References to landowners and prominent men in the district are not very difficult to find, but the ordinary or common people have left very little record of their lives.  Any information about them is usually passed on by word of mouth but photographs of men at their work place, school groups, carnival days, cricket and football clubs do exist, showing these people in their everyday life.  In the early part of the last century the way of living and food of the labouring classes was very simple.  Milk was the chief drink, later to be replaced by beer, then tea.  Meat was scarce so potatoes were a chief source of food.

These, with the addition of vegetables, usually home-grown, made soups and broth.  Nearly every family had a garden or allotment.  It was characteristic of the whole cornfield that colliery settlements grew up near the older farming communities.  This was so at Cornforth, the newer village of West Cornforth close to the older one.  In those days few villages had a good water supply, water having to be carried in pails from wells or springs.

The following are known to exist but there would be many more of which we are unaware.  Quite recently a well was exposed at the old vicarage when alterations were taking place.  Behind the ''Flintlock'' public house there was a well and another near the Water Board cottage.  It is not known when piped water first came to the village but by 1897 the Weardale and Shildon Water Works Co.  Ltd.  had laid on water from a reservoir at Waskerley.  Each house had only one tap, all water having to be heated in a boiler at the side of the kitchen range.  Oil lamps were the only form of illumination, but by 1897 the streets, houses and public buildings were lit by gas from Spennymoor and Tudhoe Gas Co.

In 1924 the houses in Poplar and Hawthorn Terraces were the first to have electricity which was produced at the Colliery.  Electricity was then introduced by the NEEB but house installation was very slow.

Friendly Societies were formed, encouraging men to contribute to these which meant they lived more sober lives, their money going to saving rather than drinking or gambling.  Men or their families could expect to receive some cash remuneration in times of sickness or death.  In 1873 ''The Order of Oddfellows' Lodge, West Cornforth, ordered a lodge chest, a frame and glass for Emblem'' from a local joiner costing £1.10s.0d.  The Water closet had not yet been introduced.  In the streets were large ash pits in which refuse lay during the hot summer days, a breeding ground for flies and disease.  These refuse heaps were removed only once a year in the autumn by local farmers who spread the refuse on their fields as a cheap form of manure.  Evidence, consisting of broken pieces of pots, etc., is still found in the fiends.  Streets were en-made and had open channels, resulting in dust clouds in summer and great depths of mud in winter.  People unable to pay for funerals were buried by ''The Union'' and had a pauper's funeral, the coffin being black with no adornments.  In late Victorian times great Importance was placed on bereavement.  Church bells were tolled the night before a funeral; coffins were very ornate with brass handles; the all glass hearse was drawn by black horses with velvet covers with tassels, and the harness was plain, not polished.  The driver wore a black top hat and black gloves for an elderly person or white gloves for a single person or child.  Before the church service the coffin was rested on chairs outside the house while a hymn was sung.  The evening before the funeral neighbours, acting as ''Bidders'' would visit houses inviting the people to return, after the funeral, to the deceased's house for a meal.

Suicides were not taken into the Church and usually were buried in unconsecrated ground.  The close relatives of the deceased would be in mourning for about a year, wearing black clothes all that tame.  It was customary to erect an ornate headstone over the grave in the Churchyard, in many cases families depriving themselves to do this (a sort of keeping up with the Jones'!)

Weddings were then more simple as people could not afford lavish receptions or honeymoons.  After the ceremony it was the custom for the bridegroom to throw pennies to the bystanders, any children present shouting excitedly ''Money out".  The bride and groom would be showered with rice, not quite as gentle as confetti! Sometimes the Church gates were secured and were opened only on the payment of a fine by the bridegroom.

On leaving the Church after baptism it was customary, if the newly baptised baby was a girl, to give a piece of christening cake and some money to the first boy met.  If the new baby was a boy the gifts were given to a girl.  Sometimes people from Ireland passed through the village driving flocks of geese which they sold to local people and farmers.  Men pushing ice-cream carts came from Durham to sell their wares.  German Brass Bands performed as they toured around.  Others, travelling from village to village, pushed barrel-organs which they played in the streets.  Men came with performing bears, and scissor grinders pushing their one-wheeled vehicles plied for trade.  More men with horses and carts collected scrap, old rags or jam-jars, calling out ''scouring stones", which they gave for the above articles.  Housewives used this yellow sandstone to brighten up their doorsteps after scrubbing.  Sometimes collectors gave balloons to the children in exchange for jam-jars.

