A look back at Tow Law in County Durham from over the years

Tow Law gets its name from its exposed position: a law in Old English was a hill and a tollas was a look-out. In centuries past, this probably was a good place for the people of Durham to keep a look-out for rampaging Scots.

Tow Law High Street in 1967. Old car spotters might like to identify four vehicles: the first three heading away from the cameraman, starting with ETK 914D, and then the one on the right coming towards us

Tow Law also gets its existence from its position midway between the Weardale iron ore field to the west and the Durham coalfield to the east.

Charles Attwood was the man who noticed this position. He came from Shropshire where his family were iron and nail makers, but as he was the 11th child, there was little for him to inherit.

He struck out on his own, and in 1809 arrived in Gateshead, where he became involved in glass-making. He patented a method of making glass transparent and revived the fortunes of the Crown Glass Company.

However, the Glass Company had been at the centre of a long-running Chancery court case which had already caused the bankruptcy of one man and the mysterious disappearance of another. When the company began making a profit once more, due to Attwood's new methods, the court case again reared its ugly head.

For nine years, Attwood fought it, and although he was eventually vindicated, it cost him a small fortune. He needed another source of income to replenish his bank account and began taking an interest in the minerals of Weardale which, with railways coming ever closer, was ripe for exploitation.

With the help of Barings Bank, he started the Weardale Iron and Coal Company in 1844, and invested £1m building blast furnaces at the exposed farm of Towelowe. He opened the nearby Black Prince Colliery, and suddenly the town of Tow Law sprang up to house the miners and ironworkers.

The Cattle Mart Inn was beside the level crossing in the centre of Tow Law. The line closed in 1965 and the level crossing was removed in 1967, shortly after this picture was taken. The inn, and the mart, were removed in 2008 and now a housing estate is on the site

The Stockton & Darlington Railway arrived in 1847, on its way from Bishop Auckland and Crook to Consett, and the new town had a real place on the industrial map.

Within ten years, it had a population of 3,000, living in hovels and drinking in inns. It had a reputation as an uncouth place, a gamblers' den of iniquity – but Attwood's foundry supplied the British government with the cannonballs it used against the Russians during the Crimean War of the 1850s. It also provided girders for the London Underground, and tracks and chairs for the American railways.

Attwood’s ironworks closed in 1882 – the year before, the town’s population had peaked at 5,005 – as the business moved down to the more temperate climes of Tudhoe, but still other ironworks remained and the collieries were big employers.

A fabulous, if rather dark, picture of the children of Tow Law preparing to greet Queen Elizabeth, the wife of George VI, in 1939

The 20th Century saw a steady decline of all the industries on which Tow Law had been based. The Black Prince Colliery closed in 1933, the railway stopped carrying passengers in 1957, and the last deep mine, Inkerman – named after a battle in the Crimean War – closed in 1969.

Its population also decreased – in 2011, it was 2,138 – but it has retained its sense of place and pride, as witnessed by the colourful Christmas trees which enlighten every dark Durham night, no matter what the weather may throwing at the exposed hillside.

Let's delve into our photo-archive to see what more we can find out about Tow Law...

Tow Law has one of the finest war memorials in the county. It was unveiled 100 years ago - on September 10, 1921. It was designed by a local man, Thomas Westgarth, of Campbell Street, Tow Law. Here it is seen dusted with snow in 1973

Harrison Street in Tow Law in 1966 when residents were waiting to see if they qualified for improvement grants from the county council to build indoor bathrooms. If they didn't qualify for a grant, it meant that the council planned to demolish the homes within 15 years. As the street, with fantastic to the west from the side of Tow Law's hill, still stands, the residents must have got their grants. The leek-bearing allotments are no longer there. How did the gentleman in the middle manage to open his sash window so thoroughly?

A lovely picture of late Victorian children in Tow Law

Johnnie Maughan outside Tow Law Palace Cinema shortly before it was demolished in 1986. The cinema started life as a variety theatre, built in the late 1890s, with room to hold 400 customers. It became a cinema in 1926 and its owners apparently also had a bus to bring in the audience from the outlying areas. If you could get a group of 12 together, the bus was free; if not, the fare was 2d each. In 1965, the cinema converted to bingo but it closed in 1970 and fell derelict

The Attlee Estate was buiilt in 1948 for former servicemen. Here it is, at the south end of Tow Law, in 1964. With its green, it looks pretty similar today, although the houses have been painted and the two-tone car has moved on? What make of two-tone is it?

The Brown Horse, High Stoop, to the north of Tow Law on the A68 in 1965. It is one junction up from the former Brown Cow, and it still stands and trades

The Brown Cow pub to the north of Tow Law on the A68 in 1965. It is now a private house