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front page of the Chester
-le-Street Advertiser.
Thanks once again to the
AAP for the funding that
e n a b l e d t h i s
re-furbishment to take
place, and in particular to
Allyson Rose who gave
s o m u c h t i m e a n d
enthusiasm in supporting
the group in this project.
Now all that remains is
to continue to spread the
word and encourage
v i s i t o r s to come to
a p p re c i a t e t h e r i c h
heritage to be seen on
the trail and elsewhere in
the town.
Catherine Button
Friday 20th April saw the
of f ic ia l launch of the
re-furbished Heritage
T r a i l . Me mb e r s a nd
Friends of the Heritage
Group gathered at the
Parish Centre, along with
members of the AAP‟s
Destination Chester-le-
Street Group, who have
an interest in promoting
any act iv i ty that wi l l
increase visitor numbers
to the town. Councillor
Colin Carr, who chairs
the AAP came along, as
did Council lor Simon
Henig , the Leader of
Durham County Council
who kindly said a few
words in praise of the
rich heritage of Chester-
le-Street and the way in
which the trail will inform
b o t h v i s i t o r s a n d
residents of the places
and events that are most
of interest. A l e c p r o v i d e d a
demonstrat ion of the
new website that he has
constructed, that will
serve both the trail and
the general activities of
the group. If you haven‟t
already had a look at this,
please do so –
www.chester-le-street-
heritage.org.
D o r o t h y b r o u g h t a
slideshow and display
boards of photographs
s h o w i n g p o i n t s o f
interest on the trail in
years gone by. A number of those who
hadn‟t been before took
a d v a n t a g e o f t h e
opportunity to have a
tour o f the Anker ‟ s
House museum, kindly
guided by Mike Rutter
and Alex Nelson. The whole event went
very well, and created
much interest in the trail. We were pleased that
w e a t t r a c t e d t h e
attention of the local
press, and the following
week saw articles and
p h o t o g r ap h s i n t h e
S u n d e r l a n d E c h o ,
Northern Echo, and the
Heritage Trail Officially Launched.
Newsletter Date 20th June 2012 Volume 2, Issue 3
Chester le Street Heritage Group Newsletter
Special points of
interest:
Heritage Trail Open.
The Beamish Bomb
Inside this issue:
Unrecorded
Ways.
2
An Amateur
Vinery
3
Murder Case 4
The Beamish
Bomb
6
Forthcoming
Events
8
Page 2 Chester le Street
This is the heading of a
communication I recently
r e c e i v e d f r o m t h e
Northern Branch of the
Ramblers. I have been an
active walker all my life and
a member of the Ramblers
for many years and these
„unrecorded ways‟ is one
of my pet themes, although
I call them the forgotten
footpaths. In the Chester-le-Street
area many of our footpaths
have been lost to the
public – caused by housing
developments, new roads
and planners who draw
p r e t t y p l a n s w i t h
alternative paths they think
we should accept. Many of
these disappearing paths
are the old „trods‟ that
miners used and these
linked together the villages
and the network of mines
which was our community. A t t h e n o r t h e n d o f
Chester-le-Street it was
possible to walk from the
P lough Inn , down the
„lonnen‟, cross the main
road, and continue down
the field behind Blind Lane
and Pelaw House. Now
known as Longdean Park,
the path was known as the
Mousey Trod and emerged
at Picktree Village. Could
this have been the original
wooden rail track which
c a r r i e d co a l s t o t h e
Picktree Staithes? A t t h e so u t h e n d o f
Chester-le-Street we could
cross the road at the
Chapel and walk down
Parlour‟s lane, turn right at
the farm, continue past
Red Rose School and the
garage to cross the by-
p a s s . T h e f o o t p a t h
continued at the other side
although, while a public
footpath sign is erected
on the opposite side of
the road, there is no
immediate faci l ity to
cross the road in order
to access the path. On a positive note, we
have had success – the
area known as Canada
was destroyed in the
1950s when the North
B u r n s r o a d w a s
extended over the Burn
however, the footpath
rema ined in a poor
condition. On an old
map it was discovered
that this footpath was
named Mill Lane as it
c o n t i n u e d t h r o u g h
Canada to the Mill in the
adjacent f ie ld, which
brings the knowledge of
why the field was known
as the Race field because
of the mill race. The
footpath is now officially
r e c o g n i s e d a n d a
namepla te has been
erected. It is fascinating to read
old maps and rediscover
the paths we trod. Many
are now disappearing. In
t h i s t own we s eem
besieged: we are an
island marooned on all
sides by the motorway,
the by-pass, the orbital
road. What will come
next? I would be pleased to
h e a r a b o u t y o u r
favourite walks in the
area, and if they have
disappeared?
