Middridge
| Middridge | |
|---|---|
 Middridge
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| Middridge shown within County Durham | |
| Population | 312 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | NZ251261 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Newton Aycliffe |
| Postcode district | DL5 |
| Dialling code | 01325 |
| Police | Durham |
| Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
| Ambulance | North East |
| EU Parliament | North East England |
Middridge is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated east of Shildon and north-west of Newton Aycliffe. The village is situated not far from a quarry that was mined by the people many generations ago. There is one public house in the village, the Bay Horse.
Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the Saxons arrived in the area around 500 AD and created several settlements, including Middridge. The name "Middridge" is derived from its location at that time on the "middle ridge" between Eldon and School Aycliffe (near the current Aycliffe golf course).
Anglo-Saxon Middridge lasted for five hundred years before being destroyed by the Normans during William the Conqueror's Harrying of the North. Those who survived this massacre (and the resulting disease and starvation) were enslaved by the invaders. They were forced by the Bishop of Durham to toil in the surrounding fields as serfs, and forcibly relocated to gloomy huts centred on the village green. The "serfs" eventually gained their freedom and the village green survives to this day, although the housing has improved considerably.
The arrival of the industrial age in the nineteenth century resulted in two coal mines: Charles Pit and Eden Pit. These pits were collectively known as Middridge Colliery, and provided employment for hundreds of people in their heyday while producing a combined daily total of 600 tons of coal, before closing in the early 20th century. The remains of this era live on in the names of places such as Charles Row, Eden Grove and the "pit heap", a small hill used in the winter as a sledge run# Until recently, the pit heap was also used to host the annual village bonfire#
Middridge Grange is a Grade II listed building situated just outside the village itself, between Shildon and School Aycliffe. It is one of the oldest buildings in the region, beginning life as a large Elizabethan manor in 1578. However, the current Middridge Grange bears little resemblance to the original manor, much of which was destroyed by fire in the 19th century.
Used as a farmhouse, it has been owned by the Scott family since the early 20th century but has not been lived in since the 1970s, after falling into serious disrepair. A site of great interest to historians, it is currently undergoing an extensive renovation.
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Wikipedia