Browney is a village in

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, England. It is situated to the south-west of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

and adjoins

Meadowfield Meadowfield is a small village in County Durham, England, situated approximately two miles south-west of Durham on the A690. It is situated within the civil parish of Brandon and Byshottles. The village consists mainly of one road of terraced ho ...

. It is part of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Brandon and Byshottles Brandon and Byshottles is a civil parish and electoral ward in County Durham, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 17,774 increasing to 18,509 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes Brandon, New Brancepeth, Broompark, ...

. The Browney Wesleyan Chapel was built in 1887, to seat 270, and cost £400. Browney Colliery (mining) officially closed in 1938. The

Browney rail crash The Browney train crash occurred near to the Browney signal box on the East Coast Main Line, County Durham, England on 5 January 1946. A southbound goods train split in two, with the rear portion accelerating downhill and crashing into the fron ...

of 1946 killed 10 people. Browney British School (now Browney Academy) was built in 1881 by the colliery owners, and consisted of mixed and infants, with accommodation for 407 in all. The average school attendance was 309 in 1892. Literacy in Browney The Browney colliery reading room and library were provided by the owners of the now-closed colliery. The library comprised over 1000 books, and the reading room was supplied with popular newspapers. This was at a time when popular culture emphasised the benefits of literacy, via the Worker's Educational Movement. This movement supplemented a relentless drive for self-improvement, involving literacy connected with the Book of Common Prayer, and standard forms of Christian worship.

References

External links

Browney Academy school website
* River Browney, County Durham Villages in County Durham {{Durham-geo-stub