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Easington Colliery

Easington Colliery is an old coal mining town in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north of Horden, and a short distance to the east of Easington Village. The town is known for a mining accident or disaster which occurred, on 29 May 1951 when an explosion in the mine resulted in the deaths of 83 men (including 2 rescue workers). It has a population of 4,959.^[1]

History

Easington Colliery began when the pit was sunk in 1899, near the coast. Thousands of workers came to the area from all parts of Britain and with the new community came new shops, pubs, clubs, and many rows of terraced "colliery houses" for the mine workers and their families.

In 1993 the mine was closed, with the loss of 1,400 jobs. This caused a decline in the local economy; Easington Colliery is currently the 4th most economically deprived place in England and the obesity capital of England (Aug 2006).^{[citation needed]}

The Easington Pit Disaster of 29 May 1951

ANSON, John, 64, a shifter from Thomas Street.

ARMSTRONG, William, 55, a datal from Barwick Street.

BEDDING, Mark Smart, 38, a filler from Wordsworth Road.

BLEVINS, Matthew, 27, a filler from Inchape Terrace.

BRENKLEY, George, 20, a filler.

BRENKLEY, Thomas, 32, a filler from Dean Avenue.

BRENNAN, Louis, 49, a stoneman from Cuba Street.

BROWN, George Miller, 50, a datal from Cook Street.

BURDESS, Henry, 43, a rescue worker overcome by gas on June 1, 1951.

BURN, Bertram, 25, a filler from Thorpe Street.

CAIN, Emmerson, 63, a stoneman from Ashton Street.

CAIRNS, Frederick, 23, a filler from Station Road.

CALVERT, George, 50, a stoneman from Clifton Street.

CALVIN, James, 51, a conveyor maintenance man from Laburnum Crescent.

CARR, Frederick, 50, an electrician from Leachmere Terrace, Ryhope.

CARR, George William, 45, a timber drawer from Cook Street.

CARR, James, 38, a timber drawer from Vincent Street.

CHALLONER, John Edwin (Teddy), 53, a deputy from Boston Street.

CHAMPERLEY, Richard, 43, a cutter from Hazel Terrace, Shotton.

CHAPMAN, Albert Kerr, 44, a stoneman from Attlee Crescent.

CHARLTON, Joseph, 42, a master shifter from Baldwin Street.

CLOUGH, John, 27, a shifter from West Crescent.

DRYDEN, William Arthur, 27, a filler from Tower Street.

ELLISON, John, 19, a datal from Wear Street.

FISHBURN, Charles, 54, a shifter from Cardiff Street.

FISHBURN, Henry, 23, a filler from Station Road.

GARSIDE, Thomas, 20, a datal from Oak Road.

GODSMAN, Joseph, 41, a cutter from North Road, Wingate.

GOULBURN, George, 57, a mason's labourer from Station Road.

GOWLAND, Albert, 51, a deputy from Bradley Street.

GOYNS, Ernest, 60, a stoneman from Stokoe Crescent.

GOYNS, Herbert, 56, a stoneman from Fifteenth Street, Wheatley Hill.

HARKER, John, 53, a shifter from Glebe Avenue.

HENDERSON, John, 56, a shifter from The Cottage, Hawthorn.

HEPPLE, Thomas, 31, a filler from Easington Street.

HUNT, Daniel, 54, a datal from Castle Street.

HUNT, Stephen, 24, a filler from The Crescent.

HUNT, William, 43, a datal from West Avenue.

HUTTON, Arthur Chambers, 42, a filler from Oak Road.

JEPSON, Frederick, 68, a shifter from Abbot Street.

JONES, Lawrence, 36, a filler from Attlee Crescent.

JONES, Thomas, 35, a deputy from Station Road.

JOPLING, Herbert, 57, a shifter from Ashton Street.

KELLY, John, 57, a datal from Clifton Street. Father of William, below.

KELLY, William, 28, a filler from Clifton Street.

LAMB, John Edward Armstrong, 43, a datal from Butler Street.

LINK, Jesse Stephenson, 44, a datal from Anthony Street.

LIPPEATT, Joseph Fairless, 37, a filler from Oak Road.

LYNCH, Peter, 20, a filler from Stephenson Square.

MCROY, Denis, 23, a filler from Bolam Street.

MCROY, William James, 31, a filler from Tower Street.

MILBURN, Robert, 26, a filler from George Avenue.

NELSON, Harold, 49, a stoneman from Bradley Street.

NEWCOMBE, Albert, 67, a stoneman from Beatty Street.

NICHOLSON, Norman, 29, a filler from Oak Road.

NOBLE, Robert, 45, a shifter from Austin Street.

PARKIN, William, 24, a filler from Thorntree Gill, Peterlee.

