Middle Rainton Part 3

A Memory of Middle Rainton.

Ralph loved his horses, he washed and groomed them constantly, the harnesses had brass or silver fittings, and the leather had to be polished, and the metal shone. And he often took first place in many local shows including the Royal Show, when it was on, and also the annual County Show. The stables were full of rosettes - testimony to his expertise and devotion.

When my father was discharged from the army in 1946 we all moved to Boyd’s Lodge, but he couldn’t find work and so after about 2 years they moved to Berkshire. I then went back to live again with the Wilsons (My Granddad’s brothers) in Middle Rainton and stayed with them until 1957. During that time I attended St Michael’s RC school, leaving at the age of 15. I then worked at Smith’s Garage at Rainton Gate for two years before moving south to join my parents at the age of 17.

The Village

While I was growing up, Middle Rainton was part demolished. The reason given was that it was deemed unsuitable for habitation. People were moved out regardless of whether they wanted to or not and there was no compensation on offer. Not even for homeowners! The only street left intact was Front Street along with The Fox and Hounds, with about six houses in the same row, the Rose and Crown (by then a private dwelling) and the farm cottage.

The only pub still open was “The Foresters Arms” which was in the middle of Front Street.
The families that were moved out of the demolished houses were relocated to the then new council houses in East Rainton. These new homes had bathrooms, flushing toilets and hot water - far superior to their previous abodes!

There had been a small school near the Vicarage for many years but this was closed and demolished when 60% of the population were moved to East Rainton with its new school buildings. However the tarmac playground remained and was still usable in the 50s.

Middle Rainton was situated between West and East Rainton (naturally!) on the main Durham to Sunderland road (A690). It was in the Parish of St Michaels RC, Houghton-le-Spring and St Mary’s C of E, West Rainton and came under Hetton Urban District Council. We were registered with West Rainton Surgical Practice and our doctor was called Dr Charlie (a very good friend of Great Gran).

The Rose and Crown was widely reported to be haunted, the story being that a woman had hung herself from the stair rail. My friend Bobby Embleton lived there and said that they saw the ghost too often to take any notice of it!

The village had originally contained approximately 130 houses including the three pubs, farm cottages and Meadows Pit cottages, excluding the farm and vicarage. The streets I remember were Front Street (on the main road), which was the only street with a pavement; it had a good footpath of paving slabs over the entire length. All the other

---

---