No Place
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| No Place / Co-operative Villas | |
  No Place / Co-operative Villas shown within County Durham |
|
| OS grid reference | |
|---|---|
| District | Derwentside |
| Shire county | County Durham |
| Region | North East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STANLEY |
| Postcode district | DH9 |
| Dialling code | 0191 |
| Police | Durham |
| Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
| Ambulance | North East |
| European Parliament | North East England |
| UK Parliament | North Durham |
| List of places: UK • England • County Durham | |
No Place is a small village near to the town of Stanley in County Durham, England, east of Stanley and to the west of Beamish. Situated to the south of the A693 road, it is home to an award winning real ale pub, the Beamish Mary Inn (dating from 1897 and originally known as The Red Robin), and lies near the Beamish Mary coal pit.[1] The local church is known as the "Tin Chapel".[2]
The origins of the village's unusual name are uncertain, however theories include a shortening of "North Place", "Near Place", or "Nigh Place", or that the original houses of the village stood on a boundary between two parishes, neither of which would accept the village.[3]
The village originally consisted of four terraced houses, known as No Place. In 1937, residents of the terrace of houses to the north, known as Co-operative Villas, demolished these houses, but took on the name for their own village.[2]
The local council tried to change the name of the village to Co-operative Villas in 1983, however they met with strong protests from local residents at the removal of all signs pointing to No Place.[4] Today the signs say both No Place and (at the request of some residents) Co-operative Villas.[1]
[edit] See also
Other unusual place names in the North East include the village of Pity Me (probably a contraction of Pithead Mere, a nearby bog), Bearpark (from Beaurepaire, French for "beautiful retreat" - the name of a nearby Norman manor), Idle (home of the famous Idle Working Men's club), Once Brewed, and Twice Brewed.