KEEP WALKING! Keep
our footpaths open…
Retain our heritage…
Audrey Watson
of the road to the river
banks. It then continued
for a short d i s t ance
b e f o r e a c h o i c e o f
direction could be made.
To the left the path goes
behind the big house to
emerge a t Cr i ch ton
Avenue then it continues
along the banks. Straight
a h e a d l e d t o t h e
Riverside (our paddling
area), and to the right the
path by-passed the landfill
site to emerge at Chester
Moor Dene. The path
through the Dene is still
used, but the f ield is
f e n c e d o f f , t h e r e b y
causing difficulties. On
the other side of the
road it was possible to
walk across the fields to
link up with the Chester
Moor pit road and so
continue to Waldridge…
no longer, because there
are horses in the fields! Long-established paths on
Wald r id ge Fe l l h ave
d i s a p p e a r e d . T h e
f o o t p a t h l e ad i n g t o
Lumley along the River-
side at Chester-le-Street
no longer crosses the
field diagonally to the
farm and st i le, but is
d iverted around two
sides of the f ie ld . In
Chester- le-Street for
hundreds of years there
was a path across the
Greens which joined with
the path from Low Chare
to the Riverside. This was
an access footpath for
people wanting to use the
Ford or the Halfpenny
Bridge to cross the river
in order to reach Lumley
Castle or Great Lumley.
F o r t u n a t e l y t h e
f o o t p a t h s r e m a i n
Unrecorded Ways in Northumbria……
Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 3
rather heavy but not
clayey. Here is the field
p u r c h a s e d b y M r
Witherspoon for the
g row in g o f G r ap e s ,
Peaches etc under glass
and hardy fruits in the
open air.
Water is used in large
quantit ies not to the
foliage but to the roots
of the Vines. The water
employed is rain water
which is conveyed from
the surrounding land and
s t o r e d i n a l a r g e
cemented open cistern
at a point in the garden
sufficiently high to afford
the requisite pressure
f o r d r e n c h i n g t h e
borders and if need be
the Vines too through
metal pipes and hose.
Two houses are devoted
to Grape culture but
only one demands special
notice – the large, lean
to house 150 feet long
with a 23 feet length of
rafter. The vines were
planted in March 1876
a n d t h e c r o p n o w
hanging is altogether
splendid. Each vine is
carrying from six to
twelve bunches which
f o r s i z e , s h ape an d
regularity of berries are
w o r t h y a t l e a s t a
An Amateur Vinery.
Volume 2, Issue 3 Page 3
The Chester-le-Street
Times for 24 th August
1978 carries an extract
f rom the J o u r na l o f
Horticulture a national
p u b l i c a t i o n . T h e
i n t roduct ion re ads -
Chester-le-Street has
long been celebrated for
its stone masons and the
engineers it has turned
out, shortly it bids fair
to be no less celebrated
for its good grapes.
An Amateur‟s Vinery -
M r W i t h e r s p o o n ‟ s
C h e s t e r - l e - S t r e e t
“ W o r t h g o i n g a
thousand miles to see!”
