Coxhoe is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is situated between Bowburn

Bowburn

Bowburn is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated about to the south-east of Durham, on the A177, between Coxhoe to the south-east, and High Shincliffe to the north-west.It is part of the Cassop-cum-Quarrington parish.- History :...

 and Cornforth

Cornforth

Cornforth is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated a short distance to the north-east of Ferryhill.Before the middle part of the Victorian era, when coal mining was at its height in County Durham, Cornforth was in the parish of Bishop Middleham.Thomas Hutchinson Cornforth is a village...

, a few miles south of Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

.

Coxhoe is also a civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 which also includes nearby Quarrington Hill

Quarrington Hill

Quarrington Hill is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated a short distance to the north of Kelloe.Having been part of the extensive parish of Kelloe, it merged with the village of Cassop during the 19th Century to form the parish of Cassop-cum-Quarrington...

.

There is a large amount of new housing which now makes up around half of the village.

History

The earliest artefact to have been found in the area is a simple Bronze Age

Bronze Age

The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...

 axe. There are few other remains from before the medieval period.

The area only really developed in the medieval period. As well as the village of Coxhoe itself, another, now deserted, village also grew up at Coxhoe East House, but this was probably deserted by the early 15th century.

The modern village of Coxhoe developed during the 18th and 19th centuries, spurred by coal mining, first recorded in 1750. Coxhoe Colliery was sunk in 1827; from 1801 to 1841 the population rose from 117 to 3904. Remains of other elements of the coal industry are still visible nearby. The buildings of Heugh Hall are now part of a farm, and the course of its wagon way is still visible as an earthwork.

Coxhoe had two railway stations, one at the south end and one at the north. There was a pottery at Coxhoe from 1769 producing coarse brown pots, and from 1851 it also began to make clay tobacco pipes. Coxhoe also had its own gasworks, which produced gas from local coal; it was then sent around the village by a system of pipes. Most other coal was transported out of Coxhoe by the Clarence

Port Clarence

Port Clarence is a small village now within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Tees, and hosts the northern end of the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge.-History:...

 Railway.

Coxhoe Hall

Coxhoe Hall was a five-bay, -story house of c. 1725, built for John Burdon, on the site of a Tudor house. This plain, classical residence was later given a Gothic trim, with battlements and pointed windows. Poet Elizabeth Barrett-Browning spent her childhood there.

The earlier medieval house on the site belonged to the Blakiston Family from c.1400 to 1600, and afterwards to the Kennets and the Earls of Seaforth. John Burdon, responsible for rebuilding the house, also created the landscape gardens at Hardwick Hall

Hardwick Hall Country Park

Hardwick Hall County Park is a park located in County Durham near Sedgefield. It is registered with the Register of Parks and Gardens as a II* site, which indicates that a park is "of exceptional historic interest."-History:...

, near Sedgefield. The house was bought by the East Hetton Colliery Company in 1938 and was used to house Italian and German prisoners-of-war in WW2. The hall was condemned as unsafe by the National Coal Board and demolished in 1956, leaving the ground plan and service yard still visible. Cellars are now filled with rubble and appear to contain much decorative plaster work from the demolished structure. The drive and gate posts still remain, as does a walled garden to the north-east which is now much overgrown.

Sport

Coxhoe Athletic FC compete in the Wearside league and play their home games in Beechfield Park.

Coxhoe Working Mens Club FC play in the Durham District Sunday league with their home games being played on the pitch next to Coxhoe leisure centre.

The cricket first and second teams have had varying success over the years.

The darts team is recognised as one of the best semi-professional teams in the country , and included world BDO darts finalist Phil Nixon.