Hett Hills

A Memory of Hett Hills.

I lived at what is now Old County View at Hett Hills from 1959 to 1963. My sister and her husband - Sam Wears, had a house built in the garden next door to us. There was a square of about 6 houses behind us which were demolished around 1966. There lived Arthur Strong and his wife and children George and Linda. Arthur was a Cockney who drove the loading excavator at Sam's Hett Hills Quarry. Also living there was Sadie King - another Londoner, and Mrs Hewitson. I don't remember the others. The council wagon called every week to empty the 'midden'.
Next to us was the "Traveller's Rest" run by the Porter family and later by John Mallon from Sunderland. His son Johnny was later a car mechanic at Pelton. It is now "The Moorings". Frank Thornton from Grange Villa was the quarry Foreman. Billy Churcher drove one of the readymixed concrete wagons. George Chapman delivered loads of sand and gravel.
I was taught to shoot in the quarry surroundings by George Trotter from Grange Terrace, a Deputy at Pelton Fell Colliery and by Ray Brown of Plantation View, West Pelton, a draughtsman at the Birtley Caterpillar. This later put me in good stead in the National Police Clay Shooting Championships in 1971.
The two Stevenson brothers farmed at Tribley Farm just over the hilltop. My grandfather was born there.
George Armstrong ran the Hett Hills garage further along the road to Grange Villa.
The road down to Chester le Street after Pelton Fell was Burnthouse Bank and not Bluehouse as it is now on the map.
Every night at a quarter to seven the commuter aircraft from London to Woolsington (Newcastle) airport passed over County View. It was a De Havilland Airspeed Ambassador run by BKS Air Transport- a triple tailplane twin engine high wing aircraft - very quiet.
I have lived in Wales for the last forty years and retired as 2nd Mechanic on the Barmouth Lifeboat but when my time comes I would like my 'bits' to be deposited on the hill top between County View and Tribley where I used to stand as a lad looking upwards at the skylarks calling and wheeling above me. They are probably all extinct now but there will still be the perfect view of the dawn and the sunset from that place.

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