Churches and Chapels
Fundraising at St Mary's
There was an other unusual fund raising event at the end of the century which involved the Vicar and the Church warden of St. Mary The Virgin, abseiling down the church tower to raise money, again for repairs to the church.
Whickham West End Methodist Church
On August 24th 1968 the Whickham West End Methodist Church held a fund raising Open Day in Chase Park, Whickham.
In addition to the sideshows and stalls usual to such an occasion, there were competitions for youngsters.. For the girls a Skipping Endurance competition was one of the main events and prizes were awarded to the girls in each age group who could skip for the longest time without stopping.
Another major event was the Soap Box Race. Entries were received from schools, scout troops and boys who felt that they could make a Soap Box Car to beat all-comers in the races or win a prize for the best model.
Miss Margaret Dryburgh 1890-1945
A Dutch woman sparked off a far-reaching chain of events when she donated a collection of music manuscripts to California's Stanford University ten years ago. For the meticulously handwritten manuscripts were far removed from any usual musical composition.
They were choral arrangements sung by 30 Dutch, British and Australian woman imprisoned by the Japanese during the Second World War. To cope with captivity the woman formed a choral group in their prison camp on Sumatra, Indonesia. The inspiration for this was Margaret Dryburgh.
Margaret was born in Sunderland, the daughter of the Reverend and Mrs. W. Dryburgh. The family moved to Swalwell in the 1900's where he was the minister at the Presbyterian Church at the Ebeneezer Chapel in Market Lane. The family was very well liked in the village and they were all keen and talented musicians. Margaret became a qualified teacher and taught for a short time at the village school before going to China in 1919 as a missionary.
When war with Japan started, contact was lost, but in April 1942, after the fall of Singapore, she was found to be in Sumatra in a Japanese prisoner of war camp for women and children. 
Soon she began arrangements of classical works for a 'Voice Orchestra', where types of humming sounds were used for each instrument. She taught the other inmates how to produce these sounds and concerts were put on to raise morale. From memory Margaret Dryburgh wrote down pages of music from baroque to contemporary with the help of Norah Chambers, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London.
With only their memories to guide them they reproduced musical scores for over 30 orchestral and piano works by composers, which included Handel, Brahms, Chopin and Beethoven. Even the Japanese soldiers were amazed at the women's talent and used to listen at the door when they sang their services. The Saturday night gatherings grew so large and loud, that the guards peering in at the windows and climbing on to the dustbins, for a better view could not ignore them. They took to inviting themselves, sitting in the front row on cane chairs while the woman sat on the ground.
One of the pieces written by Margaret was the 'Captives Hymn', which was sung every Sunday at worship in the camp. 
Its main feature was the absence of bitterness or hatred of their captors, despite the dreadful conditions they endured.
Together the two women rearranged the scores for choral singing, condensing a 15-minute movement of a symphony into a 5- minute choral work without losing its sense of balance and flow. Unless needed for vocal ease, the new scores remained faithful to the original keys.
The choice of syllabuses to be sung was left to Norah Chambers. To keep the programme a surprise for the other captives, she rehearsed the orchestra in a sooty shed behind the kitchen, without so much as a pitch pipe for an aid.
Constant hunger and disease took their toll and Margaret died on April 21st 1945 after reciting Psalm 23, a matter of months before the war ended. She was buried on 23rd April 1945 among the rubber trees of "Belau Camp on Sumatra. On March 2nd 1951 Margaret was reburied in the Dutch War Grave Cemetery in Java. 
A year after the compositions were handed over to Stanford University, a women's chorus in California performed them in a series of concerts.
The story of the women and their music captured the audiences' imagination. It is thanks to a Dutch survivor, Helen Colijn, that their amazing spirit and Margaret's story lives on in her book which was later made into a film. The film -makers contacted Bill Fletcher, who played the organ in the Swalwell Chapel where her father was minister, to find out about her Tyneside background. The film,' Song of Survival', was shown in Britain on Channel Four.
In December 1997, a film, called 'Paradise Road', was released that showed the women's struggle to survive a horrific time in a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp in Sumatra during the Second World War, Margaret Dryburgh, was played by Pauline Collins.
Wards 9 and 10 at Dunston Hill Hospital were renamed 'The Margaret Dryburgh Ward' because of the hospital's connection with the Far Eastern Prisoners of War Association.
