The Chester Chronicles

Chester-le-Street Heritage Group has embarked on the systematic photographing of all available pages of the Chester Chronicle which runs weekly from 1911 to 1935 numbering some twenty five bound volumes.

The Chester Chronicle is currently stored at Beamish Museum’s Resource Centre and due to concerns about their fragile condition, it has been agreed with the owner of these weekly broadsheets and the current custodians at the Museum, that now is the time to record in detail the whole of the collection.

To achieve this, Chester-le-Street Heritage Group have undertaken the purchase of professional photography equipment and three Members of the Group have pledged to attend the Resource Centre's photography studio once every week to carry out this task which is expected to take almost a year to complete.

The process requires digitally photographing in high resolution each and every page, converting these to more usable formats which will be suitable for transferring to compact discs, compiling an index of all pages and making these available to the general public.

The information contained in these newspapers will be of great interest to all those who are researching local history or their family trees. The editions produced around the time of the First World War (1914 – 1918) where lists of names and even photographs of service men and those who died during that period have been meticulously recorded will be of particular interest.

Group Members preparing
the pages to be photographed.

In addition, all Members of the Heritage Group have, and will continue to visit the Resource Centre on a monthly basis, to make notes from the newspapers that will also be made available for use with the digital photographs as well as for the Groups own research into the history of Chester le Street, the “Up and Down the Street Project” and other areas of interest.

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What Wonderful Women

The Heritage Group and others, have been involved with Chester-le-Street District Councils project to record "What Wonderful Women" there have been associate with our town and the surrounding area.
The project has now been completed and a DVD and Folder of information produced.

You can visit the "What Wonderful Women" archive by going to the Links for Chester-le-Street Heritage Group located in the left-hand margin of this page and then navigating to the Durham In Time website.

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Waldridge - Inn on the Green

An application has been made for planning permission to convert the "Inn on the Green" at Waldridge into a five bedroom private residence.
The "Inn on the Green" was previously known as the "Waldridge Tavern" and before that "The Swan".
Since the closure of the Inn, the premises have been the subject of numerous thefts, vandalisms and even fires and is now in a derelict and unsightly condition.
The property was acquired in December 2003 when Punch Taverns bought the premises as part of a bigger deal from The Pubmaster Group. However, due to the derelict condition of the building there was difficulty in finding a buyer until an unconditional sale was agreed in November 2009.
The new owners plan is to convert the old public house into a luxury five bedroom home and to turn the present car parking area into a garden.
The application also includes a proposed re-routing of a public right of way which crosses the land close to the premises.

Roseberry Schools - 90 years old

In December, Roseberry Primary and Nursery Schools will be celebrating their 90th anniversary.
Deputy Head Luise Allison is appealing for former pupils and staff to contact her with their memories, photgraphs and memorabilia to help with staging the numerous events that have been planned.
The series will culminate in a school production re-enacting the major events of the 1920's including the 1929 visit of the Prince of Wales.
If you think you can help then please contact Luise Allison on 0191-3700182.

New Book - Chester Moor & Waldridge

A new book by Dorothy A. Hall and George Nairn has just been published, which covers the subject of Chester Moor and Waldridge.
The book can be obtained from the Bookcase on the Front Street, at some local Garden Centres and through this website. Just use the Mail Form section of this website to express your interest and we'll contact you and let you know how you can obtain a copy.
The book is priced at £9.99 and there will need to be a charge for postage and packaging.

Subway go from strength to strength

Subway (the sandwich makers) who took over Boothroyds Opticians premises next to the Queens Head Public House, plan to open 600 new branches in the U.K. and Irish Republic and create 6,000 jobs over the next three years. The company, whose best known product is the made-to-order, foot long sandwich roll, has expanded rapidly over the past seven years. Subway has branches in 98 countries with 1,400 outlets currently in the U.K. The photograph below shows Boothroyd & Sons earlier shop in 1996.

Peacocks go into Administration

Recent news indicates that the Adminstrators for Peacocks the Clothing Retailer claim to have received "huge interest" from sources looking to purchase the chain.
The Group went into administration last week (week ending 21/01/2012) due to having failed to restructure the key £240M part of its total £750M debt.
About 250 staff at the Group's Cardiff Headquarters lost their jobs following the move.
Administrators KPMG said it was hopeful that a buyer would be found for all, if not a substantial portion of the business on a "going concern" basis.
Peacocks clothes shop only opened for business in Chester-le-Street three years ago on Thursday 16th April 2009 in the old Co-op department store building.


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Dorothy Perkins Closes

Yet another shop closes on the Front Street of Chester-le-Street. The latest is that of Dorothy Perkins which closed in mid January.
The photo dates from 1967 and was kindly provided by Ivy Baxter.

Shops on the move

It's all change for some of the Front Street shops. Heron Frozen Foods have moved across the Front Street (week ending 21st January, 2012) from their shop at 120B, Front Street to the larger premises previously occupied by Decor Flair next to Barclays Bank. Decor Flair having previously moved to smaller premises in St. Cuthberts Walk shopping archade which had last been occupied by Priceless Shoes.

New War Memorial

There is to be a Public Consultation Meeting in the Civic Centre, Room 2, on Thursday (23rd February) at 2pm with County Durham Planning Department, regarding the erection of a New War Memorial at the Bridge End area of Chester-le-Street. If you have any interest or opinions about the proposed new memorial then this is your opportunity to have your say.

Jimmy Johnson Dies

Jimmy Johnson 1921-2012 We have just received the sad news that Jimmy Johnson formally the proprietor of Johnson's Garage on Newcastle Road Chester-le-Street passed away on Thursday 8th March at 9pm after a short illness. Jimmy would be known to many in the town, particlarly to those to whom he sold them their cars or arranged for their servicing and repairs. The business currently known as Bridge End Motors and Johnson's is still being carried on by his grandson Ross Johnson. Jim was 91 years old at the time of his death and will be sadly missed by all his family and friends. A service was held at Durham Crematorium, on Friday 16th March at 10.30am.

Johnson's Garage shortly before closure.

Heritage Trail Launch

The recently revamped Chester-le-Street Heritage Trail was launched on Friday 20th April at 3pm in the Parish Centre.
An introduction to the new Heritage Trail was given by Simon Henig Leader of Durham County Council and Catherine Button of Chester-le-Street Heritage Group.
The Heritage Trail information boards and leaflets have all been redesigned and updated. The leaflets can be obatined free from the Civic Centre Reception and at the towns Library.
New Heritage Trail Website
There is also a new Heritage Trail website available at: www.chester-le-street-heritage.org. Here you can download a copy of the new Heritage Trail Leaflet, read more information about the trail, view slideshows and download recent Heritage Group Newsletters. Well worth a visit.