Our Community of Ushaw Moor

Ushaw Moor is an old pit village in County Durham, in England. It is situated to the west of Durham, a short distance to the south of Bearpark.

Parish registers suggests that the settlement dates to a least the sixteenth century. The village existed in a largely agricultural state, with a windmill being its one feature up till the nineteenth century.

"Ushaw Moor Together" is the name of our community group who met regularly in Ushaw Moor Baptist Church. The Chair of the group is the Rev. Ray Richardson.

Rev. Richardson leads some of our Assemblies too.

Ushaw Moor Baptist Church

We also have links with St Luke´s Church of England where we hold our Christmas carol service and parish carol service. The church was built in 1912, so not long before its centenary celebration. The original church began as a corrugated building next to the present church. This was then used as the church hall until it burnt down in 1963. It was named the John Welby Church Hall after a previous clergyman who served the parish for 35 years. Father Peter Brown is our present church priest who attends Sunday services at the other parish churches of St John´s and Langley Moor and St Catherine´s at Newbranspeth. Father Peter is a regular visitor to our school for assemblies at various times of the year.

St Luke´s Church of England

In 1858 a drift mine was established at Ushaw Moor Colliery selling coal on the landsale system. This was bought in 1879 by Henry Chaytor of Witton Castle. During his ownership there was a large strike, following the deliberate sacking of an elected union leader in 1881. The strike was ended when a number of policemen were bought into the village to evict the strikers and their families; it should be noted that such treatment was not uncommon in those times. Mr Chaytor, sick of the years of industrial unrest, sold Ushaw Moor colliery to Pease & Partners in 1883. From this time, the workmen and community had an easier life, the new owners helping rather than opposing them. However, Ushaw Moor colliery closed in 1960, as part of the collapse of the Durham coal fields.

In the last thirty years it has grown and become the centre of the Deerness Valley, becoming unusually prosperous where most pit villages have struggled. Good links with Durham and Newcastle and good local schools and ammeinities has meant it is very popular with first time buyers.*

Silver Tree - our old school

*information from wikipedia

Our Community of Ushaw Moor - Articles

Date	Article
30 July 2007	Durham