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Haswell, County Durham

Haswell
Haswell Church - geograph.org.uk - 419444.jpg
St Paul's Parish Church, Haswell
Haswell is located in County Durham
Haswell
Haswell
Haswell shown within County Durham
Population 1,831 (2011)
OS grid reference NZ375433
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DURHAM
Postcode district DH6
Dialling code 0191
Police Durham
Fire County Durham and Darlington
Ambulance North East
EU Parliament North East England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
County DurhamCoordinates: 54°47′00″N 1°25′04″W / 54.7834°N 1.4177°W / 54.7834; -1.4177

Haswell is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated 9.8 kilometers (6.09 miles) east of the city of Durham, 14.46 kilometers (8.98 miles) south of the city of Sunderland and 5.02 kilometers (3.12 miles) north-west of the town of Peterlee.

It is notable as the birthplace of English world champion road racing cyclist Tom Simpson, born 30 November 1937.

It was also the home of the world's first coal mine as we know it, being the first in the world with a steel cable down its mine shaft. This revolutionised the coal mining industry.

Haswell once had two railway stations - Haswell railway station.

The Anglo-Saxon roots of the former farming community of Haswell are apparent in its old English name – Haesel Wella or Hessewell – meaning a hazel well or spring. Indeed, the coal trucks used at Haswell Colliery many centuries later were made of hazel bands, suggesting a hazel grove may have grown nearby. The peaceful days of living off the land disappeared in the early 19th century however, once "black gold" – coal – was discovered beneath the rural landscape.

The 1833 sinking of the first shaft at Haswell Colliery, nestled between Haswell and Haswell Plough, saw hundreds of miners from around Britain flock to the area. New houses, churches, schools, pubs and shops were all built to accommodate their needs, as well as a thriving railway station, now long gone.

But the miners' strike of 1844, however, left the village divided. Haswell – a blackleg pit – recruited "scabs" in place of union men, causing much resentment among the locals. "Things had never been worse," recalled historian Lewis Burt in The Echo back in 1964. "Unrelenting poverty was everywhere. Barefoot children begged for bread" adding "But it wasn't only the poverty, though that was bad enough, it was the recrimination, the malice, the spite, the ill-will and the hatred."


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