Years ago children's games were not so sophisticated as today.  Times were hard so most toys were home-made and the games improvised.  Boys had wooden hoops or iron rings (called bowlers) which were usually made illegally by colliery blacksmiths.  Girls had skipping ropes, sometimes bought, but more often made from discarded clothes lines.  Usually in the Spring, tops and whips would appear, great favourites with boys and girls, the tops being decorated with a design in coloured chalks or silver paper.  Scooters, some bought, others home made, were popular, also an early type of go-cart made out of wooden soap boxes and discarded pram wheels.  Sledging was a great winter sport, as in those days it was safe to sledge down the roads, these being free from motor vehicles.  Boys played games with brightly coloured glass marbles in the road gutters on the way to, or coming back from school.  The older boys' games were inevitably boisterous: Cowboys and Indians; Cops and Robbers: but no matter what the title was, good always triumphed.

''Hitch the Dabber'' - a form of hopscotch - was played by both boys and girls, sometimes bringing down a mother's wrath on the heads of the players when she discovered the pavement outside their home, which she had scrubbed on hands and knees, marked out into bays with coloured chalks.

Flying kites was an exciting pastime.  These were usually made from bamboo canes, brown paper or newspaper, the long tail of the kite being made of pieces of newspaper rolled and evenly spaced out along a length of string.  An old Easter custom in all rural villages was to dye hard boiled eggs using mainly onion skins, flowers of gorse or broom and coffee.  On Easter Monday, all the children would take their paste (pace) eggs and roll them down a hillside.

Boys especially enjoyed "jarping" their eggs which meant using their egg to crack either the pointed end or the broad end of their opponent's egg.  The winner was the one whose egg was intact at the end of the competition.

Occasionally a smart(?) boy would try using a pot egg but rarely succeeded in this trick.

Around Christmas time small groups of older children went disguised round the village, knocking on people's doors, and shouting, ''Please let the guisers in." Sometimes the householders would invited them in to perform a short play in rhyme, which took a variety of forms, but always one character was put to death by another player brandishing a home made wooden sword.  The victim was then miraculously restored to life by a Dr.  Brown, who would recite: "My name is Dr.  Brown.  I'm the best old doctor in the town." After being duly recompensed for their efforts the players would move on to another household.  On New Year's Eve the adult members of the village (always men) would knock on neighbours' doors at midnight, or shortly after, shouting ''Happy New Year  - Please will you let the first foot in?'' This tradition was practiced only in the north of England and Scotland.  The men usually carried a piece of coal which they put on the fire.  Then, shaking hands or embracing members of the household, wished them a Happy New Year and Good Health (summed up in the words 'All the Best').  They were then given a piece of Christmas cake and refreshment, usually a glass of whisky.  It was regarded as a sign of good luck if the first foot was a dark haired man, and a sign of bad luck if a woman, or the first person to cross the threshold, was a member of the household.  All the ashes had to be removed from the fire and the hearth clean and tidy before the old year ended.  It was the custom in mining villages for the pit buzzer to be blown at midnight on New Year's Eve, a never to be forgotten sound as colliery after colliery buzzer blew to welcome the New Year.

Washing day was a mammoth task as all water had to be boiled, either in a boiler at the side of the kitchen range or in a wash-house in the back yard.  Here the water was heated in a set-pot with a grate underneath it, in the corner of the building.  The first task was to light a fire in the grate, then fill the set pot with pails of water carried from the one and only tap in the house.

As the hot water was used it had to be replenished with more pails of water.  The boiling water was then poured, a pail-full at a time, into a barrel (known as a poss-tub).  The dirty clothes were then put into the tub where they were subjected to a heavy thumping with a poss-stick (or dolly stick).

This necessitated much laborious manual work.  Next the clothes were mangled, being passed through heavy wooden rollers turned by a hand-wheel to take out as much moisture as possible.  Eventually the clothes were hung out to dry on lines strung across the back streets from one house to another.

