Harraton
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Harraton is a former
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
and now a suburb in the
unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unpa ...
of the town of
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, in the
City of Sunderland The City of Sunderland () is a metropolitan borough with city status in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is named after its largest settlement, Sunderland, spanning a far larger area, including nearby towns incl ...
metropolitan borough, in
Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...
, England. Harraton is near the
River Wear The River Wear (, ) in North East England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At long, it is one of the region's longest rivers, wends in a steep valley through ...
and is 3 miles north-east of
Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea ...
, 2 miles south-west of Washington town centre and 9 miles south-southwest of
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
. When nearby Washington (historically a village) was founded as a
new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
under the New Towns Act in 1964, Harraton alongside the neighboring villages of Chaters-Hough,
Fatfield Fatfield is an area of Washington, Tyne and Wear, England. The southern part of the village by the River Wear is popular for country walks and the three public houses and working men's club on the banks of the river. The site of the original vil ...
, Cox Green and Picktree became suburbs of Washington forming the southern suburbs of the town. Certain developments also took place for overspill for the nearby towns of Chester Le Street and
Houghton-le-Spring Houghton-le-Spring ( ) is a town in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, North East England which has its recorded origins in Norman times. Historically in County Durham, it is now administered as part of the Tyne and Wear county. It is s ...
(also in the
City of Sunderland The City of Sunderland () is a metropolitan borough with city status in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is named after its largest settlement, Sunderland, spanning a far larger area, including nearby towns incl ...
metropolitan borough). It is on the main road serving Seahouses and the northern coast. In 1961 the parish had a population of 3,565.


History

Harraton and the aforementioned villages formed at one time part of the
chapelry A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid 19th century. Status It had a similar status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel of ease (chapel) which was the communi ...
of Birtley. Harraton was a
township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...
in the
Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea ...
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
, a sub-district and registration district. John Wilson's 1870-1872 ''
Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...
'' describes Harraton thus: The
Anglican parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...
of St George's Fatfield is in Harraton, and the ecclesiastical parish of
Fatfield Fatfield is an area of Washington, Tyne and Wear, England. The southern part of the village by the River Wear is popular for country walks and the three public houses and working men's club on the banks of the river. The site of the original vil ...
also includes Mount Pleasant, Picktree, and
Rickleton Rickleton is an area of Washington, Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the south side of Washington Town and borders Harraton village, Birtley and County Durham. The village centre includes a Londis supermarket, a general store, a hairdr ...
. The church was built in 1879 on land given by the Earl of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
. The church was massively reordered in the 1980s and inside is warm, light and contemporary. Harraton Colliery Chapel was built in 1873 financed by the Earl of Durham and is of brick construction seating 150, the building is still standing. It was used by the Primitive Methodists. This particular branch of Methodism had as its aim the recovery, as they saw it of the principles and practice of the early Methodists which had been lost or at least played down. The chapel was the chosen place of worship for believers of the
working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
es, where as the Anglican Church was seen as the domain of the "bosses". The Chapel functioned as a place of worship until 1932 when it closed. The Harraton War Memorial was unveiled on 24 July 1922. It was originally sited on Worm Hill, but was relocated in 2012. 102 names are recorded. There was a primary school, Harraton Primary School, which closed in 2004.


Mining

The first recorded coal produced at Harraton Colliery in 1594. During the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
the trade in Tyne coal was halted. The Port of Sunderland however became significant in the supply of coals to London. Harraton Colliery cam e under the control of Scottish soldiers who were aligned to the Parliamentarian cause and was of some significance in this trade. Large scale mining started in 1794. The 1870-1872 ''
Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales The ''Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales'' is a substantial topographical dictionary first published between 1870 and 1872, edited by the Reverend John Marius Wilson. It contains a detailed description of England and Wales. Its six volumes h ...
'' recorded that "Coal was extensively worked; but the majority of the coal pits are exhausted.", and the pit closed in May 1965, with many of the miners migrating to the modern pits in
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...
. The poet Jock Purdon wrote ''Farewell to Cotia'' about the pit's closure and the "exodus" to Nottinghamshire.


1817 explosion

Row Pit, Harraton
Colliery Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
was the scene of a fatal explosion on Monday, 30 June 1817. Some miners were sent to work in an area of the colliery which was not free from
firedamp Firedamp is any flammable gas found in coal mines, typically coalbed methane. It is particularly found in areas where the coal is bituminous. The gas accumulates in pockets in the coal and adjacent strata and when they are penetrated the releas ...
and the men were expressly ordered to use
safety lamp A safety lamp is any of several types of lamp that provides illumination in coal mines and is designed to operate in air that may contain coal dust or gases, both of which are potentially flammable or explosive. Until the development of effectiv ...
s. One man, John Moody, ignored this instruction and was observed using a candle. The overman ordered Moody to extinguish the candle, which he did. Shortly afterwards Moody was again found using a candle and reprimanded. He extinguished the candle and lit his lamp. The overman had just left him when the explosion occurred. 38 of the 41 men underground were killed, including a grandfather, his two sons and seven grandsons. Two days later eight workmen descended Nova Scotia Pit, part of the same colliery. When they did not return another party went down but were forced back by
chokedamp Blackdamp (also known as stythe or choke damp) is an asphyxiant, reducing the available oxygen content of air to a level incapable of sustaining human or animal life. It is not a single gas but a mixture of unbreathable gases left after oxygen is ...
. Late on the following day six bodies were recovered and there was "little hope of recovery for the other two". All eight were recorded as being buried on 5 July.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{T&W places Former civil parishes in Tyne and Wear Washington, Tyne and Wear