Hesleden

Hesleden ( HEZ-əl-dən) is a village in County Durham, England, south of Peterlee. The name is a combination of Dene and Hesle, which is from "hazel". The combined population of the five communities making up the parish of Monk Hesleden was 5,722 at the 2011 Census.

1. Governance

Monk Hesleden Parish Council, set up in December 1894, has twelve serving councillors, who act as the first tier of local government for the communities of Blackhall Colliery, Crimdon, Hesleden, High Hesleden and Monk Hesleden. The regional tier is provided by the Durham County Council, with 126 councillors elected from 63 wards. It is covered by the parliamentary constituency of Darlington.

1. Education and worship

The community has a primary school, which had 125 pupils on the school roll in the 2018/2019 school year. It was classed as "good" at an Ofsted inspection on 5 March 2020. It offers a pre-school Breakfast Club and an After-School Club to needful pupils. Hesleden Methodist Church officially closed in June 2021. Built in 1876, it was renovated in 1968. There is an Anglican church at nearby Blackhall – St Andrew's, with twice-weekly services.

1. Amenities

Heselden has a post office and general store in Front Street

1. Sports and recreation

Blackhall Welfare Park, managed and maintained by Monk Hesleden Parish Council, provides recreation and leisure facilities for the community. It is used by village cricket, association football and bowls teams. The park opened in 1929 and was managed and funded by the Miners Welfare Scheme until the closure of the local Blackhall Colliery in 1981. The parish council took over in 1989. Funds from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust were involved in completing new changing rooms, which opened in October 2010.

1. Transport

The village is served by the Monday–Saturday No. 206 bus route between Peterlee and Wingate. The nearest rail service is from Horden railway station. It offers an hourly service between Nunthorpe and Hexham. Hexham has frequent services to Newcastle and Carlisle. Nunthorpe has regular services to Middlesbrough. The B1281 secondary road along the north side of the village provides a link with the main north–south A19 and with the coastal A1086 between Hartlepool and Sunderland.

1. Notable people

Colin Bell (1946–2021), England and Manchester City footballer, was born in Hesleden. He died after a short illness on 5 January 2021. Courtney Hadwin (born 2004), a noted singer-songwriter, lives in Hesleden with her family.

1. References


1. External links

Media related to Hesleden at Wikimedia Commons

Nearby Places View Menu

1.3 km

High Hesleden

High Hesleden is a village in Monk Hesleden parish, County Durham, in England. It is situated a few miles north of Hartlepool, between Blackhall Rocks and Hesleden. High Hesleden is located mostly along one street, on one side of which lies the village green; there is a turn off (although difficult to recognise), for Monk Hesleden and there is a small country lane which takes you down to Crimdon.

Neighbourhood

The Castle, Castle Eden

The Castle at Castle Eden, County Durham, England, is an 18th-century, Palladian style, mansion house and a Grade II* listed building. No trace remains of the medieval castle of Robert the Bruce. The historic listing states that "by 1678, Sir William Bromley owned the manor" and that in 1758, "William Throckmorton Bromley, sold the property to Rowland Burdon". At that time, "the estate was in poor condition and unenclosed, the chapel was in ruins and the mansion house had gone". Burdon enclosed the land, erected a church and built the manor house. The Burdon family of Castle Eden had their origins in Stockton on Tees, where the first Rowland Burdon was mayor nine times in the 17th century. His great-grandson Rowland Burdon III, a merchant banker, purchased the manor of Castle Eden in 1758, and in about 1765, with the assistance of architect William Newton, built the house which came to be known as The Castle. The house has three storeys and a seven-bay entrance front, and encompasses 15,102 square feet (1,403.0 m2). The central three bays are canted and the whole carries a castellated parapet. His grandson, Rowland Burdon V, was Member of Parliament for County Durham from 1790 to 1806, and his son Rowland VI was resident in 1861 and recorded in the census of that year as a farmer of 352 acres (1.42 km2). In 1881 the census records the resident as Rev John Burdon, a widower with two children and ten servants. In about 1863 the entrance frontage was enhanced by the addition of a single-storey six-bayed palmhouse, and in 1893 a north wing was added. Later Rowland Burdens served as High Sheriff of Durham in 1872 and 1907. The property was for sale in late 2020, with 14 acres of land; the castle then included 11 bedrooms and 15,102 square feet of space. Extensive restoration had been completed over the previous two decades. An article about the castle stated that "the dungeon is accessed via stone steps from the ground floor and includes many different rooms that span the entire footprint of the Castle".

