Shildon

Shildon
Shildon  Shildon shown within County Durham
Population	10,341 (2010)
OS grid reference	NZ226263
Unitary authority	County Durham
Ceremonial county	County Durham
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SHILDON
Postcode district	DL4
Dialling code	01388
Police	Durham
Fire	County Durham and Darlington
Ambulance	North East
EU Parliament	North East England
UK Parliament	Bishop Auckland
List of places: UK • England • County Durham

Shildon is a town in County Durham, in England. It is situated 2 miles to the south east of Bishop Auckland and 11 miles north of Darlington. It is 13 miles away from Durham, 23 miles from Sunderland and 23 miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Shildon is part of the Bishop Auckland parliamentary constituency, which is represented by Helen Goodman MP.

Railways

Shildon is considered to be the "cradle of the railways". The town grew considerably when the Stockton and Darlington Railway established its workshops there in 1825. The company owned much of the land, and the population grew to around 9000.

Today, Shildon's connections with the birth of the railway industry, notably through the efforts of Timothy Hackworth, are marked by the Locomotion Museum, which opened in September 2004 and is part of the National Railway Museum. Daniel Adamson, Hackworth's apprentice and a renowned engineer in his own right, was born in Shildon. Shildon and the Locomotion Museum are served by Shildon railway station, which is on the Tees Valley Line.

General

Shildon to many is the Cradle of the Railways. The town was the birthplace of Timothy Hackworth and steam engines such as the San Periel and Royal George. Until 1984 it was always the home of the Shildon Works, or Shops with nearly two centuries of building engines and rolling stock.

The trains and engines were a late comer to Shildon, the reason they were needed and the reason Shildon was important was because of Coal.

Shildon lies about a mile to the south-east of Bishop Auckland. Like many towns in this area it owes it growth to the rise of the East Durham coalfields in the late 18th and early 19th century.

Shildon’s earliest settlers would probably have been groups of people who lived during the Mesolithic period – over 6000 years ago. They would have lived by collecting wild plants and and hunting wild animals. There was a small prehistoric flint tool found in the Brusselton area may have been of this date.

Romans arrived in County Durham in the 1st century AD. and built a line of forts along the main road leading north to Hadrian’s Wall. They also built many other roads in the region. Traaces of probable Roman roads have been found at several places in Shildon, such as Brusselton Wood. Small settlements grew up in places alongside the course of the road.

By the end of the Anglo-Saxon period the village of Shildon had become established. However, it was not the only settlement in the area. Medieval settlements stood around Thickley.

Shildon grew much in size during the Industrial Revolution, it can claim a fundamental place in the history of the rise of world industry. The extensive expansion of coal mining meant that the traditional way of moving the coal – along horse-drawn wagon ways – was not sufficient. Instead steam engines began to be used. At first static engines pulled the wagons, but soon moving engines – the steam train – began to be used.

George Stephenson built a track from Witton Park to Stockton-on-Tees. Static engines pulled the coal over Brussleton, after which the trucks were attached to steam engines. The remains of one of the Static engine houses can still be seen at Brusselton. Originally it just carried coal, but soon demand led to passengers being carried. The first passenger train began its journey in Shildon on 27th September 1825.

Shildon was also the home of one of overshadowed innovators of the railway industry, Timothy Hackworth. He built one of the first ever engines, the Sans Pareil. His home can still be seen; it has now been turned into a railway museum. Next door stands his workshop, the Soho Engine Words. It was developed by the engineer Timothy Hackworth from 1833. By 1855 it was a large complex of workshops and other buildings.

Shildon was the birthplace of the writer Sid Chaplin, after whom the local library is named.

Local side Shildon A.F.C. compete in the Arngrove Northern League Division One. In November 2003, they reached the FA Cup first round for the first time in 42 years; however they were beaten 7-2 on the day by Notts County. They were very successful in the 1930s, as can be seen on their website [1].

Durham Tigers are the local rugby league team. They run age level teams in the North East Junior League.

Shildon also has a number of societies and clubs running in the town. "Shildon Recall Society" [2] is a local history group that meets in the Shildon People's Centre [3] (formerly the police station). The "Shildon Peoples Centre" [4] is a local Charity, and Community Centre. Shildon Running & Athletic Club, was founded in 1986, is based at the Stadium 2000, situated on Middridge Lane in Shildon [5].

Education

Further information: List of schools in Durham

• St. Johns C Of E (Aided) Primary School
• Sunnydale Community College for Maths & Computing
• Thornhill Primary School
• Timothy Hackworth Primary School

External links

• Shildon Youth Council
• Shildon Recall Society
• Shildon Forum
• Shildon Site since 2001
• Shildon Town Crier
• Shildon Yella - Youth Produced Newspaper
• Locomotion
• The Tearaways Youth Theatre Group
• Shildon People's Centre
• Shildon Salvation Army
• Official Website of Shildon AFC Ltd
• Shildon Running & Athletic Club