Willington, County Durham

Willington
Willington
	Willington Location within County Durham
Population	5,749 (2011 census)[1]
OS grid reference	NZ108507
Civil parish	Greater Willington;
Unitary authority	County Durham;
Ceremonial county	County Durham;
Region	North East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CROOK
Postcode district	DL15
Dialling code	01388
Police	Durham
Fire	County Durham and Darlington
Ambulance	North East
UK Parliament	North West Durham;

Willington is a former mining village in County Durham, England, in the foothills of the Pennines and near the River Wear close to Crook, Bishop Auckland and Durham City.

Like many communities in the area Willington's economy was largely based on coal mining. The closure of the colliery in 1967 therefore affected the local economy. Since 2000 the area has benefited from housing development and increased transportation links.

Although a handful of job opportunities remain, work for many residents is now located outside the village, and Willington functions largely as a satellite village for Bishop Auckland and Durham.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 9,147.[2]

Parkside Academy

Is a coeducational secondary school. Parkside Academy has announced that they have been awarded "World Class School" status and that they are the only secondary school in County Durham to have received this award. To be eligible for World Class School mark a school must have already been rated "outstanding" by Ofsted. (ref Parkside Academy, World Class Schools.org)

Businesses

Along with a Co-operative supermarket, many small independent shops thrive in the village such as an independent butchers, a fruiterer, a hardware shop and a pet shop, as well as several restaurants. There are currently six pubs operating in the village, along with a small microbrewery, the Gambling Man Brewing Company. The east of the village is also home to a small industrial estate and a coking plant in place of the remains of the colliery entrance.

Football team

Willington has its own football club, Willington F.C., who currently play in the 11th tier of English football. Founded in 1906, the club won the Northern League in 1913-14, 1925–26 and 1929-1930, but have struggled more in recent years, having been relegated to the Wearside League where they continued to struggle.

Their most recent highlight was featuring in the Wearside Football League Cup final in 2011, where they were eventually beaten by Ryhope Colliery Welfare 4-2 on penalties.

Willington F.C. have reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup twice. In 1939, they lost 3-0 to Bishop Auckland at Roker Park, Sunderland. In 1950 Willington beat Bishop Auckland 4-0 at Wembley

Notable figures

George Burdon McKean was born in the village in 1888, moving to Canada in 1902. He returned to England in WW1 as a private soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. His first gallantry award was as an NCO, in 1917, when he won the Military Medal. A year later, as a commissioned officer, he was involved in a trench raid for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He was also one of a small number of soldiers to be awarded both the Military Medal & the Military Cross - having served as a both a junior rank and an officer.

His Victoria Cross award was recently celebrated with the unveiling of a memorial stone in the main street of the village, near to the library.

References

"Parish population 2011". Retrieved 21 July 2015.
UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Willington Ward (as of 2011) (1237326562)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 21 July 2015.

[2] UK Census (2011). "Local Area Report – Willington Ward (as of 2011) (1237326562)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 8 October 2018.

Ceremonial county of County Durham
Unitary authorities	Borough of Darlington Borough of Hartlepool Borough of Stockton-on-Tees (part) County Durham
Major settlements	Barnard Castle Billingham Bishop Auckland Chester-le-Street Chilton Consett Coxhoe Crook Darlington Durham Eaglescliffe Easington Easington Colliery Ferryhill Hartlepool Middleton-in-Teesdale Newton Aycliffe Peterlee Seaham Sedgefield Shildon Spennymoor Stanhope Stanley Stockton-on-Tees Tow Law Wolsingham See also: List of civil parishes in County Durham
Topics	Flag Parliamentary constituencies Places Population of major settlements SSSIs Schools Country houses Museums Grade I listed buildings Lord Lieutenant High Sheriff

Civil parishes in County Durham
including Stockton-on-Tees (north of the river)
Darlington	Parishes Archdeacon Newton Barmpton Bishopton Brafferton Coatham Mundeville Denton East and West Newbiggin Great Burdon Great Stainton Heighington High Coniscliffe Houghton le Side Hurworth Killerby Little Stainton Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent Middleton St. George Morton Palms Neasham Piercebridge Sadberge Summerhouse Walworth Whessoe Unparished areas The former Darlington County Borough
County Durham	Towns Barnard Castle Bishop Auckland Chilton Ferryhill Great Aycliffe Greater Willington Peterlee Seaham Sedgefield Shildon Spennymoor Stanley Tow Law Parishes Barforth Barningham Bearpark Belmont Bishop Middleham Bolam Boldron Bournmoor Bowes Bradbury and the Isle Brancepeth Brandon and Byshottles Brignall Burnhope Cassop-cum-Quarrington Castle Eden City of Durham Cleatlam Cockfield Cornforth Cornsay Cotherstone Coxhoe Croxdale and Hett Dalton-le-Dale Dene Valley Easington Colliery Easington Village Edmondbyers Edmondsley Eggleston Egglestone Abbey Eldon Esh Etherley Evenwood and Barony Fishburn Forest and Frith Framwellgate Moor Gainford Gilmonby Great Lumley Greencroft Hamsterley Hamsterley Common Haswell Hawthorn Headlam Healeyfield Hedleyhope Hilton Holwick Hope Horden Hunderthwaite Hunstanworth Hutton Henry Hutton Magna Ingleton Kelloe Kimblesworth and Plawsworth Lanchester Langleydale and Shotton Langton Lartington Little Lumley Lunedale Lynesack and Softley Marwood Mickleton Middleton in Teesdale Middridge Monk Hesleden Mordon Morton Tinmouth Muggleswick Murton Nesbitt Newbiggin North Lodge Ouston Ovington Pelton Pittington Raby with Keverstone Rokeby Romaldkirk Sacriston Satley Scargill Seaton with Slingley Shadforth Sheraton with Hulam Sherburn Village Shincliffe Shotton South Bedburn South Hetton Staindrop Stanhope Startforth Streatlam and Stainton Thornley Toft Hill Trimdon Trimdon Foundry Urpeth Waldridge Wackerfield Weather Hill Wood West Auckland West Rainton and Leamside Westwick Wheatley Hill Whorlton Windlestone Wingate Winston Witton Gilbert Witton-le-Wear Wolsingham Wolsingham Park Moor Woodland Wycliffe with Thorpe Unparished areas The former Chester le Street Urban District Consett Parts of the former Durham Municipal Borough Parts of the former Bishop Auckland Urban District Crook and Willington Urban District Stanley Urban District
Hartlepool	Towns Headland Parishes Brierton Claxton Dalton Piercy Elwick Greatham Hart Newton Bewley Unparished areas Part of the former Hartlepool County Borough
Stockton-on-Tees	Towns Billingham Parishes Aislaby Carlton Egglescliffe Elton Grindon and Thorpe Thewles Longnewton Newsham Preston-on-Tees Redmarshall Stillington and Whitton Wolviston Wynyard Unparished areas Part of the former Teesside County Borough
For further information about the above parishes, see List of civil parishes in County Durham. For the part of Stockton-on-Tees (borough) south of the River Tees, see List of civil parishes in North Yorkshire.