Bowburn
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Bowburn is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated a short distance to the south-east of Durham, on the A177. It is part of the Cassop-cum-Quarrington parish and the City of Durham district council.
Bowburn is named after the shape of the small burn that runs through it. It's situated between Coxhoe to the south, and Shincliffe to the north. Originally a small farming hamlet, a number of coal mines were sunk near here in the 19th century. However extensive development did not begin till an entirely new Bowburn Colliery began to be sunk in 1906. Bowburn therefore celebrated its 100th anniversary on 23rd July 2006.
Like Coxhoe, Quarrington Hill, Cassop, Kelloe, West Cornforth, the Trimdons, and Ferryhill, Bowburn shares much of its history with the coal industry.
The first “Bowburn Colliery” was a shaft sunk in 1840 but failed to find workable coal.
The second Bowburn Colliery was sunk a few years later, south of there (near Park Hill), being one of several sunk in the Quarrington and Coxhoe areas. It was close to the terminus of the Durham Branch of the Clarence Railway. The pit was a small concern, worked first by Robson and Jackson and then the West Hetton Coal Company. It closed in the 1850s.
The third and most famous Bowburn Colliery was sunk in 1906 by Bell Bros. Ltd., using the 1840 shaft as the ventilation upcast shaft (and, later, for manriding). Its first coal was drawn in 1908. It merged with Tursdale colliery in 1931 and grew to be one of the largest in the Durham coalfield, working six seams and with about 2950 employees in the 1950s. Meanwhile the village was growing around it. Hardly anything now remains of the colliery complex which closed in July 1967. The colliery yard is now the site of the Bowburn South Industrial Estate.
The day of the annual Durham Miners' Gala or "the Big Meeting" used to see large unions of men marching through the village, as Bowburn was en-route to Durham for some surrounding pit villages. Local residents have recently, with the help of the Heritage Lottery Fund, had two of Bowburn’s original miners’ banners restored and a new one produced to be paraded at the Gala. By September 2006, two of the restored banners were on display in Bowburn Community Centre, together with the new one (the "Centenary Banner"). This, with another new one designed by Bowburn Junior School pupils, was paraded for the first time at the 2006 Gala. Other events also celebrated the village’s centenary year, including a party and firework display in Bowburn Park, exactly 100 years after Gertrude Bell (as daughter of the Chairman of Bell Brothers) cut the first sod on 23rd July 1906 to commence the sinking of the downcast shaft.
Following the closure of the colliery and latterly the Cape Minerals Works, Bowburn declined. More recently the location of the village, near Durham City and close to the A1(M) junction 61, has meant that the village has become a prime site for new commuter housing and industrial estates.
Much of the housing in Bowburn is still relatively low cost in terraces or on post-war council estates. However there has been significant development of owner occupied housing along the eastern edge of the village, and on the old secondary school site. In recent years, a regeneration project has begun, involving the demolition of some council housing on the northern estate and the building of a mixture of housing association and private housing. As part of the regeneration project, it is hoped to see magnificent new park and other improvements to community facilities in the near future.
One Bowburn's claim to fame is its parish church, built in 1963 which wouldn't look out of place in the Tate Modern. It has a detached spire commonly described as a 'rocket' standing alongside the main church building. The Church building is no longer used for public worship due to the poor condition of the building with Anglican worship instead taking place at the Methodist Church on Durham Road. It is hoped that the church will be rebuilt while retaining the spire from the original design.
Bowburn has its own Junior and Infant & Nursery schools. Secondary pupils attend school outside the village, mostly at Durham Johnston Comprehensive School, in Durham City.
Local news & views, and various local organisations, feature on the village website (see External links : “Bowburn News”), from which back copies of the community newsletter, “Bowburn Interchange”, can be downloaded.
