Murton, County Durham

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Murton is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated a few miles south-west of Sunderland.It was for over a century a productive coal mining village, with the mine owned by the South Hetton Coal Company. The mine employed over 1000 men at its peak and featured in the 'Picture Post' article showing the 'vesting' of the mine at nationalisation in 1947. The village also had the South East Durham Cooperative Bakery and a Northern Bus Company garage as added sources of jobs. In 1955 a by product works for coal was established for the production mainly of coke. The mine and other employment opportunities closed in the 1990s along with many other County Durham mines and now the old spoil heaps are host to a retail outlet development Dalton Park, bringing much needed new employment.