Chester-le-Street is a
long straggling village,
venerable in appearance
a n d h a v i n g a b o l d
r u g g e d n e s s w h i c h
renders it in some way
picturesque. Lines, levels
and laws of uniformity
appear to have been
systematically ignored in
the architecture of this
p l a ce , f o r qua i n t i t
appears when viewed
from the railway station
above it, for the houses
are clustered in a valley
a long the bottom of
which an open street
threads i ts tortuous
course. At the opposite
end of the village about a
mile from the station we
find Red Rose Vineries.
The district is one of
meadows and pasture
land the f ie lds being
almost wholly devoted
to the growth of fodder
for the great numbers of
horses which live and
labour in the coal seams
below the surface. The
soil is a brownish loam
hundred of them are of
be ing s t aged a t any
exhibition of Grapes in
the kingdom while not
one inferior bunch is to
be seen in the vinery.
Mr Witherspoon has
also erected a Peach
h o u s e a n d v i n e r y
combined. This structure
is 200 feet long. The field
outside in reality is a
highly cultivated garden
of fruit and vegetables.
Mr Witherspoon has
erected a convenient
and substantial house
pleasantly situated. It
o v e r l o o k s t h e
picturesque valley of the
Wear with a full view of
Lumley Castle in the
immediate foreground
a n d t h e w o o d s o f
L a m b t o n c r e s t t h e
distant hills. It is a real
pleasure to vis it the
home of one who has
worked to such purpose
and succeeded so well
and one who has taught
as well as worked. Mr
W i t h e r s p o o n h a s
occasionally enriched the
pages of this journal.
O n e w h o s e w o r k s
entitle him to be listened
to with that confidence
which success inspires.
The Paradise
The BBC is to film
a new historical
d r a m a i n t h e
North East. Sarah Lancashire
is to star in an
eight part series
c a l l e d “ T h e
Paradise” which is
set in the 1890’s
re la t ing to the
open ing o f the
North East’s first
department store.
Filming which is
due to start next
month will include
a n u m b e r o f
scenes shot in the
Chester le Street
area.
About 2.15 am on 29th
February, 1940, the local
„Bobbie‟ stat ioned at
Coxhoe, P.C William
Ralph Shiell, responded
t o a r e p o r t o f a
suspected burglary at the
Co-op S to re i n the
village. PC Shiell and the
person reporting went
to the Co-op and were
joined by a War Reserve
Constable and another
man. P.C Shiell rattled
the front door whilst the
others went round the
back. Then they heard a
crash of glass at the
front so they al l ran
round to the front of the
store. Two men were seen
running away with P.C
Shiell in pursuit blowing
h i s w h i s t l e a n d
shouting. The three
men who had accompa-
nied P.C Shiell took off
in another direction in
an effort to head them
off. As they ran they
h e a r d s h o t s a n d
returned to the scene.
They found P.C Shiell
lying on the ground
tugging at the side of
his tunic and seemed
hurt. He was taken to
hospital where he died.
Death had been caused
by a bullet penetrating
his kidney and l iver
causing bleeding and
heart failure. P.C Shiell
m a d e a „ d e a t h b e d
statement‟ in which he
Page 4 Chester le Street
s a i d t h a t h e h a d
confronted the two men
in a back street where
one of them had pulled
out a gun and the other
had said „Let him have it
he is alone.‟ The man
had then shot P.C Shiell. The witnesses reported
that just after they heard
the shot a grey car with
a sloping back drove past
them. T h e t w o m e n
respons ib le V incent
O s t l e r , 2 4 y r s a n d
William Appleby, 27 yrs,
were traced to their
homes in Leeds on 4 th
M a r c h , 1 9 4 0 , a n d
arrested The two men had been
at Birtley on the 22nd
Chester-le-Street Doctor’s Car Involved in a
Murder Case
Have you seen
our display in
the shop window on the
front street in
Chester le
Street ?
Although this is
only a
temporary
display it is intended that it
will change
from time to
time so please
do keep looking as you
never know if
you will see
something that
will bring back
some memories of
Chester le
Street in times
gone bye.
