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Coordinates: 54°49′01″N 1°37′34″W / 54.817°N 1.626°W
| Sacriston | |
.png)  Sacriston
Sacriston shown within County Durham |
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| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| Unitary authority | County Durham |
| Ceremonial county | County Durham |
| Region | North East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DURHAM |
| Postcode district | DH7 |
| Dialling code | 0191 |
| Police | Durham |
| Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
| Ambulance | North East |
| EU Parliament | North East England |
| UK Parliament | North Durham |
| List of places: UK • England • County Durham | |
Sacriston is a village in County Durham, England, situated 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the city of Durham.
Although the area has been populated since the Bronze Age, the first recorded settlement dated back to the 13th century to Sacristan's Heugh. According to old maps it was once known as "Segerston Heugh" and is now known to local people as "Segga". This farm and manor house was once the residence of the Sacristan, a monk who held the Office of the Sacristan of the monastery at Durham Cathedral. The Sacristan was responsible for providing everything necessary for the services of the Cathedral: bread and wine, the vestments etc. He was also responsible for repairs to Durham Cathedral. The funds for carrying out the official duties were generated from the estate of Sacristan's Heugh which was finally demolished shortly after World War Two. Sacriston recently made the news after a Christmas tree was installed. The mighty Pine tree towered over the village. In reality it was a case of Bad drills as it only measured 4 foot, making Sacriston an international laughing stock. It is now to be replaced by the tied up body of the head of the parish council with some lights up his arse
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Mining History
Sacriston Colliery shaft was sunk in 1838 and by the 1890s the pit employed 600 men, producing 1,000 tons of coal a day.
Disaster of 1903
On the 16th of November 1903, water poured into the mine workings of the 'Busty' Seam. The rising water killed two miners: John Whittaker, and Thomas McCormick. During the incident rescuers stumbled on another miner: 'Richardson' was found standing on his container having been stranded for over 90 hours. The unfolding story made for headlines around the world. Decades later workers stumbled on the skeleton of one of the pit ponies that died during the accident and a full tub of coal that still bore the miners name, he then received his back pay
Disaster of 1940
On December 4 1940, a fall of stone on one of the work areas killed 5 miners they were:
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- Joseph Welsh, 45
- George W. Scott, 37
- William Richardson, 54
- William Smith, 35
- John William Britton, 47
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Decline
Because of the exhaustion of thick coal seams, only 1,500 tons of best quality coal was being produced a week in 1975. The last coal production was on 15th of November 1985 and the colliery was closed on 28th December 1985.
As in many mining areas, the loss of the 'pit' led to significant unemployment and related social problems. Sacriston narrowly avoided D classification in 1985 due to social deprivation and general poor quality of housing.
Little evidence of the mining operations now remains, with the area around the former coal mine having been landscaped and turned into woodland. A few mining-related buildings do survive, the largest of which is now used as a depot for the local authority's refuse vehicles, while the foundations of demolished mine buildings can be seen in places in the new woodland.
Life in Sacriston today
Over 20 years on from the closure of its last coal mine, the village retains a strong sense of community. Recently, a new community centre has opened, and the village still has a Post Office along with a large number of shops for a settlement of its size, including a Co-op supermarket, two other mini-marts, a greengrocer, newsagent, off-licence and others, as well as a branch of Lloyds TSB Bank.
There are also a number of social clubs and similar organisations including Sacriston Working Mens Club and a Roman Catholic social club, cricket club and three public houses, 'The Shoes', 'The Robin Hood', and 'The Daisy Hill'. Another pub, the 'Village Inn', closed in 2007.
Education
The village has two infant schools, one junior school, a Roman Catholic primary school, and Fyndoune Community College, a secondary school.
Public Services
A new health centre, which includes a dental practice as well as a GP surgery, was officially opened by Sir Bobby Robson in 2008. This facility was constructed on the site of the village's former swimming baths, which closed in the 1990s.
Sport
Sport in the village consists of a village cricket team who play in the Northumberland and Tyneside senior league and have a 1st, 2nd and 3rd XI, along with under 11's, 13's, 15's and 18's. The village also has two football teams which play on a Sunday - Sacriston Working Mens Club FC., and Sacriston Colliery Cricket Club FC. Both played in the Durham Stephy Coaches League Division 1 during the 2008-09 season.
Notable people
- Melvyn Betts (born 1975), ex Durham, Warwickshire and Middlesex cricketer, born in Sacriston
- Ian Hunter (cricketer) (born 1979), ex Durham and Now Derby cricketer, born in Sacriston
- Ian Jones (cricketer), ex Durham, Somerset and Middlesex cricketer, born in Sacriston
- Wendy Craig (born 1934), English actress, born in Sacriston
- Sir Bobby Robson (1933-2009), football player and manager, born in Sacriston[1]
- Kevan Jones (born 1964), Member of Parliament for the area, and a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, lives in Sacriston, where he also has his constituency office.
References
- ^ Robson, Bobby (2005). "Going underground". Farewell but Not Goodbye. Hodder & Stoughton. pp. 6. ISBN 034582347X.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
