Thornley, Durham

Thornley
Thornley
	Thornley village green.
Population	2,457 (2011)
OS grid reference	NZ3615539561
Unitary authority	County Durham;
Ceremonial county	County Durham;
Region	North East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Durham
Postcode district	DH6 3
Police	Durham
Fire	County Durham and Darlington
Ambulance	North East
	List of places UK England County Durham

See also Thornley in Weardale.

Thornley is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated about 5 miles (9 km) to the east of Durham and 5 miles (7 km) west of Peterlee. Thornley is part of the Sedgefield parliamentary constituency of which Tony Blair was the Member of Parliament from 1983 until 2007.

History

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches south to Trimdon Foundry with a population taken at the 2011 Census of 7,085.^[2]

Mining

As with most villages in the area, it grew rapidly with the development of coal-mining in the region. The first shaft was sunk in 1835 and the first coals were delivered via a new mineral railway line to Hartlepool shortly thereafter. The village thus played a major role in the development of Hartlepool as a port. Thornley miners played a key role in the formation of the Durham Miners' Association, the first meeting of which was held in the grounds of the village's Half-Way House public house in 1869. The colliery closed in 1970 with the loss of over 900 jobs and there is now little evidence to be seen of its once extensive plant and machinery.

Rebuilding

Easington Rural District Council's policy in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s was to actively discourage development and employment in the ex-colliery villages of East Durham in favour of the new town of Peterlee. One of the oldest surviving buildings in the village, the Half-Way House was extensively refurbished and extended in the late 1970s and renamed The Crossways Hotel. The building was demolished in early 2008 and planning permission has been given for the building of housing on the site. Permission has also been given for the demolition of another old building, Gore Hall Farm, for the same purpose.

Only recently has new house building been sanctioned by the council in the so-called 'bottom end' of the village. In the meantime, two estates of 20th century council housing have recently been demolished due to the decline in the village's population since the closure of the colliery, Thornlaw North and Coopers Close. The latter was built as recently as 1968 at the expense of a children's recreation ground, several mature trees and many local garden allotments which were also not replaced. The demolition of the Thornlaw North estate has allowed the council to sell the land to a large housebuilding company, Persimmon plc, to build 'executive' housing. A small amount of affordable housing will be built. This project is now (December 2007) well advanced. The council believes that one consequence of the reduction in population is that existing services will be threatened.^[3] Plans for the Cooper's Close site have yet to be revealed.

St Bartholomew's Church in the heart of the village, which dates from 1843, was demolished in September 2007. Houses are to be built on the site and many gravestones in the churchyard have already been moved. However, its stained glass windows have been preserved and are currently held in storage for possible future display. The village once had two cinemas, The Hippodrome, built in 1912 and The Ritz, built in 1938: both have been demolished.

Lt John Scott Youll, a former electrician at Thornley Colliery, was awarded the Victoria Cross during his service with the Northumberland Fusiliers in Italy in World War One. The village's war memorial had a special monument added to it in his honour in 2005.

This memorial pit wheel was put in place in 1990. The tree-lined area to the rear covers the site of the actual colliery. The road is the former High Street. Photograph taken in May 2006
The inscribed stone at the base of the Pit Wheel, photographed in May 2006
The former High Street, Thornley, photographed in 2006. The War Memorial and Colliery Inn are visible in the distance. The colliery was off the picture to the right. Photograph taken in May 2006
Hartlepool St Thornley, in 2005. This was once the main shopping street of the village
Looking up towards St Bartholomew's Church and the remains of the Coopers Close Estate, Thornley, 2005. The housing at the right of the picture was demolished in 2007
St Bartholomew's Church, Thornley. This photograph was taken in 2005 after the church's closure but prior to the removal of its stained glass windows.The church was demolished in September 2007
The Thornley War Memorial in 2005, with the John Scott Youll VC Memorial in the foreground and St Bartholomew's Church to the rear

References

^ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 21 July 2015.
^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 21 July 2015.
^ Regeneration In Thornley and Wheatley Hill

External links

[1] "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 21 July 2015.

[2] "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 21 July 2015.

[3] Regeneration In Thornley and Wheatley Hill

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Civil parishes in County Durham
including Stockton-on-Tees (north of the river)
Darlington	Parishes Archdeacon Newton Barmpton Bishopton Brafferton Coatham Mundeville Denton East and West Newbiggin Great Burdon Great Stainton Heighington High Coniscliffe Houghton le Side Hurworth Killerby Little Stainton Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent Middleton St. George Morton Palms Neasham Piercebridge Sadberge Summerhouse Walworth Whessoe Unparished areas The former Darlington County Borough
County Durham	Towns Barnard Castle Bishop Auckland Chilton Ferryhill Great Aycliffe Greater Willington Peterlee Seaham Sedgefield Shildon Spennymoor Stanley Tow Law Parishes Barforth Barningham Bearpark Belmont Bishop Middleham Bolam Boldron Bournmoor Bowes Bradbury and the Isle Brancepeth Brandon and Byshottles Brignall Burnhope Cassop-cum-Quarrington Castle Eden City of Durham Cleatlam Cockfield Cornforth Cornsay Cotherstone Coxhoe Croxdale and Hett Dalton-le-Dale Dene Valley Easington Colliery Easington Village Edmondbyers Edmondsley Eggleston Egglestone Abbey Eldon Esh Etherley Evenwood and Barony Fishburn Forest and Frith Framwellgate Moor Gainford Gilmonby Great Lumley Greencroft Hamsterley Hamsterley Common Haswell Hawthorn Headlam Healeyfield Hedleyhope Hilton Holwick Hope Horden Hunderthwaite Hunstanworth Hutton Henry and Station Town Hutton Magna Ingleton Kelloe Kimblesworth and Plawsworth Lanchester Langleydale and Shotton Langton Lartington Little Lumley Lunedale Lynesack and Softley Marwood Mickleton Middleton in Teesdale Middridge Monk Hesleden Mordon Morton Tinmouth Muggleswick Murton Nesbitt Newbiggin North Lodge Ouston Ovington Pelton Pittington Raby with Keverstone Rokeby Romaldkirk Sacriston Satley Scargill Seaton with Slingley Shadforth Sheraton with Hulam Sherburn Village Shincliffe Shotton South Bedburn South Hetton Staindrop Stanhope Startforth Streatlam and Stainton Thornley Toft Hill Trimdon Trimdon Foundry Urpeth Waldridge Wackerfield Weather Hill Wood West Auckland West Rainton and Leamside Westwick Wheatley Hill Whorlton Windlestone Wingate Winston Witton Gilbert Witton-le-Wear Wolsingham Wolsingham Park Moor Woodland Wycliffe with Thorpe Unparished areas The former Chester le Street Urban District Consett Parts of the former Durham Municipal Borough Parts of the former Bishop Auckland Urban District Crook and Willington Urban District Stanley Urban District
Hartlepool	Towns Headland Parishes Brierton Claxton Dalton Piercy Elwick Greatham Hart Newton Bewley Wynyard Unparished areas Part of the former Hartlepool County Borough
Stockton-on-Tees	Towns Billingham Parishes Aislaby Carlton Egglescliffe Elton Grindon and Thorpe Thewles Longnewton Newsham Preston-on-Tees Redmarshall Stillington and Whitton Wolviston Wynyard Unparished areas Part of the former Teesside County Borough
For further information about the above parishes, see List of civil parishes in County Durham. For the part of Stockton-on-Tees (borough) south of the River Tees, see List of civil parishes in North Yorkshire.