HOUGHTON-LE-SPRING

'Houghton-le-Spring' (pronounced ) is a former mining town in North East England. It is situated between Newbottle, County Durham and Hetton-le-Hole and lies about 6 miles (13 km) to the North East of Durham.
The earliest mention of the town's name is in the Boldon Buke (Book) in 1183 as 'Hoctona'. An English transcription states:
"In Houghton are thirteen cottagers, whose tenures, works and payments are like those of Newbotill; and three other half cottagers, who also work like the three half cottagers of Newbotill. Henry the greeve, holds two oxgangs of 24 acres for his service. The smith - 12 acres for his service. The carpenter holds a toft and 4 acres for his service. The punder (one who impounds straying animals) has 20 acres and the thraves of Houghton, Wardon and Morton; he renders 60 hens and 300 eggs. The mills of Newbotill and Bidic, with half of Raynton Mill, pay XV marks. The demesne, consisting of four carucates, and the sheep pastures are in the hands of the lord".
An ancient document dated 1220 describes the town as 'Houghton Sprynges'.
The name Houghton comes from the Old English ''hoh'' meaning hill and ''tun'' meaning settlement. In 1311 the village was owned by Albreda, widow of Lord Henry Spring, hence the addition of 'le spring'.
The above explanation of the addition of ‘le Spring’ is debatable and there are alternatives. One opinion is that it is derived from the Le Spring family, Lords of Houghton in ancient times. Another explanation, which is backed up by a “Regester Booke belonginge to the Paryshe of Houghton in the Springe” from 1598, is based around the medicinal springs which flow from the surrounding limestone rocks.
(This latter explanation ties in with the Roman names in the area in which "le" is taken to be "in the" as in Chester-le-Street, Witton-le-Wear, Dalton-le-Dale, Hetton-le-Hole)
The parish church of St Michael and All Angels dates back to Norman times and contains the tomb of Bernard Gilpin, known as 'the Prophet of the North'. Gilpin was Archdeacon of Durham and in 1557 became the rector at Houghton-le-Spring, which at that time was one of the largest parishes in England.
The A690 from Durham to Sunderland meets the A182 in Houghton at an unusual interchange. Heading northeast, slip roads leave the A690, heading up to a roundabout, while the A690 climbs and travels above a second roundabout, before the entry slip joins the A690 itself. Aerial photo
Houghton -Le- Spring's main shopping area is located in Newbottle Street which includes a supermarket, a library, the Post Office and various other retail outlets.
Pubs in Houghton-Le-Spring include The White Lion, The Britannia and The Golden Lion which reportedly has stood for almost 300 years.

Contents

Famous people from Houghton-le-Spring

External links

Villages in the Houghton-le-Spring postal District

Fence houses

Famous people from Houghton-le-Spring

★ Bernard Gilpin (1517-1583)

★ Linden Travers (1913-2001), actress

★ Michael Roseberry (born 1966), cricketer

★ Sheila Quigley (born 1948?), novelist

External links

★ Houghton Feast: The Ancient Festival of Houghton-le-Spring

★ Houghton-le-Spring churchyard burial lists c1730 - 1971

★ Durham Miner Project: Houghton le Spring – A short history

★ GENUKI – Houghton-le-Spring

★ North East England History Pages: North Durham – Chester-le-Street and Washington

Villages in the Houghton-le-Spring postal District

Fence houses

Fence houses came into existence when Napoleonic prisoners were housed on the outskirts of Houghton-le-Spring. The prisoners were used as labour to cut a path through the hill at Houghton-le-Spring in order to get the troops from Durham to the coast at Sunderland. Houghton Cut as it became known has now been expanded to carry a 4 lane road (A690). The place the prisoners were housed was known as "The French Houses" and this later changed to "Fence Houses". The land was originally part of the Grange (a large local manor house). In about 1950, a modern housing estate was added to the village it was called the Grange estate.
The coming of the railway put the village on the map when, in addition to a 4 platform station providing services to Sunderland, Newcasle and Durham, it also brought a stock yard from which local farmers shipped their cattle by train. Being such a major railway station it had its own Station Hotel and Post office. It was not supprising then that Fence Houses had the largest telephone exchange in the area (The Police house at Shiney Row some 4 miles away had the number "Fence Houses 55" in the 1940s). In the 1980s the Fence Houses exchange numbers became the Durham exchange numbers.
The railway struggled due to the advent of widespread post-war motor-car usage, and closed in the mid 1950's. With that, the Stock yard closed, the Post office closed, and the village went into decline. The village lost its cinema in the early 1960s just a few years before Houghton-le-Spring lost its cinemas. While it was never as large as Houghton-le-Spring the railway made the village very important in its own right. Now a historic signal box is the only indication of the railway past of the village. The era of the tram also put Fence Houses in the limelight. It was the terminus of a tram service from Sunderland which was later replaced by the No 95 bus service.
In the post war years Fence Houses became the home of a large YMCA and Sports ground. The swimming pool (Lampton Baths) was demolished around the early 1990s. The village is essentially a single main street cut in two by the path of the old railway line. To the north of the village Grange Estate houses most of the population. There are very few houses with garages or drives in the village so parking is a problem. Pre 1970 there were 3 filling stations in the village there is now 1.
In the last few years a 25 room Hotel opened just South of the village, and at about the same time the Dubmire infants school was demolished. The Village is the home of a thriving Ham Radio club, one of the largest in the North East. The village outskirts are the home of a number of light industrial companies. Fence Houses has an excellent bus service to Hartlepool and Newcastle.