Middridge
Encyclopedia
Middridge is a village in 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...

. It is situated east of Shildon
Shildon
Shildon is a town in County Durham, in England. It is situated 2 miles to the south east of Bishop Auckland and 11 miles north of Darlington. It is 13 miles away from Durham, 23 miles from Sunderland and 23 miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne...

 and north-west of Newton Aycliffe
Newton Aycliffe
Newton Aycliffe is a town in County Durham, England. Founded in 1947 under the New Towns Act of 1946, it is the oldest new town in the north of England.-Geography:...

. 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.

History

Following the fall of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

, the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...

 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
Eldon
-Places:* Eldon, County Durham, England* Eldon Lane, County Durham, England* Old Eldon, County Durham, England* Eldon Hill, Derbyshire, England* Eldon, Iowa, USA* Eldon, Missouri, USA* Eldon Township, Benson County, North Dakota, USA* Eldon, Oklahoma, USA...

 and School Aycliffe
School Aycliffe
School Aycliffe is a village located in County Durham, England. It is situated a short distance to the west of Newton Aycliffe and to the east of Heighington, County Durham. The name derives from a Viking called Scula who owned land in this part of South Durham.School Aycliffe is split into two by...

 (near the current Aycliffe golf course).

Anglo-Saxon Middridge lasted for five hundred years before being destroyed by the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...

 during William the Conqueror's Harrying of the North
Harrying of the North
The Harrying of the North was a series of campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, and is part of the Norman conquest of England...

. 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 around 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.

Notable buildings and structures

Middridge Grange is a Grade 2 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.

Middridge Village Hall was originally built as a school for the children of the village and local farming community. It served this purpose for many years, but due to a continuing fall in pupil numbers in the 1950s and 1960s and changes in education policy, it closed.

To prevent the building becoming derelict, the committee of the village association took over the administration of the hall. After various repairs and alterations, it became the village hall, which it has been for well over thirty years. The village hall is used as a venue for discos, church services, parties and social gatherings such as the monthly wine club. The hall has recently been refurbished, with an entirely new roof section, plumbing structure and electrical system.

Famous residents

The Byerley Turk, the great stallion owned by the then Captain (later Colonel) Robert Byerley, was arguably Middridge's most famous resident. The Byerley Turk was one of the founding stallions of today's thoroughbred horses and was stood at Middridge Grange, until being moved to Goldsborough Hall
Goldsborough Hall
Goldsborough Hall is a Jacobean stately home located in the village of Goldsborough, North Yorkshire, England. It is a member of the Historic Houses Association...

, near Knaresborough
Knaresborough
Knaresborough is an old and historic market town, spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located on the River Nidd, four miles east of the centre of Harrogate.-History:...

, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

, when his owner married his cousin, Mary Wharton, in 1696.

Robert Byerley was the son of Colonel Anthony Byerley, a cavalry officer who served Charles I in a unit known as "Byerley's Bulldogs". The Byerley line eventually died out, but their name lives on in place names around the region, such as Byerley Park, Byerley Road etc.

It is believed that King Charles I of England took refuge in Middridge Grange during the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

.

Legends and folklore

The Middridge fairies (or faeries) are, according to legend, very different from the kind, winged fairies of popular culture. They are rumoured to be evil demons that scourge people and generally cause mischief. The story goes that the fairies chased a traveller, who took refuge in Middridge Grange, getting inside the building just before the pitchfork struck the door. The pitchfork mark was reputedly on this door for many years afterwards. They were also blamed for disruptions to the building of 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...

.

The village fete

Middridge village fete is a yearly event for the local community (but people come from miles around) It is usually a combination of a jumble sale, children's entertainment, competitions and other events, usually ending in a barbecue that is enjoyed alongside copious amounts of alcohol.

External links

  • http://www.middridge.org.uk/index.html
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