Middle Rainton

Middle Rainton was a small village between West Rainton and East Rainton on the boundary of County Durham and the City of Sunderland, north east England. It was subject to a schedule D notice and hence ceased to exist in the 1970s. The site of Middle Rainton is now a Nature Reserve open to the Public. It lies on the A690 road, about 3 miles (5 km) east of the A1(M). The land on which Middle Rainton was built was originally owned by R Heaviside. John Buddle (agent for Lord Londonderry) bought the land in 1820 to build houses for the miners working in the local pits. Wm Fordyce “History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham” Vol 2 notes that the village is “principally occupied by persons engaged in the collieries”. (1) A point reinforced by the Census Returns 1851 to 1891, which show that the vast majority of the males of working age being engaged as miners or other tasks associated with the mine Prior to 1815 Buddle on behalf of Londonderry had been closing Pits in the area but new mining technology had emerged which allowed for the exploitation of deeper coal seams. Between 1816 and 1824, 6 Pits were opened in the immediate area – Adventure (1816), Resolution(1816), Plain(1817), Hazard(1818), Meadows(1824), Alexandrina (1824). (2) In 1851 the Census notes there were 189 Dwellings with 449 males and 393 females a total population of 842. This appears to have been the time of peak occupancy. By 1871 only 155 dwellings were recorded as occupied with 15 as unoccupied and a total population of 726. By 1911 there were 102 dwellings, 277 males, 272 females a total of 549. The 1911 census reports that the Village had its own Police Station – with a resident policeman. The following streets are named at various times : Front Street (the main road between Durham and Sunderland ) West Row, Back Row, Lewis Street, Cross Street, Chapel Row ,Slate Row, and in 1871 only, Pipewell Gate. Of these only Front street, was paved (3) The census at various times notes a…