On wet days the clothes were dried on lines across the kitchens, or on a clothes horse (a kind of wooden screen) which was opened out round the open fire.  Clothes were ironed by flat irons heated in front of the fire, or by pieces of iron made red hot in the fire before being placed in an iron box with a handle, known as a box iron.

All this work occupied a full day, usually Monday, starting very early in the morning and finishing late in the evening.  Between these tasks the woman of the house had to prepare meals for men going to or coming from their work.  In a household of several men most of the day was spent preparing meals, as work at the pit was in shifts, so some members of the household were going out as others returned.  In nearly all houses the fire never went out, as besides cooking, hot water was needed for the men's baths.  This ablution was performed in a tin bath in front of the only fire.  A common feature of a colliery house was the sight of a tin bath hanging on a nail in the wall of the back yard and the mangle standing in a corner.  No wonder the miners received concessionary coal from their employers as the fires used prodigious amounts of coal.  Miners usually lived in rent free houses provided by the colliery owners.  In between all their laborious work, miners' wives managed to rear quite large families, feeding them and clothing them, finding time to sew, knit and crochet garments for their families.  All food was prepared at home, a day being set aside for baking bread, scones, teacakes, pies and cakes in an oven at the side of the kitchen range.

Miners in the early part of last century lived a life of almost slavery but with the advent of unions conditions dramatically improved.   Just two years after the sinking of Thrislington Colliery the Durham Miners' Association was formed in 1869.   A room in the ''Rosedale'' public house was used for meetings by the Union.   Like all collieries in the Durham coalfield West Cornforth was proud of its banner which was paraded with nearly 100 others at the Durham Miners' Gala.   On the morning of the Gala day the banner, accompanied by a brass band, was taken round the streets ending at the station where the company boarded a train for Elvet Station, Durham.   Later the Journey was made by buses.   Some years the banner would be draped in black showing there had been fatalities at the colliery during the year, also a reminder of the high price men had to pay for wresting the mineral from the depths of the earth.   One of the many accidents happened to William Easter who, in 1909, lost both his legs.   Later he opened a barber's shop in the High Street

Men were paid fortnightly on a Friday and the week they received no pay was known as ''Baff'' week.   On 11th August, 1911, 325 men and boys received their notices at the colliery, a lock-out had then been in force for three months.   In 1912 a coal strike lasted from February to April.   In March 800 Cornforth children were given a free breakfast by the Salvation Army, tradesmen and friends giving goods and a little cash.   In 1921 there was another lock-out of the miners.   In 1926 a general strike was called by the TUC which lasted only 9 days, but for the miners it lasted 8 long, hard months during which they picked coal from the pit-heaps, formed soup kitchens, the soup being made from gifts of meat, and vegetables from the miners' gardens.   This strike was exceeded in length only by the strike of 1984 which lasted 12 months.   During this dispute there were angry scenes at picket lines.   Food parcels were distributed to the needy.   Following the miners' strike of 1879 there was a trade depression which resulted in the closure of the Ironworks and several local collieries.   A number of Cornforth men left the village to seek a new life in the newly opened coalfields of Pennsylvania, U S A.   Those who were successful sent for their wives and families.   A newspaper reports ''There was considerable excitement at Durham Railway Station on 3rd September, 1879 on the departure of several emigrants, women and children from various villages in Durham, going to join their husbands an America '' They were bound for Liverpool, from there to cross the Atlantic to a new home.  Dame Elizabeth Freville by wall, July let, 1630, directed her executors to purchase property to the yearly value of £20, the money to be divided between the parishes of Sedgefield and Bishop Middleham.   Cornforth at that time being in the parish of Middleham was, and still is, entitled to a share.   Those entitled are the yearly banding of apprentices, poor children and the poorest people in the villages.   These are selected by the trustees at their annual general meeting at Sedgefield.   The charity is distributed on St Thomas Day, 21st December, or as soon after as convenient.

Cornforth Feast was held about Michaelmas Day, the 21st December.  These festivals were instituted in the time of Edward, the Confessor and celebrated on the day when the Church of any parish was dedicated.  Cornforth in the Middle Ages, being in the parish of Bishop Middleham, celebrated with those parishioners the dedication of their Church to St.  Michael.  On such a day High Mass would have been attended by all the villagers of Thrislington, Cornforth and Bishop Middleham.  Later these feast days had more of a carnival atmosphere which included feasting, games and merry making in general.

Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, 20th June, 1887, was a momentous occasion.  A tea was provided for 1,000 adults, and all the village children, each child being presented with a Jubilee mug.  Sports were held for which prices were given.  A bonfire was lit by Mrs.  Chapman at 10 p.m., the hour when all bonfires throughout the country were lit.  On 9th August 1902, the Coronation Day of Edward the Seventh, the streets of Cornforth were well decorated with a display of flags and bunting and in the evening there was a display of fireworks.  Since the above celebrations it has been customary on Royal occasions to give children commemoration mugs.

A Parish Council was started in 1895.  Before this any public work done was Township of Cornforth.

Here are examples of charges from charged to the a local joiner:

1858 new barrow for the highways - 10 shillings.
1859 Bridge over the beck - £1.4s.0d.
1862 50 oak wedges for Mill Bridge - 2 shillings;
Board for bill sticking - 1s.6d.

A Public Library built in a corner of the school playing field was opened on 30th September, 1975.

At local and general elections, boys would form gangs supporting the various candidates and march through the streets, banging drums usually improvised from old bath tins and tin trays, and chanting ''Vote, vote, vote for (name of candidate).  When rival gangs met this usually ended in "a free for all."
 

EPIDEMICS

During the Civil Wars it is known that a plague had broken out at Cornforth in 1645 when three burials were recorded in the burial register at Bishop Middleham:

"October 29: Thomas, son of Robert Weedefield dying of plague at Cornforth was there buried."
"November 11: William, son of Robert Weedefield dying of plague at Cornforth was there buried."
"November 13: Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Weedefleld dying of ye same disease at Cornforth was there buried."

From the same register it was noted on December 19th 1803 Scarlet Fever was prevalent in the area.  The most serious epidemic to reach the North East was an outbreak of ''Asiatic Cholera'' which originated in India and raged on and off from 1831-1866.  Cholera symptoms were as follows: violent diarrhoea and vomiting, the patient losing several pints of fluid in minutes.
This left the victim shrunken and shrivelled, and was followed by severe cramps which spread up the limbs and across the chest.  The features collapsed, the skin turning blue or black.  The patient could expire, or recover after a few weeks.  Cornforth seems to have escaped the epidemics of 1866, but a number of people died in houses in that part of Cornforth township situated at Coxhoe.  The medical officer at that time was Dr.  Carnes who resided at Coxhoe.  The following is an extract from his report to the medical authorities:

"There has been much talk of the condition of Coxhoe but the places visited by certain persons, and where the nuisances really exist are in the Township of Cornforth.  A woman named Hills, wife of Charles Hills, died from Cholera after a few hours' IlIness, in a house or rather den at Cornforth Pottery.  In my opinion the whole of this property ought to be pulled down, being totally unfit for human habitation.  My attention has been drawn this morning to the absolute want of drainage and the beastly state of a privy at the Three Tuns Inn."

At that time most of the Long Row at Coxhoe was owned by the Rosedale and Ferryhill iron Co.  Ltd.  but they had only recently acquired the property.  This epidemic claimed over 50 deaths, most of these being in the township of Coxhoe.  In 1899 all the schools at Cornforth were closed for three weeks owing to an epidemic of Measles.

In 1918 there was a serious outbreak of influenza throughout Europe.  This was nicknamed ''The Spanish Lady'' as it had originated in Spain, and was to last on and off until 1925.  It is estimated that altogether 15 million people died in this epidemic.  At Cornforth there were some deaths but the exact number is not known.
 

