Stanley, County Durham

Some archaeological evidence of possible Iron Age and Roman activity has been found in the Stanley area.Historic England: [https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=99636a8f-2ad0-48e0-b2ac-3cd3d3c22915&resourceID=19191 possible Iron Age/Roman ditched enclosure]; [https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=e3d17109-c72c-4d1c-9af2-69662ce593f5&resourceID=19191 coin of Marcus Aurelius (161–180{{nbsp}}AD)]; [https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=54402220-be4c-4314-8799-107f1fadf83d&resourceID=19191 signal station]. [https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/2012/Historic-Environment-Record Durham Historic Environment Record]: [https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=D66796&resourceID=109 possible fortlet]; [https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=D7969&resourceID=109 possible road]. Retrieved 10 June 2024.

Stanley is referred to in an early thirteenth century episcopal {{lang|la|actum}}{{snd}}a documented decision{{snd}}of Richard Poore, Bishop of Durham from 1228 to 1237. Dated between 1228 and 1234, it confirms the granting of the vill of Stanley and some land in Durham to William de Kilkenny.

{{cite book

|url=https://archive.org/details/englishepiscopal0025unse/page/296/mode/2up?q=stanley&view=theater

|title=English Episcopal Acta 25: Durham 1196{{endash}}1237

|editor-last=Snape

|editor-first=M. G.

|chapter=Acta of Richard Poore

|at={{lang|la|Actum}} 328 on pp. 297-298

|publisher=Oxford University Press for the British Academy

|location=London

|date=2002

|isbn=978-0-197-26235-1

|access-date=27 April 2024

|via=Internet Archive

}}

The first printed map of the Bishopric of Durham was created in 1576. Published in 1579 as part of the cartographer Christopher Saxton's county atlas, it shows Stanley as "Standley".

{{cite map

|last=Saxton

|first=Christopher

|author-link=Christopher Saxton

|title=Dunelmensis Episcopatus (Qui comitatus est palatinus) vera et accurata descriptio. Anº Dni. 1576

|trans-title=A true and accurate description of the Bishopric of Durham (which is a palatine county). AD 1576

|type=zoomable map

|date=1579

|orig-date=1576

|url=https://alteagallery.com/view_product.php?prod_id=PROD100005851

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630201610/https://alteagallery.com/view_product.php?prod_id=PROD100005851

|archive-date=30 June 2022

|url-status=live

|publisher=Christopher Saxton

|location=London

|via=The Wayback Machine

|website=Altea Gallery

|at=Standley is marked next to a small range of hills north-west of "Duresme" (Durham).

|access-date=27 April 2024

}} Part of Saxton's Atlas of the Counties of England and Wales. In 1611, John Speed, a famous English mapmaker who built on Saxton's work, created a map of the bishopric that also shows Stanley as "Standley".

{{cite map

| last=Speed

| first=John

| author-link=John Speed

| title=The Bishopric and Citie of Durham

| type=zoomable map

| series=Late-stage proof

| date=1611

| url=https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PR-ATLAS-00002-00061-00001/24

| cartography=Jodocus Hondius, engraver

| publisher=William Hall

| location=London

| via=University of Cambridge Digital Library (physical location classmark: Atlas.2.61.1)

| at=Standley is marked next to a small range of hills north-west of Durham.

| access-date=27 April 2024

}} This map is part of Speed's atlas The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine. "Standley" is listed in the [https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A68764.0001.001/1:14.42.1?rgn=div3;view=fulltext index of placenames] appended to the version published in the atlas.

The 1909 West Stanley Pit Disaster, one of the worst in the history of British coal mining, occurred at West Stanley Colliery on 16 February of that year.

{{cite news

|newspaper=Newcastle Daily Chronicle

|title=West Stanley Pit Disaster

|page=7

|date=19 February 1909

|access-date=6 May 2024

|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/801672581/

|url-access=subscription

|via=Newspapers.com

}} 168 men and boys were killed.

{{cite web

|url=https://nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/accidents-disasters/durham/west-stanley-colliery-explosion-west-stanley-1909/

|title=West Stanley Colliery Explosion{{snd}}West Stanley{{snd}}1909

|website=Northern Mine Research Society

|access-date=6 May 2024

}} An explosion at the same colliery in 1882 had killed 13 men.

{{cite news

|newspaper=Newcastle Courant

|title=The Explosion at West Stanley Colliery

|page=8

|date=21 April 1882

|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/392491808/

|url-access=subscription

|access-date=6 May 2024

}} On 22 August 1947, an explosion at the Louisa Morrison Colliery killed 22 men.

