Esh Winning

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Esh Winning is a former colliery village in County Durham, in England. It is situated in the Deerness Valley five miles to the west of Durham. The village was founded by the Pease family in the 1850's to service a new mine on the Esh Estate.

The name of the village comes from two elements, firstly the older nearby village of Esh, a Saxon term for Ash, and secondly Winning which was a victorian term used when coal was found.


Contents

[edit] Mining History

The Esh mine opened in 1866, closing for economic reasons between 1930 and 1942, it then reopened in 1942 before finally closing in June 1968.

In March 2006 the National Lottery granted £25,200 towards the restoration of the Esh Winning Colliery banner. The banner group planned to use the money to restore the banner, which was on display at Beamish Museum, and produce a replica for display at the Durham Miners' Gala.

Open Cast mining was performed in the hills around the village from the late 1970's to 1990's when the land was then reclaimed and restored.

[edit] Railway History

Esh Winning was on the route of the Deerness Valley Railway, the line opened in 1858 and ran until 1964. The route of the line is now part of the eight mile Deerness Valley Railway Path.

[edit] Memorial Hall

The grade II listed Memorial Hall is one of the villages largest buildings, it was built in 1923 as a memorial to the miners killed in World War I. Initially it was used as a meeting hall and community centre, before being converted in the 1920's to a Cinema and Ballroom and renamed The Majestic. The building has been disused since the 1970's although there have been attempts in recent times to restore and redevelop the building, none of which got out of planning stage.


[edit] Enviroment

There are two enviromental projects ongoing in the village.

In 1996 the 31 hectare Ragpath Wood was purchased by the Woodland Trust, the wood is to the South East of the Village bordering the Deerness Valley Walkway. The wood is on the site of an Ancient Woodland site, although it was felled during World War II and replanted in 1967.

The Esh Winning Eco-Learning Centre (EWE) is a training centre for the North East area, based in the local primary school. It specialises in the provision of training around sustainable development and outdoor learning. It is funded by a number of key partners including Durham County Council, Surestart and is part of North East Strategic Partnership for Sustainable Schools. A number of enviromental courses and initiatives are being run form the centre.


[edit] Sport

The village has a football team Esh Winning F.C. who currently play in the Northern League Division Two, although their ground is in West Terrance in nearby Waterhouses

One of Great Britain's greatest footballing personalities was educated in Esh Winning. Sir Bobby Robson was born nearby, and went to the local junior school for a period of time.

The village has a cricket team playing within the Durham County League.

[edit] External links

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