Seaham A Short History

Transcription

1 Seaham A Short History by Jane Hatcher General Background History The place name means in Old English the homestead by the sea, and is first recorded about 1040 in a History of St Cuthbert (1). It occurs again in 1155 in records of the Priory of Durham. Archaeological evidence shows that there was Prehistoric occupation of the area, and probably a Roman settlement (2). An Anglo Saxon village here led to the building of the Anglo Saxon Church of St Mary (3). The old village is now represented by Seaham Hall, where the unfortunate Milbanke heiress married Lord Byron in 1815 (4). Seaham Hall became a hospital, and is now a high class hotel (5). Sir Ralph Noel, a relative of the Milbankes, who was occupying Seaham Hall in 1817, first had the idea of constructing a harbour to ship coal from local mines in the Dalden area, but the idea was brought to fruition by Charles William, Lord Stewart, who in 1819 had married as his second wife Lady Frances Anne Vane Tempest, heiress to extensive property and coal mines in County Durham. Lord Stewart, a member of an Irish family, purchased the Seaham estate from the Milbankes in 1821, and became the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in The following year he was granted the additional titles of Earl Vane and Viscount Seaham (6). In September 1828 work began on the construction of a new settlement, initially called Dalden Ness, around a new artificial harbour. The leading Newcastle architect John Dobson drew up plans for the town, and leading civil engineers Thomas Telford and John Rennie were consulted about the design of the dock, which was planned by William Chapman (7). Work progressed apace and the first coal was shipped out from the new dock in Although not built to the original grandiose plan, the town prospered and in 1843 it was

2 granted a market and renamed Seaham Harbour. A series of enlargements increased the capacity of the harbour, and the original loans taken out by the Marquess were repaid in 1855, a year after his death. A trades directory of 1848 (8) already gives Seaham Harbour more prominence than Seaham itself, but mentions Seaham Hall, then occupied by Lord Seaham, the Marquess of Londonderry s son. Seaham Harbour is described as having an established church, Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels, and an Infirmary which had been erected from the proceeds of a bazaar conducted under the patronage of the Marchioness of Londonderry. Seaham Harbour has quite an extensive list of directory entries, including several public houses. The 1st edition of the 6 Ordnance Survey Map, published in 1856, shows housing between Tempest Place and Church Street flanking the railway lines running into the docks. The new church, St. John s, is shown as a perpetual curacy with a graveyard. There is a National School for both boys and girls, and on the northern edge of the settlement is the Infirmary. Named public houses include the Adam and Eve and the Colliery Inn. As well as coal mines and railways, brick kilns are shown along the Sunderland Stockton turnpike road, and other industrial activities include the Seaham Harbour Gas Works, Saw Mill, Steam Corn Mills, Seaham Iron Works, Seaham Bottle Works, the Londonderry Bottle Works and nearby limekilns. A trades directory of 1856 (9) gives a detailed account of the design and construction of Seaham Harbour itself, followed by details of other utilities and works. St John s Church had been built in 1840, the Wesleyan Methodist chapel in 1833, that of the Wesleyan Association in 1839, and the Primitive Methodist in St John s National School dated from The Londonderry Literary Institute was an impressive piece of architecture, and Lady Londonderry s Infirmary had been erected in Public Baths had been built at

3 Dawdon Dean in A long list of directory entries included 15 pubs, ship builders, ship owners and omnibuses. By 1890 the trades directory (10) includes Seaham s links with Lord Byron, and has a separate heading for New Seaham, where Christ Church had become a vicarage in Attached to the church were two Sunday schools, with lending libraries. Directory entries include the farm bailiff and head gardener of Seaham Hall. The seaport town of Seaham Harbour now warrants a much longer description, having 1,150 inhabited houses and its own Local Board of Health and a weekly newspaper. The church of St John the Evangelist, which had been altered and extended in 1885, justifies a detailed description, and the Roman Catholic church of St Mary Magdalene had been built in Details are given of the relative sizes of the Presbyterian, Primitive Methodist, Wesleyan and Methodist Free chapels. The Cemetery had been formed in Further details are given of the Horticultural Society, Londonderry Literary Institute, Masonic Hall, and Infirmary, now said to have been built on the proceeds of a book published by the Marchioness of Londonderry. Directory entries not only include a long list of residents but a French Consul and Norwegian Vice Consul! There was the capacity for 300 coasting ships in the harbour. Whellan s Directory of 1894 (11) gives longer details of Seaham church, and under a separate entry for New Seaham mentions Christ Church, the Miners Hall, Seaham Colliery Reading Room and two schools. It says Seaham Harbour had become a distinct parish in 1845, with its Church of St John erected in The Salvation Army had taken over an old Wesleyan Chapel, and four schools are described, plus the Infirmary, Institute, Cemetery, Gas Works, Drill Hall, Lifeboat Station, Police Station and County Court Buildings. The second edition of the 6 Ordnance Survey in 1898 shows Seaham Harbour having expanded southwards of Church Street towards the railway, which has been extended by the Blastfurnace Branch of the Londonderry Railway. The colliery area is now called New Seaham. The brickworks has been replaced by an area of terraced housing with its own

