Sacriston is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England, situated north of the city of Durham.

Although the area has been populated since the Bronze Age, the first recorded settlement dated back to the 13th century to Sacristan's Heugh. According to old maps it was once known as "Segerston Heugh" and is now known to local people as "Segga". This farm and manor house was once the residence of the Sacristan, a monk who held the Office of the Sacristan of the monastery at Durham Cathedral. The Sacristan was responsible for providing everything necessary for the services of the Cathedral: bread and wine, the vestments etc. He was also responsible for repairs to Durham Cathedral. The funds for carrying out the official duties were generated from the estate of Sacristan's Heugh which was finally demolished shortly after World War Two.

Mining History

Sacriston Colliery shaft was sunk in 1838 and by the 1890s the pit employed 600 men, producing 1,000 tons of coal a day.

Disaster of 1903

On the 16th of November 1903, water poured into the mine workings of the 'Busty' Seam. The rising water killed two miners: John Whittaker, and Thomas McCormick. During the incident rescuers stumbled on another miner: 'Richardson' was found standing on his container having been stranded for over 90 hours. The unfolding story made for headlines around the world. Decades later workers stumbled on the skeleton of one of the pit ponies that died during the accident and a full tub of coal that still bore the miners name, he then received his back pay

Disaster of 1940

On December 4 1940, a fall of stone on one of the work areas killed 5 miners they were: ::::Joseph Welsh, 45 ::::George W. Scott, 37 ::::William Richardson, 54 ::::William Smith, 35 ::::John William Britton, 47

Decline and eradication of mining

As a result of the exhaustion of thick coal seams, only 1,500 tons of best quality coal was being produced a week in 1975. The last coal production was on 15th of November 1985 and the colliery closed on 28th December 1985.

As in many mining areas, the loss of the 'pit' led to significant unemployment and related social problems. Sacriston narrowly avoided D classification in 1985 due to social deprivation and general poor quality of housing.

Little evidence of the mining operations now remains, with the area around the former coal mine having been landscaped and turned into woodland. A few mining-related buildings do survive, the largest of which is now used as a depot for the local authority's refuse vehicles, while the foundations of demolished mine buildings can be seen in places in the new woodland.

Life in Sacriston today

More than 25 years since the closure of its last coal mine, the village retains a strong sense of community. Recently, a new community centre has opened, and the village has started to shake off its coal mining past. The village has a Post Office along with a large number of shops for a village of its size, including a Co-op supermarket, two other mini-marts, a greengrocer, newsagent, off-licence many take aways and others, as well as a branch of Lloyds TSB Bank. On 13/12/2010 a milestoe for the village was achieved when Tesco opened a local express branch in the village, effectively putting hugely unpopular local shop owner Kez out of business.

There are also a couple of social clubs and similar organisations including Sacriston Working Mens Club and a Roman Catholic social club, cricket club and three public houses,'The Robin Hood'AKA "The Pitts", "The Shoes" and 'The Daisy Hill'. The other pub, 'The Village Inn' is now closed.

Education

The village has two infant schools,1 junior school, a Roman Catholic primary school, and Fyndoune Community College a secondary school.

The Junior School

Sacriston junior school is a school that has been quoted by ofsted as having "a well deserved reputation for being inclusive, friendly and welcoming....The school exels in the personal development of its pupils and the high quality of care, guidance and support it provides."

Public Services

A new health centre, which includes a dental practice as well as a GP surgery, was officially opened by Sir Bobby Robson in 2008. This facility was constructed on the site of the village's former swimming baths, which closed in the 1990s.

In July 2009 the Northern Integrative Health Practice (NIHP Sacriston Practice) opened in the vacated GP surgery building on Sacriston Crossroads. Offering services that complement traditional healthcare, the newly renovated building will also include an out-patients centre for Sunderland Eye Infirmary from January 2010.

