Annfield Plain
Encyclopedia
Annfield Plain is a village in County Durham
, in England
. It is situated on a plateau between the towns of Stanley
, 4 km (2.5 mi) to the north-east, and Consett
, 8 km (5 mi) to the west. According to the 2001 census, Annfield Plain has a population of 3,569http://www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/usp.nsf/Lookup/Derwentside%20Settlement%20Summary%20Sheets%20Numbers/$file/Derwentside+Settlement+Summary+Sheets+Numbers.pdf. Along with much of the surrounding area, Annfield Plain's history lies in coal mining
. While the industry collapsed in the 1980s and 90s, its effects are still apparent both in the landscape and in folk memory
.
Much of the surrounding landscape is rough moorland
, dominated by the nearby Pontop Pike
television mast. Not far from semi-rural Derwentside
, however, is the Tyneside
–Wearside
conurbation
, with Newcastle
20 km (12.4 mi) away, and Sunderland a similar distance. The cathedral city of Durham
is 20 km (12.4 mi) away and offers quite a contrast to the former pit village
s in the area of Annfield Plain.
on the Stanhope and Tyne Railway
of 1834. The engine used by the plane was known as the Anfield Engine because of its proximity to Anfield House, built in the 18th century on nearby Loud Hill. The spelling changed to "Annfield Plain" around 1856, when houses were built for miners on the nearby plateau.
. The village's association with mining
begins in the late 17th century when many shallow mines were dug. The Stanhope and Tyne Railway, laid in 1834, assisted the transportation of coal
. Several limekiln
s were built at this time and were fuelled by local coal, with limestone
being brought in by rail.
Demand for coal increased with the advent of the Industrial Revolution
, and a number of deep pits were sunk over the course of the 19th century. The village grew substantially and light industry increased, including the construction of a brewery
, mill, and candle factory; as well as various services for the population, including a school, church, at least two nonconformist
chapels, and a variety of shops.
In the 19th century Annfield Plain was the scene of a murder, when a man named William Thompson killed his wife. He was hanged
at Durham prison on 5 January 1874.³
, most of Annfield Plain is made up of housing, a few run down shops and several pubs
. The local Co-op
supermarket
was commonly known as the Disco, an allusion to its former name: the Annfield Plain Co-op and Discount Electricals. The supermarket was converted to a Tesco store in October 2007. The original Annfield Plain co-operative store was dismantled and rebuilt at the nearby Beamish Open Air Museum
in the late 1980s. The site of the village's main pit, the Busty, is now a privately owned coach garage.
Its proximity to the major centres of the North East of England has in recent years attracted residents from Newcastle and Gateshead
to move out to escape the city. This has had the consequence of pushing up house prices, long among the cheapest in Britain
, which had been both a boon and burden to locals.
parliamentary constituency, which as of 2005 is represented in parliament
by Kevan Jones
(Labour). It is in the North East England
region, which serves as a constituency for the European Parliament
.
The local police force is Durham Constabulary
. Annfield Plain is in the Derwentside division and its nearest police station is in Catchgate
Surrounding Annfield Plain and effectively joined to it are several other villages:
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 on a plateau between the towns of 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....
, 4 km (2.5 mi) to the north-east, 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...
, 8 km (5 mi) to the west. According to the 2001 census, Annfield Plain has a population of 3,569http://www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/usp.nsf/Lookup/Derwentside%20Settlement%20Summary%20Sheets%20Numbers/$file/Derwentside+Settlement+Summary+Sheets+Numbers.pdf. Along with much of the surrounding area, Annfield Plain's history lies in 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,...
. While the industry collapsed in the 1980s and 90s, its effects are still apparent both in the landscape and in folk memory
Folk memory
Folk memories is a term sometimes used to describe stories, folklore or myths about past events that have passed orally from generation to generation. The events described by the memories may date back hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years and often have a local significance...
.
Much of the surrounding landscape is rough moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
, dominated by the nearby Pontop Pike
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...
television mast. Not far from semi-rural Derwentside
Derwentside
Derwentside was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in County Durham, England.The district took its name from the River Derwent, which made up part of the northern border of the district. Its main towns were Consett and Stanley, with the district council offices on Consett's Medomsley...
, however, is the Tyneside
Tyneside
Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...
–Wearside
Wearside
Wearside is an area of north east England, centred on the continuous urban area formed by Sunderland, Seaham and other settlements by the River Wear. Mackems is a nickname used for the people of Wearside....
conurbation
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
, with Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
20 km (12.4 mi) away, and Sunderland a similar distance. The cathedral city of Durham
Durham
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...
is 20 km (12.4 mi) away and offers quite a contrast to the former pit village
Pit village
A pit village is a term used in the UK for the village serving a deep coal mine.Many of the workers lived in houses that were provided by the colliery. Many villages have experienced depopulation after colliery closures forced people to move to other towns and cities where there are jobs for them...
s in the area of Annfield Plain.
