Oakenshaw, County Durham
Encyclopedia
Oakenshaw is a village in County Durham
, in England
. It is situated to the north of Willington
.
The village was purely a colliery village built for workers at the pit owned by Messrs. Straker & Love. Sinking started in 1855 but definite opening and closing dates are unknown. No disasters of 5 or more people killed were ever recorded but 43 people in total are known to have been killed working at the pit.
Once the pit was closed down the village suffered, losing its school and chapels, and several rows of housing were demolished. Housing that was left are now in private ownership and newer housing has been built in the village. The pit was re-opened from 1991 till 1993 but did little to improve the village's economy. Between this point and the millennium the Working Men's Club also closed down, with rumours of a new owner or new housing being built before the building burned down around 2002 due to arson. New housing was built in its place leaving Oakenshaw without a club or pub.
The village is home to a large public open field at one end of the village, it runs parallel to New Row and boasts a small football pitch and playing area. After the closure of the mine a Wildlife Reserve area was set up consisting of woodland and pond areas where the mine used to be situated.
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...
, in 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 to the north of Willington
Willington, County Durham
Willington is a former-pit town in County Durham, England. It is in the foothills of the Pennines and near the River Wear close to Crook and Bishop Auckland. Like many communities in the area, Willington's economy was largely based on coal mining. The closure of the colliery in 1967 therefore hit...
.
The village was purely a colliery village built for workers at the pit owned by Messrs. Straker & Love. Sinking started in 1855 but definite opening and closing dates are unknown. No disasters of 5 or more people killed were ever recorded but 43 people in total are known to have been killed working at the pit.
Once the pit was closed down the village suffered, losing its school and chapels, and several rows of housing were demolished. Housing that was left are now in private ownership and newer housing has been built in the village. The pit was re-opened from 1991 till 1993 but did little to improve the village's economy. Between this point and the millennium the Working Men's Club also closed down, with rumours of a new owner or new housing being built before the building burned down around 2002 due to arson. New housing was built in its place leaving Oakenshaw without a club or pub.
The village is home to a large public open field at one end of the village, it runs parallel to New Row and boasts a small football pitch and playing area. After the closure of the mine a Wildlife Reserve area was set up consisting of woodland and pond areas where the mine used to be situated.