Castle Historic Site

1.6 km

Monk Hesleden

Monk Hesleden is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 Census was 5,722. The parish is situated to the north-west of Hartlepool, and is on the North Sea coast. Monk Hesleden village is situated a short distance to the south of High Hesleden. The parish has an area of 1,091.35 hectares (4.2137 sq mi) and includes the villages or hamlets of Blackhall Colliery, Blackhall Rocks, Crimdon, Hesleden, High Hesleden and Monk Hesleden. It has a parish council.

Neighbourhood

Castle Eden Dene

Castle Eden Dene is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserve in the Easington district of County Durham, England. It is located mostly in Peterlee, between the A19 and A1086 roads. The dene is the largest, and biologically the richest, of a series of deep ravines that have been incised through the Magnesian Limestone and overlying boulder clay of coastal Durham by streams flowing into the North Sea. It is the largest area of semi-natural woodland in north-east England and, because the steep valley sides are mostly inaccessible, it has suffered relatively little from human interference. The majority of the woodland is dominated by ash, Fraxinus excelsior, and wych elm, Ulmus glabra, though sycamore, Acer pseudoplatanus is well-established and yew, Taxus baccata, is common. The yew is said to have given the dene its name, "Eden" being derived from the earlier "Yoden", or Yew dene, though an alternative explanation is that "Eden" and "Yoden" derive from Old English Idun, itself a derivative of Indo-European pid, meaning "a spring, water". Over 450 species of plants have been recorded in the wood, many of which are typical of ancient woodlands that date back to pre-medieval times. The ground-flora is dominated by ramsons, or wild garlic, Allium ursinum, with its characteristic garlic-like aroma; dog's mercury, Mercurialis perennis and sanicle, Sanicula europaea, are also common, while locally-rare species include lily-of-the-valley, Convallaria majalis, herb paris, Paris quadrifolia, bird's-nest orchid, Neottia nidus-avis, and round-leaved wintergreen, Pyrola rotundifolia. In early spring, the woodland floor is scattered with the yellow flowers of primrose, Primula vulgaris, lesser celandine, Ranunculus ficaria, wild garlic Allium ursinum (producing the distinctive smell of garlic in the air when flowering) and the white flowers of wood anemone, Anemone nemorosa, which give way in late spring to thick carpets of bluebells, Hyacinthoides non-scripta. The Dene is a popular venue for walkers and there are several entrances, from Peterlee and Horden to the north, Castle Eden, Blackhall and Heselden to the south, and from the A19 and A1086 roads. Natural England, which manages the area in partnership with local councils, has done much to improve access within the dene, both by strengthening the paths and bridges across the burn and by creating better drainage around the paths. Despite this, heavy rain storms can severely disrupt access to some areas. Storms in July 2009 and November 2012 have left several areas inaccessible and some stretches of path may have to be closed permanently because of the instability of the valley slopes. Similarly, although Castle Eden Burn is seasonal, and there is often no running water at the bottom of the ravine, the culvert which carries the burn under the A1086 road can become blocked with logs after heavy rain storms. To minimise accidents and to avoid damage to the plants and the dene itself, Natural England advises walkers not to stray from the paths and prohibits the use of bicycles and motorbikes within the reserve.

Hiking National Park