Please remember, if you have any old photographs or
postcards, film or video of Chester Le Street or the surrounding areas the group have the facilities to copy
them and they would be gratefully received and returned to you in the same condition as they were
provided.
You can simply bring them to any of the drop in sessions or group meetings mentioned in the events
diary or contact any of the contacts shown on Page 8
of this newsletter.
The coffin of P.C Shiell
was carried on a fire
engine, believed to be
from Seaham Harbour.
A „ L i g h t C o u n t r y
Brigade‟ Merryweather
Hatfield pump escape
which had the wheeled
escape ladder and hose
r e e l r e m o v e d t o
a c c o m m o d a t e t h e
casket. Dr. Traill, was a TB
Specialist who resided
in Chester- le-Street
and practised at both
Chester-le-Street and
Dryburn Hospitals. He
had a chest clinic in a
building situated on the
left-hand side of the
r o a d e n t e r i n g
Holmlands Park from
Page 5 Volume 2, Issue 3
area. Dr. Traill‟s car was
recovered partly burnt
out on moorland near
Huddersfield and found
t o h a v e h a d t h e
Registrat ion Number
a l t e red to FUA 14 .
O t h e r p r o p e r t y ,
belonging to Dr. Traill,
which had been in the
veh ic le when it was
stolen was recovered
from the garage of one
of the suspects, namely a
steel helmet with a Red
Cross over a wh i te
background thereon
Ropery Lane. U n f o r t u n a t e l y o u r
knowledge of Dr. Traill
is quite sparse and we
would appreciate any
information, from any of
our readers, as to his
first name, where he
resided, in fact anything
about him .
Cuff Key
subsequently roughly
repainted by the men.
The men were later
tried at Leeds Assizes
blaming each other for
the murder of P.C Shiell,
they were found guilty,
a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y
hanged side by side in
Durham Prison on 11th
J u l y 1940 by Pub l i c
H a n g m a n T h o m a s
Pierrepoint. P.C Shiell was aged 28
years, married with a
daughter aged 3 years.
New Book Mary
Ann
Cotton
For those of you
interested in this
notorious Victorian Serial
Killer, you may like
to know that there
is a new book out
about this most
famous female
killer.
The book is written by Simon
Webb a part time
librarian in
Durham City and
costs £6.99.
It is available locally at “The
Bookcase” in
Chester le Street
and from other
book stores as
well.
February visit ing the
mother-in-law of one of
them, and , on 23rd
February , 1940 , had
travelled to Chester-le-
Street where they had
stolen a grey coloured
10hp Vauxhall, motor
car, Reg. No. EET 518,
the property of local
physician/surgeon Dr.
Traill. The same car had been
used as transport by the
two men to travel to
Coxhoe, commit crime
and escape to the Leeds
The funeral cortege of William Ralph Shiell
Did You See This ?? Coffee Shop refurbishment reveals old sineage.
On Saturday 28th April
2012 a spec i a l 70 t h
Anniversary Service was
held at the Memorial in
Beamish Village. The service consisted of
prayers, short speeches
and hymns accompanied
by Durham Constabulary
Band. This was followed by a
visit to a free exhibition
at Beamish Museum in a
room above the Bank in
the town area, where
were therefore unable
to find their targets and
were looking for some-
where to jettison their
bombs. It is suggested
that as the pilots flew
over Beamish, they
may well have seen the
r a i l w a y l i n e s t o
Consett and the coal
line to South Shields
glinting in the moon-
light and with the river
nearby, it could have
appeared from above
to be an industrial area. As the air raid warning
had been sounded at
approximately 2.30am,
the majority of the
local inhabitants would
have been taking cover
i n t h e i r a i r r a i d
s h e l t e r s , o r i n
cupboards under the
stairs or simply under
dining room tables. At around 3am, the
G e rm an s d ro p p e d
t h r e e b o m b s a t
Beamish and went off
in search for other tar-
gets in the North East. The first bomb exploded
immediate l y caus ing
damage to shops and
houses . The second
b o m b w h i c h h a d a
d e l a y e d t i m i n g
mechanism was found
n e a r t h e w o o d e n
f o o t b r i d g e o n t h e
embankmen t o f the
colliery railway line. This
was se t to exp lode
approximately six and a
ha l f hours fo l lowing
d e p l o y m e n t , w h i c h
meant that would occur
around about 9.30am. A
bomb disposal team had
been sent to attend to
the device, however,
they were delayed by the
traffic, otherwise they
would have arrived at
9 . 3 0 a m , w h e n t h e
second bomb exploded.
