A once thriving mining community on the outskirts of Durham, born in the early 19th century and disappearing 150 years later, is being permanently remembered in a heritage project supported by a local community group, the city’s freemen and the county council.
The seeds of the village of Middle Rainton are reported to have been sown in 1820 with the sale of a plot of land - sandwiched between the existing villages of West and East Rainton - to the agent of Lord Londonderry, whose ambition was to sink a large pit and build homes for miners.
But by the summer of 1970 it was finally gone, victim of the county council’s hugely controversial Category “D” Plan, launched in 1951 targeting 114 ailing villages of “limited economic development.” The proposal suggested eventual demolition by cutting public support and watching the labelled communities “deteriorate out of existence.” While many villages successfully fought off the “Category D” stigma others, among them Middle Rainton, appeared to accept their fate as inevitable - the last remaining part demolished to make way for the A690 dual carriageway.
Three years ago a small plot the land on which the village once stood has been transformed into a community orchard, an innovative plan suggested by the 16 members of the West Rainton Green Group.
Backed by Northumbrian Water with a £700 gift to cover the cost of two dozen apple, pear and plum trees, the haven will also boast fruit bushes and wild flowers. Two memorial heritage boards are being crafted by the county council and one of them, outlining the lost village’s history, will be paid for with a £1,250 grant from the city’s freemen. The second will identify trees within the orchard and invite people from the local community to pick the fruit.
Wikipedia reports that within four years of his lordship’s 19th century land deal the Meadows Pit and associated coke works became reality, one of six other ventures in the surrounding area which had started up as early as 1816.
Cottages for miners working the Meadows were speedily erected and census returns 30 years later confirmed the majority of Middle Rainton’s 189 homes were occupied by pitmen and their families.
At its height the population topped more than 800, supported by shops, four pubs, a Salvation Army Citadel and Primitive Methodist Church – and a policeman living within their midst.
One notable event was said to have taken place in 1843 when a black American woman evangelist reported she had preached before a large crowd at an outdoor event in the village.
By the turn of the 20th century the village’s population had dipped below 550 and the local medical officer of health expressed repeated concerns about insanitary conditions. Some homes fell into disrepair, others were uninhabitable and four were so bad they were demolished. By the end of the Second World War conditions remained a major concern, blighting its future. By 1950 just 30 properties survived with most residents migrating to East and West Rainton and Peterlee.
Annie Hastie, a member of the 16-strong the Green Group, allied to the West Rainton and Leamside Village Partnership, said: “We believe the project will benefit the whole community, an area where people can enjoy a walk in a pleasant space and, during the autumn, be at liberty to collect fruit.
“The county council, who have labelled the area a community site, will cut grass once a year and we have agreed to clear away the cuttings to encourage appropriate soil conditions.”
Eric Bulmer, chairman of the freemen’s charitable trust, said “We are pleased to support a group of volunteers not only providing a wonderful natural setting for the community but also informing today’s generation of the heritage of the site and the vital part the mining history in supporting the industrial revolution.”