Stanley, County Durham
Encyclopedia
Stanley is a former colliery town and civil parish in County Durham
, England
. Centred on a hilltop between Chester-le-Street
and Consett
, the town lies south west of Gateshead
.
Stanley was formerly divided into three distinct settlements — the main town of West Stanley and the mining villages of East Stanley and South Stanley. Through a process of gradual expansion, these have become amalgamated into one town, with East and South Stanley no longer officially used as town names (although they are still recognised colloquially). The village of South Moor
lies to the south.
and Roman
remains have been found in the area. The town's name is derived from the Old English for 'Stoney Field'.
In John Speed
's map of Co.Durham Stanley appears called Standley.
The West Stanley Pit Disaster
, one of the worst coal mining
disasters in British history took place in Stanley at West Stanley Colliery on February 16, 1909 when over 160 people were killed in the Burns Pit disaster.
Over recent decades, Stanley has suffered hard times economically, with the closure of the coal pits followed by the loss of major employers at Ever Ready in nearby Tanfield, as well as the closure of both the British Steel plant and Shotley Bridge General Hospital in the neighbouring town of Consett
. Local businesses in Stanley town centre were also significantly affected by the development of the giant MetroCentre shopping complex in nearby Gateshead, with local trade decreasing as a result.
In 2000, Stanley briefly garnered attention in various national tabloid newspapers as well as BBC Radio 1
's Chris Moyles
Show when local curry house impresario Harresh Ramadan turned his Indian takeaway restaurant on Front Street into a fish-and-chip shop and renamed it Harry Ramadan's, a spoof on the more famous and well-known Harry Ramsden's
chain, with signage in an identical font and colours. The Harry Ramsden's chain sued, citing breach of copyright, with Ramadan backing down shortly after the national publicity had subsided. Soon thereafter, the shop took on new ownership and adopted the new name Jump 4 Joy's before closing down entirely in 2001.
In October 2003, plans by Archer and Rostron Ltd. to convert the derelict King's Head pub into a private sex club to be re-christened The Love Shack caused controversy, with over 500 local residents registering formal objections to the plan. Faced with this opposition, the company dropped its proposals to open a swingers club on the site and instead converted the venue into a hotel and health spa called The Local Spa.
In 2005, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister granted permission to plans to form a Stanley Town Council. This followed a campaign by local people, including a petition of over 2000 names, although this petition only represented 10% of the population that would be covered by the new Town council. Campaigners promised that the new Town Council would increase the pace of regeneration within the town.
In 2008, an arson attack left an historic building on Stanley Front Street in ruins along with a billiards club and several shops below. As of August 2008, the affected buildings were scheduled to undergo demolition. November 2008 saw the demolition of the burnt buildings.
County Council being held by the party. The town lies in the North Durham Parliamentary constituency, which it shares with Chester-le-Street, and is represented at Westminster by Labour MP Kevan Jones
. Prior to 1983 the town formed part of the Consett constituency (now part of North West Durham).
-Gateshead
border to the northeast near the Causey Arch
.
The town's main shopping area, Front Street, is pedestrianized, housing independent shops alongside large chains such as Boots. A market
is held on Front Street on Thursdays and Saturdays. There are also supermarkets such as Asda
and Netto
located within the town. Tesco
will construct a new supermarket on the Clifford Road Retail Complex site, which currently accommodates the Clearance Bargains store and a range of empty buildings that had previously housed Kwik Save
, Safeway
, a furniture shop, and an indoor-market.
Refurbishment of Stanley town centre in recent years has seen the opening of a new solar-powered bus interchange and an extension to the Louisa Centre leisure facility incorporating a new town swimming pool. Future redevelopment will see the opening of a new health centre and a Sure Start children's centre.
s. These are:
The town is also served by St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College
, based in the nearby village of Lanchester
.
However, plans have been drawn to join Stanley School of Technology and Greencroft School to form a new academy to be housed on the Kings Head field.
The Sustrans C2C Cycle Route, a 140-mile (230 km) bicycle route connecting Whitehaven on the west coast of Cumbria to Sunderland on England's north east coast, passes along the southern boundary of Stanley.
The Louisa Centre contains various sport and leisure facilities including a fitness suite, 25-metre swimming pool, a nursery and meeting rooms.
