Hetton-le-Hole

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map sources for Hetton-le-Hole at grid reference NZ3547

Hetton-le-Hole is a town and civil parish in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear in north east England. It is on the A182 between Houghton-le-Spring and Easington. It is located on the SW corner of Sunderland on the A182, off A690 close to the A1(M).

Like many County Durham towns, Hetton has strong football connections. Burnley player and manager Harry Potts and Bob Paisley, the legendary Liverpool manager were from the town, as was Ralph Coates the former Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur player.The Chuckle Brothers were also rumoured to have been born in Hetton before moving to Rotherham.

The civil parish includes Hetton proper, along with East Rainton, Middle Rainton (but not West Rainton which is a separate parish), Low Moorsley, High Moorsley and Easington Lane. South Hetton constitutes a separate parish.

A windmill farm of four dual bladed alternators helps provide electricity to the local grid. These are due to be replaced by larger three bladed versions in the near future. The windmills are far enough away from local houses to not cause any audible disturbance.

A brief history.

The history of the Hetton area can be traced back for up to a thousand years. The unusual name of Hetton-le-Hole derives from two Anglo-Saxon words which were spelt together "Heppedune" or Bramble Hill. The name gave rise to a local landowning family, the le Hepdons who owned part of the Manor from the very earliest times. The ancient manor, which was bounded by that of Elemore, was divided into two parts known as Hetton-on-the-Hill and Hetton-in-the-Hole. This second and more sheltered part, was the vicinity in which the village ultimately arose. Records exist of the many holders of the manor right back to the 14th century. William de Hepdon held half the Manor by deed in 1363 and in 1380, William de Dalden held the other half. Even earlier charters go back to 1187 and make mention of the early village of Heppedune, its people, houses, crofts, ox-gangs and strips of land for the villagers in the three great fields around the settlement. In 1187 Bertram de Heppedune held the manor for the King and the other de Hepdons were his descendants.

Coal Mining has been carried on in the surround area since Roman times. Coal was then obtained by drift mining, but by the 14th century shafts were used. In 1819 the Hetton Coal Company was formed and the first shaft sinking began a year later. It was a highly controversial undertaking, with geologists doubtful as to whether coal of any value existed there. The Hetton Coal Company owners also decided to build a wagonway from their new Hetton colliery to the River Wear at Sunderland. George Stephenson was hired to build the 8-mile (13-km). The finished result used a combination of gravity down inclines and locomotives for level and upward stretches, and was the first railway to use no animal power at all. The methods he adopted were still used until 1959 as was some of the original machinery. These activities led to a rapid increase in the size of Hetton and over 200 houses for the miners were built at once. These have all but gone now, but twelve of these former mining cottages from Francis Street in Hetton Centre were re-erected stone by stone at Beamish Open Air Museum, Stanley, near Chester-le-Street.

Today, nothing now exists of the mine in Hetton. The former mine complex has disappeared and slag heaps have been removed. The surrounding area has been landscaped is now occupied by a lake and leisure facilities. There is also a quarry where sand is mined, just a short walk north from the lakes.

The decommissioned St Nicholas' Church on Front Street was destroyed by fire in November 2006 [1]. It has previously been listed due to its architectural significance.

Coat of Arms

Follow the link to the Hetton Town Council in the links section, below, for a picture and brief description of the Hetton Le Hole coat of arms.

Links

For further reading on the history of railways around Hetton Le Hole, have a look at the Herrington Heritage website[2].

More history of Hetton Le Hole can be found at the official Hetton Town Council website[3] in the history section[4].