View source for Murton, County Durham

{{Short description|Village in County Durham, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country = England
|official_name= Murton
|static_image_name=Murton, Co Durham, Holy Trinity Church - geograph.org.uk - 223607.jpg
|static_image_caption= Holy Trinity Church
|coordinates = {{coord|54.815|-1.389|display=inline,title}}
| population = 4534
| population_ref = ([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 Census]])
|civil_parish = Murton
 |unitary_england = [[County Durham (district)|County Durham]]
|lieutenancy_england = [[County Durham|Durham]]
|region= North East England
|constituency_westminster= [[Easington (UK Parliament constituency)|Easington]]
|post_town= SEAHAM
|postcode_district = SR7
|postcode_area= SR
|dial_code= 0191
|os_grid_reference= NZ323702
|london_distance=
}}

'''Murton''' is a village and [[civil parish]] in [[County Durham]], England, {{convert|8|mi|km|spell=in}} east of the city of [[Durham, England|Durham]] and {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} south of [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]]. It had a population of 4,534,<ref name="NOS">{{Cite web |last=British Government |title=Office for Statistics: Area: Murton East (Ward) |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadDatasetList.do?a=3&b=5947301&c=murton&d=14&g=440429&i=1001x1003&m=0&r=1&s=1208622504150&enc=1&domainId=16 |access-date=30 March 2008 |website=Office for National Statistics}}</ref> which rose to 7,676 at the 2011 Census.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parish population 2011 |url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11126760&c=SR7+9LR&d=16&e=62&g=6419758&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=0&s=1436801837554&enc=1 |access-date=13 July 2015}}</ref>

It was originally a rural agricultural hamlet called Morton,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Durham County Council |title=Durham Records Inline Murton (East Murton) |url=http://www.durhamrecordsonline.com/literature/murton.php |access-date=30 March 2008 |website=Durham Records Office}}</ref> but the discovery of coal beneath its fields in the 19th century transformed it into an industrial community.<ref>{{Cite web |last=PROF. A. C. Ramsay |title=Deeper And More Difficult Winnings |url=http://www.dmm-gallery.org.uk/books/hcmgb180.htm |access-date=30 March 2008 |website=Durham Mining Museum}}</ref> 'Morton became known as Murton Colliery or Murton-in-the-Whins<ref name="whins">{{Cite web |last=Paul R. Joiner |title=GenukI Dalton-le-Dale |url=http://www.joinermarriageindex.com/pjoiner/genuki/DUR/DaltonleDale/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20100505114349/http://www.joinermarriageindex.com/pjoiner/genuki/DUR/DaltonleDale/index.html |archive-date=5 May 2010 |access-date=30 March 2008 |website=GENUKI |df=dmy-all}}</ref> following the sinking of the pit in 1838 by South Hetton Coal Company,<ref name="pitsink">{{Cite web |last=Whellan's 1894 Directory of County Durham |title=Murton Colliery also known as Dalton Winning |url=http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/m006.htm |access-date=30 March 2008 |website=Durham Mining Museum}}</ref> and the village was a productive [[coal mining]] community for more than a century. The pit employed more than 1000 men at its peak and featured in a ''[[Picture Post]]'' article showing the 'vesting' of the mine at nationalisation in 1947.<ref name="picpost">{{Cite web |last=Durham Mining Museum |title=Durham Mining Museum Gallery |url=http://www.dmm-gallery.org.uk/gallery/index.htm |access-date=30 March 2008 |website=Durham Mining Museum}}</ref>

The village also had the South East Durham Cooperative Bakery and a Northern Bus Company garage as added sources of jobs. In 1955 a by-product works for coal was established for the production mainly of [[Coke (fuel)|coke]]. The [[Mining|mine]] and other employment opportunities closed in the 1990s along with many other [[County Durham]] mines and now the old spoil heaps are covered by a retail outlet development [[Dalton Park]], bringing much-needed new employment.

==History==
{{further|History of County Durham}}
The discovery of coal beneath the fields of East [[Durham, England|Durham]] during the 19th century transformed the tiny hamlet of Morton into the thriving township of Murton.

Decades later, however, the decision to close Murton's successful colliery almost, but not quite, succeeded in turning the close-knit community into a ghost town. Millions of pounds in [[Government]] and private investment is now being pumped into Murton, changing the face of the former [[pit village]] almost daily.