Fortunately, the area had
been cordoned off and
the public had been kept
we l l away a t a s a f e
Page 6 Chester le Street
who attended.
The Bombing of Beamish 70th Anniversary Service
tea, coffee and cake was
provided for all those
During the 28th & 29th
March 1942, the RAF
carried out bombing
raids over two North
German Cities, Rostov
and Lubek, causing
considerable damage to
warehouses, ancient
buildings and housing. Following these raids,
the Luftwaffe retaliated
u s i n g t h e G e r m a n
Baedecker Guide Books
to source the ancient
cities of Britain. One
such target was the City
of Durham. This attack
took place on the night
of Friday 1st May 1942 at
approximately 2.00am,
however, as the German
bombers approached
Durham, a mist began to
form around the City
dri ft ing up from the
R i v e r W e a r a n d
appearing to envelope
the Cathedral, which in
i t s e l f w a s n o t a n
unusual event. The German bombers
The story of Bombing of Beamish
Beamish Bomb
Casualties.
Matthew C. Blackett.
John Elliott.
James Robert
Healey.
Alice Lowerson.
Sheila Lowerson.
Lily Oxley.
Mary Ann Riley.
Ivy Riley.
Ann Smith.
Ethel Spence.
Joyce Spence.
Mary Stephenson.
John Stephenson.
Beatrice Thompson.
Edith Wilkinson.
John G. Draper.
Alexander Walker.
Margaret Dawson.
George Dawson.
Mrs. ? Spence.
Joana Palmer.
May Palmer.
Miss. ? Hope.
Sydney Wears
distance so there were
no casualties, although
part of the railway line
a n d t h e w o o d e n
f o o t b r i d g e w e r e
damaged a long w ith
further damage to the
shops and house. By this time the news
had spread throughout
the surrounding towns
a n d v i l l a g e s , wh i c h
r e s u l t e d i n q u i t e a
n u m b e r o f p e o p l e
coming to see what
damage had occurred
and to check that friends
and relations were safe
and sound. Little did
they know that there
was a third bomb which
was also set with a delay,
this time it was set to go
off at about eighteen and
a hal f hours later at
9.00pm. in the evening. This third bomb had
p a s s e d u n n o t i c e d
through the roof of one
of the shops and was
lying undetected in the
basement. At 9.00pm there were
stil l plenty of people
viewing the devastation
le ft by the f irst two
bombs and others were
standing in a queue at
the bus stop which was
j u s t o p p o s i t e t h e
damaged shops. When the third bomb
Page 7 Volume 2, Issue 3
exploded, the main force
of the blast was directed
across the road in the
direction of the crowd
waiting at the bus stop.
People were thrown
high in the air along with
stones, glass and other
debris. Some trees were
torn from their roots.
