Low Coniscliffe
Encyclopedia
Low Coniscliffe is a village in the civil parish of Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent, in County Durham
, England
. It is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Darlington
. Its present built-up area is confined in practice between the A1, the A67
and the Tees
, but its old boundaries probably extend much further. Its most obvious landmark on the A67 is the Baydale Beck Inn. The village contains a couple of listed buildings and the probable site of a medieval
manor house
. There was once a gallows
in the village. A rare fungus Rhodotus
palmatus was found nearby.
rocks includes limestone
, chalk
, gypsum
and salt
: all liable to be soluble or karstic
, and these can cause subsidence
and caves in some places, although not necessarily in Low Coniscliffe. The village is situated along the north bank of the River Tees
, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of its parish church at High Coniscliffe
and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Darlington. Apart from the Baydale Beck pub on the A67, Low Coniscliffe is now mostly a fairly new estate within a small triangle formed by the River Tees to the south and east, the A1 road to the west and the A67 road
to the north. Beyond these boundaries to the east is Broken Scar waterworks
and Darlington
, and fields and small villages in other directions. Possible earlier boundaries could have been the Tees to the south, Ulnaby Beck to the west, Baydale Beck to the east and Cocker Beck to the north. Cocker Beck encloses Thornton Hall
in the parish. The inhabitants of the hall, the Tailbois, Thorntons, Bowes and Honeywoods, have been associated with Low Coniscliffe in the past. The nearest village is Merrybent
to the north−west, and the highest point is Coniscliffe Grange at the north end of the parish.
In 1762 the village had a turnpike
gate. In the 1891 census Low Coniscliffe included Coniscliffe Grange, Dublar Castle and East Farm, and there was a Badle Beck Inn which is probably the current Baydale Beck Inn. The village was not affected by the flooding of 2007, but lost power for one morning. Chenopodium
glaucum, or oak−leaved goosefoot, was found here in 1930, and Yellow Star of Bethlehem
was found in 1942. The rare fungus Rhodotus
palmatus was found in the area in 1993.
, lost most of his family during his lifetime and left a memorial to them in the parish church at High Coniscliffe
. In 1848 the village had 134 inhabitants. Arthur Pease of Darlington gave instructions in 1877 for the building of the British School
for 105 pupils. Scouts and Cubs
used to come to the banks of the Tees near here in the 1920s for picnics.
axehead was found somewhere in the area. Roman coins
were found in 1856 and 1978 in Cocker Beck, and the later finds were dated 308−346 AD. Bishop Bek
ordered a tower to be built in Low Coniscliffe in the 13th century; the site is unknown, but it may be the site of the manor house
. There is an unknown site of a gallows
, pre−1293 AD, south of the Tees
, and west of Howden Hill Farm. The extreme south−west end of the present built−up area of the village is probably the site of the old medieval
manor house, 1066−1540. The site includes earthwork
enclosures, and a 1960s excavation revealed a 15th−16th century round dovecote
. There is supposed to be another dovecote here; location unknown. The house at the south−west end of the village, numbers 55−57, is a 17th century listed building: a roughcast brick and rubble structure with a pantiled roof. This is a pair of houses; once a farmhouse with a cottage on the right. Well Bank House, number 20 near the south−east corner of the village, is a listed building dated around the late 18th to early 19th century. Like numbers 55−57 it is built of roughcast rubble with a pantiled roof, and this building contains a 19th century iron range
.
for Darlington, and there is no school; the nearest post office is at Mowden Park in Darlington. The Baydale Beck Inn serves real ale and permits dogs in the bar.
Just to the east of the village is Tees Cottage Pumping Station
, a Victorian
pumping station now opened as a museum containing a 1904-built rotative beam engine, and a 1914 gas engine, believed to be the largest working preserved example in Europe.
