Shildon is a town and

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 ...

in County Durham, in England. The population taken at the 2011 Census was 9,976. The town has the Locomotion Museum, due to it having the first , built in 1825, and locomotive works on the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

History

The name Shildon comes from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

word ''sceld'', This translates as 'shelf shaped hill' or 'shield/refuge'. Another possibility is the Old English word ''syclfe'' meaning 'shelf' and the suffix ''duri'' meaning 'hill'. This refers to the town's location on a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...

.Shildon County Durham Conservation Area Prepared for Sedgefield Borough Council Conservation Area Character Appraisal December 2008 ''Report No: 0055/1-08'' Report by Archaeo-Environment Ltd The earliest inhabitants of the area were most likely present from the Mesolithic period some 6,000 years ago. Although no evidence of settlement has been found in Shildon itself a small

flint tool A stone tool is, in the most general sense, any tool made either partially or entirely out of stone. Although stone tool-dependent societies and cultures still exist today, most stone tools are associated with prehistoric (particularly Stone Ag ...

discovered in the nearby Brusselton area may be from this period. Roman expansion reached County Durham in the first century AD. Possible evidence of Roman infrastructure has been uncovered in the area such as Hagg's Lane which passes through Brusselton Wood. Hagg's Lane formed part of the Roman road known as

Dere Street Dere Street or Deere Street is a modern designation of a Roman road which ran north from Eboracum (York), crossing the Stanegate at Corbridge (Hadrian's Wall was crossed at the Portgate, just to the north) and continuing beyond into what is n ...

. The first recorded reference to Shildon came during the Anglo-Saxon period in 821 AD when lands were granted to the church.

Salvation Army

The founder of the Salvation Army,

William Booth William Booth (10 April 182920 August 1912) was an English Methodist preacher who, along with his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army and became its first " General" (1878–1912). His 1890 book In Darkest England and The Way Out o ...

, visited the town as part of a 'motor-car campaign'. The advertised schedule had him visiting the town on the morning of 1 September 1911.

Second World War

In March 1940, Leading Stoker C. Anderson of Shildon was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for 'displaying good leadership' while serving in the submarine . The Minister of Economic Warfare, Hugh Dalton, visited Shildon in 1942. He spoke in the town regarding the need to work harder and consume less.

Railway heritage

19th century

At the dawn of the 19th century Shildon was a few houses on a crossroad. The

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

and the coming of the railways saw the town grow. In 1801 the population was recorded at being 100 people. Their occupations were noted as being in

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, coal mining and the growing textiles industry. In 1818 notice was given in the '' London Gazette'' '''...that application is intended to be made to Parliament in the next session, for an Act for making and maintaining a 'rail-way or tram-road from the River Tees, at or near Stockton, in the county of Durham','' with Shildon listed as one of the towns on the planned route''.'' John Dixon, assistant to

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians In the history of the United Kingdom and the ...

recalled the town before the railways came.The 1825 Stockton & Darlington Railway Historic Environment Audit Volume 1:Significance Management October 2016 Archaeo-Environment for Durham County Council, Darlington Borough Council and Stockton on Tees Borough Council Report by Archaeo-Environment Ltd The volume of coal being produced by coal mining outstripped the capacity of the traditional method of transporting coal, on horse-drawn wagon ways. Steam power was introduced through the use of static steam engines. These were, in turn, were superseded by steam locomotives. Coal would be pulled by static engines over Brusselton Incline into Shildon where the wagons would be attached to a locomotive. The population grew with this industrial expansion, the population rising from 115 in 1821, to 2,631 in 1841 up to 11,759 by the end of the century. Records show in 1851 the town had 447 houses that were inhabited and 26 uninhabited. Two years later the value of property in the town was assessed at £11,269 and 10 Shillings. Demand led to a passenger service beginning from the town on 27 September 1825. The first train, Locomotion No.1 began its journey outside the Mason's Arms

Pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

lic house. There is an argument that the Mason's Arms could be classified as the world's first

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

. In the early stages of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, tickets were sold at the bar. Between 1833 and 1841 the company hired a room in the pub for use as a booking office. The railway ran from its northern terminus at Shildon along 27 miles of track to its terminus at Stockton. In 1838 the speed of travel was noted by ''The Derby Mercury'' which reported that a servant asked permission to travel to Shildon from Stockton on Christmas Day. She made her request "a little before four in the afternoon" and was able to return home "by seven o'clock the same evening". Recruited to the railway by

in 1824,

Timothy Hackworth Timothy Hackworth (22 December 1786 – 7 July 1850) was an English steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Youth and early wor ...

went on to become superintendent in 1825. He was charged with building locomotives for the company.

