Middle Rainton, on the outskirts of Durham, was created to support the workforce at planned new mine workings in the early 19th Century.
A plot of land, nestled between the existing villages of East and West Rainton, and now sitting adjacent to the boundary between County Durham and Sunderland, was bought by the agent of Lord Londonderry
Long after exhaustion of the mine workings, the village finally disappeared by 1970, a victim of Durham County Council’s controversial ‘Category D’ plan, launched in the early 1950s, targeting 114 ailing villages which were deemed of “limited economic development” value.
Although some communities were to survive the stigma of ‘Category D’ labelling, many, including Middle Rainton, were left to accept their inevitable fate.
The last part of the village was demolished to make way for the development of the A690 Sunderland to Durham dual carriageway in the late 1960s.
A small plot of land on which the village once stood has now been transformed into a community orchard, an innovative plan driven by the West Rainton Green Group.
Backed by Northumbrian Water, with a £700 gift to cover the cost of two dozen apple, pear and plum trees, the plan is for the green haven to also boast an array of fruit bushes and wild flowers.
Two memorial heritage boards are being crafted by the county council and one, outlining the lost village’s history, will be paid for with a £1,250 grant from Durham City Freemen.
The second will identify trees within the orchard and invite people from the local community to pick the fruit.
Wikipedia reports suggest that within four years of his lordship’s early 19th century land deal, the Meadows Pit and associated coke works became reality, one of six other ventures in the surrounding area started up as early as 1816.
Cottages for miners working the Meadows were speedily erected and census returns 30 years later confirmed the majority of Middle Rainton’s 189 homes were occupied by pitmen and their families.
At its height the population topped more than 800, supported by shops, four pubs, a Salvation Army Citadel and Primitive Methodist Church, with a policeman living within their midst.
One notable event was said to have taken place in 1843 when a black American female evangelist reported she had preached before a large crowd at an outdoor event in the village.
By the turn of the 20th century the village’s population had dipped below 550 and the local medical officer of health expressed repeated concerns about insanitary conditions
Some homes fell into disrepair, others were uninhabitable and four were so bad they were demolished.
Upon the conclusion of World War Two, conditions remained a major concern, blighting the village’s future.
Only 30 properties survived by 1950, with most residents ‘migrating’ the short distance to East and West Rainton and later to the new town of Peterlee.
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“The county council, who have labelled the area a community site, will cut grass once a year and we have agreed to clear away the cuttings to encourage appropriate soil conditions.”
Eric Bulmer, chairman of the city freemen’s charitable trust, said: “We are pleased to support the group of volunteers.
“They are not only providing a wonderful natural setting for the community but also informing today’s generation of the heritage of the site and the vital part the mining history in supporting the industrial revolution.”
