Stanley, County Durham

History

Some archaeological evidence of possible Iron Age and Roman activity has been found in the Stanley area.

Stanley is referred to in an early thirteenth century episcopal actuma documented decisionof Richard Poore, Bishop of Durham from 1228 to 1237. Dated between 1228 and 1234, it confirms the granting of the vill of Stanley and some land in Durham to William de Kilkenny. |editor-last=Snape |editor-first=M. G. |access-date=27 April 2024

The first printed map of the Bishopric of Durham was created in 1576. Published in 1579 as part of the cartographer Christopher Saxton's county atlas, it shows Stanley as "Standley". |author-link=Christopher Saxton |trans-title=A true and accurate description of the Bishopric of Durham (which is a palatine county). AD 1576 |orig-date=1576 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630201610/https://alteagallery.com/view_product.php?prod_id=PROD100005851 |archive-date=30 June 2022 |url-status=live |access-date=27 April 2024 | author-link=John Speed | access-date=27 April 2024

The 1909 West Stanley Pit Disaster, one of the worst in the history of British coal mining, occurred at West Stanley Colliery on 16 February of that year. |access-date=6 May 2024 |url-access=subscription |access-date=6 May 2024 |url-access=subscription |access-date=6 May 2024 |access-date=20 May 2024 |access-date=20 May 2024 |url-access=subscription

Stanley was served by the Stanhope and Tyne Railway, which had two stations in the town: West Stanley, and Annfield Plain. Both closed in 1955. |author-link=Raymond Butt

Tanfield Lea was the site of the Ever Ready company's largest British battery factory, a major local employer. The factory opened, to much fanfare, in 1968, |url-access=registration |access-date=12 February 2025 |access-date=12 February 2025 |url-access=registration |access-date=12 February 2025

The Stanley Blues Festival took place on the first weekend in August between 1993 and 2007, with appearances by local, national, and international blues artists and other musical acts. Nearly 15,000 people attended in 2002, the event's tenth anniversary. |access-date=12 February 2025 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010807131009/http://www.stanleyblues.co.uk/ |archive-date=7 August 2001

In mid-2023, Stanley Town Council handed back Stanley Civic Hall, the town's long-standing arts venue and community hub, to Durham County Council. |access-date=20 April 2024 |access-date=20 April 2024 |access-date=20 April 2024 |access-date=20 April 2024 |access-date=20 April 2024 |access-date=20 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210094810/https://civichallstanley.co.uk/ |archive-date=10 December 2023 |url-status=live |access-date=20 April 2024

In late 2023, the owners of the Beamish Football Centre training ground |access-date=11 May 2024 |access-date=11 May 2024

Local government

Stanley, whose boundaries have changed over the years, Butler, David (1995), introduction to "Stanley 1895: Old Ordnance Survey Maps (Godfrey Edition), Co Durham Sheet 12.06a" (map), ; Godfrey, Alan (2013), introduction to "Stanley 1915: Old Ordnance Survey Maps (Godfrey Edition), Co Durham Sheet 12.06b" (map), . c. 1:4224. Consett, Co Durham: Alan Godfrey Maps. has successively been part of the Lanchester Poor Law Union (from 1837 onwards); cite web |access-date=23 May 2024 |access-date=23 May 2024 refn|group=lower-alpha|The Stanley Urban District created in 1894 was part a network of boroughs, urban district and rural district councils set up after the formation of Durham County Council in 1889. It comprised West Stanley, Shield Row and South Moor. In 1895, separate urban districts were created for Annfield Plain and Tanfield. cite web |access-date=23 May 2024 cite report |access-date=23 May 2024 cite web |access-date=23 May 2024 refn|group=lower-alpha|Derwentside District was created by amalgamating Stanley Urban District (as created in 1937), Consett Urban District, and Lanchester Rural District. The urban and rural districts were abolished. refn|group=lower-alpha|The reorganisation of 2009 abolished Derwentside and other districts created in 1974.

Stanley is in the UK parliamentary constituency of North Durham. Since July 2024, this has been represented in the House of Commons by Luke Akehurst of the Labour Party.

Town Council

Since 2007, Stanley Town Council has provided the first tier of local government. The council has the statutory right to do whatever it considers will improve the economic, social or environmental well-being of the area. |access-date=23 May 2024 |access-date=23 May 2024

The town council has 20 councillors, elected every four years by electors in the seven parish wards.{{refn|group=lower-alpha| Annfield Plain, Catchgate, Craghead & South Stanley, Havannah, South Moor, Stanley Hall, and Tanfield. |access-date=12 February 2025 |access-date=23 May 2024

County Council

Durham County Council provides the second tier of local government. Eight Stanley town councillors serve on the county council. |access-date=23 May 2024

In May 2024, the county council became part of a new upper tier of local government, the North East Combined Authority, led by Mayor Kim McGuinness of the Labour Party.