4 schools, two chapels, a Miners Hall and a Drill Hall. The Pumping Station has replaced the Water Works. As well as new schools and chapels in Seaham Harbour the new cemetery is shown. New industrial development includes the Londonderry Engine Works and the Londonderry Wagon Works. A new area of cottages at Swine Lodge Bank has its own school. The Bottle Works has expanded, and the Seaham Chemical Works further south has appeared but become disused. Further south at Watsontown the Seaham Iron Works is also disused. The Gas Works has moved near the Bottle Works. By the 3rd edition 6 map, Ordnance Survey New Seaham has seen few changes, but an Institute has been built next to the Miners Hall, and there are now Football and Cricket grounds. There has been considerably more expansion of Seaham Harbour, which now extends south of the railway line to Dawdon. A new branch of the North Eastern Railway runs south from Seaham Harbour. There is a Recreation Ground, separate Football Ground, and an Isolation Hospital near Dawdon. There are new schools and chapels, and allotment gardens are now mentioned. The trades directory for 1938 (12) has almost three pages of directory entries. The history of Seaham and its coal mining heritage is particularly well documented. The Londonderry archive is one of the largest and most important collections in the Durham County Record Office. Seaham Harbour in particular has been included in many publications due to its historical importance, for instance Frank Atkinson s Industrial Archaeology of North East England (13) includes two illustrations of Seaham Harbour, a photograph of a chaldron wagon and a diagram of a mid 19th century coal drop. Mining History The 1st edition of the 6 Ordnance Survey map, published in 1856, shows Seaham Colliery and Seaton Colliery west of Seaham Harbour, to which they are connected by railway lines. The following year, The Illustrated London News of 22 August (14) included a lengthy

5 account, complete with engraving, entitled Dinner Given by the Marchioness of Londonderry to 3000 Pitmen in the Grounds of Seaham Hall. The men were employed in the Marchioness s extensive colliery works, she having taken over their running on the death of her husband, the 3rd Marquess, in Whellan in 1894 (15) gives a detailed account of Seaham Colliery, sunk in 1846 by the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, and Seaton Colliery, sunk by Lord Durham, and by 1894 worked as one. The Harvey, Main Coal, Maudlin, Hutton Jubilee, Hutton No.2 and Hutton No.3 seams were being worked. The Harvey was the deepest, at fathoms, with a 3 ft. thick seam. The Main coal seam was 5 ft. thick, the Maudlin, 4 ft, and Low Main ran together. The Hutton Jubilee had acquired its name from the fact of having been reached through a great fault, after three years cutting in It was 265 fathoms deep and varied in thickness from 3 ft. 6 ins. to 4 ft. 6 ins. The Maudlin, Hutton Jubilee, and the Nos. 2 and 3 were already being worked under the sea. It was a very extensive colliery, employing 1700 men and boys, which was a lot without coke ovens. The old system of ventilation by furnaces was still being employed. The 2nd edition of the 6 Ordnance Survey map of 1898 reflected the combining of the two collieries, for the workings were named only as Seaham Colliery. Dawdon Colliery, which opened in 1900 (16), is marked on the 1922 map, where the Iron Works had been previously. (1) Victor Watts, A Dictionary of County Durham Place Names(2002), p.109. (2) Durham County Council, Sites and Monuments Record. (3) Nikolaus Pevsner, The Buildings of England: County Durham(1983), pp (4) Kelly s Directory of Durham and Northumberland (1890), p.241. (5) Trevor Williamson, Images of Seaham (1999), p.11.

6 (6) Durham County Record Office, Catalogue of the Londonderry Papers (1969), pp.3 4. (7) R.W. Sturgess, Aristocrat in Business, Durham County Local History Society, (1975). (8) Slater s Directory of Durham (1848) pp (9) William Whellan & Co., History, Topography and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham (1856), pp (10) Kelly s Directory of Durham and Northumberland (1890), pp (11) Francis Whellan & Co., History, Topography and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham(1894), pp (12) Kelly s Directory of Durham and Northumberland (1938), pp (13) Frank Atkinson, The Industrial Archaeology of North East England, 2 vols. (1974). (14) Durham County Record Office, D/Lo/X 56. (15) Francis Whellan & Co., History, Topography and Directory of the County Palatine of Durham(1894), pp (16) Durham County Record Office, Durham Collieries, (2001), p.27. Note: The views that are expressed on the website are the contributors own and not necessarily those of Durham County Council. This is a community website so no guarantee can be given of the historical accuracy of individual contributions