Engine works

Timothy Hackworth moved into Hackworth House (formerly Soho House, now Grade II* listed) with his family in 1831. There he supervised the construction of what became the Soho Engine Works close to the property. In 1833 Hackworth renegotiated his contract with the Stockton and Darlington Railway to take over the works himself. This became the Soho Locomotive Building Company. Hackworth was in a partnership with Nicholas Downing in Shildon however the partnership was formally dissolved on 25 March 1837. The oldest part still surviving is the Soho Shed. The

grade II* In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed building was built in 1826 as a warehouse for an iron merchant. The North Eastern Railway were the occupant from 1863 before becoming a paint shop for trains in the 1870s. In the 20th century it was used as a boxing gym and rehearsal space for the Shildon Works Silver Band. The shed still has two engine pits and the remnants of a 19th-century heating system. The engine shed along with Hackworth House was refurbished in 1975. Locomotion No 1 at Shildon

Near the Soho Shed, 110 metres to the east, are the grade II* listed coal drops. Constructed circa 1846/47 or circa 1856 depending on source. The system was used for the refuelling of locomotive tenders. Coal wagons would be hauled to the top of the coal drops where their bottom would open and the coal would fall down a chute into the engine waiting below. (Hackworth House, the engine shed and the coal drops were all raised from Grade II to Grade II* on 11 May 2021.) In this area also stand the Black Boy Stables and out buildings. The grade II listed stables were built in the early 19th century at the point where the

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

s met from the Black Boy Colliery and Surtees Railway. Restored in the 1970s the stables were damaged by fire in 1985. However, a 2016 report disputes their being stables. It states that while they are "clearly not stables", it believes one was possibly a plate layer's cabin. The use of the other "adjacent structures is still in some doubt". Other buildings include the

goods shed A goods shed is a railway building designed for storing goods before or after carriage in a train. A typical goods shed will have a track running through it to allow goods wagons to be unloaded under cover, although sometimes they were built ...

and parcels office. It handled local freight distribution in Shildon from 1857. The parcels office looked after the movement of goods in and out of the shed. The Soho Works built the first locomotive to run in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. The engine, named

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

, was shipped from Shildon in August 1838 to move coal from the coal mines at Stellarton. The Stockton and Darlington Railway expanded their

works Works may refer to: People * Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach * Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician Albums * '' ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album)'', a Pink Floyd album from 1983 * ''Works'', a Gary Burton album ...

on the western side of the Mason's Arms Crossing. This expansion alongside the nearby Soho works led to a surge in population as people came to the town for work. The pace of growth quickened further with the opening of Shildon Colliery to the south of the Soho Works in 1873. In a letter to his sister, Timothy Hackworth Jr. describes the scene in the vicinity of the works - In 1855 the Soho Works were bought by the Stockton and Darlington Railway and made an extension of their works. Now merged with the North Eastern Railway in 1863 and locomotive production was shifted to their North Road Works in Darlington. The Shildon Works continued but focus was shifted to the construction of railway wagons. To mark fifty years of the railway, the Northern Echo published an article which included this description of the town -

20th century

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

in 1911 saw violent scenes in the town and

British troops The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkhas ...

deployed to maintain order. A driver of a mineral train was stoned and dragged from his engine. He was pursued by an angry mob and had to be rescued by soldiers. Mineral wagons had their bottom doors undone and the contents allowed to fall out. Wagons in the sidings had their brakes undone and freewheeled for miles, railway signal cables were damaged and the cavalry had to be called. At one stage soldiers had to mount a Bayonet charge to clear a bridge. The New Shildon Strike Committee condemned the government for deploying the army and called for their withdrawal. Moving further into the 20th Century the Shildon Works became the largest wagon works in the world by 1976, employing 2,600 people. The works built 1,000 wagons a year and repaired more besides. The 27 miles of sidings made Shildon home to what was believed to be the largest sidings in the world. This was until the construction of the Chicago

marshalling yards A classification yard (American and Canadian English (Canadian National Railway use)), marshalling yard ( British, Hong Kong, Indian, Australian, and Canadian English (Canadian Pacific Railway use)) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway ...

