The Norman Cornish Trail
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THE NORMAN CORNISH TRAIL Spennymoor Town Hall DL16 6DG Telephone: 01388 815276 Email: [email protected] www.spennymoor-tc.gov.uk Scan this QR Code to visit our Trail App Altogether better and access additional Durham Spennymoor audio, imagery and Area Action Partnership directions. THE ARTIST Norman Cornish was born in Spennymoor and this is where he lived the whole of his life until his death in 2014 at the age of 94. As a young teenage boy, Cornish was welcomed into the sketching club at The Spennymoor Settlement, and was encouraged by the Warden, Bill Farrell, to paint the world he knew. As an artist, he found everything he needed right here in this town. Some would say his artistic inspiration came from Spennymoor a ‘narrow world’, but according to him this world offered has“ all that everything he needed. a painter needs in order to depict humanity ” 2 3 THE SPENNYMOOR TOWN HALL NORMAN ART GALLERY & Spennymoor Town Hall The Norman Cornish Trail starts and ends in CORNISH MINING MUSEUM the superbly refurbished John Kitson Archway in Spennymoor Town Hall, located on the main high TRAIL street. Here you will find many examples of the artist’s Covering an approximate distance of 1.5miles (2.4km) work uniquely displayed on and a moderate 50 mins walk, The Norman Cornish Trail backlit glass panels creating allows you to follow in the artist’s footsteps and identify a stunning visual image of the locations of many of his most iconic works. his most iconic works. The Town Hall also plays host The trail is an experience that takes you back in time to the Mining Museum and – back to a time when coal was once the life blood The Bob Abley Art Gallery of industry here in Spennymoor and a key part of which exhibits a significant community life. His work will take you on a journey that collection of work from captures the social history of the time – showing how the Cornish permanent people lived, worked, played and how communities and collections and is the only families came together as one. gallery in the North East Follow the trail to identify views and locations of Cornish’s which offers original Norman iconic works. Walk in his footsteps and gain a real insight Cornish artwork for sale, as into the composition of his works, seeing the world as he well as a wide range of books saw it. and prints. Within the gallery, you can See where he gained his inspiration, what he painted, also see the artist’s studio, what has changed and what remains the same today. faithfully reconstructed from The artwork featured at the various locations reflects the its original location in the cultural landscape during the artist’s working lifetime, family home on Whitworth evoking feelings of nostalgia and rekindling memories, Terrace. whilst also providing a rich, social and historical record of bygone times. Many of the people who frequented The Art Gallery is FREE to enter and is open between these places have now long gone and some of the places the hours of 12.00 – 4.00pm themselves have since been demolished. Monday – Friday and 10.00am – 2.00pm “I just close my eyes and they all spring to life.” each Saturday. Parking is FREE and is available immediately behind the Town Hall. 4 5 2: ZEBRA CROSSING The artist stood at this TRAIL LOCATIONS location sketching the activity at the lollipop The trail takes you around ten locations in Spennymoor which the artist saw as a rich source of crossing during busy times of inspiration - places that he would often pass on his way through the town as part of his the day – for example, school daily life. children flocking home from the nearby Rosa Street Primary School. A large oil painting of this actual scene was gifted by the artist to Spennymoor Town Council and can be seen at the Bob Abley Art Gallery in the Town Hall. 3: ST. PAUL’S CHURCH St Paul’s Church, with its spire reaching up into the sky, was drawn and painted by the artist many times. He painted the church in different weather conditions – times when it would be shrouded in a veil of mist, and winter days when the church and its grounds were covered in a blanket of thick snow. 1: EDDY’S FISH SHOP Once a real focal point in the community, Eddy’s Fish Shop “ If you see a street and it’s not terribly no longer