West Kyo (also known locally as Old Kyo) is a small village 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...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. The name 'kyo' is derived from an old word for 'cow'. It is situated a very short distance to the north of Annfield Plain

Annfield Plain

Annfield Plain is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated on a plateau between the towns of Stanley, to the north-east, and Consett, to the west. According to the 2001 census, Annfield Plain has a population of 3,569. Along with much of the surrounding area, Annfield Plain's...

 and to the east of Catchgate

Catchgate

Catchgate is a former mining village in County Durham, England. It has a population of approximately 3,000 people.Its nearest town is Stanley, also a former coal mining community...

. Close by are East Kyo

East Kyo

East Kyo is a small hamlet in County Durham, in England. It is situated a short distance to the west of Stanley, close to Annfield Plain, West Kyo, Oxhill and Harperley. The hamlet of East Kyo consists of two farms and East Kyo House, a former public house....

 and to the north, Harperley

Harperley

Harperley is a small village in County Durham, England. It is situated between Tantobie to the north east, Tanfield Lea to the east, Stanley to the south, East Kyo to the south east and Catchgate, West Kyo and Annfield Plain to the west....

. The nearest large town is Stanley

Stanley, County Durham

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....

. The skyline is dominated by the Pontop Pike Television Transmitter

Pontop Pike Television Transmitter

The Pontop Pike transmitting station is a facility for telecommunications and broadcasting situated on a high hill of the same name, between Stanley and Consett, County Durham, near the village of Dipton, England. The mast is high, giving average antenna height of above sea level...

 to the northwest.

The main landmark of the village is the Earl Grey Inn public house, with an internal decor of wooden beams and whitewash walls. This pub is reputed to be haunted by a ghost called 'The Grey Lady', a former landlady who died in the 19th century. Another former landlord also placed five and ten pence pieces in gaps within the wooden beams during the 1990s, some of which are still being found to this day. The pub is known locally for a quiz night on Thursdays and karaoke

Karaoke

is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...

 on Saturdays.

The village developed during former periods of heavy coal mining in the area during the 19th century and a gas works used to be situated on its northern edge. A period of substantial decline followed during the 20th century, during which the village lost a school, a local shop and a second public house called The Rose Cottage, which had an 'ale only' license (now converted to a house). New developments starting in the late 1980s onwards have, however, seen a recent expansion in the village in terms of size and population.

Famous People

West Kyo was the birthplace of John Buddle

John Buddle

John Buddle was a self- made mining engineer in North East England, becoming one of the leading mining engineers of his day...

 (1773), the famous colliery viewer and mining engineer, who later went on to work with the Marquess of Londonderry in the development of Seaham

Seaham

Seaham, formerly Seaham Harbour, is a small town in County Durham, situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. It has a small parish church, St Mary the Virgin, with a late 7th century Anglo Saxon nave resembling the church at Escomb in many respects. St Mary the Virgin is regarded as one of...

Harbour.

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