POLICE

Before the advent of a police force, villages formed Associations for the Prosecution of Felons, consisting of land or property owners.  As early as 1797 an association was formed by the parishioners of Bishop Middleham including Cornforth.  In 1817 notices were posted and put in the press:
"Association for prosecuting Felons in the Parish of Bishop Middleham in the County of Durham.  We, whose names are hereto subscribed, do give this public notice, that we continue to prosecute and will use our utmost endeavour to detect, apprehend and prosecute (at our joint expense) all persons who shall commit any murder, theft, robbery, burglary or any other crime against the persons, or property of us or any of our servants; and we are fully determined to persevere in punishing to the utmost rigour of the law, all persons who may be detected in breaking into gardens, plantations, destroying or injuring hedges, bates or fences, or stealing turnips, potatoes or any other vegetables, the property of any member of the association All persons keeping dogs in the aforesaid parish, and not paying taxes for them, will be Informed of Liberal rewards will be paid to any person, or persons giving such information as may be the means of bringing offenders to Justice"

A list of members followed, among them being, Thomas Haswell, Charles Shields, all of Cornforth and Thomas Lammas of Garthorne, Henry Cornforth Pottery.

The first police officers heard of in Cornforth were John Goodman and Joseph Reed who on 4th March 1871 charged William Dobbin with causing a breach of the peace.

1897 P C James Hill who on his retirement became first steward of the Workingmen's Club.

1901 PC Hodgson was appointed as a "Watcher" at the Board Schools at a salary of one shilling a week.

1910 PC Frederick Foster who later became a Superintendent PC Jim Cummings had some fingers blown off by a detonator found in a load of coals.

In those days medical attention was given on the spot, no ambulances being available.  He was taken to the doctors' call house where the lady of the house, Mrs E Walton, held his hand while the doctor did an amputation.  A constable (unknown) called to a disturbance, drew out his truncheon and belaboured the people both left and right.  The assembled crowd turned and chased the constable who escaped, but was never seen in West Cornforth again.  On July 6, 1866, a manslaughter case, in which a man named Bowman struck a man named Bell with a bottle near Brandon House Farm, was dismissed.  It is interesting to note that in colliery villages the constables had rent free houses and coals, and a sergeant's pay was £1 2s 0d per week.  The first police houses were on "The Green'', but later there was one in Vicarage Road and another in Poplar Terrace.  There was no police station so anyone arrested had to be taken to Coxhoe where there was a 'lock-up'.  Until recently the cell could be seen in the old police station, now a dentist's surgery.  The constables at Cornforth were all under the supervision of the Sergeant at Coxhoe.  Older readers will remember that well known character PC George Liversedge who administered rough justice but was much respected by everybody.
 

READING ROOMS

Mechanics' Institutes were very popular in Victorian times and all large towns possessed one, but for a village the size of West Cornforth to have one was quite an innovation.  Their aim was to provide reading facilities, newspapers, periodicals and a library.   Lectures on various subjects were given and classes in drawing, geography, mathematics and English were held.   For an annual subscription members had the benefits of the above.  These were the first evening classes and were intended for the further education of the working classes.   In 1870 a Mechanics' Institute, combined with a school, was built by the owners of the Ironworks.  This was opened on Monday, 16th January, 1871 by the Lord Mayor of York, Mr George Leeman, who was a member of Parliament and a director of the company.   In the evening there was a concert and a ball.   A reading room was opened in 1893 in the school on Cornforth village green where 3 morning papers and 2 evening papers were supplied.   Membership fee was one shelling and a payment of three pence fortnightly.   There was a reading room in the original Reading Street which was close to the Workingmen's Club.  The exact date of the opening of the premises is not known, but in 1897 West Cornforth Reading Room held a Social Evening in the Mechanics' Institute.  The last Reading Room was in the Miners' Welfare Hall which opened in 1927.

WARS

Nothing is known of Cornforth's part in any early wars but it is known that during the Civil Wars between King Charles 1 and Parliament the soldiers of the Parliament Army were camped at Cornforth “On 4th November 1644 a Scotsman, a souldier, dying at Cornforth, the soundiers themselves buryed him without any Minister, or any Prayer said outer) him“.  There appears to have been trouble between the soldiers and the local Inhabitants.  “On February 20th 1646 Thos.  Wint at Cornforth, slain by soldiers“.   A survey was undertaken in 1647 of Church lands by order of the Commonwealth Parliament poor to the sale of all Ecclesiastical holdings.  An old document reads “A water cornmill at Cornforth and one acre of value £10   per annum In good and reasonable repair The tenant is Robert Willisford.   A limestone quarry in Cornforth, the tenants by lease, for which they are to carry such quantities of lime as shall maintain the several manors of Durham, Bishop Auckland and Shildon, they being allowed for every wayne load of lime so carried 2s 2d and for the lime itself 1s 4d per load “

