Haswell: Mining History and the Hart to Haswell Walkway

Haswell combines the history of coal mining with a car-free route through the countryside. Those interested in historic places, cycling and walks will find various starting points for planning their trip here. Particularly striking is the contrast between the traces of a former mining community and today's route through the surroundings of Haswell.

Mining History Between Colliery and Memorial

Coal mining in Haswell began in 1831. The first coal shipments from Haswell Colliery took place in 1835. The history of the colliery also includes the disaster of 1844: 95 men and boys lost their lives when firedamp ignited. Haswell Colliery closed in 1896. This makes it possible to trace the development of the place through several important stages without reducing its historical significance to a single building.

The engine house of Haswell Colliery is the only surviving building of the former colliery and is also a Scheduled Monument. The surviving monument is locally known as Haswell Arch. It stands in isolation on the former colliery site and serves as a memorial to the disaster of 1844. Comparable engine houses from 19th-century collieries are now very rare in the North East Coalfield. For travellers interested in cultural history, this provides a particular reason to get to know Haswell more closely.

Chapel, War Memorial and Historic Architectural Forms

The medieval High Haswell Chapel is also part of the history of the place. No visible remains survive above ground at the site, but important archaeological deposits relating to the chapel's construction and use are preserved below ground. The stone building was approximately 10 m by 20 m in size and had no aisles. A document dated to around 1300 required that a lamp should burn continuously in the Chapel of Hessewell on Sundays and church feast days. Details such as these place the historic development of the settlement in a temporal and religious context.

Haswell War Memorial is a First World War memorial dating from 1920. It retains its original design concept because it was not adapted to commemorate the Second World War. Elemore Grange Barn provides a different architectural accent: the building dates from the late 18th or early 19th century and has three elliptical brick arches supported by two square stone pillars.

Cycling and Walking Along a Former Railway Line

The Hart to Haswell Walkway follows the route of the former railway line from Hartlepool to Sunderland, which George Stephenson designed to transport coal from the Durham coalfields to the docks at Hartlepool. Today, the Walkway forms part of the Sustrans National Cycle Network and provides a safe, car-free route as far as South Shields. As a Local Nature Reserve, it also combines exercise with a natural setting.

The route runs from Hart station on the A1086 north of Hartlepool through Hesleden and past Shotton Colliery to Haswell. The former colliery railway route is also now a popular cycle path from Haswell to Hart. Those planning a trip with active days can take this information into account when choosing their base and planning each day, without combining the historic destinations and the route into a single circular walk.

Haswell as a Starting Point for Different Interests

The original village of Haswell was located in High Haswell. Two farms, barns, outbuildings and a private residence still survive there. There is also a personal connection to cycling history: Haswell is the birthplace of world champion cyclist Tom Simpson. For a trip involving different interests, Haswell can therefore be explored both through its local past and through today's cycling and walking route.

For cycling and walking days, the route of the Hart to Haswell Walkway is an important point of reference; for days focused on cultural history, the mining history, the War Memorial, High Haswell and the surviving architectural heritage are at the centre. Accommodation in Haswell can therefore become a suitable base for a travel plan that combines exercise and local history. When making your choice, consider above all which experiences you would like to place in the foreground.

For further travel planning, you can also visit West Auckland, West Rainton, Durham, Peterlee, Sedgefield, Byers Green, Horden and Sacriston.

To the higher-level travel overview: Durham.