View source for Escomb

{{Short description|Village in England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
|official_name= Escomb
|static_image_name= St John's Church ,Escomb.jpg
|static_image_caption= Escomb parish church
|coordinates = {{coord|54.666|-1.708|display=inline,title}}
|os_grid_reference= NZ189300
|label_position= left
|population= 358
|population_ref= (2001 census)
|unitary_england= [[County Durham (district)|County Durham]]
|lieutenancy_england= [[County Durham|Durham]]
|region= North East England
|country= England
|constituency_westminster= [[Bishop Auckland (UK Parliament constituency)|Bishop Auckland]]
|post_town= [[Bishop Auckland]]
|postcode_district= DL14
|postcode_area= DL
|dial_code= 01388
}}
'''Escomb''' is a village and former [[civil parish]] on the [[River Wear]] about {{convert|1+1/2|mi}} west of [[Bishop Auckland]], in the [[County Durham (district)|County Durham]] district, in the ceremonial county of [[County Durham|Durham]], England. In 2001 it had a population of 358.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wear Valley Settlement Summary Sheets |publisher=Durham County Council |url=http://www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/usp.nsf/Lookup/Wear%20Valley%20Settlement%20Summary%20Sheets%20Numbers/$file/Wear+Valley+Settlement+Summary+Sheets+Numbers.pdf|accessdate=4 August 2021 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007090304/http://www.durham.gov.uk/durhamcc/usp.nsf/Lookup/Wear%20Valley%20Settlement%20Summary%20Sheets%20Numbers/%24file/Wear+Valley+Settlement+Summary+Sheets+Numbers.pdf |archivedate=7 October 2007}}
</ref> In 2011 the ward had a population of 3323.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=6159879&c=Escomb&d=14&e=16&g=441011&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1303421916054&enc=1 |title=Area: Escomb (Ward): Key Figures for 2001 Census: Census Area Statistics |author= |date= |work=[[Neighbourhood Statistics]] |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=21 April 2011}}</ref>
== Etymology ==
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".<ref name="UNott">{{cite web |title=Key to English Place-names - County Durham |url=http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/county/Durham |website=University of Nottingham |access-date=26 February 2024}}</ref>
==Parish churches==
[[Escomb Church]] was built in the 7th or 8th century AD{{sfn|Blair|1977|p=158}} when the area was part of the [[Angles (tribe)|Anglian]] [[Kingdom of Northumbria]], and has been called "England's earliest complete church".<ref>{{harvnb|Jenkins|1999|p=}}{{page needed|date=April 2018}}</ref> The building includes [[Anglo-Saxon architecture#Diagnostic features for Anglo-Saxon church architecture|long-and-short quoins]]{{sfn|Blair|1977|p=158}} characteristic of [[Anglo-Saxon architecture]], and re-used [[Architecture of ancient Rome|Roman]] masonry from [[Binchester Roman Fort]].{{sfn|Blair|1977|p=157}}
Until the 19th century Escomb was a dependent chapelry of Bishop Auckland.{{sfn|Lewis|1931|pp=181–186}} In 1848 a [[vicarage]] was built at the top of the hill and Rev. Henry Atkinson became Escomb's first resident [[vicar]] for centuries.<ref name=Beddow>{{cite web |url= https://escombsaxonchurch.co.uk/about-the-church/history/1863-to-1969-the-missing-years/ |last=Beddow |first=G |title=1863 to 1969 The Missing Years |work=Escomb Saxon Church |year=2012 |access-date=10 April 2018}}</ref>
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.{{sfn|Blair|1977|p=157}}
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 (architect)|Albert Richardson]].<ref name=Beddow/>
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.<ref name=Beddow/>
==Economic history==
The George Pit coal mine was sunk in 1837, and an ironworks was opened at Witton Park in 1846.<ref name=Beddow/>
In 1843 the [[Bishop Auckland and Weardale Railway]] was opened between [[Shildon railway station|Shildon Junction]] and [[Crook, County Durham|Crook]] to take coal from the area.<ref name=DisusedStations>{{cite web |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/e/etherley/ |title=Station Name: Etherley |last=Catford |first=Nick |date=11 March 2011 |work=Disused Stations: Closed Railway Stations in the UK |publisher= |access-date=21 April 2011}}
</ref> It passes Escomb but its nearest stop was Etherley railway station, which had been opened by 1847.<ref name=DisusedStations/> The line was worked initially by the [[Stockton and Darlington Railway]],<ref name=DisusedStations/> through which it became part of the [[North Eastern Railway (UK)|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/e028.htm |title=Etherley Colliery |last= |first= |date=30 April 2010 |work=Durham Mining Museum |publisher=Durham Mining Museum |access-date=21 April 2011}}
</ref> The [[United Kingdom Census 1851|1851 Census]] recorded 1,293 inhabitants of Escomb, most of whom worked at the pit.<ref name=DMP>{{cite web |url= http://www.keystothepast.info/miner/projects.nsf/581cd74a9c6aa8b080256d48003758cb/1d7636e09118796b80256e8d0031776f?OpenDocument |title=Research Projects: Escomb - a history of George Pit |last=Graves |first=Desmond |year=2004 |work=Durham Miner Project |publisher= |access-date=21 April 2011}}{{Dead link|date=October 2016}}</ref>
[[British Rail]] closed the Bishop Auckland and Weardale line to passenger traffic in 1965 and to freight traffic in 1993.<ref name=DisusedStations/> The [[Weardale Railway]] reopened the section past Escomb and through Etherley shortly thereafter.
== Civil parish ==
On 1 April 1937 the parish was abolished and merged with Bishop Auckland and [[West Auckland, County Durham|West Auckland]], part also went to form [[Crook and Willington]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ukbmd.org.uk/reg/districts/auckland.html|title=Auckland Registration District|publisher=UKBMD|accessdate=7 August 2023}}</ref> In 1931 the parish had a population of 3248.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10132850/cube/TOT_POP|title=Population statistics Escomb Ch/CP through time|publisher=A Vision of Britain through Time|accessdate=7 August 2023}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[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]]
==Amenities==
Escomb has a [[public house]], the Saxon Inn, that was built in the 17th century.<ref>[http://www.saxon-inn.co.uk/ The Saxon Inn] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131206203725/http://www.saxon-inn.co.uk/ |date=6 December 2013}}</ref>
The village has a primary school.<ref>[http://www.escomb.durham.sch.uk/ Escomb Primary School]</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Sources==
*{{cite book |last=Blair |first=Peter Hunter |authorlink=Peter Hunter Blair |title=An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon England |year=1977 |orig-year=1956 |edition=Second |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |location=Cambridge & London |isbn=0-521-29219-0 |pages=157–158 }}
*{{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Simon |authorlink=Simon Jenkins |year=1999 |title=England's Thousand Best Churches |place=London |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-103930-5 |pages=170–172 }}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Lewis |editor1-first=Samuel |editor1-link=Samuel Lewis (publisher) |orig-year=1848 |year=1931 |title=A Topographical Dictionary of England |edition=Seventh |place=London |publisher=[[Samuel Lewis (publisher)|Samuel Lewis]] |pages=181–186 |url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england/pp181-186 }}
==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Escomb}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Villages in County Durham]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in County Durham]]