EPW031530 ENGLAND (1930). Horner Confectionery Works and the town centre, Chester-le-Street, 1930

This picture shows the Front Street, the old great North Road, the shop fronts, and behind some of the premises which line the Front Street in 1930. In the distance is the East Coast railway line with its impressive viaduct.

The 1937 Baedeker Guide to Great Britain describes Chester-le-Street as a dirty colliery town of 16,600 inhabitants and this comment appears to be relevant from this selection of oblique aerial images of the area. However, this would hardly apply to today's thriving town, which is the home of the Emirates International Cricket Ground at the Riverside, where the Fourth Test Match against Australia is due to start on Friday, August 9th, 2013. Arguably, the local cricket club at Ropery Lane is the most successful in the area, finishing third in the North East Premier League in 2012. I used to play on this fine ground during the 1970s for Durham City and it tended to be one of my favourite places! On a more personal note, Chester-le-Street is also home to my daughter and her family, including two of my grandchildren.

The late nineteenth century seems to have been a good time for Chester-le-Street, and miners' wives from nearby villages would travel to Chester-le-Street to buy special things like furniture or ornaments.



The picture shows Chester-le-Street from the south, looking along Front Street. The railway line runs over the viaduct to the west. Clearly visible between Front Street and the railway line is the chimney of Horners Confectionery works. The broad street between Front Street and the railway line is Osborne Road. At the top left Pelaw Bank runs past the allotments on each side of the railway line.



Pelton Fell Group Project

Front Street - the Great North Road.



Chester-le-Street was on the Great North Road. This picture shows the Lambton Arms. The Queen's Head nearby had a large cobbled front for carriages to pull up outside.



There were a lot of pubs in Chester-le-Street along Front Street. Behind this busy street, by the end of the nineteenth century, the town had expanded to house a much larger population.



Pelton Fell Group Project