[[File:John Wilson Carmichael - A View of Murton Colliery near Seaham, County Durham - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|John Wilson Carmichael ''A View of Murton Colliery near Seaham, County Durham'', 1843]]

Fewer than 100 people lived in the village of Murton before 1830 but following the sinking of the mine in 1838 the population had grown to 1,387 by 1851. [[Miner]]s flocked to Murton from across [[County Durham]] and [[Northumberland]] in the early years, with people later uprooting from [[Devon]], [[Cornwall]] and [[Ireland]] too. Many of the road and place names reflected the original roots of these pitmen, such as the [[Cornwall]] estate, and dozens of different [[Accent (dialect)|accents]] could be heard in the streets.

Work on the colliery – one of the pioneering mines of the East Durham coalfield — began on 19 February 1838 but it was five years before the first coals were drawn. Problems with pockets of shifting sand and the depth of the magnesian limestone overlying the coal delayed the work, making the project hugely expensive. Late shifts were even introduced for the first time, so that excavation could be carried out around the clock to finish the three-shafted pit as quickly as possible.

Just five years after the colliery opened, however, there was an explosion on 15 August 1848, near the Polka East shaft, which killed 16 miners. The tragedy left villagers shaken, but the village itself continued to flourish. Indeed, by 1856 Murton was almost unrecognisable from the [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] it had once been. Scores of terraced houses had been built to house the miners and the village now boasted three pubs and a new school, plus gas and coke works. As prospective miners continued to flood in so the number of tradesmen grew, with Murton Colliery Co-operative Society helping to serve the village by 1890.

As the village flourished, so too did the colliery. It was modernised after [[World War I]] and jn 1922 a Koepe friction winding engine was installed in the West Pit. New pithead baths followed in 1939, described as being "of especially pleasant design”, and ''Murton'''s swimming pool was opened in 1961.

But despite high productivity and a loyal workforce the decision was taken to close the pit in 1991. Campaigners fought against the plans but failed to stop them. The Koepe winding engine was transferred to the [[Bowes Railway]] following the controversial closure and in 1994 the colliery's winding tower was demolished. Murton's once-thriving pit community was now no more.

===Timeline===
{{multiple image|direction=vertical
| image1 =| caption1 = Murton a century ago
| image2 =| caption2 = Murton Colliery in its heyday
| image3 =| caption3 = Murton in by-gone days
| image4 =| caption4 = Old Murton
}}
{{plainlist|
* 1830: Population 69
* 1838: Work on [[Open-pit mining|pit]] starts
* 1843: First [[coal]]s drawn
* 1851: Population 1,395
* 1889: [[Electricity]] first used in pit
* 1892: Murton toll gates removed
* 1902: Three putters killed in pit, two aged 14, one aged 18
* 1906: [[Colliery]] draws 4,131&nbsp;tons of coal in one day
* 1910: [[Miners]] strike over Eight Hours Bill
* 1913: Foundation stone laid for first council house
* 1914: First [[Payphone|public telephone]] for Murton, based in post office
* 1922: [[Cenotaph]] unveiled
* 1923: Coal drawn from West Pit for first time
* 1927: Bus service to [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]] introduced by Northern buses
* 1930: First talking pictures at Murton Empire
* 1931: Flush toilets installed in colliery houses
* 1935: Miners started carrying electric lamps
* 1939: Pit-head baths opened
* 1950: [[X-ray]] van visited Murton for the first time
* 1953: The first paid annual holiday leave of two weeks was introduced
* 1957: A new [[library]] was opened in Barnes Road
* 1958: Murton Brickworks closed
* 1961: Murton's swimming pool was opened
* 1982: First memorial service held to commemorate fatalities at Murton pit
* 1990: Miners fought to keep the pit open
* 1991: ''Murton Colliery'' closed
* 1994: Pit winding tower demolished despite being listed
* 2003: Dalton Park opening date
* 2023: One of the filming locations for the film directed by [[Ken Loach]] [[The Old Oak]] about a previously thriving mining community<ref>{{cite news|title=Ken Loach inspired by the North East for film The Old Oak|first=Sharuna|last=Sagar|website=BBC Look North|date=8 November 2022|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-63536292|access-date=24 April 2023}}</ref>
}}