The local inhabitants
rushed to the scene
without any thought for
their own safety and
after the dust had settled
were f aced w i th an
a p p a l l i n g s i g h t o f
devastation, with dead
and in jured ly ing a l l
around. Almost every
building in Beamish was
d amaged to v ary in g
degrees from complete
demolition to broken
windows and damaged
roofs. Shrapnel from the blasts
was said to be hitting the
roofs as far away as
W e s t P e l t o n
Co-operative Stores at
Pelton Lane Ends and
further still at Newfield. The dead and injured
were carried to Pit Hill
Farmhouse, with the
less seriously wounded
being treated on the
spot. Many were later
t r a n s f e r r e d t o t h e
R e l t o n H o sp i t a l i n
Chester-le-Street. However, there were
stories of miraculous
escapes, some people
who took the full force
of the blast and were
blown into the woods,
walked away with only
scratches and bruises,
others had their clothes
blown off their bodies
but were otherwise
unhurt. There was one
story of a gentleman
who was taking a bath at
t h e t ime , wh o wa s
blown out of his house
and landed in the garden
still sitting in his bath.
(This could have been a
slight exaggeration of a
story passed down from
person to person). Sadly, the third bomb
took the lives of six
innocent bystanders and
two Special Constables .
T h e e i g h t
people who lost
their lives were:
Robert Reay Special Constable
Age 61.
Sam, Edgell Special Constable
Age 63. Matilda Seymour
Age 77. Irene Seymour
Age 8. Elizabeth Spence
Age 45.
Silvia Spence
Age 10.
Gwen Hannant
Age 17.
Clive Lawson Age 9. (Adopted son
of Lord & Lady
Lawson).
The content used
in this item was
obta ined f rom
r e s e a r c h
under taken by
Jack Hair and my
ow n p e r s o n a l
memories.
Alec Thompson
P h o t o g r a p h s
courtesy of the
late Bill Lees.
CONTACTS
Events Diary
Chester le Street Heritage Group
Chairperson -
Information requests/web
Friends [email protected]
Newsletter
Date Time Event Location
Tue 26th June, 3rd,
10th, 17th & 24th July.
None in August
4th & 11th September
10:00-12:00 Drop In Session
All Welcome
Salvation Army Citadel Low Chare , Chester
le Street.
Mon 30th July to
Saturday 4th August,
10:00 -16:00 Exhibition Salvation Army Citadel
in Low Chare.
Wed 4th & 19th July.
5th & 19th September.
19:00-21:00 Members Mtg
(All Welcome)
Ch-le-St Library
Sat 30th June 14:00 Approx Steam Engine Tornado
due to arrive on a tour.
Durham Station
Wed 25th July Not Yet Known Recreation of Elizabethan Express.
Deltic Alycidion
northbound and Tornado southbound
during the day.
East Coast Main
Railway line
Tue 1st & Thu 3rd
August
19:00 -20:30 Guided Heritage Walk.
Cost £2 per person
Meet Civic Centre Car
Park on 1st, Parish
Centre on 3rd
Next Newsletter
19th September
Contributions
required by
5th September
100 Years Ago
Furious Driving. April 1912.
Ernest Scott was summoned for having ridden a bicycle furiously at Fatfield.
P.C. Bendle having given evidence, and stated that the man refused to pull up
when he shouted, the defendant was fined 2 shillings and sixpence and costs.
Street Football.
Thomas Pushon, Michael Nicholson, Albert Webster, Leonard Nichol and William Routledge were each fined 2 shillings and sixpence and costs for having
played football in the streets at Chester-le-Street in April 1912.
The Game Laws.
William Wilkinson was summoned for having snared hares on land belonging to
Lord Ravensworth and occupied by Mr. Munford, near Lamsley on Sunday 7th
April. A Game Keeper said he saw the man take a hare from a snare and kill it.
On being charged, Wilkinson said, he thought he might as well have a hare as
anyone else. The defendant said he was guilty of taking the hare, but he did not set the
snares. He was attracted to the place by hearing the hare screaming. He was
fined ten shillings and cost.
From the Chester le Street Police Courts 1912
Thanks once again to everyone who has contributed to this edition of the newsletter.
Without those contributions it would not be possible to continue with this publication.
For anyone who has not yet contributed, it really is very easy as your articles can simply
be hand written if you are not able to provide them electronically. Why not start thinking about your contribution for the next edition, now which would
give you plenty of time ?