stands on the end interesting, you don’t draw it. of Craddock Street, but it is easy to imagine the thriving But then something happens. community centred around Some interesting people come in or this location. The artwork depicted at this location some kids start playing with skipping brings it all to life. ropes and suddenly it enlivens the place and I want to draw it.” 6 7 THE NORMAN CORNISH TRAIL O SITE MAP x O’Hanlan St. C lo s 1: EDDY’S FISH SHOP e C re s ad K 2: ZEBRA CROSSING c o i en rd R n fo g S t x le O S 3: ST PAUL’S CHURCH d PO t mo . re n 4: EDWARD STREET or D lb r VICTORIA JUBILEE PARK o 5: ROSA STREET SCHOOL iv H e e P sid 6: MINING SCENES eap Ch 7: SPENNYMOOR PEOPLE RY RA 8: BAR SCENES LIB 9: BISHOP’S CLOSE STREET Carr St. d Du t. a 8 ive S o Dr n n R Stu dley da o 10: BERRIMAN’S CHIP VAN s d LEISURE CENTRE s k r 9 S c o Ja f t x e . 7 s O l o e C 6 ile b u TOWN HALL: J t. START & FINISH OF TRAIL S n o ks ac J t. TRAIL ROUTE S s t. en TOWN HALL S er ick lv 10 P D Si TOWN HALL - P 5 MINING MUSEUM ROSA STREET Cambridge St. TRAIL POLICE SCHOOL STATION TOWN HALL - Charles St. START & FINISH THE BOB ABLEY ART GALLERY 4 THE SETTLEMENT 2 Clarence St. 1 ARTIST’S FORMER HOME . t. St S th k u oc o d S d t. 3 ra S C aff ST PAUL’S B WHITWORTH CHURCH PARK ACADEMY A688 TO A1(M) Clyde Terrace . H t o S l la l il i V n d a le TO KIRK MERRINGTON ace err A688 h T ort TO BISHOP itw 0 50 100 150 metres Wh AUCKLAND 8 9 4: EDWARD STREET 6: MINING SCENES This street is typical of many Spennymoor’s roots are of the terraced streets in steeped within the mining Spennymoor. The artist industry – the artist himself especially liked the way it is worked underground for ‘crowned’ by St Paul’s Church. over 30 years. Here, in the When the artist painted this beautifully tended Jubilee street, there were fewer cars, Park, which is open from if any, making the street dawn until dusk each day, feel emptier than it the trail boards showcase appears today. some of the artist’s most iconic mining scenes - depicting the harsh working conditions underground. This point on the trail stands beside the ‘Mining Memorial’ which pays tribute to those who laboured in cramped conditions and lost their lives doing dangerous work – risks 5: ROSA STREET SCHOOL “ The images come from the people. from explosions, fires and The artist was attracted to this busy scene and here he found a rich source of inspiration for his roof fall, to suffocating gases art – children playing, parents pushing prams, people hurrying by on their way to work. They create them. I am just the medium.” and flooding. 7: SPENNYMOOR PEOPLE The boards at this location feature Spennymoor people of times gone by. The artist would regularly sit on the benches here, chatting to locals, sharing stories or sketching his fellow man. He was captivated by the fascinating characters who could be seen going about their daily business – the newspaper seller, a group huddled together in conversation, a lone character sat with his dog beside him on a leash. 10 11 9: BISHOP’S CLOSE STREET The Leisure Centre stands on the former site of Bishop’s Close Street. The artist’s home from the street is now recreated at Beamish Museum. 33 Bishop’s Close Street was a typical ‘two up, two down’ colliery house, with an outside toilet and a tin bath hung outside in the back yard. The street was surrounded by the remnants of the town’s industrial past - a railway embankment, slag heaps, coal bunkers and gas works. 8: BAR SCENES 10: BERRIMAN’S CHIP VAN The Brewers Arms (formerly known as the Bridge Inn) was just one of the many busy local The chip van, owned by the pubs where the artist sketched working men at leisure. In fact, in the late 1930s, there were Berriman family, would be approximately 25 public houses within a quarter of a mile of this location! The artist was seen around the streets of certainly not an outsider looking in; he was entirely immersed within this community. Spennymoor and was mostly located just yards from this He was fascinated by the shapes people made: two men leaning together in conversation; a group actual spot, a corner just off playing dominoes; a man stood at the bar with a shivering whippet at his heels. The artist would Thomas Street. The chip van sketch his fellow man and capture those pure, unguarded moments.