Faverdale

Faverdale is a suburb of Darlington in County Durham, England. It is situated in the north west of Darlington, north of Cockerton. The area was rural until the 20th century, a large wagon works was established in the 1920s, with housing development starting at the same time. The wagon works closed in the 1960s and further industrial and commercial development took place expanding from the brownfield site. As of 2012 the area has a mixture of industrial, residential and rural land use.

Faverdale
Faverdale
Location within County Durham
Population2,985 (2011.ward)[1]
OS grid referenceNZ276166
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDARLINGTON
Postcode districtDL3
PoliceDurham
FireCounty Durham and Darlington
AmbulanceNorth East

Geography

The modern suburb is bounded by the former Stockton and Darlington Railway (now part of the Tees Valley Line, also known as the Bishop Auckland branch line) to the east, and by the defunct Darlington and Barnard Castle Railway (later known as 'Darlington & Tebay branch') to the south. The A1(M) road marks the extreme western fringe of the area. The area is between 50 to 85 m (164 to 279 ft) above sea level.[2]

As of 2012 the area contain a mixture of housing (southwest), industrial estates (southeast), and farmland (north).[2] Faverdale is also a ward of Darlington Borough Council.[3]

History

There is evidence for prehistoric, Iron Age and medieval activity at Faverdale.[4] In the early 2000s evidence of occupation in the late Romano-British period was discovered – including a farmstead of significant size for the period including a hypocaust.[5][6][7][8]

The deserted medieval village of Whessoe was located on the northern fringe of the modern ward of Faverdale, between High Faverdale and Whessoe Grange farms; earthwork remains as well as medieval building remnants existed until demolition/bulldozing in the 1950s.[2][9][10]

Up to the mid twentieth century the area was completely rural; there were dwellings at Faverdale House (or Hall, plus farms at Middle and High Faverdale),[note 1] Cockerton Grange, and Rise Carr.[12] Up to 1915 it was part of the Cockerton civil parish, after which it became part of Darlington.[13]

The area began to be developed industrially in the interwar period. The Faverdale Wagon Works was established in the 1920, to produce freight wagons for the NER, the first housing estate in Faverdale was built to the west of the works beyond Faverdale Road (Westgate Crescent).[14] A chemical works (Darlington Chemical & Insulating Co Ltd) was established in the south west of Faverdale, next to the Barnard Castle railway line, and south and west of the wagon works and housing.[note 2]

The Faverdale Wagon Works closed in 1962 as a result of the Beeching cuts. The wagon works site was later redeveloped for other industrial uses (Faverdale Industrial Estate). Housing development west of Faverdale road also expanded during the late 20th century.[17] In the first decade of the 21st century the former Darlington Chemical site and adjacent farmland was redeveloped, creating a 49 acres (0.20 km2) municipal estate "West Park", including housing, parkland, a hospital (West Park Hospital), and a school.[16][18][19][20]

In 2004 Argos began development of a large 730,000 sq ft (68,000 m2) distribution centre the Faverdale industrial estate. The building was officially opened by Prime Minister Tony Blair in December 2005.[7] [21]

Future

An additional commercial development, a 60 acres (0.24 km2) industrial and logistics park, "Faverdale 58", proposed by St. Modwen Properties in 2008, is at a planning stage; the site is located west of the Bishop Auckland branch line, with potential rail access.[22] The development was on hold in 2011 due to economic downturn.[23]

Faverdale Wagon Works

In 1920 the Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company began constructing a wagon works, the 'Faverdale Wagon Works', for the NER. The first wagon was manufactured in 1923.[11] 200 houses were also constructed at the same time for the workers.[24] The centenary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway was held at the Faverdale works in 1925.[25]

Initially the Faverdale wagon works manufactured wooden bodied, wooden framed wagons; steel frames wagons began production in the 1930s. At its peak in the 1950s the Faverdale Wagon Works employed 550 people, the factory was a pioneer of mass production techniques for wagon building.[26] A report of 1959 recommended the cessure of manufacturing at the site, with it being retained for repair work, however after centralisation of control of rolling stock works in 1962, the 1963 ' Workshops Plan' recommend closure in 1963. The works closed 29 June 1963 with 366 jobs lost.[11][27] The site was sold to Darlington Corporation in 1963 for £125,000.[28]

Notes
  1. The Hall dates to the 18th century, and was rebuilt in the 1897, it is enveloped by the Faverdale Industrial estate (2001).[11]
  2. Darlington Chemical & Insulating Co Ltd, also known as Darchem, manufactured inorganic insulating materials,[15] manufacture resulted in contamination of land, including asbestos. The land was re-claimed for housing/park land in the 2000s.[16]
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References
  1. "Darlington ward population 2011". Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  2. Ordnance Survey, 1:25000, c.2000; 1:10000, 1991
  3. Faverdale Ward (PDF), Darlington Borough Council, 2011, retrieved 18 April 2012
  4. "Local History : Faverdale (County Durham)", www.keystothepast.info, Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council, archived from the original on 4 August 2012
  5. Faverdale, Darlington : Excavations at a major settlement in the northern frontier zone of Roman Britain (Jennifer Proctor) (PDF), Durham County Council
  6. "Darlington Faverdale The Excavation", homepage.ntlworld.com, archived from the original on 14 July 2007, retrieved 18 April 2012
  7. "Relics unearthed at retail site", BBC News, 16 July 2004
  8. "Darlington, Faverdale East Business Park; Post Excavation Report (Darlington)", www.keystothepast.info, Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council
  9. DARLINGTON BOROUGH COUNCIL PLANNING APPLICATIONS COMMITTEE : Whessoe Grange Farm Burtree Lane : Hybrid application for erection of data centre with associated access, landscaping and ancillary buildings (PDF), Darlington Borough Council, 23 February 2011, Archaeology
  10. "Whessoe; deserted Medieval village. (Whessoe)", www.keystothepast.info, Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council, archived from the original on 4 September 2012
  11. "Curious fortunes of a favourite hunters' hall", www.thenorthernecho.co.uk, 19 September 2001
  12. Ordnance Survey, 1858; 1898-9; 1923-4; 1938–48
  13. "Cockerton Tn/CP through time", www.visionofbritain.org.uk, archived from the original on 24 December 2012, see also boundary map
  14. Ordnance Survey, 1:2500, 1939
  15. Information, Reed Business (23 March 1961), "Improved magnesia insulation", New Scientist, 9 (227), ISSN 0262-4079
  16. Sources:
  17. Ordnance Survey, 1:10000; 1985, 1991
  18. "Darlington West Park", www.homesandcommunities.co.uk, Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), archived from the original on 30 December 2011
  19. Barry Nelson (4 February 2011), "Trust buys back hospital", www.thenortherecho.co.uk
  20. Art the heart of a new community – westpark (PDF), Bussey & Armstrong, Summer 2005, archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2007
  21. Sources:
  22. Sources:
  23. Sources:
  24. "N.E. Railway Housing Scheme at Darlington", The Builder, 122: 346, also p.94, 1922
  25. Hoole, Ken (1975), "1. The Stockton & Darlington Railway", in Jack Simmons (ed.), Rail 150: The Stockton & Darlington Railway and What Followed, Eyre Methuen, pp. 15–16, ISBN 9780413323101
  26. Darlington Railway Centre & Museum Collecting & Disposals Policy 2006 – 2011, 5.8 "Goods Wagons"
  27. Johnson, John; Long, Robert A. (1981), Bond, Roland C. (ed.), British Railways Engineering 1948–80, pp. 520–535
  28. "Faverdale Wagon Works sold to Darlington Corporation", The Railway Gazette, 118: 28, 1963
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