PARKS, William, 62, a shifter from Raby Avenue.

PASE, Robert, 63, a shifter from The Crescent.

PEACEFUL, Stanley, 37, a stoneman from South Street, Thornley.

PENMAN, Alexander, 42, a cutter from Oak Road.

PORTER, James, 32, a filler from George Avenue.

PORTER, John, 23, a filler from Alnwick Street.

RICE, Thomas, 53, a shifter from Beattie Street.

ROBINSON, John, 50, a stoneman from Carol Street.

ROBSON, John, 25, a filler from East View.

SCOTT, George, 53, a datal from Burns Street.

SEYMOUR, Albert, 64, a datal from Oak Road.

SILLITO, Frederick, 52, a shifter from Angus Street.

STUBBS, George, 60, a shifter from Alma Street.

SURTEES, Hugh, 36, a datal from Bevan Crescent.

SURTEES, Matthew, 61, a shifter from Alma Street.

THOMPSON, Laurence, 54, a datal from Boyd Street.

THOMPSON, Thomas, 28, an underground bricklayer from Wickham Street.

TRISNAN, Thomas, 43, a stoneman from Oak Road.

TURNBULL, Robert, 64, a master wasteman from Ascot Street.

WALLACE, John, 26, a rescue worker from Seaham, overcome by noxious gas.

WILKIE, George, 63, a shifter from Argent Street.

WILKINSON, Reginald, 40, a stoneman from Hart Lane, West Hartlepool..

WILLIAMS, Matthew, 18, a datal from Ashton Street. He was pulled out alive, but died the same day.

WILLINS, Robert, 45, a fore overman from Byron Street.

WILSON, John, 62, a hauling engineman from Baldwin Street.

WILSON, Stephen, 60, a shifter from Anthony Street.

Easington Colliery Brass Band

Easington Colliery Band was founded in 1913. Players with band experience were encouraged by the management to come from the West of Durham to work at the colliery and play in the band. The band was supported financially and run by the joint board of unions, until the start of World War II. The band played for community activities, such as dances, concerts, and competitions. For the duration of the war the Easington Colliery Youth Band became the National Fire Service Band, which was eventually 'demobbed' in 1945 to become the Easington Public Band.

In 1956 the Public Band and the Colliery Band amalgamated to become the Easington Colliery Band as it is today. April 1993 witnessed the end of an era when Easington Colliery finally closed. The band is now totally self-supporting and relies on the work put in by the band members at concerts throughout the year to raise the funds to keep the band alive. The band is still based in Easington Colliery in the old colliery pay office opposite the Memorial Gardens, which is on the site of the old colliery. The building is the last remaining evidence of the pit.

The Legend of the Hare

It is said that the men of Castle Eden enjoyed racing greyhounds in the fields round about. One year a strange hare began to spoil their sport by leading the dogs a merry dance by crossing their path and turning them from their proper game. It never once failed to deflect the hounds, drawing them after it into Castle Eden Dene. The men wished they could catch the hare but it always evaded their most cunning snares. Eventually they consulted an old man skilled in healing horses and cows, hoping that he could help them. He told the men to take with them a bloodhound rather than a greyhound. The next day they did as the old man said and let loose the bloodhound. Soon the hare and the hound disappeared into the dene. Just as the men had given up hope they saw the hare running up the other side of the dene with the hound close behind. The hare had been forced out of its refuge. The men mounted their horses and crossed the dene just in time to see the hare running towards Easington Village. They drew close enough to see that the hare was limping and the bloodhound was gaining on it. On they went until they reached the village green. The hare crossed the green and headed towards a little stone cottage at the edge of the green. There was a narrow gap at the bottom of the door through which it bolted. As it did so the bloodhound caught one of its hind legs, but the hare shook it free. The men tried the door but found it was locked. They knocked but nobody answered so they burst open the door and rushed inside. But there was no hare to be seen. Instead they saw an old woman sitting before the fire bandaging her wounded heel. Nobody spoke, but the men knew that her witchcraft had been found out at last. They left her home and never again did the mischievous hare spoil their sport.

Other information

Easington^[which?] provided the setting for the 2000 film Billy Elliot.

Bob Taylor of West Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers fame is from Easington.

Singer-songwriter Jez Lowe was born and brought up in Easington. His song, "Last of the Widows", was written in 1991 to mark the fortieth anniversary of the pit disaster. Many of his other songs are inspired by life in County Durham and Easington in particular.

In 1971, members of the rock band "The Who" shot the cover photograph for the album "Who's Next" at a concrete piling protruding from a slag heap in the area. This cover was voted by the VH1 network as the second greatest album cover of all time.

In 2008, the town was featured in an episode of Channel 4's The Secret Millionaire, where advertising mogul Carl Hopkins donated over £30,000 to the community.