Escomb
Village in England From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Escomb is a village and former civil parish on the River Wear about 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) west of Bishop Auckland, in the County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. In 2001 it had a population of 358.[1] In 2011 the ward had a population of 3323.[2]
| Escomb | |
|---|---|
 Escomb parish church | |
  Escomb Location within County Durham | |
| Population | 358 (2001 census) |
| OS grid reference | NZ189300 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Bishop Auckland |
| Postcode district | DL14 |
| Dialling code | 01388 |
| Police | Durham |
| Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
| Ambulance | North East |
| UK Parliament | |
The name Escomb is of Old English origin. The name derived from the element edisc ("enclosures, enclosed park"), giving the name a meaning of "(place) at the enclosures".[3]
Escomb Church was built in the 7th or 8th century AD[4] when the area was part of the Anglian Kingdom of Northumbria, and has been called "England's earliest complete church".[5] The building includes long-and-short quoins[4] characteristic of Anglo-Saxon architecture, and re-used Roman masonry from Binchester Roman Fort.[6]
Until the 19th century Escomb was a dependent chapelry of Bishop Auckland.[7] In 1848 a vicarage was built at the top of the hill and Rev. Henry Atkinson became Escomb's first resident vicar for centuries.[8]
The Anglo-Saxon church seated only 65 people, and in the 19th century Escomb's population outgrew it. In 1863 a new parish church, St John's, was completed next to the vicarage.[6]
Thereafter the old church repeatedly fell into disrepair. It was restored in 1875–80 by RJ Johnson, again in 1927, and again in 1965 by Sir Albert Richardson.[8]
In the 20th century church attendance declined and became too small for St John's. In 1969 the Anglo-Saxon church reverted to being the parish church, and in 1971 St John's was demolished.[8]
The George Pit coal mine was sunk in 1837, and an ironworks was opened at Witton Park in 1846.[8]
In 1843 the Bishop Auckland and Weardale Railway was opened between Shildon Junction and Crook to take coal from the area.[9] It passes Escomb but its nearest stop was Etherley railway station, which had been opened by 1847.[9] The line was worked initially by the Stockton and Darlington Railway,[9] through which it became part of the North Eastern Railway in 1863.
WC Stobart & Co's Etherley Colliery was Escomb's major employer from the middle of the 19th century until the seams of its pits became exhausted in the 1920s.[10] The 1851 Census recorded 1,293 inhabitants of Escomb, most of whom worked at the pit.[11]
British Rail closed the Bishop Auckland and Weardale line to passenger traffic in 1965 and to freight traffic in 1993.[9] The Weardale Railway reopened the section past Escomb and through Etherley shortly thereafter.
On 1 April 1937 the parish was abolished and merged with Bishop Auckland and West Auckland, part also went to form Crook and Willington.[12] In 1931 the parish had a population of 3248.[13]
- Escomb Bridge
- Northman of Escomb, involved in the transfer of Escomb to St Cuthbert's of Lindisfarne (later Durham Cathedral) in the 10th century
- Combe
Escomb has a public house, the Saxon Inn, that was built in the 17th century.[14]
The village has a primary school.[15]
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