Ushaw Moor Memories

1 - There was a family named Dickinson lived at 12 Whitehouse Court in Ushaw Moor. Would these be your relatives. New Brancepeth Coke Works or the Coke Ovens as we knew them by was part of the New Brancepeth Colliery complex and lay to the West of the Colliery. I do not know any technical details about the Ovens. They were built to a German design around the turn of the 20th. century and were still in operation until the Colliery closed in the early 50s. The plant turned coal into coke. There was an aerial flight from the Ovens to Pit House Colliery which was situated on the hill on the South side of the Deeness Valley. It was like a cable car set up but instead of the wires carrying cars they carried huge iron buckets to carry the coal. The design of the ovens were modern for those days but there were no filters fitted. They could stink. (Comment this)

2 - You might already be aware of this, but just in case you are not, there is a picture of New Brancepeth Cokeworks on the Durham Miners' Museum website.Once on the site you can get to it via 'N'on the colliery index.On Google you just feed in 'Durham Miners Museum' and press enter.
I wonder whether you are related to Hazel Dickinson - I can recall her but I am not entirely sure whether she was in our form 4a at Ushaw Moor School.She had fair hair I believe;it is amazing what the brain can remember but sometimes I cannot even remember what I had for lunch the previous day! (Comment this)

3 - korky,

Yes this was my family. My Uncle Tom still lives in the village. My dad Dennis recently passed away, but always mentioned his father William, who worked at the cokeworks all of his life apart from serving in the DLI in the first world war. Thanks for the information. (Comment this)

4 - I can remember the Dickinsons in Whitehouse Court, they lived next door to (Comment this)