in 1927. There were concerns for the future of the railway works in the 1930s. The London and North Eastern Railway Company had decided to concentrate their operations to Darlington. Local MP Aaron Curry addressed the matter in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

on 14 December 1934. The Soho works laid derelict since the 1940s and were scheduled for demolition in the 1970s when many of the buildings fell into disrepair. However, the buildings were saved when they were restored and opened to the public as part of the Timothy Hackworth Museum. The museum was opened on Thursday 17 July 1975 by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

Railway works closure

The railway works closed on 29 June 1984, with the loss of 1,750 jobs. David Mitchell MP, Transport Under-Secretary, opened the Hackworth Industrial Park on the site of the wagon works in 1985. The Shildon and Sedgefield Development Agency was established with a £1.6 million fund given by

British Rail Engineering Limited British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was the railway systems engineering subsidiary of British Rail. Established in 1970, the maintenance arm was split as British Rail Maintenance Limited in 1987, and the design and building of trains was ...

(BREL) and also had backing from Shildon and Sedgfield Councils. The agency (as of 1985) spent £1 million in marketing the former workshops, giving loan guarantees as well giving business advice. The agency supported 100 companies with 57 being start ups and also paid £30 a week for a year to companies taking on former BREL staff.

Coach house

Shildon is also home to the grade II listed Daniel Adamson's

Coach House Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coa ...

(c.1831). In 1827 Daniel Adamson, landlord of the nearby Grey Horse pub, had a horse-drawn railway coach called Perseverance which ran between Shildon and Darlington. When the Surtees Railway opened in 1831, Adamson built the coach house. The building was to act as both station and shed. It is believed to be the earliest surviving railway coach house in the world. His son, also Daniel Adamson, became an engineer.

Brusselton incline

On the edge of Shildon is the hamlet of Brusselton. Two hills barred the way from the south Durham coalfield to the start of the railway at Shildon. George Stephenson overcame this by setting up stationary steam engines on the hilltops to haul the coal wagons over. One engine was at Etherley, this brought the wagons from Witton Park and lowered them down the slope to West Auckland. From there horses took the wagons to the Brusselton incline. At the top of this in an engine house were two 30

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

engines (later upgraded to a new 80 horsepower engine) acting in tandem. A large drum hanging above the road holding a rope pulled the wagons over the incline and to the locomotive waiting in Shildon. A boiler house, chimney and railwaymen's houses sat on the north side of the road but have since been demolished. The engineman's house on the south side of the road still survives. A passenger service began over the incline in 1833 and a record set in 1839 with 2,120 tonnes of coal taken in 67 trips in a day. The enginemen at the top of the incline were told when wagons (a mile and a half distant) were ready to make the ascent by means of a disc on the end of a tall pole. When the disc was set spinning the wagons were ready. To observe the spinning disc a telescope was set up. This is believed to be the first recorded railway signalling system in the world. In the event of fog, long wires with bells or rappers attached were used. There were concerns about runaway wagons in the event of the rope snapping. The wagons' brakes could only be activated on board. For this reason young boys were employed to stand at the side of the track and run alongside in the event of a runaway wagon, jump aboard and apply the brake. At the bottom of the incline men were positioned with tree trunks and huge blocks of wood to cause a deliberate derailment in the event of an emergency by throwing them on the line. To the west of Brusselton there were three bridges, the most westerly taking the railway under the Dere Street Roman road. The bridge is now gone but a 1925 article from the Northern Echo offers a description of what early rail passengers would have experienced. On 23 April 1839 construction of the Shildon Tunnel (the south portal is Grade II listed) was started. It was opened in 1842 and was completed at a cost of £100,000. The completion of the tunnel in 1842 saw Brusselton bypassed, with the winding engines serving local collieries. In 1859 the engine was sold and the site became derelict. Volunteers from the Brusselton Incline Group are working to uncover the

industrial archaeology Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, sites, infrastructure, docu ...

still on site. As of November 2014 the volunteers had uncover 306 stone sleepers. The rails were laid on stone blocks weighing 75lbs when the line was laid in 18 These were replaced with heavier stones in the 1830s which made the railway more stable.

