Grange Villa
Encyclopedia
Grange Villa is a village situated in County Durham
, England
. It is located between the towns of Stanley
and Chester-le-Street
.
landings. Miners were still using carbide lamp
s to work by down the mine in the late 1950s.
There was a cinema, snooker hall, fish shop, a clothing factory, several newsagents, bakers, and fruit shops, as well as the Nobles Organisation that started in Grange Villa with Joe Nobles Bingo. Between Pine Street and Stone Row there were gardens where pigs and pigeons where kept, to help with the local farming. The First old age pensioners' club house was built by the old men of the village at the bottom of East Street in the late 1950s. Grange Villa Pavilion Cinema showed the first taking movie in the area and Bud Flanagan
appeared live when it opened. The land between Stone Row and Pine Street used to be the rear gardens of those properties and were purchased by the local council during the early 1980s on compulsory purchase orders.
Since 2004, regeneration of the village has been underway. The community, with help from grants and fundraising, opened the new Grange Villa Enterprise Centre in December 2004 which is used by residents young and old from provide cheap lunchtime meals to slimming clubs and Sure Start baby groups. Speed bumps have been introduced, and there are plans for more housing to be built at the top of East Street as well between Stone Row and Pine Street. There has been much debate about The Square being turned over to housing as this is one of the few safe play areas in the village for local children.
The village has a 16+ football team and also a youth football team.
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...
. It is located 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....
and 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...
.
History
Grange Villa was built to house miners; Stone Row first, then the top block of Queen Street, followed by the rest of the streets. The Handen Hold Colliery was to the north of the village past the Binney burn toward West Pelton. It closed in 1968; the Alma Pit, to the south of the village toward Twizell Burn, closed in the 1950s. A railway line ran from the Alma Pit, behind Front Street towards the Pelton FellPelton Fell
Pelton Fell is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated a short distance to the north-west of Chester-le-Street. It was the site of a 19th and 20th century coal mine and a small rail station primarily used to service both Pelton Fell and [Pelton] a village at the opposite end of Station...
landings. Miners were still using carbide lamp
Carbide lamp
Carbide lamps, properly known as acetylene gas lamps, are simple lamps that produce and burn acetylene which is created by the reaction of calcium carbide with water....
s to work by down the mine in the late 1950s.
There was a cinema, snooker hall, fish shop, a clothing factory, several newsagents, bakers, and fruit shops, as well as the Nobles Organisation that started in Grange Villa with Joe Nobles Bingo. Between Pine Street and Stone Row there were gardens where pigs and pigeons where kept, to help with the local farming. The First old age pensioners' club house was built by the old men of the village at the bottom of East Street in the late 1950s. Grange Villa Pavilion Cinema showed the first taking movie in the area and Bud Flanagan
Bud Flanagan
Bud Flanagan was a popular English music hall and vaudeville entertainer from the 1930s until the 1960s. Flanagan was famous as a wartime entertainer and his achievements were recognised when he was awarded the O.B.E. in 1960.- Family background :Flaganan was born Chaim Reuben Weintrop in...
appeared live when it opened. The land between Stone Row and Pine Street used to be the rear gardens of those properties and were purchased by the local council during the early 1980s on compulsory purchase orders.
The village today
The village has one local newsagents, one tanning and beauty shop and a Chinese take away. Grange Villa has a golf course on the north edge of the village, which can be used by the public whenever they want, and paths running through the forests surrounding the village. There was a church and a chapel, however in the last few years these have both been sold off, one to a private buyer for housing and the other as a builders storage depot.Since 2004, regeneration of the village has been underway. The community, with help from grants and fundraising, opened the new Grange Villa Enterprise Centre in December 2004 which is used by residents young and old from provide cheap lunchtime meals to slimming clubs and Sure Start baby groups. Speed bumps have been introduced, and there are plans for more housing to be built at the top of East Street as well between Stone Row and Pine Street. There has been much debate about The Square being turned over to housing as this is one of the few safe play areas in the village for local children.
The village has a 16+ football team and also a youth football team.
External links
- Grange Villa community website
- Dividend declared - The Northern Echo