==Old village streets and their nicknames==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* Owen Street: Sandgate Rar
* Lancaster Street: Double Rar
* Green Street: Smokey Rar
* Railway Street: Red Tiled Rar
* Villiers Street: Wood Rar
* Durham Place: Sinkers Rar
* Dalton Terrace: Pot Pie Rar
* South Street: Plantation Rar
* East Street: Cinder Burners Rar
* Shipperdon Street: Ower the Field
* Murton Street: Cross Rar
* Old Pilgrim Street: Boiler Rar
* New Pilgrim Street: Low Rar
* Pilgrim Street: High Rar
* Model Street: Wagon Rar
}}

==Governance==
An [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|electoral ward]] of the same name exists. It includes [[Dalton-le-Dale]] and surrounding areas and had a total population at the 2011 Census of 7,975.<ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=1237326540|title=Murton Ward (as of 2011)|access-date=3 October 2018}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Dalton Park outlet village, Murton - geograph.org.uk - 4548072.jpg|thumb|[[Dalton Park]]]]
This is a chart of the trend of regional gross value added of County Durham at current basic prices [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_economy/RegionalGVA.pdf published] (pp.&nbsp;240–253) by the ''Office for National Statistics'', with figures in millions of Pounds Sterling.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year || Regional Gross Value Added<ref>Components may not sum to totals due to rounding</ref> || Agriculture<ref>includes hunting and forestry</ref> || Industry<ref>includes energy and construction</ref> || Services<ref>includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured</ref>
|-
| 1995 || '''4,063''' || 47 || 1,755 || 2,261
|-
| 2000 || '''4,783''' || 40 || 1,840 || 2,904
|-
| 2003 || '''5,314''' || 39 || 1,978 || 3,297
|}

==Climate==
{{climate chart|Murton
|0.6|6.2|56.2
|0.8|6.7|38.8
|2.1|9.0|51.1
|3.3|11.2|52.0
|5.7|14.5|49.5
|8.5|17.2|54.8
|10.7|19.8|44.5
|10.6|19.6|61.3
|8.6|16.7|57.5
|6.0|13|56.9
|3.1|9.0|61.5
|1.5|7.0|59.2
|float=right
|source=<ref name="DH Climate">[http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/sites/durham.html Durham 1971-2000 averages] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092808/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/sites/durham.html |date=29 September 2007 }}, [[Met Office]]. Retrieved on 20 August 2007.</ref>
}}

Like the rest of the United Kingdom, Murton has a [[temperate]] climate. At {{convert|643.3|mm|in|0}}<ref name="DH Climate" /> the average annual rainfall is lower than the national average of {{convert|1125|mm|in|0}}.<ref name="UK Climate">[http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/areal/uk.html UK 1971-2000 averages] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705140124/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/averages/19712000/areal/uk.html |date=5 July 2009}}, [[Met Office]]. Retrieved on 20 August 2007.</ref> Equally there are only around 121.3 days<ref name="DH Climate" /> where more than {{convert|1|mm|in|2}} of rain falls compared with a national average of 154.4 days.<ref name="UK Climate" /> The area sees on average 1374.6 hours of sunshine per year,<ref name="DH Climate" /> compared with a national average of 1125.0 hours.<ref name="UK Climate" /> There is [[frost (temperature)|frost]] on 52 days<ref name="DH Climate" /> compared with a national average of 55.6 days.<ref name="UK Climate" /> Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures are {{convert|12.5|and|5.2|°C|°F|1}}<ref name="DH Climate" /> compared with a national averages of {{convert|12.1|and|5.1|°C|°F|1}} respectively.<ref name="UK Climate" />

The table below gives the average temperature and rainfall figures taken between 1971 and 2000 at the Met Office weather station in Durham:

{{Durham weatherbox|width=auto}}

== Notable residents==
{{For|a complete list|:Category:People from Murton, County Durham}}
*[[Mary Ann Cotton]] (1832–1873), convicted murderer executed for poisoning her stepson, grew up in Murton.
*[[Paul Kitson]], professional footballer who played in the [[Premier League]] for [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]] and [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]].

==See also==
* [[Seaham]]
* [[Durham Miners' Gala]]
* [[Dawdon]]
* [[Easington, County Durham|Easington]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Murton, County Durham}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uGJhVayK4A Old photos of Murton Colliery, in a slide show form], YouTube (slideshow video featuring the pits of old County Durham - including Murton)
* [http://www.sunderlandecho.com News stories about Murton], [[Sunderland Echo]]
* [http://www.east-durham.co.uk A thousand old photos of Seaham and Murton], east-durham.co.uk

{{Durham}}
{{Civil parishes in County Durham}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Murton, County Durham| ]]
[[Category:Villages in County Durham]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in County Durham]]