Easington Village

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.

Union Workhouse 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.

Miners coal delivery wagon. 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.