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 situated 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
. Its present built-up area is confined in practice between the A1, the A67
A67 road
The A67 is a road in England that links Bowes in County Durham with Crathorne in North Yorkshire.-Route:*Bowes *Barnard Castle*Gainford*Piercebridge*Darlington*Durham Tees Valley Airport*Egglescliffe*Yarm...
and the Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
, but its old boundaries probably extend much further. Its most obvious landmark on the A67 is the Baydale Beck Inn. The village contains a couple of listed buildings and the probable site of a medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
. There was once a gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
in the village. A rare fungus Rhodotus
Rhodotus
Rhodotus is a genus in the Physalacriaceae family of fungi. It is a monotypic genus and consists of the single mushroom species Rhodotus palmatus, known in the vernacular as the netted Rhodotus, the rosy veincap, or the wrinkled peach...
palmatus was found nearby.
Geographical and political
The local geology of PermianPermian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
rocks includes 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....
, chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
, gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
and salt
Sodium chloride
Sodium chloride, also known as salt, common salt, table salt or halite, is an inorganic compound with the formula NaCl. Sodium chloride is the salt most responsible for the salinity of the ocean and of the extracellular fluid of many multicellular organisms...
: all liable to be soluble or karstic
Karst topography
Karst topography is a geologic formation shaped by the dissolution of a layer or layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite, but has also been documented for weathering resistant rocks like quartzite given the right conditions.Due to subterranean drainage, there...
, and these can cause subsidence
Subsidence
Subsidence is the motion of a surface as it shifts downward relative to a datum such as sea-level. The opposite of subsidence is uplift, which results in an increase in elevation...
and caves in some places, although not necessarily in Low Coniscliffe. The village is situated along the north bank of the River Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of its parish church at High Coniscliffe
High Coniscliffe
High Coniscliffe is a parish and village in the borough of Darlington and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The parish includes Carlbury and Low Coniscliffe...
and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Darlington. Apart from the Baydale Beck pub on the A67, Low Coniscliffe is now mostly a fairly new estate within a small triangle formed by the River Tees to the south and east, the A1 road to the west and the A67 road
A67 road
The A67 is a road in England that links Bowes in County Durham with Crathorne in North Yorkshire.-Route:*Bowes *Barnard Castle*Gainford*Piercebridge*Darlington*Durham Tees Valley Airport*Egglescliffe*Yarm...
to the north. Beyond these boundaries to the east is Broken Scar waterworks
Water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
and Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
, and fields and small villages in other directions. Possible earlier boundaries could have been the Tees to the south, Ulnaby Beck to the west, Baydale Beck to the east and Cocker Beck to the north. Cocker Beck encloses Thornton Hall
Thornton Hall, High Coniscliffe
Thornton Hall is a privately owned 16th century manor house at High Coniscliffe, near Darlington, County Durham. It is a Grade I listed building....
in the parish. The inhabitants of the hall, the Tailbois, Thorntons, Bowes and Honeywoods, have been associated with Low Coniscliffe in the past. The nearest village is Merrybent
Merrybent
Merrybent is a linear village in the civil parish of Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent in County Durham, in England. It is situated on the A67 road to the west of Darlington, a short distance to the north of the River Tees and the Teesdale Way...
to the north−west, and the highest point is Coniscliffe Grange at the north end of the parish.
In 1762 the village had a turnpike
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
gate. In the 1891 census Low Coniscliffe included Coniscliffe Grange, Dublar Castle and East Farm, and there was a Badle Beck Inn which is probably the current Baydale Beck Inn. The village was not affected by the flooding of 2007, but lost power for one morning. Chenopodium
Chenopodium
Chenopodium is a genus of about 150 species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoots, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classifications separate it and its relatives as Chenopodiaceae, but...
glaucum, or oak−leaved goosefoot, was found here in 1930, and Yellow Star of Bethlehem
Gagea
Gagea is a large genus of spring flowers in the Liliaceae found in Europe and western Asia. It is named after the English naturalist Sir Thomas Gage...
was found in 1942. The rare fungus Rhodotus
Rhodotus
Rhodotus is a genus in the Physalacriaceae family of fungi. It is a monotypic genus and consists of the single mushroom species Rhodotus palmatus, known in the vernacular as the netted Rhodotus, the rosy veincap, or the wrinkled peach...
palmatus was found in the area in 1993.