Area Action Partnership (AAP)

The Stanley AAP, one of 14 in County Durham, is a non-political organisation and funding body engaged with tackling local issues. It involves members of the public and representatives of Durham County Council and Stanley Town Council, the police, the fire brigade, health, housing, and education providers, business, and voluntary organisations. |access-date=1 June 2024

Economy

The three largest employment sectors for residents in the local area are retail, manufacturing, and health and social work, while the three largest industry groups{{ refn|group=lower-alpha|Covering all businesses registered for VAT. The industry groups are derived from the UK's Standard Industrial Classification.}} for local businesses are construction; professional, scientific, and technical services; and retail.

Retailers in the town centre have faced significant competition from larger retail and leisure destinations elsewhere, including Clifford Road Retail Park, the MetroCentre, and Newcastle and Durham city centres. Online shopping, encouraged by the COVID-19 pandemic, has also changed shopping patterns and contributed to a weakening of footfall.

Stanley's main shopping area, Front Street, is pedestrianised, housing independent shops and chain stores such as Boots. A market is held on Thursdays and Saturdays: cite web |access-date=10 February 2025 cite news |access-date=10 February 2025

There are several prominent buildings in the centre of Stanley that are vulnerable{{refn|group=lower-alpha|For example, in 2008, an arson attack destroyed the Victorian-era former Co-op premises.{{cite news |access-date=5 April 2024

Transport links

Via the A693, Stanley is about 4 miles from Junction 63 of the A1(M) motorway. Stanley Bus Station |access-date=27 January 2025 |access-date=27 January 2025

The nearest Tyne & Wear Metro stations are Felling, Stadium, and Gateshead, each around 8 miles away; all three serve both lines of the Metro's network. The closest railway station, at Chester-le-Street, is on the East Coast Main Line and about 3.5 miles from Stanley.

Newcastle International Airport and the Newcastle International Ferry Terminal are each about 13 miles away.

Schools and libraries

As well as several primary schools, |access-date=27 January 2025 Stanley has two secondary schools: North Durham Academy, and Tanfield School, a specialist science and engineering college. St Bede's Catholic School & Sixth Form College, an academy, is in the nearby village of Lanchester.

There are public libraries in Annfield Plain, South Moor, and at the Louisa Centre in Stanley, with many others in the surrounding area. cite web |access-date=10 February 2025

Leisure and community activities

The C2C Cycle Route skirts Stanley to the north. |access-date=4 April 2024

The Louisa Centre, |access-date=4 April 2024 |access-date=4 April 2024

South Moor Golf Course, lying south of the town and to the west of The Middles, |access-date=28 February 2025}} was founded in 1923 and first operated by the National Coal Board. Redesigned in 1925 by Alister MacKenzie, a famous golf course architect, the course has 18 holes. It has a practice area, a short-game area, a pro shop, and a clubhouse that can host functions. cite web |access-date=28 February 2025

The Stanley Indoor Bowls Centre, with a large arena and grandstand, offers play for people of all ages and abilities. |access-date=13 April 2024

The Venue, a community centre and events space, has facilities for dance and martial arts classes, sports, theatrical productions, concerts, weddings and parties, meetings, and cooking classes. cite web |access-date=28 February 2025 cite web |access-date=28 February 2025

Youth clubs and activities for children

Under the umbrella of SAYC, the Stanley Area Youth Consortium, |access-date=6 May 2024

These include Stanley Young People's Club, focused on the South Stanley and South Moor areas; Oxhill Youth Club, founded in 1962, |access-date=6 May 2024 |access-date=20 April 2024 |access-date=20 April 2024 |access-date=6 March 2024 |access-date=6 May 2024