Will Fenwick
Will Fenwick lived at Westview and in 1910 was a travelling draper though earlier in his life he worked with his father at Marley Hill Pit. He was born at Streetgate in 1872 the son of Luke Fenwick, toll collector at Fuger Bar in 1871. Will was one of the stalwarts of Sunniside Methodist Chapel being a lay preacher, superintendent, class leader and society steward over many years. In 1937 he was serving on the management committee of Whickham Cottage Memorial Hospital.
Rev. Alan Gales
The Rev. Gales was the longest serving vicar of St. Cuthbert's Church, Marley Hill from 1963 - 1994. He was very popular with all his parishioners, always being available and mixing freely in the community.
Swalwell Holy Cross Church Choir 1930
Vicar, Reverent Pettilegean, Organist, Foster Bruce
Choir members, Harold Bruce, William Brown, Joe Jobling, William Mantle, Joe Hetherington, Tom Jewitt and James Smailes. James is holding the banner on the left. Other members unknown.
Dunston Christ Church 1938.
Brownie Pack outside the
"Tin Mission", Church Street.
Miss Leonard and her
Sunday School class also
outside Christ Church Parish Hall.
Gibside Chapel
Gibside Chapel Is a lovely Georgian Chapel on the outskirts of Whickham Parish.
Gibside Estate (now owned by The National Trust) in the Derwent Valley is one of the finest 18th Century designed landscapes in the North of England. Within this lie the Palladian Chapel, the Long Walks, Column of Liberty, Orangery, Walled Garden and the ruins of Gibside Hall. At the highest point of the estate is the Banqueting House, managed by the Landmark Trust.
This beautiful Georgian Chapel within the parish boundaries of Whickham is still in regular use. The Rev. Duncan Reed Rector of The Parish of St. Mary The Virgin takes a monthly service in the chapel, including a Harvest Festival Service each October.
Whickham Sunday School Annual Trip 1920
We all assembled on the Church Green at 9:30 a.m. with tally identity label and tea ticket slung around our necks on a piece of string. We then walked to Swalwell railway station to board a steam train for the direct route to Whitley Bay.
The teachers led games on the beach. At an arranged time we collected at a church hall where we received a "tea bag". All the bags included a rock bun.
After an enjoyable and strenuous day we returned home. Arriving back at Swalwell Station tired and weary but grateful for our annual treat, we faced the task of walking up Whickham Bank.
Whickham Church Green
In the early 20th century the church green was hard baked clay and rubble!
After World War One it was used as a car park. It was also the venue for the annual Hoppings. On the first night their was a customary free ride for children, who came straight from school eager to claim their free ride. In 1935 the Hoppings were cancelled as it rained all day. The showmen refused to pay the rent so consequently the rector would no longer allow the Hoppings to be held on the Church Green.
In 1953 it was taken over by The Council and it was laid out as it is today.
St Mary the Virgin, Whickham
The Historic Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is still the heart and soul of the village of Whickham. The church was once the only place of worship for the surrounding communities of Swalwell, Sunniside, Dunston, Marley Hill and Streetgate. The villagers walked miles, up very steep hills, to attend any form of church service there. Fortunately for the people of the districts, over a period of time each of the communities not only started up their own established Church of England but other non-conformist churches came into being too.
It is intended to give details and a brief history of the newer churches and the clergy, but not to dwell deeply on the exterior of St Mary's, as over the years, this has been researched and written fully regarding its bricks and mortar. Therefore the Church building is being left to the experts and this account will concentrate on some of the wealth of material inside the church from the stained glass windows which are fascinating; the wonderful organ, the marvellous bells, and then there is the history of the church itself. History as diverse as the well-known and wealthy families who attended the church and who would leave Whickham Parish Church with many wonderful legacies and the famous people like William Shield, Henry Byrne Carr, Ralph Carr Ellison, and not so famous families who are buried in St. Mary's churchyard and lastly the Clergy themselves.
Churches have always played an important part in village life. In the olden days the church would collect a Tithe, which was allotted for its up-keep and although Tithes are a thing of the past, St Mary's over the years has on the whole been fairly well maintained by church members through a combination of plan-giving and fund raising activities when work needed to be carried out. At this present moment, although roof repairs have been completed, money is still urgently required.
More information about fund raising can be had from the church.
