Newsletter April 2015. Issue No 1.
Coxhoe Pottery development.
Archaeological investigation must be carried out as part of the planning permission.
The firm employed to do this have been in touch via our website asking for a copy of any information we have and have also commenting on how good the website is!
We have replied sending the information and asking if there is any chance of community involvement. They have referred us to Durham County Council Archaeology department.
We have spoken to them and they will ensure that we will be as involved as possible. At the moment the site is contaminated with asbestos. If it is not possible to be actively involved in digging there will be a presentation to the group/community on the results and possible a presentation at next years DCC Archaeology Day. They have also asked us to forward our information about the pottery.
Traders
New Shop Fronts
Recent work uncovered old shop fronts – note the beautiful woodwork at the top of the shop
G R Smith family still run a hardware shop in the village - Coxhoe Timber Services – in another premises.
GR Smith family own both of the premises above.
GR Smith shop is now a bakery with Andersons of Bowburn being long time proprietors and the other shop, Gladstone Motors, specialising in spare parts for the classic, but no longer manufactured Ford Capri, along with everyday motoring spares.
Village Atlas Project
A while ago we requested and received a quotation for a Village Atlas projectbut did not proceed with it because we thought we did not have the ability or support to manage such a large project.
More recently we have requested and received a quotation from Durham University for a project to ‘Geophys’ Coxhoe Hall Lawn to try and find out more about the areas past. Progress with this was delayed because we were working on the WW1 project.
The ‘Coxhoe Village Green’ project, which is led by the Parish Council/Community Partnership, has now been extended and become a ‘Coxhoe Heritage Education and Learning Project’ – this will also give more opportunity of accessing funding. We suggested that the two projects might be included.
Grace, the development worker helping with the Village Green project, suggested that these might be done through the Durham County Council Limestone Landscapes Project who have completed Village Atlases for a number of other villages. John, Barbara and Ian Forster (Coxhoe Partnership) met with Tony Devos, the Project Leader for Limestone Landscapes to find out more. Tony has now made a presentation to the Parish Council and they have agreed to taking this forward.
The Village Atlas Project would/could include:
- Re-building the limestone wall between Browns Close and the Green.
- Geophys of Coxhoe Hall Lawn
- Identifying heritage buildings in the village
- Geological features
- Hydrology of the area
- Environmental features
- Identify, preserving, enhancing heritage structures eg WW2 Pill Box, Limestone Kilns, War Memorials
- History of Local industries
Specialists would be employed to work with local people and groups on each activity. The results would be recorded and produced professionally and presented in booklets, on the internet and in a full Village Atlas document-the ones shown to us were very comprehensive and impressive - A4 size colour over 1” thick.
The Limestone Landscape Group will deliver Atlas for 10 villages in total and they will make a funding application to the Heritage Lottery. Approx £4k would be needed towards the Coxhoe Atlas which the Parish Council will find.
Planning, preparation and acquiring funding is expected to take up to June 2016 and the project will then be spread over a 3 year period. All activities will be open to Coxhoe residents and groups. Coxhoe History Group will be closely involved in the project.
The Medal Tin Mystery
At one of the very earliest meetings of Coxhoe Local History group in March 2008, village resident and member of the group Paul Taylor brought along a tin of WW1 memorabilia relevant to his family. Amongst the collection was a British War medal inscribed Stoker. 4663S. Parks, William. Royal Naval Reserve, ofwhich Paul was unable to make any family connection and was a complete mystery has to how it came to be amongst a family connection.
Our own research revealed that William Parks had been a Stoker on HMS Hampshire which sank on 5 June 1916 having struck a mine off the Orkneys, has it steamed towards the Russian port of Archangel on a diplomatic mission. 633 lives were lost, including General Lord Kitchener and his staff amongst them
We asked questions on The Great War Forum in a bid to solve the mystery but received only speculative answers, no concrete evidence and hit a wall.
On Tuesday 31st March 2015, Nicola Dodsworth, Village Hall secretary received a message on her answer phone from a chap who was interested to find out about William Parks as part of his own family research. Nicola contacted Jack Turton, Chair of the History Group to see if he could help out with the enquiry.
