Stanley, County Durham
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Stanley | |
  Stanley shown within County Durham |
|
| Population | 16,306 (2001) [1] |
|---|---|
| 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 | 01207 |
| 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 | |
Stanley is a former mining town in County Durham, England. Centred on a hill top between Chester-le-Street and Consett it is the second largest town of Derwentside after Consett and lies south west of Gateshead.
Stanley used to be divided into three — the main town of Stanley and the mining villages of East Stanley and South Stanley. However, with the expansion of all three they have blended into one town and East and South Stanley are no longer officially used town names (although they are recognised colloquially). The village of South Moor was historically referred to as West Stanley.
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[edit] History
Stanley was first mentioned in 1211; however, some neolithic and Roman remains have been found in the area, its name is derived from the Old English for 'Stoney Field'.
One of the worst coal mining disasters in British history took place in Stanley at West Stanley Colliery on February 16, 1909 when over 160 people were killed in the Burns Pit Disaster.
Over recent decades, Stanley has undergone hard times economically, with the loss of major employers at EverReady in Tanfield and British Steel and Shotley Bridge General Hospital in the neighbouring town of Consett. The town centre was one of the hardest hit by the development of the giant Metro Centre shopping complex just 20 minutes away in Gateshead.
In 2005, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister granted permission to plans to form a Stanley Town Council. This followed a campaign by local people and a petition of over 2000 names. The petition only represented 10% of the population that would be covered by the Town council. The campaigners promise that the Town Council would increase the pace of the regeneration of the town and will be established in 2008.
[edit] Urban layout
The town has no definite end and stretches right into what were formerly neighbouring villages and towns, this caused a lot of confusion in the past over which part of the council was responsible for certain areas especially around the Durham-Gateshead border. In recent times 'old Stanley' has all but died with many local shops and pubs closing.
The main shopping area, Front Street, is pedestrianized, housing independent shops alongside large chains such as Boots and Woolworths. A market is held on Front Street on Thursdays and Saturdays. There are also supermarkets such as ASDA and Netto.
Refurbishment of Stanley town centre in recent years has seen the opening of a solar-powered bus interchange and an extension to the Louisa Centre incorporating a new town swimming pool, and will see the opening of a new health centre and a Sure Start children's centre.[1]
[edit] Politics
Politically the town is dominated by Labour, with all the town's council seats on Durham County Council and all but 4 seats on Derwentside being held by the party. The town lies in the North Durham Parliamentary constituency which it shares with Chester-le-Street and is represented by Labour MP, Kevan Jones. Prior to 1983 the town formed part of the Consett constituency (now part of North West Durham).
[edit] Leisure and Education
The Coast to Coast (C2C) Cycle Route bypasses Stanley.
As well as many primary schools, Stanley contains two secondary schools. These are:
- Stanley School of Technology (in South Stanley - connected to South Stanley Infants and Juniors)
- Tanfield School, Specialist College of Science and Engineering (in Stanley next to Tanfield)
The town is also served by St. Bedes Catholic School and 6th Form College, based in the nearby village of Lanchester.
Stanley is also famous for its annual summer playscheme situated at Stanley Youth Centre. This has been running since 1972 and is organised and run by a group of local people and uses YAP (Youth Action for Peace) to recruit international volunteers. It runs for the first two weeks of the summer holiday and children participate in games, activities and trips to local venues.
Stanley Youth Centre also offers activities to young people Monday to Friday during school term as well as a summer programme. Located at the top of Tyne Road, facilities include a sports hall, pool table, table tennis, meeting rooms, coffee bar. Activities include DJing, volunteering, Duke of Edinburgh Award, babysitting, first aid and youth work courses.
The first weekend in August see's a number of local, national and international Blue's Bands decend onto the Town for the Stanley Blues Festival [2]title In 2005, The Animals played a set which went down well with locals and visitors alike.
[edit] Famous people from Stanley
- Hillary Clinton's Grandfather[3]
- The Horsley Brothers (David and William J), the founders of Hollywood as the centre of the US film industry.
- Glenn McCrory, IBF World boxing champion 1989-1990.
- Sarah Hemmingway worlds first sheep farmer to move to Portsmouth
- Alun Armstrong[2]], actor, from Anfield Plain.
- Mak Wilson[3]], puppeteer, actor and ex-pupil of Shield Row Secondary Modern. Performer with the Jim Henson Company and puppeteer of the the animatronic version of the piglet Babe [4]] in the film of the same name.
[edit] References
- ^ BBC News: Revamp plan 'new dawn' for town, BBC News, January 31, 2005, last accessed 2008-01-13.
- ^ www.stanleyblues.co.uk
- ^ Geoff Nicholson, America's First Lady and the Roddams of North-West Durham, last accessed 2008-01-13.
[edit] External links
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