Tudhoe

TUDHOE is an extensive parish, formed in 1866 from Brancepeth parish, and is bounded on the north by the river Wear; the parish consists of the townships of TUDHOE and TUDHOE COLLIERY and parts of the townships of FERRY HILL and MERRINGTON, in the Mid division of the county, Durham petty sessional division, union and county court district, north-west division of Darlington ward, rural deanery and archdeaconry of Auckland and diocese of Durham, 5 miles from Durham, 5 north-east from Bishop Auckland, and 1 north from Spennymoor railway station. The church of the Holy Innocents, erected in 1866, at a cost of £1,800, is a building of stone, in a modern Gothic style, consisting of chancel, nave, south porch and a turret containing one bell: the cast window, with three others on the north and one on the south side of the chancel are stained : the latter is a memorial to George Ormston, of Tudhoe Grange, and Mary, his wife, and to Fanny, their daughter, wife of Thomas Black, d. Jan. 18, 1862, and her children : the church will seat 433 persons. The register dates from the year 1866. The living is a vicarage, yearly value £300, with residence, in the gift of the Dean and Chapter of Durham, and held since 1883 by the Rev. Samuel McKinnon Thompson M.A. Trinity College, Dublin. Tudhoe Grange is an ecclesiastical parish, formed May 30, 1884, mainly out of the parish of Tudhoe and partly out of the parish of St. Paul, Spennymoor. The church of St. Andrew, erected in the year 1884 at a cost of £3,000, is a building of stone, in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave north aisle, west porch and an octagonal embattled tower, with short spire, containing one bell : there are sittings for 350 persons. The register dates from the year 1884. The living is a vicarage/ yearly value £300, with house, in the gift of the Bishop of Durham, and held since 1884 by the Rev. Enos Fenton L.Th. of Hatfield hall, Durham. The chapel of ease at Tudhoe is an iron building, erected in 1880, at a cost of £570, and will seat 300 persons: it is served by the clergy of St. Andrew's, There is a Catholic chapel, dedicated to St. Charles, with a burial ground, and a residence for the priest; attached to the chapel is a Catholic Orphan Home for 40 children, conducted by the Sisters of Mercy of the Sacred Heart. There are Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist and Presbyterian chapels. The Temperance Hall situated in Mount Pleasant, is a large building. The Park Hotel, situated at Tudhoe Grange has pleasant recreation grounds. At Tudhoe colliery, in the centre of the village, is a memorial cross, sculptured with bas-reliefs to the men and boys who lost their lives in the lamentable explosion at Tudhoe colliery, April 18th, 1882. erected by their fellow-workmen. The Weardale Iron and Coal Company Limited have very extensive works hero, which form the chief support of the parish. The acreage forming the district is Tudhoe, 5,007; Merrington, 718; Ferry Hill, 1,130: total, 6,855. Tudhoe township, rateable value, £19,758; the population in 1881 was, township, 7,585; ecclesiastical pariah, 9,688. POST & M.O.O., S.B. & Annuity & Insurance Office, Tudhoe Colliery.- Wm. Harker, receiver. Letters arrive from Spennymoor at 7.45 a.m.; dispatched at 6 p.m. Spennymoor is the nearest telegraph office. INSURANCE AGENT.- Yorkshire Fire & Life, William Barker, Tudhoe Colliery SCHOOLS:— A School Board of 9 members was formed Feb. 11, 1876, for the united district of Ferry Hill, Merrington, Spennymoor, Tudhoe & Whitworth; T.D. Bruce, Bishop Auckland, clerk to the board. Board (mixed), Tudhoe Colliery, built in 1875, for 700 children; average attendance, 350; Lot Squire, master; Miss Annie Brown, infants' mistress. Board, Mount Pleasant (mixed & infants), built in 1879, for 550 children; average attendance, 450: Anthony Charlton, master; Miss Amy Smith, mistress; Miss Jane Wharton, infants’ mistress. National, Mount Pleasant (mixed & infants), built in 1869, for 440 children; average attendance, 316; Thompson. Raine, master; Miss Frances Milner, mistress; Miss Ellen Raine, infants' mistress. Catholic, Tudhoe Grange, built in 1875, 513 children; average attendance, 363; Miss Annie Osborne, mistress; Miss Mary Ann Dunn, infants’ mistress. Wesleyan, Mount Pleasant (mixed), built in 1874, for 350 children; average attendance, 300; Thomas Hall, master; Miss Ellen Armitage, mistress. Wesleyan, Tudhoe Iron Works. Tudhoe Grange (mixed), built in 1860, for 220 children; average attendance, 200; Levi Hewitt, master.

Back to top ^