A Parliamentarian committee was set up sequestering the estates of Royalists.  There were several Royalists in the area John Woodhouse and Nicholas Woodhouse of Brandon House, Cornforth, the family seat of the Woodhouses were classed as delinquents.   In 1649 the latter had his estates compounded for a fine at a sixth of £20.   He was one of the north cavaliers who was found among the forces of Sir Marmaduke Langdale, captured on Coquet water in the Vale of Whittingham, June 30th, 1648, with 300 soldiers and 600 horses.   On the expected Invasion of England during the Napoleonic wars the following plan was the procedure to be adopted in parishes throughout the land.   Bishop Middleham which included Thrislington and Cornforth was one of these.   Wagons and carts had to be drawn up in lanes, each having its own number, and hay and straw, with a winnowing cloth or large carpet which would serve as a covering at night “All women except the sick will be expected to walk, and children above seven unless sick or tired The persons attending the carts or wagons are required to take with them spades, axes or pick axes On the signal being given, the carts to move off, following close after each other, in a line.  Each line to have a wright and a blacksmith.  All are expected to take with them blankets and a change of clothes.  No one to be waited for.  All able-bodied men not employed as above, are to arm themselves, as well as they can, and remain in their respective townships, to await the orders of the High Sheriff, or Commander in Chief of the district".

The only connection with the Crimean War is a public house the “Balaclava”.  After the famous charge of the Light Brigade the inn was called the “Balaclava Charge".

There lived in West Cornforth an old veteran who had been wounded in the back of his leg at the battle of “Majuba Hill” in 1881 where the British were defeated by the Boers.  When teased by the locals who would say “You must have been running away".  John replied “You don't know what it is to be on the field of battle!” The number of Cornforth men who took part in the Boer War is not known but older residents remember at least three.  One, after his death, was given a military funeral, members of his old regiment forming a guard of honour.

Soldiers returning from the war were met at the railway station by groups of children with improvised drums made from tins, and marched in triumphal procession round the neighbourhood.  Any victories were celebrated with torch light parades through the village and round the neighbourhood.

Some of the villagers on horseback dressed to represent the victorious British leaders, Kitchener, Roberts, etc., while effigies of the Boer leader, Kruger, were burnt publicly.

During the Great War 1914-18 the people of the Cornforths felt, perhaps for the first time, the full horror of war.  The villages lost 107 men and many more were wounded.  A memorial standing in front of the Aged Miners Homes was unveiled on November 10th, 1924.  There is also a brass plaque recording the names of the fallen in The Holy Trinity Church and a stained glass window at the east end.  In Cornforth Lane School there is a brass plaque bearing the names of old boys who fell in this war.  A hut was erected near where the Station Road filling station now stands called the Comrades' Hut and opened on 10th November, 1919.  This was burnt down 3rd July, 1929 and then was called the British Legion Hut.

During the 1939-45 war a stringent blackout was enforced and anyone showing a light after dark was severely dealt with.  Any Church services normally held after dark had to be held in daylight, and the Church bells were to be rung only if an invasion had taken place. 

Rationing was introduced, not only for food, but also sweets and clothing which could only be purchased by producing coupons.  Everyone was Issued with an identity card.   Air-raid warnings were given by blasts on the colliery buzzer before and after a raid.  Air-raids took place usually at night when the sound of the bombs could be heard at the coastal ports of Newcastle, Sunderland, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough.  Full time air-raid wardens, also part time voluntary wardens were appointed.

War reserve constables, one of these being Jim Latcham landlord of the Commercial Inn, also Special part time constables came into being.  In 1940 a "Local Defence Volunteers" force was formed to be trained as soldiers.   As there were no rifles at the time for civilian use they first drilled with pickaxe handles.   This organisation was later to be known as the “Home Guard”.   There was also a "National Fire Service, consisting of civilian volunteers with their own fire engine.   A “British Restaurant” was opened in premises (now demolished) opposite the Wesleyan Chapel to provide cheap hot meals for the local people.   Pit props were brought from Hartlepool and stored in sidings at West Cornforth Chemical Works.  The brickworks near the Cornforth Lane to Metal Bridge road not being in operation owing to the war were used as a food storage depot.   At the end of hostilities many bonfires were lit, and a huge letter “V” illuminated at night with electric light bulbs was erected on the winding gear at the colliery.   During this war the Cornforths lost 24 men, their names being recorded on a small plaque placed on the war memorial which was unveiled on 7th November, 1953.   Two of West Cornforth's men were decorated for bravery while serving in the RAF.

