Everything about Witton-le-wear totally explained
Witton-le-Wear is a village within the
Wear Valley district of
County Durham,
England. It is situated along the conurbation of
Wearside on the north bank of the
River Wear, 6 km (4 miles) to the north-west of
Bishop Auckland.
Geography and administration
As of 2005 the
Wolsingham and Witton-le-Wear
ward is represented on the District Council by Vere Shuttleworth and Des Wilson (both
independent), and on the County Council by John Shuttleworth (independent). It is part of the
Durham North West parliamentary
constituency, which as of 2005 is represented in
parliament by
Hilary Armstrong (
Labour). It is in the
North East England region, which serves as a constituency for the
European Parliament.
The local
police force is
Durham Constabulary. Witton-le-Wear is in the Wear and Tees division.
Location
History
Etymology
The place name
Witton or
Whitton is fairly common in the north of England. The name sometimes derives from "white farm" but in the case of Witton-le-Wear, as with many others,
Witton refers to a
farm (
Anglo-Saxon:
ton) in or near
woodland (Anglo-Saxon:
widu). Witton-le-Wear's name is attested as
Wudeton from 1104, but had become
Wotton in Werdale by 1313. This subsequently evolved to the present form.
Origins
Witton-le-Wear was once situated on a major
railway line, whose principal use was to transport
coal and
cement around the north-east of England. However as the price of road haulage dropped the line fell into disuse and carried its last train in the early
1990s. Now, funded partly by
George Reynolds, former criminal and owner of
Darlington Football Club, and partly by
European Union and
lottery funds, it's being cleared for re-opening as a daily tourist line.
Witton-le-Wear's last village
shop was converted into a house around the turn of the
millennium, leaving the village with only two
pubs and a sprinkling of houses. Despite the lack of commercial interest the village is still growing, with recent approval of plans for 14 new houses in the field below Castle View, and an under-11s
playground having been built using lottery funds.
George Reynolds also funded a £100,000 fibreglass hall for the expanding school in Witton-le-Wear, which comprises approximately 100 pupils and 10 staff. It was founded in the
1960s along with Castle View in the upper half of the village, as a larger alternative to what has now been converted to the Community Centre on School Street. Its catchment area is no longer limited to the village but also takes pupils from neaby
Hamsterley,
Howden-le-Wear and
Crook, which is what prompted the construction of the hall.
Notable Residents
[Thegatehouse of Witton Castle was designed by the musician and amateur architect,
Jools Holland].
Thomas Jackson (1579-1640) Scholar and priest.
Anthony Salvin (1799-1881), the celebrated architect spent much of his boyhood at Willington, where he lived with his grandfather. He later attended
Durham School.
Salvin eventually developed into an authority on the improvement and restoration of old castles. He it was who rebuilt the keep of
Durham Castle, after it had become a ruin, in 1839-40. He did much the same thing at Windsor Castle and the
Tower of London.
It is in
Northumberland, though, that Salvin really made his mark, particularly at
Alnwick Castle, which had become ruinous by the middle of the eighteenth century.
Algernon Percy, the fourth Duke, employed Salvin to restore the formidable border fortress we see today.
Henry Taylor (1800-1886), born in Bishop Middleham, spent his youth in Witton-le-Wear with his stepmother at Witton Hall (now Witton Tower) in the high street. His father George was a friend of
Wordsworth and the poet visited him in July 1838.
In Witton, Taylor wrote 'The Cave of Ceada' which was accepted for the
Quarterly Review. Another poem, 'The Lynnburn' is about the river which runs through the village.
Sir Henry later became a civil servand and playwright.
Further Information
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