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Quarrington Hill memories

Here are memories of Quarrington Hill and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Quarrington Hill or a Quarrington Hill photo.

Childhood Days

I was born in Quarrington Hill in 1941 and left to train as a nurse aged 17. Being post war it was difficult, everything on rations and little money. My school was Cassop County Primary. Our days were spent on the village green, rose-hip picking, blackberry picking, catching tadpoles, going to Cassop bluebell wood, street games with all village families, just wonderful happy times. I now live in Jersey, Channel Islands, which is tranquil and lovely but I will never forget my happiness in our village, visiting all the woods and whinnies was magic, we would stay outdoors from dawn to dusk.

Memories of County Durham

Fond Memories From The Antipodes

I have lived in Australia for 42 years but Coxhoe always remains home to me. The 7 Frith photos which are published at this site are the real Coxhoe to me because I was living there in that era and that is how it remains locked in my memory. These pictures take me back to the 28 happy years that I lived in loved in and left for a new life all those years ago.
I have been back on 3 occasions hoping to find some contact with my past life (old friends or their families) but to no avail. Perhaps better luck next time. Would be peased to hear from anyone in the area.

Pit Village in my Youth

My name is Ken Orton and I lived in Thornley from 1947 until 1974, the year I married. I was born in Shadforth but my parents moved from there to Thornley when I was about one month old. We lived at 72, Thornlaw North until 1967 and then moved to 2, St Cuthbert Road, where I lived until I met my wife and married.
My childhood in Thornley was a marvellous time and I would not have liked to have lived anywhere else than in a pit village when I was growing up. Although we didn't have much, because my dad was a pitman and there were six children in the family, everybody we knew was the same as us and so we never missed what we never had. We always had enough to eat and presents for birthdays and Christmas, although not as much as bairns nowadays. Even my bairns did better that I did but, since we didn't expect to have a great deal, we were never... Read more

Growing up in Thornley

I was born in Durham in 1969 and grew up in Thornley until I left in 1985 and moved to South Africa. I have been back a few times over the years and have seen many changes my father still lives in Thornley and will never leave the place now.
I still have great memories of the place and a lot of my school friends still live there.

Memories of Thornley

Having read Kenneth Ortons' memories, it brought back visions in my mind of the good times growing up in the loveliest little village I know. When I was born in 1947 my mam and dad lived with my grandma at 60 Thornlaw North so there is a chance that me and Ken may have grown up playing football and cricket in the street together. I do remember the mountain glide to this day I have never seen one as high as the one in Thornley, I wonder if it is still there, or have the Health and Safety idiots taken it down! We lived with my nan for about two years I think, then we moved into one of the new steel house that had just been built in Hillside Crescent, we moved into number 19 and it's garden backed onto my nan's old house. All the kids used to roam the fields, nobody would chase you off because you never damaged anything, we all respected property when we were... Read more

MY MOTHER'S MEMORIES, Olive Stanley

My mother has many memories of Thornley as a pupil at Thornley Colliery Primary School, and other village life, her name was OLIVE STANLEY. She lived at Colinwood Street, No1, with her mother Ethel Tonkin and step father Eligha Tonkin and step brother and sisters. She is 88 years old. Her memory of being a pupil at school was winning a district award for penmanship (copperplate writing). Her writing today is still of a high standard. Edward Stanley

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