Houghton-le-Spring would not become part of
Sunderland until 1974. This occurred under the final extension of
Sunderland under the 1974 reorganisation of local government.
Houghton-le-Spring, Hetton-le-Hole and Washington Urban Districts
joined Sunderland to form a new borough within the Tyne and Wear
Metropolitan County.
In the Boldon Book of 1183 the name of the town was written as Hoctona.
At other times it was Hoeton. The Hough part of the name is probably
derived from the Anglo-Saxon word Hogh, meaning a point of land
projected into a plain. The suffix 'ton' is most likely a variation of
the tun found in both Old English and Old Norse. It meant simply an
en- closure, settlement or town. There are two theories for the
addition of le-Spring. At one time a Le Spring was a Lord of the
Manor. The second, and more likely explanation, points to the numerous
limestone springs in the area. At one time they were thought to have
been of great medicinal value.
The history of Houghton le Spring is centred around the Norman church
of St Michael and All Angels, in which can be found the tomb of
Bernard Gilpin. Born in 1517 and died in 1583. He was known as the
Apostle of the North. Gilpin, a member of an important Westmorland
family, was the great nephew of Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of Durham.
Born in 1530 and died in 1559.
Gilpin was appointed Archdeacon of Durham and in 1557 he became the
rector at Houghton le Spring, then one of the largest parishes in
England. Despite his important status, Gilpin was a generous man who
always had the interests of his parishioners at heart. On all Sundays
between Michaelmass and Easter he declared his rectory an open house
and gave free dinners to all who visited, whether they were rich or
poor.
Gilpin was a scholarly man, and was keen to see that the humble and
poor received a good education. He even sent some of his brightest
young parishioners to university at his own expense. Bernard Gilpin's
good works extended beyond his parish and he is perhaps best known for
his journeys into the rough border country of Northumberland , where
he evangelized among the Northumbrian people in the same way as St
Aidan and St Cuthbert many centuries before. Spreading the word of God
was not an easy task for Gilpin in the North East of England, during a
period of time when the local people were often ignorant and violent
in nature.
Bernard's long and adventurous life came to a tragic and rather
unexpected end on the 4th of March 1583, when he was unfortunately
knocked down by an oxen in the market place at Durham. He was aged
sixty six. If it had not been for the fact that Gilpin lived in an age
of religious controversy with which he refused to be involved, this
Apostle of the North could well have been respected as one of
Northumbria's most famous saints.
Houghton-le-Spring Poor Law Union formally came into existence on 20th
January 1837. The average annual poor-rate expenditure for the period
1833 to 1835 had been £4,606 or 4s.4d. per head of the population. A
new Houghton-le-Spring Union workhouse was built in 1864 at William
Street in Houghton-le-Spring, designed by Matthew Thompson. His design
for Houghton-le-Spring had a corridor-plan T-shaped main block with
male accommodation to the west and female to the east. Rooms for the
aged were placed at the front of the building, and for children and
able bodied at the rear.
The Master's quarters were at the far western end of the building
adjacent to the workhouse's main entrance which was located, somewhat
unusually, at the rear. The kitchen and dining hall were in the rear
wing of the main block. A new boardroom and offices were erected in
1891, with the old boardroom being converted into lunatic wards
including a padded room. The former workhouse buildings no longer
exist. The population of Houghton-le-Spring in 1911 was 8,916
including the 138 persons living in the Houghton-le-Spring Union
Workhouse.
Houghton Feast is the oldest and most traditional yearly festival in
the City of Sunderland. The festival origins date back to the Tudor
times, but the original Feast was said to have dated back to the times
of Bernard Gilpin with the roasting of the oxen There are some people
who would dispute this, as the festival was important as both a
religious and a community event. Houghton Colliery the property of the
Earl of Durham, was opened in 1829 and closed on 26th September 1981.