Name
"Anfield", as the name was originally appears to derive from "the fields of An", referring to a man who lived before the Norman Conquest. The "Plain" part of the name was originally "Plane" and appears to refer originally not to the plateau on which the village stands but to the inclined planeInclined plane
The inclined plane is one of the original six simple machines; as the name suggests, it is a flat surface whose endpoints are at different heights. By moving an object up an inclined plane rather than completely vertical, the amount of force required is reduced, at the expense of increasing the...
on the Stanhope and Tyne Railway
Stanhope and Tyne Railway
The Stanhope and Tyne Railway was opened in 1834 from Stanhope, in County Durham, UK, to Tyne Dock in South Shields, via Consett. It originally provided a link between the limestone quarries at Stanhope and coal mines at Stanhope for the production of lime, with an outlet to the Tyne down river of...
of 1834. The engine used by the plane was known as the Anfield Engine because of its proximity to Anfield House, built in the 18th century on nearby Loud Hill. The spelling changed to "Annfield Plain" around 1856, when houses were built for miners on the nearby plateau.
History
The earliest hard evidence of habitation in the area comes from the 16th century, when the main economic activity was sheep farmingAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. The village's association with mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
begins in the late 17th century when many shallow mines were dug. The Stanhope and Tyne Railway, laid in 1834, assisted the transportation of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. Several limekiln
Limekiln
A lime kiln is used to produce quicklime through the calcination of limestone . The chemical equation for this reaction is...
s were built at this time and were fuelled by local coal, with limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
being brought in by rail.
Demand for coal increased with the advent of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, and a number of deep pits were sunk over the course of the 19th century. The village grew substantially and light industry increased, including the construction of a brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
, mill, and candle factory; as well as various services for the population, including a school, church, at least two nonconformist
Nonconformism
Nonconformity is the refusal to "conform" to, or follow, the governance and usages of the Church of England by the Protestant Christians of England and Wales.- Origins and use:...
chapels, and a variety of shops.
In the 19th century Annfield Plain was the scene of a murder, when a man named William Thompson killed his wife. He was hanged
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom was used from the creation of the state in 1707 until the practice was abolished in the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom, by hanging, took place in 1964, prior to capital punishment being abolished for murder...
at Durham prison on 5 January 1874.³
Present day
While there is some light industryIndustry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
, most of Annfield Plain is made up of housing, a few run down shops and several pubs
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
. The local Co-op
The Co-operative Group
The Co-operative Group Ltd. is a United Kingdom consumer cooperative with a diverse range of business interests. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the world, with over 5.5 million members, who all have a say in how the business is...
supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
was commonly known as the Disco, an allusion to its former name: the Annfield Plain Co-op and Discount Electricals. The supermarket was converted to a Tesco store in October 2007. The original Annfield Plain co-operative store was dismantled and rebuilt at the nearby Beamish Open Air Museum
Beamish Museum
Beamish, The North of England Open Air Museum is an open-air museum located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, County Durham, England. The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural North East England at the climax of industrialisation in the early...
in the late 1980s. The site of the village's main pit, the Busty, is now a privately owned coach garage.
Its proximity to the major centres of the North East of England has in recent years attracted residents from Newcastle and 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...
to move out to escape the city. This has had the consequence of pushing up house prices, long among the cheapest in Britain
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...
, which had been both a boon and burden to locals.
Administration
Annfield Plain is located in the County Durham unitary authority area. As of 2005 it is represented on the County Council by Michele Hodgson (Labour). The village is part of the North DurhamNorth Durham (UK Parliament constituency)
North Durham is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
parliamentary constituency, which as of 2005 is represented in parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
by 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:...
(Labour). It is in the North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
region, which serves as a constituency for the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
.
The local police force is Durham Constabulary
Durham Constabulary
Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of County Durham and the unitary authority of Darlington. The force covers the 2,232 km² of the county which has a resident population of 595,308. It is one of the smaller forces of the...
. Annfield Plain is in the Derwentside division and its nearest police station is in 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...
Location
- Elevation: 250 m (850 ft)
- Road access: A693 between Stanley and Consett, and numerous minor roads
- Rail access: Chester-le-StreetChester-le-StreetChester-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...
, 11 km (6.8 mi) by road
Nearby places
- GreencroftGreencroftGreencroft is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated between Lanchester and Annfield Plain.-External links:...
to the west - New KyoNew KyoNew Kyo is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated close to the A693 road between Annfield Plain and Stanley, and is slightly larger than nearby East Kyo and West Kyo, containing a housing estate, a garage and the King's Head ice cream company...
to the east - West KyoWest KyoWest Kyo is a small village in County Durham, England, United Kingdom. The name 'kyo' is derived from an old word for 'cow'. It is situated a very short distance to the north of Annfield Plain and to the east of Catchgate. Close by are East Kyo and to the north, Harperley. The nearest large town...
and CatchgateCatchgateCatchgate 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...
to the north
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...
- original cast member of Les Misérables, playing Monsieur Thénardier. Also in New Tricks and The Mummy Returns. - Glenn McCroryGlenn McCroryGlenn McCrory was a British professional boxer who held the IBF version of the cruiserweight world championship...
- former Cruiserweight World Champion boxer.