CHESTER LE STREET ASPIRE LEARNING, SUPPORT AND WELLBEING A SPORTING TOWN

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1 ASPIRE LEARNING, SUPPORT AND WELLBEING As a women s group and organisation this picture of women volunteers in Chester Moor during World War One is very relevant. Aspire Learning, Support and Wellbeing is a women only training centre based in Chester-le-Street. Their aim is to equip women with necessary skills, encourage the development of confidence and self esteem, and help progress to further learning, volunteering CHESTER-LE-STREET FRONT STREET, OLD CO-OP BUILDING ON THE RIGHT. THIS CO-OP WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE AND THE BUILDING NOW IN CHESTER-LE-STREET DATES FROM 1933, THE STORE CLOSED IN 2007 TO THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF MANY RESIDENTS. or employment. The women at Aspire have chosen these images of Chester-le-Street from the Beamish archive as part of the Ashes project. The Co-op was a huge part of life in Chester-le-Street and is where we used to go to buy everything clothes, food, all sorts.

2 George Horner s factory, which made the famous Dainty Dinah Toffee, was a large employer in Chester-le-Street, particularly of women. The factory stood where Morrison s car park is today. The women working at the Dainty Dinah toffee factory did their bit for morale during World War One and staged a number of ladies football matches with local munitions workers. This is the women s football team from the factory. This view of old Chester-le-Street shows how much it s changed over the years can you recognise any of the buildings? This image of Dainty Dinah is from the original 1920s oil portrait in the Beamish collection. Alice Scott was the original model; she was George Horner s personal chauffeur, and later became his personal assistant. Alice claimed that not only was she the first woman in Chester-le-Street to drive a car, she was also the first to wear trousers! OLD CHESTER-LE-STREET DAINTY DINAH PORTRAIT

3 LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE FOR CHESTER- LE- STREET PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH, SEPTEMBER 18TH 1901 I love this photo! It shows how all the old people would have looked in Chester-le- Street. This is the picture of where our youth club is now CORNERSTONES Cornerstones is a centre for the community in the heart of Chester-le-Street based in the Methodist Church, opposite the Market Place. The project provides both social, recreational and training opportunities. Beamish has been working with the Time Out youth drop-in group to choose images of sport and the heritage of Chester-le- Street for the Ashes project. It s important for the people of Chester-le-Street to see how people used to play cricket in the town, it is important for us to remember our history and what people used to do. CHESTER-LE-STREET CRICKET CLUB

4 SHROVE TUESDAY FOOTBALL MATCH IN CHESTER-LE-STREET Shrove Tuesday Football was played the full length of Chester-le-Street Front Street. It looks like it would have been really fun, it doesn t look anything like our football now. I bet it was really dangerous It was a fearsome competition between the Upstreeters and Downstreeters. and people broke their legs. The game would start at 1pm about halfway up the Front Street with the ball being thrown out from an upstairs window. The purpose was to get the ball to the top of the street or to the bottom by whatever means. There were no rules and no restriction on the size of the teams or the length of the game. People were often injured and the game was outlawed by the Police in 1932 because of the risks to players, spectators and property.

5 CHESTER-LE-STREET HERITAGE GROUP CHESTER-LE-STREET CRICKET CLUB The first recorded match Chester-le-Street Heritage Group formed in 1986 and came together for the purposes of like-minded people to study local history from the area. involving Chester-le-Street Cricket Club was in 1834 against Durham City. The first cricket field in Chester-le- Street was at Mordue s Field, Crown Farm, Ropery Lane Many of the images you can see on the panels in this exhibition are used by kind permission of the Chester-le- Street Heritage Group. the town s by-pass now runs through the middle of this field. The Ropery Lane ground was purchased in 1948, with the then president Colonel J Turnbull, doubling the amount collected from members to make up the 1000 purchase price. At a general meeting in 1957 it was agreed, by a majority of one, to start a bar in the club takings for the first full year, 1958, were 1058!

6 LOCAL LAD, AUSSIE HERO! VINCENT BUSH PARKER Vincent Bush Parker was born on 11th February 1918 at 20 Co-operative Street, Chester-le- Street before his family emigrated to Australia, settling in Purono, North Queensland. became a German prisoner of war. Vincent s earlier training in escapology now came in handy and he was continuously involved in escape attempts, eventually being sent to the renowned escape proof Colditz Castle where his Vincent was particularly interested in magic and sleight of hand, for a time he was an assistant to uncanny ability to pick even the hardest lock meant he was involved in many escape attempts! a magician called The Great Levante, from whom he learnt various methods of escapology. In North Queensland, Australia there is a park named after Vincent, the Bushy Parker Park, Vincent joined the RAF during World War 2 and was involved in the Battle of Britain before his plane was shot down and he and a book written by an Australian author which tells the tale of the incredible life of a lad who originated from our town.

7 DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB Larkins, Paul Parker, Geoff Cook, Dean Jones and Simon Hughes on the playing staff. Durham County Cricket Club was established on 23rd May 1882, and they played their first match at Chester Road Cricket Ground, Sunderland, on 12th June 1882 when they defeated Northumberland by 4 wickets. Durham County Cricket Club moved to a new, permanent home in 1995 renamed in 2010 as the Emirates Durham International Cricket Ground is the first time that The Ashes has been played in the North East of England. The Test and County Cricket Board awarded Durham County Cricket Club first-class status on 6th December Durham became the first County to be 1926 DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB ANNUAL REPORT granted such status for 70 years. Between 1992 and 1994 Durham had no single home venue, although by this time they had established players of the calibre of Ian Botham, David Graveney, Wayne