Category D coal mining villages in County DurhamSome notes about the 1951 Durham County Development PlanThe 1951 Durham County Development Plan classified villages as an A, B, C or D settlement.In Category D settlements no future development would be permitted and property would be acquired and demolished. The population would be relocated to new housing.
114 settlements were listed in the 1951 plan, rising to 121 in the
revised Durham County Development Plan of 1964. No more than three had
been completely demolished by 1969. This page notes a few of these villages, plus some other lost communities in Northumberland and Teesside. BBC - Planning for Destruction: the D-villages of County Durham "Caroline Beck uncovers the hidden story of the Durham villages which were lost after the decline of the local coalfields during the 1950s and 60s." Last broadcast 01 Sep 2008, 20:00 on BBC Radio 4, www.bbc.co.uk
Speechification.com - Planning For Destruction, May 20th 2008 by Russell Davies.
Wikipedia - Villages in County Durham Blackhouse - These miners houses near Edmondsley were demolished in 1978, after the Category D threat had been lifted. Originally called Clayton Ville, the site of Blackhouse Council Houses at Beechville has now returned to farmland. There are ghostly images of the foundations in the aerial photo. Northern Echo - Durham Memories, 28 May 2004, "Following the herd down to Edmondsley"
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RAF aerial photo 1944 Burnhope - "The County Council designated the village Category D and condemned it to wither on the vine." Northern Echo, archive 16 June 2003, "School Closures".
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RAF aerial photo 1944 Chopwell - "In the development plan of 1964, Chopwell was categorised as a type D village, a settlement where new capital expenditure was limited to the maintenance of existing facilities. Chopwell was to be allowed to decline." www.asaplive.com, Gateshead Local Studies - "Gateshead Places: Chopwell, by M Dixon".
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Google Maps East Hetton included Burrell Street, Cross Street, Green Street, Braddyll Street, High New Row, Low New Row and 2 Methodist Chapels. Demolition began before the 1951 "Category D" scheme, as shown on the 1939 map. The site is between Raisby Quarry and Kelloe.
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RAF aerial photo 1944 Haswell - "The D village policy officially ended in June 1977 when Durham County Council eventually decided to encourage investment in previous D villages." www.haswell-history.co.uk
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RAF aerial photo 1944 Herrington - "Many of you will know before the birth of Tyne & Wear, New Herrington was a category D village in the County of Durham, the local council being Houghton le Spring Urban District Council." www.mymarras.co.uk
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Google Maps High Spen - "was categorised as a Category D village by Durham County Council, one of many scheduled for destruction and demolition following the decline of mining in the west of the county in the 1950's and 60's." www.highspenheroes.org
"Condemned by Durham County Council to wither on the vine as a Category
D village, it was eventually saved when local government reorganisation
placed it in the newly created Tyne and Wear."
The hon. Member for Blaydon (Mr. Robert Woof) - "I refer to the
profound despair, hardship and lingering regret which has been created
by the decision of Durham Planning Authority to refuse any further
housing development in the village of High Spen in my constituency." High Spen had the nickname "Little Moscow".
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Google Maps Marley Hill - "In 1974 Gateshead MBC undertook an investigation into its Category D villages. It was not until the 1990s that new building took place in Marley Hill for the first time in fifty years." www.webwanderers.org
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Google Maps The Middles - Bloemfontein Terrace, Ladysmith Terrace and Kimberley Terrace have been demolished. Greylingstad Terrace and Standerton Terrace are still standing. They were named after places in the 1899-1902 Boer War. Keys to the Past - Old Maps - Geograph NZ2051 - Microsoft Virtual Earth - Google Maps - RAF aerial photo 1944 Newton Aycliffe - "Building began on 28 June 1948. The County Council wanted people to move into 'Newton Aycliffe' from the old 'Category D' (scheduled to die) pit villages." http://greataycliffe.sedgefield.gov.uk
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Google Maps Page Bank - Terraced housing including East Terrace, Long Row, New Row, Old Row, Railway Terrace, School Row and West Terrace has been demolished in this isolated Category D village. Northern Echo, archive 10 July 2003, "John North"
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RAF aerial photo 1944
Quebec - Rows of terraced houses, a chapel, church, school and drill hall have been demolished. Keys to the Past - Old Maps - Geograph NZ1843 - Microsoft Virtual Earth - Google Maps - RAF aerial photo 1944 Stanley Crook - Church Terrace, Jobson Terrace, Stanley Terrace and Wooley Terrace have been demolished. www.british-genealogy.com
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RAF aerial photo 1944 Thornley - Terraced housing including Albert Street, Bow Street, Coopers Terrace, East Street, Henry Street, Percy Street, South Street and Vine Street has been demolished. Keys to the Past - Old Maps - Geograph NZ3639 - Microsoft Virtual Earth - Google Maps - RAF aerial photo 1944 Waterhouses - Terraced housing including Arthur Street, Dale Street, East Terrace, North Terrace, West Terrace and Whitewell Street has been demolished. Keys to the Past - Old Maps - Geograph NZ1841 - Microsoft Virtual Earth - Google Maps - RAF aerial photo 1944 Witton Park - Terraced housing including Garden Street, High King Street, High Queen Street, High Thompson Street, John Street, Low Albion Street, Low King Street, Low Queen Street, Low Thompson Street, Park Terrace and Vulcan Street has been demolished. Witton Park had the nickname "Jam Jar City". It was the original terminus of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, and was famous for its Iron Works. That trade eventually moved down to Middlesbrough, South Bank and Grangetown. Northern Echo, Backtrack 9th January 2009, "A visit to Canada for Rose and Crown" Northern Echo, archive 27 July 2000, "Jam jar citizens gather" www.daledaniel.fsnet.co.uk - Dale Daniel's website about Witton Park.