Notable people

• John Curr (c. 1756–1823), born in West Kyo, managed the Duke of Norfolk's collieries in Sheffield from 1781 to 1801. Several of his technological innovations contributed to the development of the coal-mining industry.
• John Buddle (1773–1843), born in West Kyo, was a prominent mining engineer and entrepreneur who helped improve the safety of coal-mining. His innovations included the use of the Davy Lamp.
• Jonathan Rodham (1843–1917), who lived in Oxhill before emigrating to the US, was Hillary Clinton's great-grandfather.
• Thomas "Tommy" Armstrong (1848–1920), famed as a songwriter and music-hall performer, lived for most of his life in Tanfield Lea. He was known as "The Pitman Poet" and "The Bard of the Northern Coalfield".
• David Horsley (1873–1933), born in Stanley, was a founder of the Hollywood-based US film industry.
• Frank Keegan (?–1916), from West Stanley, was one of the heroes of the 1909 West Stanley Pit disaster and Kevin Keegan's grandfather.
• Michael Heaviside (1880–1939), a miner who lived in Craghead, served in the Durham Light Infantry during the First World War, and in 1917 was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroism during the Battle of Arras.
• Joseph Crawford (1910–1997), born in New Kyo, was a coal miner and trade unionist who became general secretary of NACODS, the National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers (1960–1973), and was president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in 1973. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1971.
• Tom Lamb (1928–2016) was a miner at Craghead Colliery and an artist who sketched and painted the underground life of miners as well as County Durham landscapes.
• Alun Armstrong (born 1946) is an actor from Annfield Plain.
• Micky Horswill (born 1953), from Annfield Plain, is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Sunderland, Manchester City, Plymouth Argyle, Hull City, Happy Valley (Hong Kong) and Carlisle United.
• Kim Darroch (born 1954), from South Stanley, was Britain's ambassador to the United States from 2016 to 2019.
• Mak Wilson (born 1957), from Shield Row, was a puppeteer for Jim Henson's Creature Shop and the BBC, working on films including Labyrinth, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Babe, and Muppets Most Wanted.
• Yvonne Ridley (born 1958), from Stanley, a journalist, author, and politician, was held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan for 11 days in 2001.
• Glenn McCrory (born 1964), from Annfield Plain, was the IBF cruiserweight champion from 1989 to 1990.
• Brian Tinnion (born 1968) is a former Newcastle United and Bristol City footballer from Burnopfield.
• Carly Telford (born 1987), from Tanfield, is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Notts County Ladies F.C., Chelsea, and the England women's national football team.
• Lewis Miley (born 2006), from Stanley, is a professional footballer who plays mainly for Newcastle United and the England under-20 national team.

Memorials and commemorations

Memorials

Pit disasters

There are two memorials to the 1909 West Stanley Pit Disaster: one unveiled in 1913, four years after the event, |access-date=5 May 2024 |access-date=5 May 2024 |access-date=5 May 2024 |access-date=5 May 2024

A memorial to the 1947 Louisa Morrison Pit Disaster was unveiled in 1997 on the fiftieth anniversary of the event,{{cite web |access-date=18 May 2024 |access-date=18 May 2024 cite news |access-date=1 March 2025

Wars

South Moor Memorial Park |access-date=1 June 2024 |access-date=1 June 2024

The war memorial in Annfield Plain Park is inscribed with the names of the 263 men of Annfield Plain who died in WWI and the 66 who died in WWII. |access-date=11 February 2025 |access-date=11 February 2025

The Masonic Hall in Stanley has a plaque commemorating members of the Coronation Lodge who served or were killed in WWI. |access-date=9 June 2024

Commemorations

Armed Forces Day, an official UK event, is observed on the last Saturday in June.

Miners' Sunday, a celebration of Stanley's heritage, |access-date=18 May 2024 |access-date=18 May 2024

Notes

References

References

1. "Parish population 2011".
2. Mills, A. D.. (1996). "A Dictionary of English Place-Names". Oxford University Press.
3. (19 December 2005). "Local Government and Rating Act 1997{{snd}}Petition for a Parish of Stanley".
4. ''[[Historic England]]'': [https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=99636a8f-2ad0-48e0-b2ac-3cd3d3c22915&resourceID=19191 possible Iron Age/Roman ditched enclosure]; [https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=e3d17109-c72c-4d1c-9af2-69662ce593f5&resourceID=19191 coin of Marcus Aurelius (161–180{{nbsp}}AD)]; [https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=54402220-be4c-4314-8799-107f1fadf83d&resourceID=19191 signal station]. [https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/2012/Historic-Environment-Record ''Durham Historic Environment Record'']: [https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=D66796&resourceID=109 possible fortlet]; [https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=D7969&resourceID=109 possible road]. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
5. (2024-06-02). "Your Councillors".
6. [https://ocsi.uk OCSI] for the [[Coalfields Regeneration Trust]] (16 January 2019). [https://archive.org/details/community-insight-stanley-co-durham-2019/ "Community Insight profile for 'Stanley Co Durham' area"] (Report). Retrieved 27 July 2024{{sndvia Internet Archive.
7. Havery, Gavin. (27 April 2015). "Hillary Clinton: From North-East mining stock to American presidential candidate". Northern Echo.
8. Briggs, Caroline. (4 November 2016). "US Election 2016: Hillary Clinton's English mining roots". BBC News.
9. (16 February 2009). "Keegan the hero". Northern Echo.