Information about the actual church building can be found on:
http://www.whickhamstmary.co.uk
The first Rector recorded in Whickham Church was in 1200 A.D.
The Rector at the beginning of the Twentieth Century was the Rev. Arthur Allwork.
The present Rector is the Rev. Duncan Reed.
The stained glass windows in Whickham Parish Church are something to behold; there are eighteen windows in all, fourteen are stained glass and four plain. The colours are astounding, such wonderful vibrant colours; on the right hand side of the Church, magnificent lilac, purple and red hues and on the left side we can enjoy the dark reds, blue and white.
There were lots of artists involved in the work of the windows and many people donated money in memory of loved ones, teachers or friends and their legacies have provided enjoyment for generations of visitors to St. Mary's.
As many as possible of the artists and companies who did the work on the windows will be named.
Looking East:
"The Sermon on the Mount"
Chancel:
Two windows; King David and Saint Gabriel
Nave:
Three depictions - Jesus as a Baby with his Mother and Joseph with the animals in the Stable plus Mary at Prayer.
Jesus on the Cross and Jesus carrying the Cross.
The angels coming to Mary and Her companions and Jesus with staff in hand talking to one of his people.
North Aisle:
St. Monica "To the Glory of God and in memory of Clare Burrowdale Huthwaite May 18th 1931"
Two depictions, one of St. Peter and the other of St. John.
Porch West:
"St. George".
West: Right Side:
"He is my beloved Son whom I am well pleased" and "Suffer little children to come unto me".
South Aisle:
"Suffer the little children" and "All ye who labour".
South West:
"Simeon and the Baby Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary".
In the Baptistry:
"Ascension of Our Lord".
In the South East section of the South Aisle:
"The Five Wise Virgins, our Lord rebuking Martha , the raising of Jairus' daughter, and Christ blessing little children".
Standing above the altar:
"The Rose Window".
North Aisle:
"St. Peter and St. James Curing the Paralytic at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple"
North Wall of Chancel:
"Augustine of Hippo"
West:
"Nativity Presentation - The Birth of Christ and the Presentation in the Temple".
This list of burials at St Mary's from 1901 shows just how many parishioners died in infancy at that time:-
July 18 Barbara Gilchrist Little (Whickham) Aged 19 days.
21 George Oloman (Swalwell), aged 10 weeks.
22 Catherine Scott Radford (Swalwell), aged 5 weeks.
23 William Benn (Swalwell) aged 32 years.
24 Ada Noble (Swalwell), aged 15 months.
28 Edmund Turner (Swalwell), aged 1 month.
28 James Hardy (Whickham) aged 72 years.
29 Bertie Hickson (Whickham), aged 3 months.
30 Joseph Raine (Swalwell), aged 40.
Aug 3 Jane Rutter (Swalwell), aged 17 years.
3 Ridgeway Foster Hutchinson White (Whickham), aged 75 years.
4 Thomas Arthur Gowland (Whickham) aged 5 years.
4 Archibald Allison (Swalwell), aged 39 years.
6 Mary Cook (Swalwell), aged 4 months.
6 Lydia Amelia Hardy (Whickham), aged 5 months.
7 Rachel Brown (Swalwell), aged 10 months.
11 Thomas Norman Lumley (Swalwell), aged 4 months.
12 Alice Clark (Swalwell), aged 9 months.
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Whickham
Quite near Dockendale Hall, a farm building was converted into a Catholic Church in 1948. The present Catholic Church was completed in 1970. It was designed by Rossi McCann and Partner, will seat a congregation of 350. It was designed to suit the new liturgical requirements. The sacristies and waiting room form the link block to the new presbytery. The scheme is designed to a domestic scale to domestic standards in order to meet a tight budget limit of £52,000!
Fellside Methodist Church, Whickham
When, in the seventies, the West End Chapel became too small for the congregation, it was decided to build a larger church in a new location. When an old church in Gateshead had to be demolished the local authority was persuaded to build the replacement church in Whickham to serve the congregation of West End Chapel. This church became Fellside Methodist Church.!
When the new Fellside Church opened in 1980 the Reverend Thomas Walsh moved with his flock for a few months, until the arrival of the Reverend Terry Hurst. In 1990 further renovations and alterations were paid for by the Church Members. These included a new vestry, an upstairs extension and the turning of the church by 90 degrees to allow a stained glass window to be the focal point of the building. It is a circular window with the Church logo depicting a person kneeling beside a cross with a dove at its centre, the whole being surrounded by sunrays.