National museum

The Locomotion Museum, incorporating the existing Timothy Hackworth Museum and part of the

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, was opened on Friday 22 October 2004. The museum was opened by the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

of the time

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

. The new museum came about as part of a £70 million government funding arrangement for museums across the country. The project received £2 million from the

European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and s ...

along with grant aid from a number of groups. The museum hoped to attract 60,000 visitors in the first year but had 70,000 visitors in the first two months. The town's bid for the museum was selected ahead of bids from

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. In January 2018, the site welcomed its 2,500,000th visitor, who was Sean Richards of Sedgefield, visiting with his family.

Politics

Shildon is part of the Bishop Auckland parliamentary constituency, which is represented by Dehenna Davison of the Conservative Party. Davison won the seat at the 2019 UK general election from

Helen Goodman Helen Catherine Goodman (born 2 January 1958) is a British former politician who served as Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland from 2005 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she was Deputy Leader of the House of Commons from 2007 to 20 ...

of the Labour Party, who had held the seat since 2005. This ended 84 years of continuous Labour representation in the town. However, on Durham County Council, Shildon and Dene Valley ward has two Labour councillors and one

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties See also *Liberal democracy *Lib ...

Education

*St. Johns C of E (Aided) Primary School * Greenfield Community College *Thornhill Primary School
Timothy Hackworth Primary School

Community and geography

The Shildon Town Band was founded in 1937 from the remnants of the Shildon Wesleyan Band. The band was conducted by Mr Ernie Bennett, other notable members were Ivan Pearce, The Allinson Brothers George, Fred, Jack and Jim, another long member was the secretary Graeme Scarlett.

Parks and green spaces

Hackworth Park is a park in Shildon town centre named after Timothy Hackorth. The park contains a drinking fountain created to commemorate one of the engines he designed and there is a statue of him.

Town Square

Ahead of the new Millennium the town received £24 million in funding to make improvements to the town. These improvements included £380,000 for a new town square which is home to a 6-foot statue of Timothy Hackworth.

Distance to other places

Sport

Local football club Shildon A.F.C. compete in the Ebac Northern League Division One. In November 2003, the club reached the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

first round for the first time in 42 years, when in 1962 they lost 5–2 away to

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

. In the 2003 match Shildon were beaten 7–2 away by

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

. The club was successful in the 1930s, winning the Northern League on three occasions. In season 2014–15, they needed to win their final game to become Northern League Champions and add the title to the Northern League Cup and the Durham Challenge Cup. A 1–1 draw at

Bedlington Bedlington is a town and former civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 18,470 measured at the 2011 Census. Bedlington is an ancient market town, with a rich history of industry and innovative residents. Located roughly 1 ...

meant that they continue to wait for their first title since 1940.

Durham Tigers Durham Tigers are a rugby league club based in Sunnydale Leisure Centre, Shildon, County Durham in the North East of England. They originally played in the city of Durham. The city of Durham is now represented in the Rugby League Conference by ...

are the local

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

team. The club runs age level teams in the North East Junior League. Shildon Running & Athletic Club, founded in 1986, is based at the Stadium 2000 on Middridge Lane in Shildo

Shildon Railway Cricket Club joined the NYSD premiere league in the 2015 season, and won the 3rd division at the first attempt.

Transport

Rail

Shildon railway station, Shildon Station is an unstaffed railway station managed by Northern. The signal box was built in 1887 (with alterations made in 1928 and 1984) and was possibly designed by Thomas Prosser is grade II listed. The station is served by the Bishop Line which runs between Bishop Auckland and Darlington. The service on the line is designated as

Community rail Community rail in Britain is the support of railway lines and stations by local organisations, usually through community rail partnerships (CRPs) comprising railway operators, local councils, and other community organisations, and rail user grou ...

by the Department for Transport in January 2011. The line continues between Darlington and Saltburn as the

Tees Valley line The Tees Valley Line is a rail route, in Northern England, following part of the original Stockton and Darlington Railway route of 1825. The line covers a distance of , and connects to via , and 14 other stations in the Teesdale. The secti ...

Bus

Shildon is served by bus services operated by Arriva North East and Scarlet Band. The services are 5, 5A, X1, 1 and Scarlet Band service 99

Notable people

, railway engineer * Daniel Adamson, railway engineer * Sid Chaplin, writer, after whom the local library is named * Harry Beevers, plant physiologist *

Thomas Ferens Thomas Robinson Ferens (4 May 1847 – 9 May 1930) was a British Liberal politician, a philanthropist, and an industrialist. He was the Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull East for 13 years, and served the city as a Justice of the Pea ...

, politician