Witton Gilbert
Witton Gilbert maps (2 available)
Map of County Durham
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
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Witton Gilbert books (1 available)
Witton Gilbert memories
Read and share memories of Witton Gilbert and County Durham inspired by Frith photos
Police Constable Curran
My great great grandfather Joseph Curran was a police officer and it appears as though he was the local police officer for Witton Gilbert. He certainly lived in Witton Gilbert in the 1881 and 1891 census but I have an article from the Police Chronicle July 1894 where PC Curran moved from Witton Gilber to Bearpark and was presented a watch and chain by the residents of Witton Gilbert, this was done at a public meeting in July 1894 - the meeting was presided on by Rev A Watts and the presentation was done by Mr T R Holmes (Witton Hall) - The meeting was held in the 'National School'. It would appear that Joseph was also treasurer of the Dean ...read more here
Contributed by Paul Curran
The Odfellows Arms in Front Street
I have just discovered from resaerching the census results that my Great Grandparents ran the Odfellows Arms in Witton Gilbert round about the turn of the last century. His name was John McCormick and he was also a coal miner or coal hewer, running the pub in his own time. He and his wife had 5 daughters named Mary, Ellen, Alice, Rose and Ena. Alice was my grandmother. I would love to know if there is still an inn there in Front Street and if anyone has any memories of it!
Alice Potter
Contributed by Alice Potter
WITTON GILBERT, THE WAR MEMORIAL
I remember this photo well as I was born and brought up in Witton Gilbert. I was born in 1949 in Cheviot House at the bottom of Greens Opening, a very short walk from the Dene. I went to the "Tin School" which was the Infants school and now forms part of the by-pass which desecrated the village. I was told there had been a murder in the house in the dene which is why it was left to go derelict. "Barneys Field" was named after my grandfather Barney King - a farmer in the village who, in the 1950's could be seen daily delivering milk to the folk of the village with his trusty retired pit pony named Toby. We ...read more here
Contributed by First name Last name
Not a very nice story
My great-great-grandfather, John Mingins, was a tailor living in Witton Gilbert with his family. Unfortunately, in December 1853 an Irish navvy, Michael O'Brien, picked a fight with John outside the butcher's shop and consequently John was injured and died one week later. Michael O'Brien was found guilty of manslaughter at Durham Assizes and I assume he served the appropriate sentence. I live in East Anglia but intend to make a pilgrimage to Witton and would love to see some early photos of it.
Contributed by jennifer hunter
Witton Gilbert, the War Memorial from the Woods c1955
The War Memorial stood at the bottom of what was called the "Camels Hump" in "The Dean" - a wild adventure playground for all us kids. The Hump was used for sledging down in winter and rolling down in summer. At the top of the picture behind the trees was the vicarage paddock, this was where as members of the 1st Witton Gilbert Cub and Scout group we us to play football/cricket/make fires etc.
At the bottom of the picture the "brook" - a stream running down through the village from "Barneys' Field" went underground in a culvert to emerge at the start of the Dean (I believe there was the remains of an old house? here).
Contributed by Trevor Turner
Extracts From Witton Gilbert & County Durham books
Stockton was granted its market charter by Bishop Bek in 1310, but until the 1840s it consisted of little more than the High Street, a few side streets, and a quayside railhead for Stockton & Darlington Railway. On the right can be seen the parish church, which dates from 1712. Other 18th-century buildings were the Town House (1735) and the Customs House (1730).
An extract from from"County Durham Photographic Memories".
Billingham owes its development to the Great War, when a small chemical works opened nearby for the production of synthetic ammonia for use in explosives. Between the wars the population of Billingham rocketed as the works was expanded for the production of methanol, chemical fertilisers, and petrochemicals. The town centre was redeveloped from the late 1950s by Elder Lester & Partners; the Forum opened in 1967.
An extract from from"County Durham Photographic Memories".
In the 1950s Greatham consisted of little more than the High Street. In 1272 the Prior of Finchale founded a charity and a hospital here for ‘decayed priests’; the local vicar was usually appointed Master. Today the aged and needy do not necessarily have to have been clerics or their widows in order to benefit.
An extract from from"County Durham Photographic Memories".
The Green was, and still is, one of the more picturesque parts of Seaton Carew; the houses were mostly built in the early 19th century. In the corner, with the steep bargeboarded gables, stands Sylvern House, dating from 1864.
An extract from from"County Durham Photographic Memories".
Six miles from Durham and twelve miles from Darlington, Ferryhill was only a hamlet until the development of Dean & Chapter Colliery. With the colliery came rows of miners’ housing, such as those in Stephenson Street, Bessemer Street, Rennie Street, Davy Street, and Newton Street. By the eve of the Great War there were about 49,000 tied miners’ houses in the county housing 260,000 people, or 20 per cent of the county’s population.
An extract from from"County Durham Photographic Memories".