{{cite web

|url=https://nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/accidents-disasters/durham/louisa-colliery-explosion-stanley-1947/

|title=Louisa Colliery Explosion{{snd}}Stanley{{snd}}1947

|website=Northern Mine Research Society

|access-date=20 May 2024

}}

{{cite news

|newspaper=Nottingham Evening Post

|page=1

|title=Nineteen Dead in Pit Explosion

|date=23 August 1947

|access-date=20 May 2024

|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/806604755/

|url-access=subscription

|via=Newspapers.com

}}

Stanley was served by the Stanhope and Tyne Railway, which had two stations in the town: West Stanley, and Annfield Plain. Both closed in 1955.

{{cite book

|last= Butt

|first=R. V. J.

|author-link=Raymond Butt

|date=1995

|edition=1st

|title=The Directory of Railway Stations

|location=Sparkford

|publisher=Patrick Stephens

|isbn=978-1-85260-508-7

|oclc=60251199

|at=p. 17 col 1 (Annfield Plain), p. 246 col 4 (West Stanley)

}}

Tanfield Lea was the site of the Ever Ready company's largest British battery factory, a major local employer. The factory opened, to much fanfare, in 1968,

{{cite news

|newspaper=Newcastle Journal

|date=19 July 1968

|title=Ever Ready put trust in North-East

|first=Kenneth

|last=Cooper

|at=pp. 8{{ndash}}9, and advertorial on p. 7

|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0002240/19680719/066/0008

|url-access=registration

|via=British Newspaper Archive

|access-date=12 February 2025

}} had around 950 employees{{snd}}mainly former miners{{snd}} at its peak in the 1970s, and closed in 1996.

{{cite web

|url=https://sitelines.newcastle.gov.uk/SMR/15492

|title=Ever Ready Battery Factory

|website=Sitelines

|publisher=Newcastle City Council

|access-date=12 February 2025

|quote=The company closed Tanfield Lea, its last UK factory, in 1996.

}} The British Steel plant in the neighbouring town of Consett (some {{convert|7|miles}} from Stanley) also had many ex-miners among the several thousand employed when it closed in 1980, part of a wave of redundancies affecting workers in the traditional heavy industries of the region.

{{cite news

|newspaper=Newcastle Journal

|date=27 September 1980

|title=Second jobs blow from North giant

|first=Tony

|last=Maguire

|page=1

|url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002240/19800927/007/0001

|url-access=registration

|via=British Newspaper Archive

|quote=[The] Consett steelworks closure [was] virtually completed yesterday [...].

|access-date=12 February 2025

}}

The Stanley Blues Festival took place on the first weekend in August between 1993 and 2007, with appearances by local, national, and international blues artists and other musical acts. Nearly 15,000 people attended in 2002, the event's tenth anniversary.

{{cite news

|newspaper=Northern Echo

|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/7064036.stanley---home-blues/

|title=Stanley{{snd}}it's the home of the blues

|date=8 August 2002

|access-date=12 February 2025

}} With support from the then-Derwentside District Council, Durham County Council, and the regional arm of Arts Council England, admission was free.

{{cite web

|url=http://www.stanleyblues.co.uk

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010807131009/http://www.stanleyblues.co.uk/

|archive-date=7 August 2001

|title=Welcome to Stanley Blues Festival!

|publisher=Northern Recording

}}

In mid-2023, Stanley Town Council handed back Stanley Civic Hall, the town’s long-standing arts venue and community hub, to Durham County Council.

{{cite news

|newspaper=Northern Echo

|title=Stanley Civic Hall set to close over rising costs and difficulties

|last=Edgar |first=Bill

|date=5 August 2023

|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/23701443.stanley-civic-hall-set-close-rising-costs-difficulties/

|publisher=Newsquest Media

|access-date=20 April 2024

}}

{{cite web

|title=Curtain set to fall on Stanley's Alun Armstrong Theatre

|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-66336726

|date=28 July 2023

|publisher=BBC

|access-date=20 April 2024

}} Amidst political controversy,

{{cite news

|newspaper=Northern Echo

|title=Stanley Civic Hall's shocking condition revealed by Durham council

|last=Edgar |first=Bill

|date=30 January 2024

|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/24084085.stanley-civic-halls-shocking-condition-revealed-durham-council/

|publisher=Newsquest Media

|access-date=20 April 2024

}}

{{cite web

|url=https://democracy.durham.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=64336

|title=Meeting of County Council : Questions from the Public : Response

|publisher=Durham County Council

|date=24 January 2024

|access-date=20 April 2024

}} it closed shortly afterwards, and was put up for sale in early 2024.

