Witton-le-Wear
Witton-le-Wear is a village in
County Durham, in
England. It is situated on the north bank of the
River Wear, 6 km (4 miles) to the north-west of
Bishop Auckland.
The place name
Witton or
Whitton is fairly common in the north of England. The name sometimes derives from "white farm" but in the case of Witton-le-Wear, as with many others,
Witton refers to a
farm (
Anglo-Saxon:
ton) in or near
woodland (Anglo-Saxon:
widu). Witton-le-Wear's name is attested as
Wudeton from 1104, but had become
Wotton in Werdale by 1313. This subsequently evolved to the present form.
Witton-le-Wear was once situated upon a major
railway line, whose principal use was to transport
coal and
cement around the north-east of England. However as the price of road haulage dropped the line fell into disuse and carried its last train in the early
1990s. Now, funded partly by
George Reynolds, former criminal and owner of
Darlington Football Club, and partly by
European Union and
lottery funds, it is being cleared for re-opening as a daily tourist line along
Weardale.
Witton-le-Wear's last village
shop was converted into a house around the turn of the
millennium, leaving the village with only two
pubs and a sprinkling of houses. Despite the lack of commercial interest the village is still growing, with recent approval of plans for 14 new houses in the field below Castle View, and an under-11s
playground having been built using lottery funds.
George Reynolds also funded a £100,000 fibreglass hall for the expanding school in Witton-le-Wear, which comprises approximately 100 pupils and 10 staff. It was founded in the
1960s along with Castle View in the upper half of the village, as a larger alternative to what has now been converted to the Community Centre on School Street. Its catchment area is no longer limited to the village but also takes pupils from neaby
Hamsterley,
Howden-le-Wear and
Crook, which is what prompted the construction of the hall.
Administrative
Witton-le-Wear is for all purposes (
traditional,
ceremonial and
administrative) located in County Durham.
Witton-le-Wear is located in the
Wear Valley district of County Durham. As of 2005 the
Wolsingham and Witton-le-Wear
ward is represented on the District Council by Vere Shuttleworth and Des Wilson (both
independent), and on the County Council by John Shuttleworth (independent). It is part of the
Durham North West parliamentary
constituency, which as of 2005 is represented in
parliament by
Hilary Armstrong (
Labour). It is in the
North East England region, which serves as a constituency for the
European Parliament.
The local
police force is
Durham Constabulary. Witton-le-Wear is in the Wear and Tees division.
Location
*
Grid reference:
* Latitude and longitude: (54.68, −1.77)
* Elevation: 120 m (400 feet)
* Road access: Minor roads off
A68,
A689 and
B6282* Rail access:
Bishop Auckland, 6 km (4 miles)
* Nearest towns:
Crook, 5 km (3 miles);
Bishop Auckland, 6 km (4 miles);
Willington, 8 km (5 miles)
# Simpson, David. "
Place names and their meanings".
North East England History Pages. Retrieved 27 June 2005.
*
Aerial photo from Multimap
