Wearhead
| Wearhead | |
|---|---|
 Looking down to Wearhead (Winter 2009) |
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 Wearhead
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| Wearhead shown within County Durham | |
| OS grid reference | NY858395 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Bishop Auckland |
| Postcode district | DL13 |
| Dialling code | 01388 |
| Police | Durham |
| Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
| Ambulance | North East |
| EU Parliament | North East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Wearhead is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated at the top of Weardale between Cowshill and Ireshopeburn. It is named after the nearby source of the River Wear which runs eastwards for approx 40 miles to Sunderland. In the 2001 census Wearhead had a population of 210.
The first settlement at Wearhead may have been a farmstead, possibly a summer base for the Bishop's cattle which would have been taken to lower ground in winter. East of the village lies a steep hillside, which has evidence of shallow shafts and hushes which were the early methods used to extract lead and iron. In County Durham there were rich deposits of lead lying within a circle of about 10 miles radius drawn around Wearhead, hence the lead-mining industry of Weardale and Teesdale.
In 1858 the Post Office Directory listed: Beer Retailer, Grocer / Draper, Tailor / Draper, Grocer, Joiner / Postmaster, Grocer and Draper’s / Joiner.
In 1915 the Post Office Directory listed only The Bank of Liverpool.
In 1971 Barclays Bank (formerly Martins Bank) was sold and the property became a butcher’s shop, which has since closed.
Wearhead stands 1,104 feet (336m) above sea level and has some of the highest peaks in County Durham, Killhope Law, 2,208 feet (673m) and Burnhope Seat, 2,452 feet (747 m). Burnhope Reservoir is approximately 1 mile from Wearhead. In the construction six farms were submerged when water rose to fill the man-made reservoir in 1937.
Wearhead was the terminus of the Weardale Extension Railway which opened in 1895, being mainly a goods line carrying limestone, iron ore, lead ore and fluorspar to the industrial areas of North East England. It closed to passenger traffic in 1953 and later to goods in 1961.
In 2005 Wearhead lost its last shop with the closure of the Co-op. Shortly afterwards the Methodist Church held its last service after being in existence for over 180 years.
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Wikipedia