The history of Easington dates back to 900-915AD, the first known
documented evidence was in the 'Historia de St. Cuthbert'. The name
Easington is thought to be Saxon and means 'Village of Esa'. Easington
suffered great destruction by invaders from Scandinavia, then under
Norman rule the murder of Robert Comyn, a Norman, brought about the
virtual destruction of the area. This was followed in the early 14th
century with an invasion and war with the Scots. Due to the ravages
caused by the army the population and value of Easington decreased.
The population was again affected in July 1349 when the plague better
known as the Black Death reached Easington.
For some years after there were recurring outbreaks of the disease and
the population was thought to have been reduced by almost one third.
The Hatfield survey of 1377-1381 describes the havoc wrought on the
village by pestilence and the Scottish raids which affected several
generations. The parish church dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin which
stands on the village green dates back to the 12th century. It was
founded in 1197 by Bishop Richard de Marisco. The parish register
dates back to 1571 and at one time the church was used as a landmark
for sailors on navigation charts.
The Rectory which was built in 1248 is directly
opposite St. Mary the Virgin church, it was built as a home for the
retirement of Prince Bishop Farnham. The Rectory is now known as
Seaton Holme. Throughout the years the rectory changed and so did the
parishes. As this parish became smaller the church sold the Rectory to
the Guardians of the Poor in 1921 and it became a home for children
from the workhouse. In the 1930's it became a hostel for old men.
Seaton Holme was then taken over by the County
Council Social Services and used as a community building. As the
building began to decay it was classed as dangerous and was closed, it
stood neglected and empty until 1988, when Easington Parish Council
bought and renovated the building. Seaton Holme, is a grade 1 listed
building and stands in the centre of Easington Village. It is now used
as a discovery centre which traces the history and importance of the
building and Easington.
The first school in Easington was opened in 1814
called the Easington Parochial Charity School, at the bottom of St.
Mary's Close. The school was one building split into two rooms, one
for girls and one for boys. The reverend Richard Prosser paid for the
school at his own expense and he also invested £1000 for the repairs
and running of the school. In 1828 50 boys and 30 girls attended the
school for 1d per head per week. This school was in use until 1967
when a new school was built just behind. When the children moved to
the new school building the original one was pulled down and the land
was grassed over.
A Union Workhouse was built in 1850, in Seaside
Lane, and was the responsibility of the Poor Law Union. The first
master and matron of the workhouse were John Mason and his wife Mary.
Over the years several additions were made to the workhouse to make
room for the extra people. In 1851 there were only 25 inmates but by
1894 there was 130 and by 1936 the number had increase to 240 inmates.
In 1926 a nurses home was added. When the workhouse was taken over by
the Durham County Council in the 1930's the workhouse was also being
used as a hospital with surgical wards. The name of the workhouse was
changed to the Leeholme Hospital. In 1971 staff and patients were
transferred to other hospitals and Leeholme was pulled down.
One of the biggest changes to happen in Easington
was the search for Black Diamonds, this was the beginning of the
Easington Coal Company in 1899. There was to be three shafts, the
North Pit was finished on the 17th September 1909, but it was almost a
year later when the first coal was drawn.
Over the years
Easington Village became known as Easington Colliery because of the
continued growth of the colliery, the community and buildings
continued to grow with it. The first buildings in Easington Colliery
were the sinkers huts built on the site of Ashton and Ascot Street,
sinkers were the men who went down the mine shafts in a metal bucket.
The biggest disaster at Easington colliery was on
29th May 1951. It was at the Duck Bill area of the Five Quarter seam
at 4.45am as the fore shift were going in to relive the night shift
when the explosion happened. As the explosion was heard families
quickly gathered at the pit gates to wait for news of loved ones, as
the rescue team from the Central Rescue Station at Houghton-le-Spring
tried to save the miners lives. Eighty one miners and two rescue
workers would die and the last body would not be found until 14th
June, a disaster fund was set up and they collected £183,000.
In 1992 the Government announced that 31 pits would close and
Easington would be one of them, the last coal to be drawn out of
Easington Colliery was on 30th April 1993, along with the loss of
1,400 mining jobs In 1994 Easington Colliery was also gone with not a
trace of the pit left to be seen.