History
A foundling was abandoned on 31 January 1602 on the window ledge of a house in Nether Cunsley which was occupied by Cuthbert Smith. The child, who lived for 69 years until 21 December 1671, was baptised Tychicus, with no surname. The inhabitants of Thornton Hall were associated with Lowe Coniscliffe. Sir Francis Bowes, who was born in 1648 and became High Sheriff of NorthumberlandHigh Sheriff of Northumberland
This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post...
, lost most of his family during his lifetime and left a memorial to them in the parish church at High Coniscliffe
High Coniscliffe
High Coniscliffe is a parish and village in the borough of Darlington and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. The parish includes Carlbury and Low Coniscliffe...
. In 1848 the village had 134 inhabitants. Arthur Pease of Darlington gave instructions in 1877 for the building of the British School
British and Foreign School Society
The British and Foreign School Society offers charitable aid to educational projects in the UK and around the world by funding schools, other charities and educational bodies...
for 105 pupils. Scouts and Cubs
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
used to come to the banks of the Tees near here in the 1920s for picnics.
Archaeological sites and finds
A PalaeolithicPaleolithic
The Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
axehead was found somewhere in the area. Roman coins
Roman currency
The Roman currency during most of the Roman Republic and the western half of the Roman Empire consisted of coins including the aureus , the denarius , the sestertius , the dupondius , and the as...
were found in 1856 and 1978 in Cocker Beck, and the later finds were dated 308−346 AD. Bishop Bek
Antony Bek
Antony Bek was a medieval Prince Bishop of Durham.-Early life:Bek and his elder brother Thomas Bek were members of a family of knights. Their father was Walter Bek, who held lands at Ersby in Lincolnshire. Another brother was John Beke, who held the family lands in Ersby...
ordered a tower to be built in Low Coniscliffe in the 13th century; the site is unknown, but it may be the site of the manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
. There is an unknown site of a gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
, pre−1293 AD, south of the Tees
River Tees
The River Tees is in Northern England. It rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines, and flows eastwards for 85 miles to reach the North Sea between Hartlepool and Redcar.-Geography:...
, and west of Howden Hill Farm. The extreme south−west end of the present built−up area of the village is probably the site of the old medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
manor house, 1066−1540. The site includes earthwork
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...
enclosures, and a 1960s excavation revealed a 15th−16th century round dovecote
Dovecote
A dovecote or dovecot is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be square or circular free-standing structures or built into the end of a house or barn. They generally contain pigeonholes for the birds to nest. Pigeons and doves were an important food source historically in...
. There is supposed to be another dovecote here; location unknown. The house at the south−west end of the village, numbers 55−57, is a 17th century listed building: a roughcast brick and rubble structure with a pantiled roof. This is a pair of houses; once a farmhouse with a cottage on the right. Well Bank House, number 20 near the south−east corner of the village, is a listed building dated around the late 18th to early 19th century. Like numbers 55−57 it is built of roughcast rubble with a pantiled roof, and this building contains a 19th century iron range
Kitchen stove
A kitchen stove, cooking stove, cookstove, or cooker is a kitchen appliance designed for the purpose of cooking food. Kitchen stoves rely on the application of direct heat for the cooking process and may also contain an oven, used for baking.In the industrialized world, as stoves replaced open...
.
Low Coniscliffe today
It is now a dormitory villageCommuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
for Darlington, and there is no school; the nearest post office is at Mowden Park in Darlington. The Baydale Beck Inn serves real ale and permits dogs in the bar.
Just to the east of the village is Tees Cottage Pumping Station
Tees Cottage Pumping Station
Tees Cottage Pumping Station is a Victorian pumping station complex at Broken Scar on the A67 near Low Coniscliffe just west of Darlington. The site dates from 1849, and was built to provide drinking water for Darlington and the surrounding area...
, a Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
pumping station now opened as a museum containing a 1904-built rotative beam engine, and a 1914 gas engine, believed to be the largest working preserved example in Europe.