Easington Colliery

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Coordinates: 54°47′13″N 1°19′45″W / 54.78681°N 1.32912°W

Easington Colliery
Easington Colliery Easington Colliery shown within County Durham
Population	4,959
OS grid reference	NZ432437
Civil parish	Easington Colliery
Unitary authority	County Durham
Ceremonial county	County Durham
Region	North East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Durham
Fire	County Durham and Darlington
Ambulance	North East
EU Parliament	North East England
List of places UK England County Durham

Easington Colliery is a former coal mining town in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the north of Horden, and a short distance to the east of Easington Village. The town is known for a mining accident or disaster which occurred, on 29 May 1951 when an explosion in the mine resulted in the deaths of 83 men (including 2 rescue workers). It has a population of 4,959.^[1]

History

Easington Colliery began when the pit was sunk in 1899, near the coast. Thousands of workers came to the area from all parts of Britain and with the new community came new shops, pubs, clubs, and many rows of terraced "colliery houses" for the mine workers and their families.

On 7 May 1993, the mine was closed, with the loss of 1,400 jobs, causing a decline in the local economy. The pit shaft headgear was demolished the following year.

The town's infant and junior schools, which are situated adjacently on Seaside Line, now lie derelict. A development company bought the buildings, built in 1911, in 2003 and applied for planning permission to build 39 residential units, but a public inquiry resulted in a ruling that protected the buildings from demolition.^[2]

Easington Colliery Brass Band

Easington Colliery Band was founded in 1913. Players with band experience were encouraged by the management to come from the West of Durham to work at the colliery and play in the band. The band was supported financially and run by the joint board of unions, until the start of World War II. The band played for community activities, such as dances, concerts, and competitions. For the duration of the war the Easington Colliery Youth Band became the National Fire Service Band, which was eventually 'demobbed' in 1945 to become the Easington Public Band.

In 1956 the Public Band and the Colliery Band amalgamated to become the Easington Colliery Band as it is today. April 1993 witnessed the end of an era when Easington Colliery finally closed. The band is now totally self-supporting and relies on the work put in by the band members at concerts throughout the year to raise the funds to keep the band alive. The band is still based in Easington Colliery in the old colliery pay office opposite the Memorial Gardens, which is on the site of the old colliery. The building is the last remaining evidence of the pit.

In popular culture

Easington Colliery provided the setting for the 2000 film Billy Elliot.

Singer-songwriter Jez Lowe was born and brought up in Easington. His song, "Last of the Widows", was written in 1991 to mark the fortieth anniversary of the pit disaster. Many of his other songs are inspired by life in County Durham and Easington in particular.

In 1971, members of rock band The Who shot the cover photograph for their album "Who's Next" at a concrete piling protruding from a spoil tip in the area. This cover was named by the VH1 network as one of the Greatest Album Covers.^[3]

In 2008, the town was featured in an episode of Channel 4's The Secret Millionaire, where advertising mogul Carl Hopkins donated over £30,000 to the community.

References

↑ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Easington Retrieved 2009-09-18
↑ "Firefighters tackle fire at derelict Easington Primary School" - The Northern Echo, 16 April 2012
↑ "The Greatest Album Covers". VH1.com.

Sources

Gallery

Avon Street
Tower Street, which was one of the streets featured in Billy Elliot
Bridge under the Durham Coastal Railway
Seaside Lane, the main shopping area in Easington Colliery
Memorial Avenue, where, following the mining disaster in 1951, 83 trees were planted, one for each man who was killed.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Easington Colliery.

Populated coastal places in County Durham

Anticlockwise
Dawdon

Easington Colliery

Clockwise
Horden

v t e Civil parishes in County Durham

including Stockton on Tees (north of the river)

Darlington	Parishes Archdeacon Newton Barmpton Bishopton Brafferton Coatham Mundeville Denton East and West Newbiggin Great Burdon Great Stainton Heighington High Coniscliffe Houghton le Side Hurworth Killerby Little Stainton Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent Low Dinsdale Middleton St George Morton Palms Neasham Piercebridge Sadberge Sockburn Summerhouse Walworth Whessoe Unparished areas The former Darlington County Borough

Durham	Towns Barnard Castle Bishop Auckland Chilton Ferryhill Great Aycliffe Greater Willington Peterlee Seaham Sedgefield Shildon Spennymoor Stanley Tow Law Parishes Barforth Barningham Bearpark Belmont Bishop Middleham Bolam Boldron Bournmoor Bowes Bradbury and the Isle Brancepeth Brandon and Byshottles Brignall Burnhope Cassop cum Quarrington Castle Eden Cleatlam Cockfield Cornforth Cornsay Cotherstone Coxhoe Croxdale and Hett Dalton le Dale Dene Valley Easington Colliery Easington Village Edmondbyers Edmondsley Eggleston Egglestone Abbey Eldon Esh Etherley Evenwood and Barony Fishburn Forest and Frith Framwellgate Moor Gainford Gilmonby Great Lumley Greencroft Hamsterley Hamsterley Common Haswell Hawthorn Headlam Healeyfield Hedleyhope Hilton Holwick Hope Horden Hunderthwaite Hunstanworth Hutton Henry Hutton Magna Ingleton Kelloe Kimblesworth and Plawsworth Lanchester Langleydale and Shotton Langton Lartington Little Lumley Lunedale Lynesack and Softley Marwood Mickleton Middleton in Teesdale Middridge Monk Hesleden Mordon Morton Tinmouth Muggleswick Murton Nesbitt Newbiggin North Lodge Ouston Ovington Pelton Pittington Raby with Keverstone Rokeby Romaldkirk Sacriston Satley Scargill Seaton with Slingley Shadforth Sheraton with Hulam Sherburn Village Shincliffe Shotton South Bedburn South Hetton Staindrop Stanhope Startforth Streatlam and Stainton Thornley Toft Hill Trimdon Trimdon Foundry Urpeth Waldridge Wackerfield Weather Hill Wood West Auckland West Rainton Westwick Wheatley Hill Whorlton Windlestone Wingate Winston Witton Gilbert Witton le Wear Wolsingham Wolsingham Park Moor Woodland Wycliffe with Thorpe Unparished areas The former Chester le Street Urban District Consett Durham Municipal Borough Parts of the former Bishop Auckland Urban District Crook and Willington Urban District Stanley Urban District

Hartlepool	Towns Headland Parishes Brierton Claxton Dalton Piercy Elwick Greatham Hart Newton Bewley Unparished areas Part of the former Hartlepool County Borough

Stockton on Tees	Towns Billingham Parishes Aislaby Carlton Egglescliffe Elton Grindon Longnewton Newsham Preston on Tees Redmarshall Stillington and Whitton Wolviston Unparished areas Part of the former Teesside County Borough

For further information about the above parishes, see List of civil parishes in County Durham. For the part of Stockton-on-Tees (borough) south of the River Tees, see List of civil parishes in North Yorkshire.

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