The newly established Community Church bought The Old West End Chapel from the Methodist Church. This was an evangelical church and it opened around 1982.
Roman Catholics in Swalwell
Members of the Catholic community used a hall, which was above the grocery department of the Co-operative Store. There was a small committee room, which the priest used as a vestry. They also sold the Catholic papers there. There was a stage in one corner of the room and children used to sit to the left of this stage on wooden benches.
All the adults sat in the main body of the hall on chairs, which were so tightly packed together there was little movement. The Hall became a church every Sunday morning at 9am sharp, but during the week, the Co-operative Society and local Labour Party used it for meetings. The altar was a trestle table with a piece cut out to take the portable altar stone, and the Priest and altar boys had cushions to kneel on.
There was very little room for manoeuvre in the hall. With the large numbers that gathered in the hall to attended Mass, only the children and people seated on the ends of the rows could actually kneel down and trying to get to communion was very difficult.
Priests came from neighbouring districts to hold services. Today the good folk of Swalwell travel to either Blaydon, Whickham, Dunston or Lobley Hill to hear services.
Swalwell, Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity was consecrated on 15 December 1905.
Ebenezer Chapel - Swalwell
This was a Presbyterian chapel, which opened in 1750 and was not demolished until May 1976. Ironically for a Presbyterian chapel, its greatest claim to fame is that John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, preached here in 1747 and in 1757.
Swalwell Wesleyan Methodist Church
The Methodist Chapel
after conversion to
a day nursery.
The Methodist Chapel
in the 1960's.
This was situated on Market Lane at the bottom of Colbeck Avenue and it opened on 26th July 1930. It was built of brick and seated 250 worshippers. There was a sizeable organ and a small upstairs balcony at the rear of the church, which also had two vestrys at the sides of the entrance hall. A Sunday School was held in the afternoons and there were morning and evening Sunday Services. A Harvest Festival and a Christmas Party for children were annual events. It replaced an earlier chapel (1817?) also located on Market Lane.
Market Lane closed in the late 1990's and the premises are now used by a Nursery, the Stepping Stones Day Nursery, after considerable alterations were made to the building..
Swalwell United Methodist Church
This stone-built chapel was on Railway Street and could seat 200. It closed in 1965 and the congregation transferred to Market Lane. In 1966 the building was sold to a printing firm called Fletchers. It is now Comma Print.
Swalwell Primitive Methodist Church
This was located on Napier Road - it was built in brick and could seat 200. The nearby school used it to stage plays and other school productions. It closed in 1955 and the congregation transferred to Railway Street. The Napier Street chapel was sold in 1957 to Shield Brothers of Swalwell for use as a store but has now been demolished and replaced by housing.
Swalwell Churches
In the late 19th century there was seven different churches in Swalwell, unfortunately by the year 2000 there was only one left, the Anglican Church of "The Holy Trinity".
The earliest and most prominent churches in Swalwell were some form of Methodism, from Primitive to Wesleyan Methodist, United Reformed Church, and a Church of England Church, and although there was no actual Roman Catholic Church, Catholics held Mass in a room belonging to the Co-operative Society, Market Street.
Sunniside Methodist Church
The present chapel was built as a United Methodist Chapel at a cost of £1,210 and was opened on the 20th of August 1910. The Builder was Mr. William Hockey of Whickham and the Architect was Mr. Karl Spurgin, of Newcastle upon Tyne. It replaced the old chapel built in 1837 for the Methodist New Connexion. The old chapel became first a Sunday School for a large number of years, then it was used as a meeting place for various organisations.
In 1955 an electronic organ replaced the second hand organ, which was bought, for £275, and installed in 1922. This replaced the piano, used since 1910. In 1960 the Choir Vestry was enlarged, the cost being met from the sale of the old Chapel, to the Over 60's Club and a gift of £100 from Mrs S. Liddle. About the time of the First World War, the Douglas family, of Lingey Fine, had private pews at the Chapel, for which a quarterly subscription was paid.
