esd ay ,19lh Octobers 9 ------ Wednesday, 19th October, 2005 THE TEESDALE M ERCURY Plans Jinny Howlett LIST of planning applications D ale People Teesdale through the ages Councilreceived in by week Teesdale ending District October 7: Barnard Castle Scar Top, Romaldkirk in 1841 1IRE Barnard Castle, erection of new AT first glance Romaldkirk parish doesn’t seem to admissions building. have changed much since White’s Directory of COVERED 2 Southfield Drive, Toft Hill, two Yorkshire described it in 1841 - give or take a few ;R STATION storey extension. reservoirs that is. Back in 1841 Romaldkirk included 14 Lilac Way, Toft Hill, two storey Laithkirk and Lunedale - now a separate parish - so ;ILLS, WALUNG & PAVING Former Barney it covered a huge chunk of Upper Teesdale: a truly iRDCORE extension. enormous area. Burnholme Farm, Westwick, The parish was 16 miles long and contained EARANCE change of use of outbuilding to villages that in southern England would have had granny annex. their own parishes. In fact Cotherstone, 6 The Fallows, Cockfield, Hunderthwaite and Lunedale with populations of retrospective application for 631, 297 and 308 respectively were large enough to (SON L* have their own satellite communities. It was almost erection of car port. newsman dies as if they were parishes in their own right. 3 660367 50 North Green, Staindrop, Attached to Cotherstone were the hamlets of erection of conservatory. Briscoe, Com Park, Louphouse, (now derelict) and Land to rear of 44 Low Etherley, Towler Hill. Hunderthwaite included Hury and r v mm outline application for erection of Newhouses in Baldersdale and also Thomgate Hill one dwelling house. and Woden Croft near Romaldkirk. The township of Repairs 47 Stainton Village, Barnard Lunedale was of enormous size, having over 21,000 Digital Freem after long illness acres - mostly moorland. Its population of 308 was Castle, erection of porch. divided amongst the small hamlets of Laith Chapel, Satellites. Clint Farm, Clint Road, Bowes, Grassholme, Thring-garth, Birtle, Bow-bank, conversion of bam. A F O R M E R Teesdale by Mercury Staff for the ‘No’ campaign against Carbeck and Wemmergill, with approximately 11 01833 6WM1 Britain’s continued households in each place. Actually that can’t be far Black Lodge Farm, Bowes, M ercury reporter who Gazette and then the 0777 9469QM erection of general purpose challenged injustice and membership of the then removed from what it is today. agricultural building. blazed through the Newcastle Journal. Common Market. Thanks to the public spiritness of a succession of 107 Toft Hill, alteration to single In 1957 he accepted the A constant campaigner wealthy landowners such as William Hutchinson, ranks of his profession night news editorship at now against social injustice, Robin Francis Appleby and John Parkin, Romaldkirk Parish storey roof to rear. has passed away aged 79 was, by 1841, well endowed with schools and defunct Daily Herald co-ordinated support for chapels. There were schools at Romaldkirk, Holwick, 3 Flatts Road, Barnard Castle, Robin Page, who was born in newspaper in Manchester. erection of conservatory. West Hartlepool and raised by miners during the 1984/85 Baldersdale, Lartington and Mickleton and at tot all building operators Moor View, Blackton, Eggleston, his mother in Barnard Castle Robin left the Herald when it strikes as well as marching Carbeck in Lunedale. Only Cotherstone was without Permissions appbedfor erection of conservatory. was bought by Rupert against the apartheid regime a school. I wonder why? Most of the schools also Glenridge, Eggleston, extensions won a scholarship to Barnard, Murdoch and turned into the functioned as chapels of ease and there was also A. B. FOULDS Castle School before joining in South Africa and in support the ancient chapel at Laith (Laithkirk). Cotherstone 01325352821 to house and insertion of dormer the M e rc u ry in 1942, aged 16. Sun. of the CND anti-nuclear had no chapel of ease in 1841. Perhaps children windows. Aged 18, he volunteered for After his editorial post, from movement from Cotherstone were expected to walk to which he developed strong Romaldkirk where there was a free school, founded the RAF in 1944 and began He underwent a prostate from 1686. Romaldkirk village of course also had the P resenter’s training as a political contacts, Robin operation in 1997 from which parish church. There were also six almshouses in Plastering, Joinery, Phcir, navigator/wireless operator for founded the first independent he never fully recovered. Robin Romaldkirk village, which were meant for the elderly G e n e r a l B u ik tm g j Gararr. the British bomber force news agency to be based in passed away in August at poor of the whole parish. W I t a l k There were other places of worship in these Services - Fencing JPfc during the Second World War. Parliament. Watford General Hospital after villages beside those provided by the Established Free Estate Luckily for Robin - as bomber His Newspoint agency grew developing gall-bladder cancer. THE guest speaker at the next crew casualty rates were high His son Simon Page said: Church. At Lartington Hall lived Thornton Maire Call: 07969 TO meeting of the Middleton-in- phenomenally in the 70s and Witham Esq., a notable Roman Catholic. There was - the war ended before he was 80s through supplying regional “My dad was a hard working, a chapel in the hall that was used by the Roman 01833 650066 Teesdale Womens Institute will combat ready. be Radio Cleveland presenter television and radio channels, passionate and compassionate Catholics of the surrounding area. At Cotherstone, Mark Turnbull. In the months leading up to who were excluded from the person; a socialist who was although the Church of England had no place of the end of the war he worked Parliament press gallery, with brought up in appallingly worship, the Independents, Wesleyan Methodists He will talk on Work in Media for the RAF wartime and the Society of Friends all had chapels. This daily news feeds from the difficult circumstances by his situation was no doubt the basis of the tradition that and Broadcasting at the ambulance service. That Selfless: meeting, on October 25, at experience, and the injuries he House of Commons. widowed mother, and who Lartington was a Catholic village, Cotherstone 7.45pm, in the village hall. Through his life experiences went on to great achievement. Robin Quaker or ’Chapel’ and Romaldkirk Church of saw, affected him deeply for Robin became an avid left­ All that while being Page was England. The Wesleyans also had chapels at The meeting is open to the rest of his life. winger and a dedicated Labour unstintingly selfless.” a constant Mickleton and Romaidkirk. members and non-members. After the war, Robin party member. campaigner That other centre of village life, the inn, was well During the evening, the returned to journalism to work He is survived by Simon, his against represented throughout the parish. There were 3 institute will present Mark with for the Northern Echo before In 1975 he wrote and second wife Ann and three social inns and a brewhouse at Romaldkirk: The Mason’s designed the main literature stepchildren. injustice Arms, The Crown and The King’s Arms. In a cheque for the Royal National moving on to the Sunderland Cotherstone there was The Fox, where John r . j . m u Institute for the Blind. Thompson was the landlord. There was also the Professional WalJfc There will be a nominal Lion and the Temperance Hotel. It’s not dear £2 £3,800 raised whether these were one and the same. Just one Tiling. Competitive Rt charge of for refreshments. victualler is listed there: Sarah Dixon. There were No job too big or tool Board Inns at Hunderthwaite, Lartington, in FREE ESTIMATE for cancer care Lunedale at both Bow-bank and Wemmergill and at Tel: 01833637» F i r e w o r k s Mickleton. There was also an inn called Greenside- A CAR boot sale in aid of Marie beck in Lunedale. Do you suppose people in Mob: 077512342! Lunedale liked their beer? Or was it just that there for villa g e Curie Cancer Care was a were a lot of travellers going through the dale? As resounding success after bargain well as the inns there were beerhouses at Holwick, A SPECTACULAR fireworks hunters flocked to the grounds of Cotherstone, Hury and - guess where - Lunedale. display will be the highlight of Raby Castle. White’s Directory gives us examples of the many an evening’s Bonfire Night The sale on September 3 trades and occupations followed in the parish. It was 1,000 an overwhelmingly rural area of course, so most entertainment in Whorlton. attracted visitors from all people were farmers. The directory gives the names The Village Community over the country with £3,800 of 105 farmers in the parish. I wonder how many Association has organised a being raised for the charity’s there are nowadays? Besides the farmers and bonfire event with a licensed nurses in the community project. innkeepers and brewers, there were lots of other bar, soup and hot dogs, outside occupations. In Romaldkirk alone, for example, there Marie Curie fundraising were a couple of ’gentlemen’ (who presumably didn’t the village hall. manager for Teesdale, Linda work) and then there was a solicitor, an excise man, The fire will be lit at 6pm on SIMON GAUGE Grand: Raby McDonough said: “It was a lovely a lead mine agent, a weaver, a butcher and a miller. November 5, and the fireworks Castle day and a great success. There were 2 blacksmiths, 4 boot and shoemakers, PLUMBEI will sparkle from 6.30pm provided a “We were delighted with the 3 joiners, and 4 shopkeepers as well.