From Ushaw Moor Community and Historical Website
[http://UshawMoor.org.uk]

When by using a title Esh, Ushaw moor hwhen variations as to its origin, by using several spellings. the foremost story tells united states of america Ushaw comes from either Yew-shaw, old English which intended a yew tree wood. Yew trees were brought per French to England to plant around a graves of their dead. (A yew symbolised everylasting life). Numerous soldiers were flushed in the battles between the Normans & Saxons & then numbers of trees were planted and a wood presently grew. This wood was one of these days cut down for firewood & to produce bows & arrows. la single one tree was left & this sub the evidence of Ushaw College. it yet rotted away by owning age. more spellings come ushshaw, Usshaw, Ushoa. Inside 1183, based on data from a Boldon Buke, Ulf held Lx l& within a manor of Lanchester for which he paid fifteen shillings, did a bishops errands, and by using of these fox attended the peachy hunt in Weardale. This gives united states a spelling Ulvskahe so Ulfshaw, however it seems further belike that a title comes from either Scandinavian origin which, whilst translated, means wolves wood, & using a addition of moor you develop 'a moor touching a wood of wolves'. A foremost Ushaw was placed adjacent to the College domestic using Online Esh to the quick west & Brow northerly. Esh registers indicate a being of a bakery belonging to Robert Batmanson hanker prior to the college was built. To quote "David Gordon, a poor soldier begging his bread, fell sick of a fever and died in a bakehouse at Ushaw, buried the 16th day of January 1690 .A poor lame beggar who was lodged at Robert Batmansons bakehouse was buried 24th day of April, 1702'. "James Thompson, the unfortunate cripple mendicant, died at Ushshaw in the equivalent bakery, buried February Second, 1702". 'Jane, wife of James Thompson, a poor lame beggar, died at Ushaw, buried the 25th day of the same month 1702" 'George, the boy of Roberta Robinson, a unfortunate mendicant woman (vi) world health organization store Robert Batmanson's bakery at Ushaw, baptised a Twenty-fourth day of November, 1707". Robert Batmanson, himself, was buried the 10th day of March, 1708.

A bakehouse in those days was used by the local villagers as a place where communal cooking and baking was carried out. A price would be paid to the owner f or the use of the oven. Hospitals and refuges were almost non-existent. Many people were poor and homeless and, when they fell sick, the only place with any warmth was the local bakehouse. So many people died in poverty and misery, a situation which eventually led to the establishment of the workhouse. Another name for the district was Middlewood Moor and the district extended from Hag House (which name is said to mean a clearing in the wood) in the west to Broom in the east. Its boundary to the north ran along the pathway from Hag House up towards the college farm and along to the west gate of the college wall, across the field in front of the pond and on to the park towards the short golf course, then back to the road which ran past Whitehouse Lane, down to the Work- mens Club, turning east to Broom Hall Farm and Broom itself . The south boundary was marked by the Deerness for a considerable way, the total area being about six hundred acres. Through the Enclosure Act of 1763, people who had used the land were allowed to fence or wall and so claim ownership of their plot. Mineral rights still belonged to the Prince Bishops of the Durham Palatinate A little to the north of the college farm stands the ruined base of a former windmill. CLICK FOR IMAGE This mill was erected about 1820 to provide flour and feeding meal for the college and the livestock on its farms. It was 70ft. high. The miller was George Correy and he was allowed to grind flour for his own profit. On New Years morning of 1853 a galeforce wind destroyed the mill, blowing the sails and cap to the ground with a loud crash. In 1804 Bishop Gibson, the Vicar Apostolic Of the Northern District, purchased 300 acres of land from Sir Edward Smythe, Bart and commenced building the present college at Ushaw. Some four years later the community from Crookhall near Consett, took possession.

Father Fortin must be given credit for being the first person to bring education to the mining population of the Deerness Valley. In 1874 he erected a corrugated structure near Ushaw Moor colliery naming it St.joseph's School (GR27C) . Both Catholic and Protestant children paid one penny each Monday for their education. The school, although having accomm- odation for 100, had an average attendance of 130. With the closing of the I tent school'as it was nicknamed during the strike in 1882, the Catholic children then attended the school at Newhouse, Esh Winning, being taken there each morning by horsedrawn brake. The fare was six pence per week although each evening the children walked back to Ushaw Moor. In 1898 the school was dismantled and transported to Newhouse where it was re-erected and used as premises for the first Newhouse Working Mens Club.

The only Coal workings in the district up until the 1850's were a small landsale drift at Esh Hill Top, worked by the Holliday family and a similar mine situated to the west of Esh Hall owned by John Clish.

In 1858 a drift mine was established at Ushaw Moor Colliery selling coal on the landsale system.The owners were Hollidays, and it is probable that this samefamily owned one of the two workings at Esh Hill Top. John Sharp & Co. were the next proprietors and it was they who built the beehive coke ovens from bricks manufactured at the colliery.

Little more is known up to this time, but it is well to remember how the atmosphere of the mininq villages had been tempered by previous industrial events. The years between 1816 and 1849 had seen fifty- nine explosions, killing 999 miners in Northumberland and Durham. This high death rate had brought about a mines inspection bill which was passed in 1861 and, with the formation Of the Durham Miners Association in 1869, the feeling of resentment grew. In 1872 the Coal Mine's Regulation Act was passed and in the same year the Yearly Bond was abolished, releasing the pitmen from the binding obligation to work for a master or owner for a full year no matter what conditions were imposed upon him.