St. Cuthbert's Church - Marley Hill
St.Cuthbert's Church at Marley Hill was built in Gothic Style in 1877 and was capable of seating 254 persons. It was built at a cost of £3000, was paid for by Public Subscription and was consecrated by the Bishop of Durham on 15th November of that year, whereupon the Ecclesiastical District automatically became a Parish.
Previously services were held in the old Methodist mission. When the Wesleyans vacated their old chapel in 1870, the Church of England began to use the former mission for Sunday worship only; the building being used as a National School from Monday to Friday. The original mission had a communion table, font, pulpit, harmonium, and a vestry partitioned off by curtains to suit the needs of Church of England services.
The first recorded baptism took place on 18th November 1877. The first burial was on 17th December 1877 and the first marriage, William Spencer Telford to Mary Gray Thirlaway was on the 16th of January 1878.
There are three stained glass windows in St Cuthbert's, one on the East Side, 'A Memorial Window' inscribed "I was sick and you visited me" which was paid for by public subscription. Two other windows were dedicated to a former churchwarden, Mr Cuthbert Berkley.
The Organ in St Cuthbert's Church was by Nicholson of Newcastle. A second hand organ was bought for £275 and installed in 1922, replacing the piano used since 1910, which was replaced by an electronic organ in 1955. In 1960 the Choir Vestry was enlarged, the cost being met from the sale of the old Chapel, to the Over 60's Club and a gift of £100 from Mrs S. Liddle.
The longest serving Vicar was The Reverend Alan Gales who was at the parish for over 31 years. He was born on 28th November 1929 and originated from Birtley. To find out more about him go to people of note Marley Hill.
In the thirties and forties many groups met at the vicarage including the Sunniside Guides and Scouts and a Boys' Youth Club. After the War, Harry Roddam held woodwork classes for the young men and the Youth Club Soccer team also trained there. In 1952, an Over 60's Club was formed at Sunniside and the building was widely known as the Over 60's club 'Headquarters'. It was sold in 1995.
Dunston Spiritualist Church
Dunston, Salvation Army Citadel
This was the former PM premises on Ravensworth Road which were sold to the Salvation Army around 1906. The Salvation Army Band was a common and welcome sight on Sundays and on Christmas Day, as were the members, who were regulars in the pubs distributing 'The War Cry'. The premises are now used by "Absolute Security Steelwork".
Dunston, St. Nicholas
Dunston, St Nicholas Parish was created in 1936 from part of Christ Church Parish, though the church was built a few years earlier. Money for the building was raised by Christ Church members. The present St. Nicholas was built in 1965.
Dunston, Christ Church
The Parish of Dunston, Christ Church was created in 1872 from part of Whickham Parish. In 1873 Lord Ravensworth laid the Foundation stone for the parish church; it was completed and opened in 1876. Christ Church was demolished due to subsidence in 1976 and the parish added to that of Dunston, St Nicholas.
Christ Church Parish Hall, erected in 1909, lasted until the 1980s and was used a number of time for church services. It was known locally as the Tin Mission because it was built of corrugated steel. The building was bought from St George's Church, Gateshead, for £30. It had to be dismantled, removed from St George's and erected at Dunston which all cost a further £90-10s-0d. The new foundations cost £12 and the fencing around the site cost £22-11s-6d. The building was re-roofed for £77 and gas fittings and plumbing cost £9-15s-10d. All the decorating was done by church workers. The total cost of the Parish Hall came to £300-11s-1d. The Tin Mission quickly became an integral part of village life.
The Board School log book records in 1909 state that there were 1007 pupils on the roll, 150 were housed in the Parish Hall. In 1914, Handley Carr Page, Bishop of Durham, licensed the Hall to serve as a church whilst renovations and extensions to Christ Church took place. In 1926 during the General Strike, hundreds of breakfasts and dinners were served in the Church Hall. A soup kitchen was set up to help the needy during those hard times.
Clergy at Christ Church
The Rev. John Jones was appointed the first Vicar of Dunston in 1872, but, as there was no proper church in Dunston at that time, the Rev. Jones worked from the Church Mission Room on Dunston Road. Although Rev. Jones had watched Lord Ravensworth lay the foundation stone of Christ Church in 1873 after marching with him, villagers and scholars, from the school to the site of the church on Wellington Road, he had to wait a couple of years before the New Church was completed.
