High Spen
| High Spen | |
| County Durham | |
|---|---|
 Ramsay Street, High Spen | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NZ139594 |
| Location: | 54°55’52"N, 1°46’59"W |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Gateshead |
High Spen is an old mining village in the County Durham countryside. There is an entrance to Chopwell Wood (whose Christmas tree sales attract many visitors to the village every year).
The parish church St Patrick's.
The village has one pub, called The Bute Arms, and two Working Men's clubs. There is also a Primary school, called High Spen Primary School.[1]
Threat and development
High Spen was categorised as a "category D village"[2] by Durham County Council, one of many scheduled for destruction and demolition following the decline of mining in the west of the county in the 1950s and 1960s.
The D-village policy was cancelled in 1977, since when the village has gradually grown and developed, serving as a commuter village accessible to the centres of Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead and Durham City.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about High Spen) |
References
- ↑ High Spen Primary School
- ↑ Category D coal mining villages in County Durham - 'Waggonways in North East England'