History

History

A Brief History of South Hetton
South Hetton Colliery
Railway
Churches
Village Amenities
Other Notables

A Brief History of South Hetton

Like so many of the villages of County Durham, South Hetton came into existence for one reason only, coal. South Hetton Coal Company, owned by Colonel Thomas Bradyll, began the sinking of South Hetton Colliery shafts on March 1st 1831.and production commenced two years later in 1833. In 1831 only 263 people lived in the South Hetton / Haswell area but the opening of the colliery rapidly changes that and by 1841 the population had exploded to 3981 and continued to grow throughout the 19th century reaching a total of 5,512 in 1901

South Hetton Colliery

South Hetton was the first colliery in the district of Easington and is thought to be the first colliery in Durham to raise coal in cages. Water bearing strata in the shafts posed something of a problem and to control this one of the largest steam engines, and probably the most powerful, in the world was erected for the purpose of pumping water from a depth of 876 feet (276m). It is also believed that the colliery was the first in County Durham to draw coal up the shaft by cages.
In order to transport coal from the colliery to its markets, Colonel Bradyll had a railway connection to Seaham Harbour constructed allowing the coal to be shipped to markets in the south. Both the operation of the railway and production from the colliery commenced in 1833 and to celebrate this event workmen belonging to the company and to Lord Londonderry (Seaham Harbour) were given a party at which a band played and a bullock was roasted.
Employment at South Hetton peaked in 1930 when 1443 men were employed at the mine. Over its 150-year history seams worked included the: Five Quarter, Main, Yard, Low Main and Hutton seams. The Hutton seam was known as South Hetton Wallsend and produced first class household and gas coal and was considered one of the best coals on the market.

Railway

At the same time as Colonel Bradyll's railway was been constructed, Sunderland Dock Company were building a passenger and freight line from Sunderland to Durham via Murton with a branch line from this connecting South Hetton and Haswell both of which where given stations. Completed in 1835 this line was later taken over by North Eastern Railway in 1854. From 1835 onward the small community of South Hetton was connected to Sunderland (a 35 minute journey) and London could be reached in a day. In the 1950s passenger services ended on the old Sunderland to Durham & Hartlepool (via Haswell and South Hetton) line. The track stayed in place between South Hetton (and the projected Hawthorn Shaft which would raise coal from Eppleton, Elemore and Murton collieries) and the coast railway at Ryhope. Thus coal could still be transported from the few surviving collieries to Sunderland for export. Only the Station Hotel public house remains as evidence of the station but part of the line now forms the Ryhope to Hart cycle path.
Following the opening of the mine the village came into existence although the shape of the village was a little strange it has remained very similar over the last 170 odd years. Almost like three separate villages, originally split into 'the high side', 'the low side' and 'the eight rows'. Clarence Street was named after William, 3rd. son of King George III, Duke of Clarence and later King William IV (1830-37), who was godfather to Colonel Braddyll's sixth child Clarence in 1813.

The miner's cottages were constructed of stone, two rooms down and one room up. Fresh water had to be carried into the home from a single tap in the street and often in winter it was quite a task to find one of these taps that wasn't frozen. The last of these cottages were demolished in the mid 1960's and were replaced by modern council housing. There had been moves afoot to move the occupants of these cottages to the new town of Peter Lee but a campaign in the village, led by Jack Rackstaw, defeated this proposal and the building of the new council estates around Quinn Square and Ravensworth Court. The eight rows lasted a little longer into the 1970's before finally being demolished.
The village and the mine were interwoven, the village providing a work force for the mine and the mine providing almost everything for the village. Electricity was provided from the colliery generator, the colliery canteen was utilised by school children and pensioners while the colliery medical centre was a kind of first aid station to the whole population. Other leisure facilities being offered by the miners' welfare organisation including the Miners Institute and the Welfare grounds. The colliery was closed in 1983 taking many of these facilities with it. The Parish council has taken over the welfare grounds and the Community Association has taken over what was the institute's role and has provided a new Community Centre on the old colliery site.

Churches

The registers for the church of Holy Trinity at South Hetton date from 1838. Not until January 13 1863 though did it become a separate parish from Easington. The graveyard contains the remains of many of those killed in the Haswell Colliery Disaster of 1844. The church was built and paid for by the Burdon family of Castle Eden. Although other churches followed only Holy Trinity and the Independent Methodist chapel remain.

More information on churches can be found here.

Village Amenities

In the 1950's the village boasted 4 churches, 3 fish and chip shops, 2 Coop stores, 2 doctors surgeries, 2 newspaper shops, 2 butchers, 6 grocery shops, 1 cobblers, 1 chemists, 1 post office, 1 haberdasher, 1 garage, 1 hardware shop, 7 public houses and the working men's club.
The haberdashers and the garage were owned by Ben Kernick who also owned the Hardware shop. This was like Alladin's cave a source of pleasure and wonder for many of the children of the village. In this little shop you could by almost anything from bicycles to nails, records and model aeroplanes, paint and electrical fittings. If you wanted it Ben had it.

Other Notables

Mary Ann Cotton killed between 17 and 22 people (Depending on which source you read) mostly her own family. In order to avoid the poverty she dreaded she would poison her husbands and family for insurance money. Mary Ann arrived left home at the age of 16 to work as a servant in a prosperous household in South Hetton. The quality of Mary Ann's work caused no complaint, although she began what would become a life riddled with sexual scandals. Soon after Mary Ann began working in the household, the South Hetton gossips were busy spreading tales about illicit meetings between Mary Ann and a local churchman. After three years of service in South Hetton, Mary Ann left to train as a dressmaker and to marry a miner named William Mowbray, by whom she had become pregnant. After their wedding in July of 1852, the newlyweds moved around England.

Angus Sibbet was killed and his body dumped in a car under the mineral line railway bridge in South Hetton. The killing inspired the classic British crime thriller Get Carter.
Michael Luvaglio, and Dennis Stafford were jailed for life in 1967 for the murder both men have long protested their innocence and it would appear that there is much evidence to support there claim

Bridge Bombed
The bridge mentioned above was the 3rd on that site the first having been destroyed by a German bomb in the 2nd World War. The bridge and the railway line are now gone the line forming part of the cycle path.