The Lamplight Arts Centre, founded in 1960 and entirely refurbished in 2003, hosts concerts and recitals by local and national musical acts as well as small plays, exhibitions, classes and seminars.
Stanley is renowned for its annual summer playscheme situated at Stanley Youth Centre. This has been running since 1972 and is organised and run by a group of local people, recruiting international volunteers through YAP (Youth Action for Peace). The scheme runs for the first two weeks of the summer holiday, with children participating in games, activities and trips to local cultural and leisure venues.
Stanley Youth Centre offers activities to young people Monday to Friday during school term as well as a summer programme. Located at the top of Tyne Road, facilities include a sports hall, pool table, table tennis, meeting rooms and coffee bar. The range of activities available include DJing, volunteering, Duke of Edinburgh Award, babysitting, first aid and youth work courses.
From 1993 - 2007, the first weekend in August saw a number of local, national and international Blues artists and renowned musical acts descend on the town for the Stanley Blues Festival.
In 2005, The Animals
played a set which went down well with locals and visitors alike. However, as of early 2008, organisers announced that the Festival was to be discontinued due to insufficient funding.
Company and puppeteer of the animatronic version of the piglet Babe
Babe (film)
in the film of the same name.
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...
. Centred on a hilltop between Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street
Chester-le-Street is a town in County Durham, England. It has a history going back to Roman times when it was called Concangis. The town is located south of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of Sunderland on the River Wear...
and Consett
Consett
Consett is a town in the northwest of County Durham, England, about southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is home to 27,394 .Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. In 1841, it was a village community of only 145, but it was about to become a boom town: below the ground was coking coal and...
, the town lies south west of Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
.
Stanley was formerly divided into three distinct settlements — the main town of West Stanley and the mining villages of East Stanley and South Stanley. Through a process of gradual expansion, these have become amalgamated into one town, with East and South Stanley no longer officially used as town names (although they are still recognised colloquially). The village of South Moor
South Moor
South Moor is a village in County Durham, in England. It is located to the south-west of Stanley on the northern slope of the Craghead valley. It is a well-developed village, yet still semi rural, containing a main street of around twelve shops which survive despite their proximity to the front...
lies to the south.
History
Stanley was first mentioned in 1211; however, some neolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
and Roman
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
remains have been found in the area. The town's name is derived from the Old English for 'Stoney Field'.
In John Speed
John Speed
John Speed was an English historian and cartographer.-Life:He was born at Farndon, Cheshire, and went into his father's tailoring business where he worked until he was about 50...
's map of Co.Durham Stanley appears called Standley.
The West Stanley Pit Disaster
West Stanley Pit Disaster
The West Stanley Pit Disaster, also known as the Burns Pit Disaster, was a coal mining disaster that took place in Stanley, Co. Durham, England, on 16 February 1909. More than 160 miners died in the explosion....
, one of the worst coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
disasters in British history took place in Stanley at West Stanley Colliery on February 16, 1909 when over 160 people were killed in the Burns Pit disaster.
Over recent decades, Stanley has suffered hard times economically, with the closure of the coal pits followed by the loss of major employers at Ever Ready in nearby Tanfield, as well as the closure of both the British Steel plant and Shotley Bridge General Hospital in the neighbouring town of Consett
Consett
Consett is a town in the northwest of County Durham, England, about southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is home to 27,394 .Consett sits high on the edge of the Pennines. In 1841, it was a village community of only 145, but it was about to become a boom town: below the ground was coking coal and...
. Local businesses in Stanley town centre were also significantly affected by the development of the giant MetroCentre shopping complex in nearby Gateshead, with local trade decreasing as a result.
In 2000, Stanley briefly garnered attention in various national tabloid newspapers as well as BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles
Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....
Show when local curry house impresario Harresh Ramadan turned his Indian takeaway restaurant on Front Street into a fish-and-chip shop and renamed it Harry Ramadan's, a spoof on the more famous and well-known Harry Ramsden's
Harry Ramsden's
Harry Ramsden's is a fast food restaurant chain based in the United Kingdom which offers fish and chips and assorted themed dishes. The business has 35 owned and franchised outlets throughout the UK and Ireland and serves around four million meals annually....
chain, with signage in an identical font and colours. The Harry Ramsden's chain sued, citing breach of copyright, with Ramadan backing down shortly after the national publicity had subsided. Soon thereafter, the shop took on new ownership and adopted the new name Jump 4 Joy's before closing down entirely in 2001.
