Walking in my Fore father's Footsteps

Transcription

1 Walking in my Fore father's Footsteps by Victor T.D. Holliday As part of the introduction to Local Mining History it falls upon me to undertake research that reflects my personal interest in mining history. The purpose of this research is to allow me to use, and in doing so, realise the search skills and tools I have gained in the group sessions. To this end my chosen subject is the village I live in, Dipton. My Great Great Grandfather and my Great Grandfather both lived in the immediate area of Dipton. Having lived in the village for the past 16 years, I am sure we have walked on many of the local paths and wagon ways, although sadly not together. I hope that by using the skills I have learnt I can show the development of my village from its humble beginnings to its present day. The parish of Dipton was formed on the 12th September 1883, although historically its significance stretches back to earlier than this date. Its original name of Deepden is derived from it being a dene along the slopes of Pontop Pike. The first map showing the name Dipton was recorded in The village was shown as being a long straggling place, much the same as it is today The centre of the village of Dipton was originally known as Collierley Dykes, meaning the pits among the trees and hedges. To the south west lies Pontop Pike, mined for coal from the earliest days of coal mining in the area, with East Castle Colliery and Quarry forming a small hamlet of 67 houses to the west of Pontop Pike.

2 To Dipton s west lies High Stables, so called by the old lead miners who came to the collieries with horses and carts to buy coal. The journey took two days to complete, a day there and a day back. The horses were fed and stabled at the farm at the top of the bank, which overlooked most of the local collieries, hence the name High Stables, which retains its name to this day. Prior to the 1860 s records provide little proof coal mining taking place as a large scale industry. Mining was carried out in drifts and bell pits. Drifts required following the seam from the ground until it could not be worked due to lack of light, which was dangerous to use because of the inflammable fumes and gasses that built up within the drifts, which were not ventilated. Pontop has small pits on top of the pike, which were referred to as Bell Pits. They were given this name due to their shape, that being Bell like. These pits were also problematic due to the inflammable gasses below ground. Many ways were tried to introduce light for the miners to work at greater depths, including mirrors to reflect the sunlight into the pit, as well as fish scales to reflect light. Due to the lack of success in this area it was not financially feasible to dig the pit to any great depth, and so these pits soon became redundant, even with large amounts of coal available. With the realisation that large profits could be made from coal mining came the finance backing to commence mining within the Dipton area. This lead to the creation of three small hamlets, Dipton, Collierley Dykes and Pontop, each with two shafts, which was the law at the time. Dipton had the Surtees Pit, owened by R. Dickinson & Co, as well as the Dickinson Pit, which was known locally as the Lily Pit.

3 Due to a clause in the Lanchester Common Act the financial burden imposed on both these pits to transport the coal across land, which the coal had not been dug from, led to the closure of both Lily and Surtees pits in prior to the closure of these two pits, they employed over 250 men and boys, and produced over 3000 tons of coal per week. Collierley had the Old Delight Pit owned by John Bowes and partners, which were formed in 1846, with the shaft sunk in 1853 and mined until 1909 when the New delight Pit replaced it. The New delight opened in 1909 and was worked until 1940, when it closed due partly to the escalating costs to mine the coal and also to the Second World War closing the foreign markets it served Pontop has the Annie Pit and the Mary pit. The Annie was sunk 1864 with the Mary Pit following in The South Medomsly Coal Company owned them. Both shafts relied upon each other for ventilation, as a fan was installed in the Mary Pit to create an up shaft, with the Annie Pit providing the down shaft. With the surrounding pits the hamlets developed and the village of dipton grew. In 1748 Pontop hall was used as a refuge where French priests were given aid and shelter in the religious rebellions of In 1802 the Brooms Church, about 2 miles from High stables, was built to house the priests from around the area, and does so to this day. Around 1840 the oldest recorded school was held in a large room London House in Colliery Dykes. That was located at the bottom of Besom Bank or Delight Bank as it was locally known and Front Street which both remain today. The building of a Gas works in 1872 saw the provision of gas lighting installed through out the village houses and streets.

4 The opening of the board school in an old wooden hut in 1875 provided the education within the area until 1878 when the existing school was built. It was taken over by the Education committee and Durham County Council in 1904 and still bears the name of Dipton Collierley saw the Free Church built a church in Collierley; it was later bought and taken over by the Methodist church movement. The Co Operative Society of Annfield Plain opened its second branch store in 1880, a hut on the site now occupied by the Dipton Working Men s Club. New Premises were built on the site in 1891 and flourished until 1920, when it was destroyed by fire. The building had a large hall above the store and was used by a very well supported and attended Salvation Army group. In 1882 Dipton s early church services were conducted at the board school and the Parish of Dipton was created in Previously Dipton had been part of the parish of Collierley saw the parish church of St John opened by the then Bishop of Durham, Dr Westcott. As Dipton moved into the 1900 s the county of Durham and its small towns and villages continued to grow. Not all was well in the world in these times and the Great War of came upon us at a great cost. Many young men were taken from their villages, never to return. In 1920, 90 houses were built on the Ewehurst Estate in Flinthill. These were some of the first houses in the area to boast hot water, baths and flush toilets, a luxury long waited for and certainly well deserved. Allotments opposite St John s Church were vacated in 1926 and 82 houses built.

5 With 1930 came the social services hut, built by unemployed men in the community. It was run by a committee, with the manager of South Medomsley Pit, Mr A, S, Davison being the chairman, who oversaw the building work and the vicar of St John s Church, Revd. Woodward also heavily involved. In the 1960 s the hut was extended and renamed The Dipton Community Centre,1948 saw the creation of the Dipton Child Welfare Centre, held in the Dipton Community Centre, which was a great help to local women, as they had previously had to travel to Catchgate to receive maternity care. 16 old people s homes were built opposite St John s Church in 1933, and in houses were built at Lily Gardens. Previously occupied by wooden houses occupied by the mineworkers employed at Lili Pit saw 30 additional houses built at Ewehurst Estate. In 1940 the New Delight Colliery closed due to the loss of foreign trade, which bought most of the pits coal, brought about by the Second World War. Thus did not stop the continued development of Dipton as in semi detached houses were built at Pikesyde. Dipton Park was opened in 1942 with a bandstand, Bowling Green and tennis courts. The bandstand is no longer in evidence, but the Bowling Green and tennis courts still stand today a further ten old people s homes were built alongside the existing old peoples homes built in 1933 opposite St John s Church. In 2001 the wooden Dipton Community Centre was pulled down and a new brick building now stands in its place. The building is now called the Jubilee Centre, and still serves the local people as a place where they meet, hold raffles and fairs, and serve the local people. And so life goes on in the village. With the loss of the pits, the needs of the community have lessened and brought about the closure of a number of shops and public houses in the village. Dipton, like many other redundant pit villages in the area, is now a commuter village.

6 Most of the people who live in the area travel to Newcastle, Gateshead, Durham and Sunderland to work. I hope this research has given you an insight of the birth, growth and decline of my village. It would require many months or even years of research to give a complete picture of life in Dipton, I have only given a brief glimpse. Digitised by Mr & Mrs Trotter 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