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Haswell, County Durham

Coordinates: 54°47′00″N 1°25′04″W / 54.7834°N 1.4177°W / 54.7834; -1.4177
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Haswell
St Paul's Parish Church, Haswell
Haswell is located in County Durham
Haswell
Haswell
Location within County Durham
Population1,831 (2011)[1]
OS grid referenceNZ375433
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDURHAM
Postcode districtDH6
Dialling code0191
PoliceDurham
FireCounty Durham and Darlington
AmbulanceNorth East
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
County Durham
54°47′00″N 1°25′04″W / 54.7834°N 1.4177°W / 54.7834; -1.4177

Haswell is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the city of Durham, 9 miles (14 km) south of the city of Sunderland and 3.1 miles (5.0 km) north-west of the town of Peterlee.

History

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The original settlement of Haswell was located where High Haswell is now on the hilltop before the village's centre moved downhill to its modern location on Salter's Lane. In the 14th century, Haswell's small population was nearly wiped out by the Black Death.[2]

Resting on a limestone escarpment, coal was discovered in the early 19th century and a colliery was sunk by 1831.[2] Haswell became home to the first coal mine in the world with a steel cable down its mine shaft. On 28 September 1844, a blackdamp explosion at killed 95 Haswell Coal Company workers, with just four survivors.[3] The colliery closed in 1896, and Haswell's population collapsed by 1901 after the miners left, leaving behind a rural settlement.[2]

Notable people

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Haswell was the birthplace of world champion road racing cyclist Tom Simpson, born 30 November 1937, who died aged 29 on Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France.

References

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  1. ^ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Haswell Village and Colliery". Durham Records Online. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Haswell – the 1844 Pit Disaster". A history of Haswell. Archived from the original on 15 August 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
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