In October 2003, plans by Archer and Rostron Ltd. to convert the derelict King's Head pub into a private sex club to be re-christened The Love Shack caused controversy, with over 500 local residents registering formal objections to the plan. Faced with this opposition, the company dropped its proposals to open a swingers club on the site and instead converted the venue into a hotel and health spa called The Local Spa.
In 2005, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister granted permission to plans to form a Stanley Town Council. This followed a campaign by local people, including a petition of over 2000 names, although this petition only represented 10% of the population that would be covered by the new Town council. Campaigners promised that the new Town Council would increase the pace of regeneration within the town.
In 2008, an arson attack left an historic building on Stanley Front Street in ruins along with a billiards club and several shops below. As of August 2008, the affected buildings were scheduled to undergo demolition. November 2008 saw the demolition of the burnt buildings.
Governance
Politically the local authority is dominated by the Labour Party, with 6 of the town's 8 allotted seats on DurhamDurham
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...
County Council being held by the party. The town lies in the North Durham Parliamentary constituency, which it shares with Chester-le-Street, and is represented at Westminster by Labour MP Kevan Jones
Kevan Jones
Kevan David Jones is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for North Durham since 2001.-Early life:...
. Prior to 1983 the town formed part of the Consett constituency (now part of North West Durham).
Geography
The town now stretches into what were formerly neighbouring villages and towns such as Annfield Plain to the west and Beamish and Pelton to the east. This sometimes creates confusion over which local authority is responsible for certain areas, particularly around the DurhamDurham
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...
-Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
border to the northeast near the Causey Arch
Causey Arch
The Causey Arch is a bridge near Stanley in County Durham. It is the world’s oldest surviving railway bridge.It was built in 1725-26 by stonemason Ralph Wood, funded by a conglomeration of coal-owners known as the "'Grand Allies'" at a cost of £12,000...
.
Economy
In recent decades, with the decline of traditional industries and the encroachment of large supermarkets and chain stores, 'Old Stanley' has declined, with many locally-owned shops and pubs closing.The town's main shopping area, Front Street, is pedestrianized, housing independent shops alongside large chains such as Boots. A market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
is held on Front Street on Thursdays and Saturdays. There are also supermarkets such as Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
and Netto
Netto (store)
Netto is a Danish discount supermarket operating in several European countries. Netto is owned by Dansk Supermarked Group, which in turn is partly owned by A.P. Møller-Mærsk Group.Netto also operates an express version of the store, known as Døgn Netto...
located within the town. Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
will construct a new supermarket on the Clifford Road Retail Complex site, which currently accommodates the Clearance Bargains store and a range of empty buildings that had previously housed Kwik Save
Kwik Save
Kwik Save was a discount supermarket chain in the United Kingdom until 2007. Its stores were small to medium sized high street supermarkets, mainly located in areas with below average incomes...
, Safeway
Safeway (UK)
Safeway was a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores in the United Kingdom. It started as a subsidiary of the American Safeway Inc., before being sold off in 1987....
, a furniture shop, and an indoor-market.
Refurbishment of Stanley town centre in recent years has seen the opening of a new solar-powered bus interchange and an extension to the Louisa Centre leisure facility incorporating a new town swimming pool. Future redevelopment will see the opening of a new health centre and a Sure Start children's centre.
Education
As well as a number of primary schools, Stanley contains three secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s. These are:
- Stanley School of TechnologyStanley School of TechnologyStanley School of Technology is a mixed secondary school specialising in technology in Stanley, County Durham, England. It has 710 students....
(in South Stanley - connected to South Stanley Infants and Juniors) - Tanfield SchoolTanfield SchoolTanfield School is a comprehensive school in Stanley, County Durham, England, by the border to Tanfield Lea. Tanfield houses both male and female students from the age of 11 to 16. Tanfield have had constant good Ofsted reports, and support Anti Bully campaigns, and other causes including charity...
, Specialist College of Science and Engineering (in Tanfield next to Stanley) - Greencroft Business and Enterprise Community SchoolGreencroft Business and Enterprise Community SchoolGreencroft School is a comprehensive school in Annfield Plain, County Durham, England. Greencroft houses both male and female students from the ages of 11 to 16. The school has specialist school status as a business and enterprise college...
