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Nettlesworth
Nettlesworth maps
Historic maps of Nettlesworth and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Nettlesworth maps
Nettlesworth photos
We have no photos of Nettlesworth, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Witton Gilbert| Chester Le Street| Finchale Priory| Lumley Park| Durham| Langley Park| Ushaw Moor| Lambton Park| Langley Moor| Sherburn| Houghton Le Spring| Birtley| Annfield Plain| Lanchester| Sherburn Hill| Washington| Brancepeth| Catchgate| Burnopfield
Nettlesworth area books
Displaying 1 of 3 books about Nettlesworth and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Nettlesworth
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County Durham memories
Witton Gilbert, The War Memorial From The Woods c1955
The War Memorial stood at the bottom of what was called the "Camels Hump" in "The Dean" - a wild adventure playground for all us kids. The Hump was used for sledging down in winter and rolling down in summer. At the top of the picture behind the trees was the vicarage paddock, this was where as members of the 1st Witton Gilbert Cub and Scout group we us to play football/cricket/make fires etc.
At the bottom of the picture the "brook" - a stream running down through the village from "Barneys' Field" went underground in a culvert to emerge at the start of the Dean (I believe there was the remains of an old house? here).
Not A Very Nice Story
My great-great-grandfather, John Mingins, was a tailor living in Witton Gilbert with his family. Unfortunately, in December 1853 an Irish navvy, Michael O'Brien, picked a fight with John outside the butcher's shop and consequently John was injured and died one week later. Michael O'Brien was found guilty of manslaughter at Durham Assizes and I assume he served the appropriate sentence. I live in East Anglia but intend to make a pilgrimage to Witton and would love to see some early photos of it.
WITTON GILBERT, THE WAR MEMORIAL
I remember this photo well as I was born and brought up in Witton Gilbert. I was born in 1949 in Cheviot House at the bottom of Greens Opening, a very short walk from the Dene. I went to the "Tin School" which was the Infants school and now forms part of the by-pass which desecrated the village. I was told there had been a murder in the house in the dene which is why it was left to go derelict. "Barneys Field" was named after my grandfather Barney King - a farmer in the village who, in the 1950's could be seen daily delivering milk to the folk of the village with his trusty retired pit pony named Toby. We kids played regularly in the dene and swam in the Browney and scrumped many an apple from the vicars orchard.
The Bathing Hole
The stream in front of the war memorial ran down to the Browney river a few hundred yards below the Dean, where half of the Witton school kids learned to swim in deep pools created by dams made by Harry Bell and Davy Reynolds, they were much older than me and both very good swimmers and catapault makers. A lot of local familys picnicked at the bathing holes or the green bridge. Mr John Holmes, farmer, owned the land along the river and never stopped us from crossing his fields or playing in the river. The vicarage above the camel's hump had a fairly good orchard which we often raided in the autumn nights. The school orchard which was behind the labour hall only had pear trees in it and they were so small and hard, not worth raiding. I've just remembered this while writing, there was always great lumps of black tar floating down the river while we were swimming, how the water rats survived I'll never know, but... Read more
Barney King
I worked at Langley pit and coming home one morning from work on my motor bike, a 350 AJS, I hit the milk cart, Barney was dragging Toby across the road in front of Nuttalls shop having come from hillside, no one hurt, head ight broken, happy days.
The Odfellows Arms in Front Street
I have just discovered from resaerching the census results that my Great Grandparents ran the Odfellows Arms in Witton Gilbert round about the turn of the last century. His name was John McCormick and he was also a coal miner or coal hewer, running the pub in his own time. He and his wife had 5 daughters named Mary, Ellen, Alice, Rose and Ena. Alice was my grandmother. I would love to know if there is still an inn there in Front Street and if anyone has any memories of it!
Alice Potter
Birth of Sidney Hardy November 5th 1920
My Father in Law Sidney Hardy was born at 213 Front Street, Witton Gilbert, his mother was Lily Hardy, there is no father listed on birth Certificate. Does anyone know if any oictures exist of Front Street at that time.
