 play area for which funding has been secured from the lottery, a £50,000 MUGA for which funding is being sought by the Friends of Dean Bank Park but has since been turned down due to it not been a community led group. Also funding has been applied for £50,000 of playbuilder facilities. In addition to this the new park will include a viewing tower, BMX/skatepark, new planting areas to walk and relax as well as a performance arena. The Town has many community events including an annual summer gala, Christmas market, parading of miners banners, vintage car rally, art and photography exhibitions and many more, all of which are organised jointly by the Town Council and the 2000 Committee.

Governance

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 t ...

of the same name as the town exists. This ward has differences to the parish of Ferryhill, and has a total population taken at the 2011 Census of 8,942.

Newspaper

Ferryhill has a free community newspaper, ''The Ferryhill and Chilton Chapter Community Newspaper'', which is distributed to all households in Ferryhill and the neighbouring community of Chilton. The paper has its own website where the latest issue, and archive issues going back to 2005, can be viewed.

Education

There are four primary schools in Ferryhill: Broom Cottages Primary School, Dean Bank Primary School, Cleves Cross Primary School, and Ferryhill Station Primary School. Ferryhill has one secondary school, Ferryhill School. It was a former specialist

Business and Enterprise College Business and Enterprise Colleges (BECs) were introduced in 2002 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in England. The system enabled secondary schools to specialise in certain fields. Schools that successfully applied to the Specialist Sch ...

. It has also been known as Ferryhill Comprehensive School.

Sport

Over £1 million in funding was secured by Ferryhill Town Youth, in partnership with Ferryhill Town Council, to develop a new sports facility for the town. It includes new changing rooms, a recreation area, and six football pitches in Dean Bank Park and the adjacent former Ferryhill Athletic football ground. The facilities are to be used by the town's thriving football clubs, Ferryhill Town Youth in particular. The nearby Dean Bank Park is maintained by Ferryhill Town Council, and belongs to the welfare fund for the former Dean and Chapter Colliery of 1968. The Town Council purchased the former Ferryhill Athletic ground at auction in 2004, which was then provided to improve recreation facilities in the area, after the land could not be sold on.

Notable people

Sid Chaplin Sid Chaplin (20 September 191611 January 1986) was an English writer whose works (novels, television screenplays, poetry and short stories) are mostly set in the north-east of England, in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography Chaplin was born into ...

(1916–1986) – novelist and poet who lived in Ferryhill from 1941 to 1953 *

John McManners John McManners (25 December 1916 – 4 November 2006) was a British clergyman and historian of religion who specialized in the history of the church and other aspects of religious life in 18th-century France. He was Regius Professor of Ecclesia ...

(1916–2006) – clergyman and religious historian * Jack Scott (1923–2008) – weatherman for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, ITV and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

for 20 Years * Alan White (1949–2022) – drummer for the

Plastic Ono Band The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band and Fluxus-based artist collective''John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band'' book by Yoko Ono and John Lennon, published by Thames & Hudson Ltd, October 2020, pp. 17-19 formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1968-9 fo ...

and

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

* Eric Gates (born 1955) – footballer who played twice for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

as well as

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

and

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

Phill Nixon Phillip Nixon (13 March 1956 – 9 August 2013) was an English darts player from Ferryhill, County Durham. He was the runner up in the 2007 BDO World Darts Championship in his first appearance. Career Before the 2007 BDO World Darts Champion ...

(1956–2013) – darts player,

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Runner Up in 2007 *

Pauline Murray Pauline Murray (born 8 March 1958) is best known as the lead vocalist of the punk rock band Penetration, originally formed in 1976. Early years Pauline Murray was born on 8 March 1958 in Waterhouses, County Durham, England, and her parents later ...

(born 1958) – lead singer of punk rock band Penetration * Fred Barber (born 1963) – footballer who played over 400

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

appearances * Howard Linskey (born 1967) – crime novelist

References

External links

Ferryhill and Chilton Chapter Community Newspaper
{{authority control Towns in County Durham Civil parishes in County Durham