Raisby Quarry
The Carboniferous and Permian limestones of the North Pennines and the East Durham Limestone Plateau have been worked since medieval times for agricultural and building limes, and more recently for refractory products and road stone. Old abandoned quarries are a feature of both landscapes, and large modern quarries continue to work the Limestone Escarpment and…
The Brick, Tile & Pottery Makers of Coxhoe
A legacy of a community that is built upon or near to a limestone escarpment are the natural resources that comes with it. Just one such resource is clay that is suitable for the production of bricks, tiles and earthenware pottery. Scattered around Coxhoe and its outskirts are the scars of an industry long since…
Much Maligned by Lawrence Scollen
Children of the coal mines in the 19th Century This is the sixth of a series of articles on the children who worked in the mines of County Durham during the 19th Century. It was one o’clock on a bright, sunny day, and the stranger making his way along the front street was struck by…
Mining Villages- Coxhoe in the 1840’s
The mining of coal was carried out in the North-east of England from Roman times. The first mines were literally holes in the ground, not very deep, and usually entered by ladders. As the miners burrowed round the inside of the hole, it took on a ‘bell’ shape and these were known as ‘bell pits’.…
The Growth of a Village
The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century brought about changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining and transport. This influenced almost every aspect of daily life. The rural landscape of Coxhoe ‘underwent tumultuous change to serve the needs of industrialization and coalmining’. (Edwards 2004) In 1801 Coxhoe was a small rural hamlet with only 27 houses and…
Coxhoe Local History Group 