Research Projects

by Robert Jackson

Earliest Days

The land on which Spennymoor now stands was once a wide expanse of moorland covered with thorn and whin bushes. The name derives from ‘Spena’, which means thorn in Latin (the Roman influence) and ‘Mor’ which was a Saxon word for wasteland. Neither Britons or Romans cultivated the moor, but on the site of Binchester, a village five miles to the south west, the Romans built a camp around which grew up the settlement of Vinovium. The name Binchester is the usual Saxon corruption or adaptation of the Roman site name. This fortress must have been of great strength for it stood on a height above the River Wear. Many coins, urns, altars and pieces of Roman pottery have been found, as well as the remains of a hypocaust heating system. Later, Binchester became one of the ‘vills’ of the Earls of Northumberland who held it until 1420, when it passed to the Nevilles who finally forfeited it with other lands in 1569.

As to be expected the moor itself offers little of historic interest, but it is linked with the records of Kirk Merrington, Whitworth, Old Park, Binchester, Byers Green and Tudhoe, all of which form a part of the early days of Spennymoor. All these villages had common rights on the moor, but as it became denuded by increasing flocks, some of the locals were induced to relinquish some of their rights, and so gradually the common became the property of but one owner, Merrington Priory. The Manor of Merrington belonged successively to the priors, monks and Dean and Chapter of Durham Cathedral.

Today Merrington Church is one of the most prominent landmarks. It was originally built by the Normans and its splendid strategic position led it to being fortified in 1143 by the Scots intruder, William Cumyn. When he was finally attacked and overcome, the church roof was destroyed but the building remained as one of the most interesting Norman churches in the County, until 1850 when it was almost wholly rebuilt, although retaining the form of its predecessor. Inside, the most interesting feature is the screen, a typical example of late-17th century work.

Troubled Years

The Norman Conquest meant little to the border folk who lived with the constant threat of massacre by raiding Picts and Danes. William’s soldiers ‘ laid waste’ the county and distributed the Saxon nobles' estates among themselves. However, William allowed some of the previous owners to retain their lands. Among these lands was Whittleworthe, now Whitworth, whose first known proprietor was Thomas de Acle who held it in 1183. Nevertheless William’s soldiers made the whole of this countryside desolate and for many it was the haunt of outlaws and wild animals. On 16th October 16th 1346, David of Scotland was encamped with a great army on the hills near Durham, which under a Douglas had been raiding lands and terrorising the neighbourhood. Edward III was otherwise engaged at Crecy in France at the time, but his Queen, Phillipa, with the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of Durham, Lincoln and Carlisle, and the Lords Neville and Percy and others, marched north, and with an array of 16,000 men moved along the ridge from Auckland to Merrington. Her advance guards clashed with some of Douglas’s men near Ferryhill, and chased them back to the bridge at Croxdale (Sunderland Bridge). ‘Butchers Race’, one of the five lanes which meet at Tudhoe Crossroads, was so named after this foray. The next day the main bodies of the two armies met at Neville's Cross near Durham, and the Scots were slaughtered. During the battle the Prior of Durham and his monks knelt and prayed for an English victory on a little hillock in the Shaw Wood, while holding aloft, impaled on a spear, the Holy Corporace Cloth from the Cathedral. In 1420 the Manor of Whitworth and much of the other land in the vicinity, from Raby to Brancepeth, and including Old Park, Byers Green, Newfield and Tudhoe became Neville property. The Earl of Westmorland (a Neville) was granted a licence from Bishop Langley to impark 40 acres at Whitworth, and so began the Whitworth Park of today.

The moor itself comes into the record in 1615 as the result of ‘a general muster on the moors of all the men able to bear arms within the bishopric, between the ages of 15 and 60: the gathering amounted to 8,320.’ (Fordyce). Some military training seems to have been given, doubtless with a view to the unsettled state of the country due to the growing tension between Parliament and the King. Quite a few of these men must have been miners as at that time ‘coale pitts’ were being worked at Whitworth, Byers Green and Ferryhill. In 1677 the small freeholders and the local gentry divided 243 acres of the moor between themselves, an act which was confirmed by the Chancery Court. The only portion of the common which was left was a small plot reserved for the use of a spring of water.

This is part of a series of projects, others are listed below:

Spennymoor (Part 2) - the rise of industry

Spennymoor (Part 3) - into the 20th century

Note: The views that are expressed on the website are the contributors own and not necessarily those of Durham County Council. This is a community website so no guarantee can be given of the historical accuracy of individual contributions