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RAF aerial photo 1944 Planning for decline - the 'D'-village policy of County Durham, UK Author: GARY PATTISON Source: Planning Perspectives, Volume 19, Number 3, July 2004 , pp. 311-332(22) Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group
"From the 1930s to the 1970s the contraction of the coal mining
industry in County Durham in northern England was followed closely by
plans to abolish many of the settlements that had supported the mining
population. This article examines the development of the policies that
were used to classify villages for demolition, the local resistance
that developed in defence of the villages and the justifications
provided in support of this policy. The bulk of the research is based
on archived contemporary newspaper reporting of the events as they
happened. Through this approach it is possible to document the course
of popular opposition to planning policies. The policy was wide
ranging, with 121 villages designated as category 'D', meaning that
they were to be demolished. This paper examines the local response in
specific case study localities, showing that the main tensions were
between the economic concerns and aesthetic appraisal of policy makers
and community-based perceptions of social relations and the
environment. The paper suggests that the legacy of the 'D'-village
policy continued until relatively recently in the minds of planners and
residents in Durham's ex-mining localities." 1951 - Category D - "Durham County Council publishes its Development Plan in which it addresses the problems of 350 scattered villages which have grown up around small mines. The mines were no longer economic and the villages were haemorrhaging population. The Plan classified a third of the villages as Category D because the council felt there was no way of sustaining them in the future. These villages were to be left to die without economic assistance." www.northeastengland.talktalk.net - "Timeline of North East History". Rural life - "Television news and programming in the archive also includes items on issues that affect the rural areas such as the 1967 foot and mouth outbreak, flooding, and fox hunting issues. The decline of rural communities and villages surrounding the failing coal mines of County Durham, labelled Category D villages, was also covered on news and current affairs programmes." www.movinghistory.ac.uk online film archive. House of Commons - "Examination of Witnesses (Questions 1 - 19), Monday 10 November 2003 Q10 Chairman: Many years ago Durham County Council, for instance, had a policy of what they called Category D villages - this is a long time back - and a category D village was basically a village which was doomed; it was not going to survive, because the coalfield had closed and the community could not survive on its own. Not that that has reversed, but some of those villages have only survived because they have become commuter villages. Do you see the future of most regenerated villages being on the basis of commuting rather than developing their own energy?" www.publications.parliament.uk William A GEENTY - County Development Plan, 1951. Written analysis prepared for the County Council of Durham. Billingham: printed by the Billingham Press for the County Council, 1951. Fo. [ii], vi, 320pp, plates, maps, plans, figures, tables. Original decorated red cloth gilt, sprinkled leaf-edges. Cloth lightly soiled and rubbed; hinges pulling slightly. Offered for GBP 42.00 = appr. US$ 62.37 by: John Turton - Book number: 35041 www.antiqbook.co.uk
This publication is held in the County Reserve Library of Durham County Council. David SIMPSON is the author of fourteen books on northern history. He works for The Northern Echo and Durham Times newspapers in Darlington. THE DURHAM VILLAGES (November 2006) Business Education Publishers Limited ISBN 978 1 901888 51 176 pages including 16 pages of colour inserts www.northeastengland.talktalk.net/Books.htm Some more demolished communitiesChevington Drift (Northumberland) - East Chevington. The 1920s map shows Hartside Terrace, Hedgehope Terrace, Linhope Terrace and Simonside Terrace in Chevington Drift, later demolished for opencast mining.Keys to the Past - Old Maps - Geograph NZ2699 - Microsoft Virtual Earth - Google Maps - New Popular Edition Radcliffe (Northumberland) - Terraced housing including Centre Row, Cross Row East, Cross Row West, Dandsfield Place North, Dandsfield Place South, Leslie Row, Long Row North, Long Row South and Newburgh Row was demolished in 1971. The inhabitants were re-housed in more modern accommodation in Amble, on the Radcliffe estate. Wikipedia, Radcliffe, Northumberland
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New Popular Edition Grangetown (Teesside) - The grid of terrace houses was started in 1881 for the nearby Cleveland Steel Works. Bessemer Street, Vaughan Street, Stapylton Street, Laing Street, Holden Street, Wood Street, Vickers Street and Cheetham Street have been demolished. There was a Market Square with cross streets West Lane, Whitworth Road, Pochin Road and Lee Road. Only a few original houses remain on Bolckow Road. The A66 road now goes through the site. Some later terrace houses have been demolished, including Alexandra Road, Granville Road and Roberts Street. Keys to the Past - Old Maps - Geograph NZ5420 - Microsoft Virtual Earth - Google Maps
www.communigate.co.uk - "Grangetown or Cardboard City" The end of Category DIn 1978 the "Coal House" headquarters of the National Coal Board (NCB) on the Team Valley Trading Estate had a list of former colliery houses for sale to the public.Prices started at about £1000 for a 3-bedroom terrace house in County Durham.
Durham coal miners who were sitting tenants could buy their house from the NCB for about £500. A Newcastle estate agent was offering NCB houses to the public for about £3000 in East Cramlington, Northumberland.
The Distant Future?The original intention was to demolish the Category D villages so that the coal underneath could be opencast. The miners left behind pillars of coal to support the roof and prevent subsidence beneath houses.For a distance around each old mineshaft the seams of coal were left undisturbed to maintain stability of the shaft. There has been extensive opencast mining in County Durham, such as at Chapmans Well, but much of it did not reach the lowest seams of coal. Roads were not diverted as happened in Northumberland, so a lot of unmined coal and archaeology remains under roads. In a time of national emergency in the distant future, the coal still under County Durham might be worth more than the houses above!
Northern Echo - "Hundreds of families may move for £54m development", first published Monday 10th July 2006.
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