{{cite news

|newspaper=Northern Echo

|title=Stanley Civic Hall up for sale with huge repair bill

|last=Edgar |first=Bill

|date=5 March 2024

|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/24161582.stanley-civic-hall-sale-huge-repair-bill/

|publisher=Newsquest Media

|access-date=20 April 2024

}} The Civic Hall was formerly known as the Lamplight Arts Centre, which opened in 1961. The Council had taken over its running in mid-2013.

{{cite news

|newspaper=Northern Echo

|title=The show will go on: Stanley's Lamplight Arts Centre is saved from closure

|last=Summers

|first=Mark

|date=30 July 2013

|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/local/northdurham/10579932.show-will-go-stanleys-lamplight-arts-centre-saved-closure/

|publisher=Newsquest Media

|access-date=20 April 2024

}} The Civic Hall hosted concerts, recitals, plays and shows in the Alun Armstrong Theatre, had an independent cinema, put on exhibitions, held classes and seminars, and was a weddings and corporate events venue.

{{cite web

|url=https://civichallstanley.co.uk/

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231210094810/https://civichallstanley.co.uk/

|archive-date=10 December 2023

|url-status=live

|access-date=20 April 2024

|title=Stanley Civic Hall

|publisher=Stanley Town Council

|via=Internet Archive

}}

In late 2023, the owners of the Beamish Football Centre training ground

{{cite web

|url=https://pitchfinder.org.uk/map/site/1204695/

|title=Beamish Football Centre

|publisher=The Football Foundation

|website=Pitchfinder

|access-date=11 May 2024

}} announced that government funding had been secured for a major refurbishment and upgrade, with work starting in 2024.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/star-making-football-centre-to-get-ps16million-new-home-4427256

|title='Star-making' Beamish Football Centre set to get £1.6million new home after helping Sunderland, Everton, Coventry and Newcastle players

|last=Robertson

|first=Ross

|date=29 November 2023

|website=Sunderland Echo

|publisher=National World

|access-date=11 May 2024

}}

Stanley, whose boundaries have changed over the years,

Butler, David (1995), introduction to "Stanley 1895: Old Ordnance Survey Maps (Godfrey Edition), Co Durham Sheet 12.06a" (map), {{isbn|978-0-85054-758-0}}; Godfrey, Alan (2013), introduction to "Stanley 1915: Old Ordnance Survey Maps (Godfrey Edition), Co Durham Sheet 12.06b" (map), {{isbn|978-1-84784-661-7}}. c. 1:4224. Consett, Co Durham: Alan Godfrey Maps. has successively been part of the Lanchester Poor Law Union (from 1837 onwards);

{{

cite web

|url=https://www.workhouses.org.uk/Lanchester/#Post-1834

|title=Lanchester, Durham: After 1834

|website=workhouses.org

|publisher=Peter Higginbotham

|access-date=23 May 2024

}} Stanley Local Board (1892);

{{cite web

|url=https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/58760

|title=Kelly's Directory of Durham and Northumberland, 1914

|publisher=Kelly's Directories

|location=London

|website=University of Leicester Special Collections

|at=For local board (1892), see p. 400, col 1, lines 21-22; for urban district council (1894), see col 1, lines 2-5.

|access-date=23 May 2024

}} Stanley Urban District (1894);{{

refn|group=lower-alpha|The Stanley Urban District created in 1894 was part a network of boroughs, urban district and rural district councils set up after the formation of Durham County Council in 1889. It comprised West Stanley, Shield Row and South Moor. In 1895, separate urban districts were created for Annfield Plain and Tanfield.

{{

cite web

|url=https://www.alangodfreymaps.co.uk/durham1.htm

|title=Old Ordnance Survey maps of Durham: This page summarises the local government organisation of Co Durham since 1889.

|publisher=The Godfrey Edition

|date=17 January 2017

|access-date=23 May 2024

}} In 1937, the three districts were combined to form a greatly enlarged Stanley Urban District.

{{

cite report

|url=https://wellcomecollection.org/works/qhm78qu7/items?canvas=3

|title=Stanley Urban District Council. (Stanley and Tanfield Sections.) Report of the Medical Officer of Health for the Year 1937.

|date=March 1938

|at=p. 1, para 2

|last=Benson

|first=E.

|publisher=Stanley Urban District Council

|website=Wellcome Collection

|access-date=23 May 2024

}}

}} Derwentside District (1974);

{{

cite web

|url=https://archive.org/details/localgovernmenti0000unse_j3n7/page/46/mode/2up?q=Stanley&view=theater

|title=Local government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System

|location=London

|publisher=HMSO

|date=1974

|isbn=0-11-750847-0

|pages=46, 130

|access-date=23 May 2024

|via=Internet Archive

}}{{

refn|group=lower-alpha|Derwentside District was created by amalgamating Stanley Urban District (as created in 1937), Consett Urban District, and Lanchester Rural District. The urban and rural districts were abolished.

