THIS year’s Images of Eldon exhibition is to be held next week in the Dene Valley. For those who do not know, the Dene Valley is the fascinating part of the Durham coalfield between Shildon and Bishop Auckland.
It is only small, with the small Dene Beck running through it, but a large number of colliery communities were crammed into it: Auckland Park, Coronation, Gurney Valley, Close House, Coundon Grange, Old Eldon, Eldon Lane and Bridge Place, to name nearly all of them.
They will feature in the exhibition, which is held in St Mark’s Church, Eldon, by Colin Turner. Colin has amassed more than 4,000 photos and maps of the area from 1800 to the end of the 20th Century, and many of them will be on show from Thursday to Saturday.
And there is room for more. If you have an old picture from any of these communities, Colin would love to see it. Call him on 01388-772807.
The exhibition is free, and is open from 10am to 8pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 10am to 2pm on Saturday. There will also be crafts, cakes and preserves, plus tea, coffee and a soup kitchen.
SWEET MUSIC: The Eldon Colliery band which won The Northern Echo Cup and the Besson Shield on December 13, 1924
COLLIERY COMMUNITY: Main Street, Eldon Lane, on a late Edwardian postcard
HAPPY DAYS: Close House Infants School in 1949
THE REAL WORKERS: Eldon Colliery Stables in the early years of the 20th Century
COLLIERY HORIZON: The pitheap of Auckland Colliery visible in 1962 from the village of Auckland Park
IN THE SADDLE: The Eldon Colliery stables in 1947 with Dick Bland, Tom Bloomer and Jack Race
ON THE SLIDE: Malcolm and Barry Hogg and Mike Shield race down the Pit Heap in New Row, Eldon, on an old piece of carpet
CENTRE OF COMMUNITY: Close House Primitive Methodist Chapel in 1907
SWIMMERS SUNK: Eldon Colliery's open air swimming baths were a major part of the Dene Valley's sporting scene. Unfortunately, after the pit's closure, they became a scrapyard before being demolished in 1999. The inscribed lintel now stands in a little nature reserve on the spot
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