Memorial Garden

The Memorial Garden Project started several years ago with a survey of the people in the Parish. The feedback we received included that we need more seating, a Christmas tree and a memorial to the miners who sacrificed their lives working down the coal mines.

The Parish took control of the Memorial Garden land from Durham County Council and started work using funds from the Parish precept with the help of grants from Councillors’ neighbourhood budgets, Area Action Partnership, and Section 106 funds (contributions
developers must make to the local area).

The area around the War Memorial had already been improved and former Councillor Peter Dawson had undertaken research to find names of those who fell in World War I to add to the memorial.

Cllr Graeme Blenkiron contacted the Durham Mining Museum who kindly provided the names of the 62 miners who had lost their lives locally in the coal mines and the coal tub was placed in the garden with a plaque in their memory.

Extra seating was installed and paths and underground cabling for the Christmas tree were added and the flagpole was installed. The Christmas Tree, donated annually by Pity Me garden centre, has been a great hit with residents. The most recent addition by the Parish
Council has been the raised flower bed.

Cllr Blenkiron has been working on building the relationship between the Parish Council and New College Durham who have kindly created the silhouette statues of soldiers and a miner for us.