In the third part of his look at Framwellgate Moor, David Simpson takes a look at the area's churches and local hostelries.

Framwellgate Moor and the village of Old Pit came into being in the 1830s and 1840s with the opening of Framwellgate Moor Colliery.

We should recall that the main village developed along Front Street, while Old Pit developed near the colliery, where the Durham County Depot stands today.

There was some settlement before this time. At Pity Me to the north, there was a hamlet. An early map, of 1809, also shows that there was another small hamlet of two farms and cottages just to the south-west of Framwellgate Moor Front Street. Called Durham Moor Houses, it was clustered around a crossroads just west of the Salutation crossroads, although both road meetings are now roundabouts.

Roads branch out from the Durham Moor roundabout to Sacriston, Framwellgate Moor, Durham and the A167.

The roundabout is sometimes called Black or Blackie Boy Roundabout and the neighbouring bus stop, often used by visitors to the University Hospital of North Durham, is also known by this name. Black Boy was the name of a pub that stood at this crossroads and first appears on the 1850s map. It was demolished in about 1910, and its name was most likely a reference to coal-dusted pit boys.

As early as the 1850s, miners could walk in minutes from the Black Boy Inn to the Salutation Inn at the south end of Front Street and proceed along the street to The Thunderstorm, The Victoria Bridge, The Jolly Butcher, Queen's Head and Marquis of Granby Inns.

Framwellgate Moor was not an especially large mining village, nor was it a particularly drunken one, and the large number of pubs may have been influenced by the village's location on the Great North Road.

The Jolly Butcher is not on the 1890s map, by which time The Thunderstorm was renamed the Traveller's Rest. It retained the name until the 1960s, when the pub moved premises to Finchale Road and became The Happy Wanderer.

The remaining three Front Street pubs are still there, although the Queen's Head is now a real ale pub called the Tap and Spile since 1986.

The Victoria Bridge was probably built in 1838, the year in which the magnificent Victoria Bridge railway viaduct was built at Washington. This bridge was part of the main line north and Framwellgate Moor Colliery was linked to this rail network.

The Marquis of Granby was probably the colliery village's first pub and was built some time between 1809 and 1837. It was named after a popular soldier of the 18th Century.

The pub was originally linked to an adjacent house by an arch through which a handball alley could be reached behind the pub. The arch and the pub yard were popular meeting places, where amusements such as biscuit-eating competitions took place.

The Marquis of Granby was on the east side of the road, but most of the early houses were on the west side near Cater House, just in front of where New College now stands.

Six long terraces called the rows were built (initially of stone) at right angles to Front Street. From north to south, they were Dyke Row, Newcastle Row, Close Row, Pump Row, Smoky Row and Durham Row.

In the 1920s, the rows were demolished or rebuilt. North Terrace occupies the site of Dyke Row, while Durham Row and Newcastle Row live on as Durham and Newcastle Terraces. At about this time, new rows were built on the opposite side of Front Street, imaginatively called First, Second, Third and Fourth Avenues, but the first two were later renamed Lund and Gray Avenues after local councillors.

The spiritual needs of the miners were catered for by a number of places of worship.

A Wesleyan Methodists chapel was built by the colliery owners in the village in 1856, but this moved to Pity Me in 1904.

A Primitive Methodist chapel was built in Close Row in 1870, but neither chapel survives.

Only the New Connexion, or Ebeneezer Methodist, chapel of 1870 can still be seen tucked away behind Front Street, near the Victoria Bridge Inn.

For Anglican worshippers, St Aidan's Church was built on the west side of Front Street in 1871 as the daughter church of St Cuthbert's Church in North Road, Durham. The church is set back from Front Street behind a church hall.

Between the church grounds and the Granby Inn is the old red brick school of 1877, which also served Old Pit and Pity Me.

Before this year, some of the pupils may have been educated in a building near the church, but this is uncertain.

New infant and junior schools were built near the Carrs area of Framwellgate Moor in 1957, followed by the senior school on a neighbouring site in 1965. This made the Victorian school redundant and it is now used as a community centre.

In November 1924, Framwellgate Moor Colliery closed. It had employed about 200 miners and many moved on to coastal pits as far away as Ashington, in Northumberland.

Others transferred to more local pits like Kimblesworth or Bearpark.

Later, many Framwellgate Moor residents would have to find other forms of employment.

Two that did so in a most notable way were the footballers William "Ginger" Richardson and George Camsell.

Richardson scored the two winning goals for West Brom in their 1931 FA cup final victory over Birmingham and still holds West Brom's record for the most goals in a season.

Camsell, who was signed by Middlesbrough from Durham City in 1925, still holds Middlesbrough's club record of 345 goals in 453 games.

Today, Framwellgate Moor has grown beyond the bounds of the original village and has increasingly become a suburb, with many of its inhabitants working in Durham City and farther afield.

It is sad to think that only few remember its days as an active colliery village.

Published: 17/09/2004

If you have any memories of Durham City, Chester-le-Street, Derwentside or the Durham coast, including old photos or stories of people and places you would like to share with readers of The Northern Echo, write to David Simpson, Durham Memories, The Northern Echo, Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF or email David.Simpson@nne.co.uk. All photos will be returned.