On the 26th of April 1876 the Bishop of Durham officiated at the opening ceremony. Rev. John Jones was at Christ Church from 1872 until 1904. The Rev. J.W.D. Macintosh came to Christ Church in 1904 and stayed until 1921. He was instrumental in enlarging both the Church School and Christ Church itself. He was the Vicar who recognised that Dunston needed another church to serve the ever-increasing population of the village, and he would see the first St. Nicholas open in 1929 with his assistant the Rev. C.H. Beaglehole as priest-in- charge. Rev. Talbert 1938
The Rev E. W. Hunt was there in the late thirties until 1943. Rev. Hunt is remembered for his work with the youth of the parish. He established a very successful Youth Club. The Rev. Leslie Forster held the record for the longest serving Vicar in Dunston. He was there for over thirty years, from 1943 to 1974.
Dunston New Connexion/United Methodist Church
The first Methodist New Connexion chapel in Dunston was located near the old Parochial School and was opened on 2nd of December 1838. This was replaced in 1875 by a new stone-built chapel on Ravensworth Road, which seated 275.
A Lecture Room with classrooms for the Sunday School was added in 1898. Annual Sunday School trips, down the Tyne by boat started in the early 1900s. In the fifties they were still tripping, but by bus from the Lecture hall.
Ravensworth Road continued to serve the area until the end of the 20th century. It was demolished in 2001.
Dunston Wesleyan Methodist Church
The first Wesleyan Methodist chapel in Dunston was built before 1877 at Stokoe Square. It was replaced by a brick-built chapel on Hexham Road in May 1903. This chapel, which seated 300 worshippers, became Dunston Hill Methodist Church in 1963 (see above) and was rebuilt in 1980.
Dunston Primitive Methodist Church
The first Primitive Methodist chapel in Dunston was located in the "Great Square". Towards the end of the 19th century the congregation moved into new premises on Ravensworth Road, but these were too small to accommodate the growing congregation, so rooms were rented above a shop to house the Sunday School. In 1906, Wood Street Chapel which had been built six years earlier by the Independent Methodists, was purchased. It was of stone and seated 300. The old PM premises off Ravensworth Road were sold to the Salvation Army and later became the Dunston Training Workshops of Gateshead Church Enterprises.
Wood Street Chapel was enlarged in 1922 with the addition of a kitchen and two extra classrooms for the Sunday School. On 6th October 1963 Wood Street merged with the Hexham Road chapel to form Dunston Hill Methodist Church. Services were held at Hexham Road with Wood Street being used as a Youth Centre. This arrangement lasted until the Hexham Road chapel was replaced by a new all-purpose building on the same site in September 1980. Wood Street chapel was then demolished.
St Philip Neri Roman Catholic Church, Dunston
Before 1882 Roman Catholics in Dunston had to travel to St. Joseph's in Gateshead to hear mass, a distance of two miles or more. The Priest at St Joseph's, Father Matthews, tried to hold services nearer to Dunston by hiring first a room in Tynedale Terrace and then a hay loft in Bolam Street which served the dual purpose of school and church.
In 1882 plans were drawn up for a School which would open the same year. Lack of funds meant that the planned presbytery could not be built and the Priest continued to live in Tynedale Terrace until a house was taken in Brompton Place in 1884. In 1884 the present Presbytery was built for £764.00 making a total debt of £2410.00 for School and Presbytery, which was a very large sum for a relatively small congregation.
Owing to the siting of St Philip Neri many locals fail to notice the Presbytery, which is a spacious house with a pleasant 'hidden' garden between itself and the church.
The dual-purpose building served until 1905 when the temporary Church was built. This was followed in 1909 by an extension to the school building and the opening of the infant school as a separate department.
In 1934 after nearly thirty years, the present St Philip Neri replaced the 'Temporary' church building. In recent years, although plans have been discussed for a new church on a new site, it remains in the same place.
Marley Hill - Church Street, Cuthbert Street and Glamis Terrace
These streets were built in the early 1900's by John Bowes and Partners, the first being Church Street North and St. Cuthbert's Street. Church Street South was built in 1913 for colliery officials and had front and back gardens. Gas lighting was installed in 1914. Glamis Terrace was built in 1925 behind Church Street South and the houses were much superior to the others, having three bedrooms, inside toilets and electric lighting. These houses are on the main road through Marley Hill and are still standing. When the pit closed in 1983 sitting tenants were given the opportunity to buy the properties from the National Coal Board.