Sport

Sport in the village consists of a village cricket team who play in the Northumberland and Tyneside senior league and have a 1st, 2nd and 3rd XI, along with under 11's, 13's, 15's and 18's. The village also has two football teams which play on a Sunday - Sacriston Working Mens Club FC., and Sacriston Colliery Cricket Club FC. Both play in the Durham Stephy Coaches League with the Cricket Club playing in the Premier and the WMC in the first division

Sacriston Colliery Cricket Club FC now provides an outlet for villagers from all backgrounds to come together for a single cause. Manages by local celebrity Richard Hilton the team has gradually worked its way through the levels of local football.

Now sitting in the Premier League however Hilton has experienced hard times. A poor start to the season has left his position under threat amidst rumours he has "lost the dressing room". Only time will tell if Hilton han recapture the magic of the past 5 seasons and guide the club to safety. Failure to do so and he genuinely could be the next manager to end up on the "managerial scrap heap"

Notable people

Melvyn Betts (born 1975), ex Durham, Warwickshire and Middlesex cricketer, born in Sacriston.

Ian Hunter (cricketer) (born 1979), ex Durham and Now Derby cricketer, born in Sacriston

Wendy Craig (born 1934), English actress, born in Sacriston

Sir Bobby Robson (1933-2009), football player and manager, born in Sacriston

Kevan Jones (born 1964), Member of Parliament for the area, and a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence, lives in Sacriston, where he also has his constituency office.

Stuart Phillips (born 1983), Member of the 2008 Olympic Boxing team picking up a Silver medal in the Super Heavyweight Division. He is also an ambassador for the England 2018 World Cup bid.

Ben Brown (born 1986) BBC news reporter was born in Sacriston.

Craig Robertson (born 1992) The youngest individual in the UK to be awarded an ASBO.

References

External links

Report of the mining accident of 1903

Sacriston Methodist Church

Community and local history website

Sacriston Colliery Band

Sacriston Colliery

Sacriston Cricket Club

NIHP Sacriston Practice

Category:Villages in County Durham

Name	Wendy Craig
Birth date	June 20, 1934
Birth place	Sacriston, County Durham, England
Spouse	Jack Bentley (1955-94)
Baftaawards	Best Television Actress1969 Not In Front of The Children

Wendy Craig (born 20 June 1934) is a BAFTA Award winning English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms Butterflies, ...And Mother Makes Three and ...And Mother Makes Five. She currently plays the recurring role of Matron in popular TV series The Royal.

Biography

She was born in Sacriston, County Durham and attended Durham High School for Girls, which she re-visited on October 13, 2007 when she opened a new building named after her. She began her career in British films at the end of the 1950s, and appeared in films such as The Servant (1963) and The Nanny (1965) with Bette Davis, but it was in British sitcoms of the late 1960s and 1970s which led to her becoming a household name, usually playing a scatty middle-class housewife. She went from the BBC's Not in Front of the Children (1967) to ITV's ...And Mother Makes Three (1971) (in which she played a single parent), which later evolved into ...And Mother Makes Five. Then came Butterflies (1978), a comedy on BBC2, in which Craig's character was given more depth than in the earlier series.

Wendy Craig returned to drama with the series Nanny in 1981 - a show she created herself - and currently plays a hospital matron in ITV's The Royal. However, she continues to be associated with comedy, having taken one of the leading roles as Annie in Brighton Belles, the UK's short-lived version of The Golden Girls.

She appeared as Reggie's mother in the BBC1 comedy Reggie Perrin (2009 Series 1, 2010 Series 2), an update of the 1970s series The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.

Personal life

She was married to Jack Bentley from 1955 until his death in 1994. They had two sons and one daughter. In 2004, it was revealed that her second son was the result of a short affair with John Mortimer.

Selected filmography

The Secret Place (1957)

Room at the Top (1959)

The Mind Benders (1963)

The Servant (1963)

The Nanny (1965)

Just Like a Woman (1967)

I'll Never Forget What's'isname (1967)

Joseph Andrews (1977)

Sources and references

External links

Wendy Craig at the Museum of Broadcast Communications

Category:1934 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the Central School of Speech and Drama Category:Alumni of Teesside University Category:English film actors Category:English television actors Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:People from Sacriston