}} and County Durham (2009).{{

refn|group=lower-alpha|The reorganisation of 2009 abolished Derwentside and other districts created in 1974.

}}

Stanley is in the UK parliamentary constituency of North Durham. Since July 2024, this has been represented in the House of Commons by Luke Akehurst of the Labour Party.

Since 2007, Stanley Town Council has provided the first tier of local government. The council has the statutory right to do whatever it considers will improve the economic, social or environmental well-being of the area.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/1954/Parish--Town-Councils

|title=Parish & Town Councils

|website=Durham County Council

|access-date=23 May 2024

}} It has a duty to provide allotments and to take into account the potential impact of every policy and action on reducing crime. The council's powers include the provision and maintenance of bus shelters, community centres, play areas and play equipment, and the awarding of grants to local community organisations. It can also issue fixed penalty fines for offences such as littering, graffiti, fly-posting, and contraventions of dog control orders.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.stanley-tc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/POL01-Constitution-24-May-2021.pdf#page=10

|title=Stanley Town Council: Constitution and Committee Terms of Reference. Appendix 1: Function, Powers & Duties, Statutory Provisions

|date=24 May 2021

|website=Stanley Town Council

|access-date=23 May 2024

}}

The town council has 20 councillors, elected every four years by electors in the seven parish wards.{{refn|group=lower-alpha| Annfield Plain, Catchgate, Craghead & South Stanley, Havannah, South Moor, Stanley Hall, and Tanfield.

{{cite map

|type=administrative boundaries map

|url=https://democracy.durham.gov.uk/documents/s146808/Appendix%205%20-%20Stanley%20Masterplan.pdf#page=9

|date=2021

|title=Stanley Civil Parish Wards

|website=Durham County Council

|access-date=12 February 2025

}}

}} The last election was in 2021 for the 2021{{endash}}2025 term. Each year the councillors elect, from amongst themselves, a town mayor and deputy, and a council leader and deputy.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.stanley-tc.gov.uk/elections-2/

|title=Election Results

|website=Stanley Town Council

|access-date=23 May 2024

}}

Durham County Council provides the second tier of local government. Eight Stanley town councillors serve on the county council.

{{cite web

|url=https://democracy.durham.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?bcr=1

|title=Your Councillors

|website=Durham County Council

|at=Look for 'Stanley' or names of Stanley parish wards.

|access-date=23 May 2024

}} Its responsibilities include education, housing, social services, highways, planning, and refuse collection.

In May 2024, the county council became part of a new upper tier of local government, the North East Combined Authority, led by Mayor Kim McGuinness of the Labour Party.

==== Area Action Partnership (AAP) ====

The Stanley AAP, one of 14 in County Durham, is a non-political organisation and funding body engaged with tackling local issues. It involves members of the public and representatives of Durham County Council and Stanley Town Council, the police, the fire brigade, health, housing, and education providers, business, and voluntary organisations.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.durham.gov.uk/stanleyaap

|title=About Stanley AAP

|website=Durham County Council

|access-date=1 June 2024

}} Stanley AAP publishes a directory of local activities and advice and support services.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.durham.gov.uk/media/5183/Stanley-activity-and-supportdirectory/pdf/StanleyAAPActivityAndSupportDirectory.pdf

|title=Stanley Activity and Support Information Directory: Winter 2024

|publisher=Stanley Area Action Partnership

|website=Durham County Council

|edition=7th

|date=20 November 2024

}}

The three largest employment sectors for residents in the local area are retail, manufacturing, and health and social work,[https://ocsi.uk OCSI] for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust (16 January 2019). [https://archive.org/details/community-insight-stanley-co-durham-2019/ "Community Insight profile for 'Stanley Co Durham' area"] (Report). Retrieved 27 July 2024{{snd}}via Internet Archive.{{rp|52}} while the three largest industry groups{{

refn|group=lower-alpha|Covering all businesses registered for VAT. The industry groups are derived from the UK's Standard Industrial Classification.}} for local businesses are construction; professional, scientific, and technical services; and retail.{{rp|56}}