David Bark is a retired Fireman from Sunderland and is the Great Nephew of William Parks, his Grandmother and William being brother and sister. David during his search had entered William Parks name into an internet search engine and found the question we posed on The Great War Forum. Jack Turton spoke with David on Tuesday evening and discovered that Williams Memorial Plaque “Death Penny” was in David’s possession and he can recall it being in the family when he was a child. Same name, same service number, same rank. He told Jack that the Parks family originated from Middlebrough but that his Grandmother had moved to Sunderland at the age of 15 and had remained in the area. David himself is a former soldier and plays the bagpipes, often visiting Belgium to play the pipes at the Menin Gate in Ypres.
Jack has contacted Paul Taylor and passed on David’s telephone number so that the two of them can discuss the issues and try to solve a mystery that puzzles both of them. Perhaps the greatest outcome would be that the medal is reunited with the family and takes pride of place alongside the memorial plaque.
We’ll keep you informed of the outcome.
The Church School
If you’ve passed through St Mary’s Church yard recently you may have noticed how much lighter it seems behind the stone wall in what was the yard of the former Church School.
All of the trees that had grown over the years have been cut down and cleared out giving a much better view of the building itself.
In recent years the building has been a packaging warehouse and latterly a DIY store. It has fallen into but it’s role in the history of the village remains important to our heritage and it is good to be able to see it exposed more openly.
The latest news is that plans are afoot to demolish it and build houses on the site, and after recently being guitted by a fire, demolition may come sooner than later.
Website Contacts
the history groups website receives enquiries from people far and wide seeking information about Coxhoe and people who may have a connection with the village in the past. The group normally disemminate the messages amongst the members to see if anyone can help and assist those that contact us. Below are some examples of recent contacts.
Durham Light Infantry Museum :-At the DLI Museum we are plannning new workshops about events in Co.Durham during WW1 & WW2 and how it affected civilian life.Do you have information, documents or photos of the Zepplin raid over Kelloe/Quarrington Hill? We are also interested in a Butchers shop in Coxhoe owned by the Seeber family.
Mike Gallagher :-I was reading your articles about Coxhoe during the First World War. I noted that on your War Memorial is a Pte R Thubron who was killed in November 1916 with the East Yorkshire Regiment. I have a pair of medals to 24-948 Pte T W Thubron who was with the 24th or 1st Battalion Tyneside Irish (Northumberland Fusiliers) who was badly wounded on the 1st day of the Somme and later transferred to the Labour Corps. It states on his paperwork that he was from Coxhoe. With such an unusual name he must be related to Pte R Thubron. Tought you might be interested and if you have any information to support my theory. I would be grateful to hear from you.
Richard Gartley :- I live in the US & am unable to visit Coxhoe. My 4th great grandfather Abraham Pearson\'s death certificate shows that in 1844 he died at 1 Ox Close, Coxhoe. I have been unable to find any information about Ox Close . I am curious as to its exact location, what sort of structure it was & whether or not it is still standing. I will appreciate any direction that you can give me.
Ellen Jones:- My mother was the daughter of Robert Attley who lived in the West Hetton inn at the top of Coxhoe . She was born there in1901. I was Ellen Richards and lived in Spennymoor until 1940 . I now live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and am Ellen Jones
Lynne Willis :- I have just found your web site. I am starting to work on my family tree. My great grand father was Isaac Berriman: the butcher in Coxhoe. I gather that he died young , leaving a widow and several children. His oldest daughter Sarah was my grand mother. She appears on the 1901 census, but not on the 1911. Nor does her mother :Rhoda Berriman. I gather she was then probably already in service, aged just 12. Her employer must not have recorded her on their census in 1911. Gran\'s younger sister was called Rhoda after her mother. Her married name was Hudson and she ran the garage in Coxhoe. My gran :Sarah, married Richard Barrass: the blacksmith in West Rainton. Their son Richard was my father.I would appreciate any information you could provide about Isaac Berriman, the butcher.