Ushaw Moor Colliery

Ushaw Moor colliery, in 1879, was bought by Henry Chaytor of Witton Castle and it was during his ownership that we find the most turbulent colliery strike in the Deerness Valley taking place. When the shaft was sunk to the Busty seam in 1881 the colliery manager was Thomas Robinson. He seems to have been at variance with both the village community and the law. Mr. Henry Chaytor was from the old school of employers, demanding complete obedience from his work- force. He was utterly opposed to the formation of the unions and sacked their elected representative, Thomas Westoe, for allegedly sending sub-standard coal to bank which had been filled from a hitch*. This victimised dismissal and eviction from his tied cottage was resented by the workmen who gave their now legally required two weeks notice to terminate their employment. This insolence so infuriated Mr. Robinson that he brought a number of policemen into the village, and the next morning. began to evict the strikers, their families and furniture. It is well to remember that at the time subjection of the workforce by management was normal and often accepted without rancour. *Hitch - a geological.fault.

The Durham Chronicle gave graphic accounts over the following three years as the strike continued. It appears that in the June of 1881 a strike had taken place at the colliery because the owners were reluctant to pay back money they owed to some putters. Thomas Westoe had been elected to inspect the mine on behalf of the D.M.A. and in the weeks following the men's?s return to work he was watched for some pretext on which he could be sacked. Henry Chaytor, the owner of the colliery, published a long letter in the Chronicle dated 28th December, 1881 stating that, in his opinion, the men were getting their money too easily and were almost taking over the colliery for themselves. At this stage some two hundred men were employed, many of whose notices expired on 23rd December.

It was a mild December and on Friday, 30th, Mr. Chaytor the owner, 34 year old Mr. Robinson the manager and Mr. Robert Curry the engineer directed the police and -a number of 'candy men' from the colliery to remove the furniture from houses in the middle rows of the colliery streets. First to be turned out was the secretary of the men's representative, Henry Smith, with his wife and five children, next John Lee the president, with his wife and five children, then Joseph Eden, his wife and three children, George Yates, wife and four children, and so on, until a total of twelve families had their belongings piled in the street and doors and windows boarded up. The next day, Father Fortin the priest in charge at Newhouse, visited the village. He offered his school as shelter for the wives and children, and the Rev.C. Gillow, president of Ushaw College, allowed the men to pitch a large tent in a field owned by the college. By the following Tuesday thirty-seven families had been evicted. There was a fair amount of taunting but no violence from the miners as they watched their belongings being heaped up in the streets. In fact, the evictors were cheered when they allowed a family with a sick member to remain. This was not to be the case for very long however, and after a fortnight, carts from the colliery took the furniture and piled it up in a field near the Flass Inn. More evictions took place. one particularly unpleasant event recorded was when Mr. L. Chaytor, nephew of the owner, acting as agent went to the house of Walton Jones accompanied by Mr. Robinson and Mr. Curry. Jones had a son 8 or 9 years old lying in bed with a diseased hip aggravated by running ulcers. After the house had been cleared of furniture, Mr. Robinson lifted the boy from his bed and indicated that Mr. Chaytor and Mr. Curry should carry the bed Outside. They made no move and Mr. Robinson replaced the lad but pulled the bed into the middle of the floor. The door between the front and back rooms was then nailed up and the window boarded over. The three men then left leaving the front door wide open.

Many of the miners who kept pigs had continued feeding them in the sties or 'crees' which were on colliery property. They were very upset one morning to find -the pigs had been turned loose and the crees smashed beyond repair. N.B. Cree= a small shed.

A great deal of support was given to the Ushaw Moor miners from other collieries, many mines imposing a levy on their workforce. Cartloads of food or clothing continued to arrive during the months, which followed, turning into years. On March 3rd, 1882, the Chronicle recorded that two men with plenty of money had tried to bribe miners at New Copley colliery to go and work at Ushaw Moor where 178 workmen had been evicted.

From this time, the situation became more serious. On March 18th Benjamin Bailey, who was working on the screens at Ushaw Moor, was attacked at Broompark where he lived. Three strikers were accused of the assault, they were John Dawson, Thomas Westoe and John Lee. The evidence against the men was inconclusive but suspicion lingered.

Mr Chaytor, sick of the years of industrial unrest, sold Ushaw Moor colliery to Pease & Partners in 1883. From this time, the workmen and community had an easier life, the new owners helping rather than opposing them. The new manager in 1894 was Michael H. Wardle and the engineer Mr. R. Curry. It is recorded that at that time half the output was being converted into coke. It may be of interest at this point to mention that unlike Esh Winning and Waterhouses who used branch horses to pull the trucks between the beehive ovens, Ushaw Moor had its own 'tankey' or railway engine. Over the years three steam engines served the colliery; they were GEORGE built in 1871 by Kitsons of Leeds, CAROLINE built in 1891 by Black and Hawthorne and NUMBER 6 built in 1894 by Robert Stephenson. The seams and some of their various districts are worthy of mention. In the Busty seam were Huntleys Crosscut, Sleetburn Ballarat, Third Victoria, Straight North. In the Brockwell seam the districts were Mafeking, Drag, Ladysmith Crosscut, Quarry Way, College Way and Frenches Landing. Mr. Stobart was manager for many years with Mr. Trotter undermanager of the Brockwell and Jack Nightingale undermanager of the Busty. The colliery also mined a small amount of Barytes and operated a crushing plant as at New Brancepeth.

Jack Rowe was one of the last workmen at Ushaw Moor colliery before it closed in 1960. Now, at 81, he looks back on events and happenings. "We began work on Ushaw Moor pit whilst I personally was Fourteen inside 1915. Virtually all lads world health organization were non prentice went number one onto a belts in which a coal coming away from a pit was sorted & screened. Picking stone was our number 1 job alongside older men. When I personally becamaine wont to a noise, which was dreadful initially, a keeker, or even foreman, world health organization was within charge of the bank head, moved me to the shaft ingesting tokens off the tubs.