SPORTS & SOCIETIES

From early times miners have shown an interest in sports, which in the beginning were of a blood-thirsty nature, dog-fighting, cockfighting and greyhound coursing, followed later by pony, pigeon and whippet racing.  The gambling instinct in many miners was very strong, fostered perhaps by their way of life where lives were at risk every time they went underground.  One of the great gambling games, on which everything hinged on the throw of a coin, was Pitch and Toss.  A popular game in every village was Quoits, played on any flat piece of ground or public house yard.  The grounds sometimes reinforced with clay, had a thick piece of Iron, called the hob, knocked into it.  A quoit, a very heavy iron ring, bevelled on both sides, was thrown in turn by the players trying to ring the hob.  Many public houses had their own teams.  Recently an effort has been made to revive an interest in this ancient game but with very little success so far.  The earliest mention of a Cricket Club was in 1894 when one was started by the Church in connection with the Reading Room on the Green at Old Cornforth.  This club, known as the Cornforth Cricket Club held a concert in the infants' School at West Cornforth in 1896.  In 1910 cricket matches were played on the football field now removed by quarrying at Lafarge Works.

In 1900 Cornforth United Football Club played their matches on the field already mentioned above.  In 1923 a junior team existed, known as Cornforth United Social Club Junior Football Team.  Several tennis courts existed at West Cornforth.  One was in the old quarry now used as a garage site on the east side of the Pit Bank road, a second was behind Thrislington Villa, close to the Scarlet Band garage, and a third at Stob Cross road near Stob Cross Farm.  A cinder track was built behind the Station Road Filling Station Garage.  Here some very enthusiastic foot races were held which attracted many bookmakers as there was heavy betting on the runners in these races.  This racing was popular in the 1920s.  Races for pit ponies ridden bareback by pit lads with bridle and reins were held in many colliery villages during the Coal Strike of 1921.  At West Cornforth races took place in a field near Thrislington Hall.  Ponies entering the races were brought from Eldon, Tursdale, Tudhoe, Kelloe, Bowburn, Mainsforth, Leeholme, Trimdon, Thornley and Wheatley Hill.  Again these races attracted several bookmakers and betting was keen, heaviest no doubt on the local favourites from Thrislington Colliery.  In 1915 a Swimming Club was started, using the reservoir built for Thrislington Coke Works.  An old railway carriage was used for changing rooms and a high diving board was erected.  Several swimming galas were held in the following years.  Some drownings occurred in these baths

July 28, 1917, Robert Dee

September 4, 1921, Tom Barton

July 22, 1923, Thomas Tonges

May 8, 1938, John Cole.

SOCIETIES

Little is known of the Societies which existed in the last century but there were Friendly Societies which provided financial aid to those in distress in times of sickness or bereavement on payment of a weekly subscription.  Brief references to other societies of a more social nature can be found.  In 1896 Cornforth and District Choral Society used the school one night each week for practices.  In 1897 West Cornforth and District Fanciers' Society held an open show for Poultry, Pigeons and Rabbits in the Mechanics' Institute.  In 1901 Cornforth Amateur Dramatic Society produced a play in the same building.  It is worth recording that there were also choirs from churches and chapels which from time to time gave performances of Sacred Choral works, oratorios, cantatas and other miscellaneous items.  Thrislington and Cornforth Flower Show held their Annual Sports on August 9th 1890 in connection with the Flower Show in a field, given for the occasion by Mr William Morson of Thrislington Hall, owner of Thrislington Colliery.  There were races for 120 yards, Open Handicap and a Quoit Handicap.  A football match took place in which Cornforth Mechanics' Institute defeated Cornforth Board School Music was provided by Mount Pleasant Temperance Band from Spennymoor.  The last flower show was held on August 30th, 1924 in the field now occupied by West Cornforth School.