, Specialist College in nearby Annfield Plain
The town is also served by St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College
St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College
St Bede's Catholic School and Sixth Form College is a school in Lanchester, County Durham, England. The school has specialist school status as a language college...
, based in the nearby village of Lanchester
Lanchester, County Durham
Lanchester is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England, and was in the former district of Derwentside . It is to the west of the city of Durham and from the former steel town of Consett, and has a population of slightly over 4,000 people.Although there was a small drift mine on the...
.
However, plans have been drawn to join Stanley School of Technology and Greencroft School to form a new academy to be housed on the Kings Head field.
Leisure
The Louisa Centre contains various sport and leisure facilities including a fitness suite, 25-metre swimming pool, a nursery and meeting rooms.
The Lamplight Arts Centre, founded in 1960 and entirely refurbished in 2003, hosts concerts and recitals by local and national musical acts as well as small plays, exhibitions, classes and seminars.
Stanley is renowned for its annual summer playscheme situated at Stanley Youth Centre. This has been running since 1972 and is organised and run by a group of local people, recruiting international volunteers through YAP (Youth Action for Peace). The scheme runs for the first two weeks of the summer holiday, with children participating in games, activities and trips to local cultural and leisure venues.
Stanley Youth Centre offers activities to young people Monday to Friday during school term as well as a summer programme. Located at the top of Tyne Road, facilities include a sports hall, pool table, table tennis, meeting rooms and coffee bar. The range of activities available include DJing, volunteering, Duke of Edinburgh Award, babysitting, first aid and youth work courses.
From 1993 - 2007, the first weekend in August saw a number of local, national and international Blues artists and renowned musical acts descend on the town for the Stanley Blues Festival.
In 2005, The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
played a set which went down well with locals and visitors alike. However, as of early 2008, organisers announced that the Festival was to be discontinued due to insufficient funding.
Notable people
- Alun ArmstrongAlun Armstrong (actor)Alun Armstrong is a prolific British character actor. Armstrong grew up in County Durham in North East England. He first became interested in acting through Shakespeare productions at his grammar school. Since his career began in the early 1970s, he has played, in his words, "the full spectrum of...
, actor, from Annfield Plain. - The Horsley Brothers (DavidDavid HorsleyDavid Horsley was an English born pioneer of the movie industry who built the first movie studio in Hollywood....
and William J), the founders of Hollywood as the centre of the US film industry. - Glenn McCroryGlenn McCroryGlenn McCrory was a British professional boxer who held the IBF version of the cruiserweight world championship...
, IBF World boxing champion (1989–1990), from Annfield Plain. - Michael Quinlyn-Nixon, illustrator, from Tanfield Lea.
- Jonathan Roddam II, Hillary Clinton's Great Grandfather
- Yvonne RidleyYvonne RidleyYvonne Ridley is a British journalist, war correspondent and Respect Party activist best known for her capture by the Taliban and subsequent conversion to Islam after release, her outspoken opposition to Zionism, and her criticism of Western media portrayals of the War on Terror...
- Journalist active in the Middle East. Captive of the Taleban - Barry VenisonBarry VenisonBarry Venison is a retired English footballer who enjoyed a successful playing career from 1981 to 1997. He later worked as an television pundit.-Sunderland:...
, former professional footballer and television pundit.
Company and puppeteer of the animatronic version of the piglet Babe
Babe
Babe is generally a slang term of endearment, but may also refer:-Entertainment:* Babe, the title character of the Dick King-Smith book The Sheep-Pig** Babe , a 1995 Australian film based on the book...
Babe (film)
Babe (film)
Babe is a 1995 Australian-American film directed by Chris Noonan. It is an adaptation of the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, also known as Babe: The Gallant Pig in the United States, by Dick King-Smith and tells the story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog...
in the film of the same name.
- Brian TinnionBrian TinnionBrian Tinnion is a British former footballer and ex-manager. He made over 450 appearances for Bristol City, including a spell as player-manager...
, former Newcastle United and Bristol City footballer. - Frank Keegan, one of the heroes of the 1909 West Stanley Burns Pit disaster and Kevin KeeganKevin KeeganJoseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....
's grandfather.