Escomb
Encyclopedia
Escomb is a village on the River Wear
about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Bishop Auckland
, County Durham
, England
. Escomb was a civil parish until 1960, when it and a number of other civil parishes in the area were dissolved.
was built in the 7th or 8th century AD when the area was part of the Anglian
kingdom of Northumbria
. It is one of the oldest surviving parish churches
in England. The building includes long-and-short quoins characteristic of Anglo-Saxon architecture
, and re-used Roman masonry from Binchester Roman Fort
.
The church was used for regular parish worship until 1860 when a new parish church was completed elsewhere. The church was restored in 1875–80 by R.J. Johnson, and again in 1965 by Sir Albert Richardson
.
and Crook
in 1843 to extract coal from the area. It passes Escomb but its nearest stop was Etherley railway station, which had been opened by 1847. The line was worked initially by the Stockton and Darlington Railway
, through which it became part of the North Eastern Railway
in 1863.
W.C. Stobart & Co's Etherley Colliery was Escomb's major employer from the middle of the 19th century until the seams of its pits became exhausted in the 1920s. The 1851 Census
recorded 1,293 inhabitants of Escomb, most of whom worked at the pit.
British Rail
ways closed the Bishop Auckland and Weardale line to passenger traffic in 1965 and to freight traffic in 1993. The Weardale Railway
reopened the section past Escomb and through Etherley shortly thereafter.
, the Saxon Inn, that was built in the 17th century.
The village has a primary school.
River Wear
The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...
about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland
Bishop Auckland is a market town and civil parish in County Durham in north east England. It is located about northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham at the confluence of the River Wear with its tributary the River Gaunless...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Escomb was a civil parish until 1960, when it and a number of other civil parishes in the area were dissolved.
Parish church
Escomb ChurchEscomb Church
Escomb Saxon Church is one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon churches in England, located in Escomb, approximately 2.5 km to the west of Bishop Auckland, County Durham.-History:...
was built in the 7th or 8th century AD when the area was part of the Anglian
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
kingdom of Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
. It is one of the oldest surviving parish churches
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
in England. The building includes long-and-short quoins characteristic of Anglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing...
, and re-used Roman masonry from Binchester Roman Fort
Binchester Roman Fort
Binchester Roman Fort is situated just over to the north of the town of Bishop Auckland on the banks of the River Wear in County Durham, England...
.
The church was used for regular parish worship until 1860 when a new parish church was completed elsewhere. The church was restored in 1875–80 by R.J. Johnson, and again in 1965 by Sir Albert Richardson
Albert Richardson
Sir Albert Edward Richardson K.C.V.O., F.R.I.B.A, F.S.A., was a leading English architect, teacher and writer about architecture during the first half of the 20th century...
.
Economic history
The Bishop Auckland and Weardale Railway was opened between Shildon JunctionShildon railway station
-Information:Shildon railway station is on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in North East England and serves the town of Shildon in County Durham, England built by Timothy Hackworth...
and Crook
Crook, County Durham
Crook is a market town in County Durham, England. It is situated about 10 miles south-west of Durham.Crook lies a couple of miles north of the River Wear, on the A690 from Durham...
in 1843 to extract coal from the area. It passes Escomb but its nearest stop was Etherley railway station, which had been opened by 1847. The line was worked initially by the Stockton and Darlington Railway
Stockton and Darlington Railway
The Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...
, through which it became part of the North Eastern Railway
North Eastern Railway (UK)
The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...
in 1863.
W.C. Stobart & Co's Etherley Colliery was Escomb's major employer from the middle of the 19th century until the seams of its pits became exhausted in the 1920s. The 1851 Census
United Kingdom Census 1851
The United Kingdom Census of 1851 recorded the people residing in every household on the night of 30 March 1851, and was the second of the UK censuses to include details of household members...
recorded 1,293 inhabitants of Escomb, most of whom worked at the pit.
British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways closed the Bishop Auckland and Weardale line to passenger traffic in 1965 and to freight traffic in 1993. The Weardale Railway
Weardale Railway
The Weardale Railway is a British single-track branch line railway providing regular daily passenger service between Bishop Auckland , Wolsingham, Frosterley and Stanhope. Services began on 23 May 2010 after a lapse of almost sixty years. The railway originally ran from Bishop Auckland to...
reopened the section past Escomb and through Etherley shortly thereafter.
Amenities
Escomb has a public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, the Saxon Inn, that was built in the 17th century.
The village has a primary school.