File:Front Street, Stanley - geograph.org.uk - 6839385.jpg

Retailers in the town centre have faced significant competition from larger retail and leisure destinations elsewhere, including Clifford Road Retail Park, the MetroCentre, and Newcastle and Durham city centres. Online shopping, encouraged by the Covid-19 pandemic, has also changed shopping patterns and contributed to a weakening of footfall.{{rp|6, 10}}

Stanley's main shopping area, Front Street, is pedestrianised, housing independent shops and chain stores such as Boots. A market is held on Thursdays and Saturdays:

{{

cite web

|url=https://durham.gov.uk/markets#:~:text=Contact%20Consumer%20Protection-,Stanley%20Market,-Front%20Street%2C%20Stanley

|title=Stanley Market

|website=Durham County Council

|access-date=10 February 2025

}} it has declined over the years.

{{

cite news

|title=Town full of 'charity shops, nail salons and barbers' named one of 'Britain's ugliest'

|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/town-full-charity-shops-nail-30573528.amp

|newspaper=ChronicleLive

|publisher=Trinity Mirror North East

|first=Emily

|last=Gray

|date=13 December 2024

|access-date=10 February 2025

}}

The supermarkets Asda, Aldi, Iceland, and Morrisons have stores or outlets in the town. Fast-food and restaurant chains include Domino's Pizza, Greggs, and McDonald's. Stanley also has a Starbucks.

There are several prominent buildings in the centre of Stanley that are vulnerable{{refn|group=lower-alpha|For example, in 2008, an arson attack destroyed the Victorian-era former Co-op premises.{{cite news

|newspaper=Chronicle Live

|title=Appeals fail to catch Stanley Co-op arsonists

|last=Wood

|first=Kerry

|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/appeals-fail-catch-stanley-co-op-1476340

|date=22 October 2008

|access-date=5 April 2024

}}}} or vacant.{{rp|11}}

File:Stanley Bus Station - geograph.org.uk - 6839359.jpg

Via the A693, Stanley is about {{convert|4|miles}} from Junction 63 of the A1(M) motorway. Stanley Bus Station

{{cite web

|url=https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/explore?marker=Stanley+Bus+Station¢er=54.869067%2C-1.698557&type=place

|title=Stanley Bus Station: live times

|website=GoNorthEast

|at=Click on green teardrop symbol for bus stands

|access-date=27 January 2025

}} is an interchange for routes served by several operators.

{{cite web

|url=https://moovitapp.com/index/en-gb/public_transportation-Stanley-North_East-site_8816671-2104

|title=How to get to Stanley in County Durham by Bus?

|website=moovit

|access-date=27 January 2025

}}

The nearest Tyne & Wear Metro stations are Felling, Stadium, and Gateshead, each around {{convert|8|miles}} away; all three serve both lines of the Metro's network. The closest railway station, at Chester-le-Street, is on the East Coast Main Line and about {{convert|3.5|miles}} from Stanley.

Newcastle International Airport and the Newcastle International Ferry Terminal are each about {{convert|13|miles}} away.

As well as several primary schools,

{{cite web

|url=https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/search?q=primary&location=Stanley%2C+UK&lat=54.868948&lon=-1.698841&radius=3&status%5B0%5D=1&start=0&rows=10&sort=az&order=asc

|title=Primary schools within {{convert|3|miles}} of Stanley, UK

|publisher=Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted)

|access-date=27 January 2025

}}

Stanley has two secondary schools: North Durham Academy,

and Tanfield School, a specialist science and engineering college. St Bede's Catholic School & Sixth Form College, an academy, is in the nearby village of Lanchester.

There are public libraries in Annfield Plain, South Moor, and at the Louisa Centre in Stanley,{{rp|8, 27, 28}} with many others in the surrounding area.

{{

cite web

|url=https://libraryon.org/libraries/county-durham/stanley-library

|title=Stanley Library{{snd}}nearby libraries

|website=LibraryOn

|publisher=British Library

|access-date=10 February 2025

}}

File:Stanley Durham.jpg]]

The C2C Cycle Route skirts Stanley to the north.

{{cite web

|title=C2C route map

|date=8 June 2017

|url=https://cycle.travel/pdf/routes/c2c.pdf#page=14

|website=cycle.travel

|publisher=Éditions Système D Ltd.

|at=Stanley is at top right of p.14

|access-date=4 April 2024

}} This 140-mile (230 km) route links Whitehaven (Cumberland) on England's north-west coast with Roker Beach (Sunderland) on the north-east coast.

File:The Louisa Centre, Stanley - geograph.org.uk - 275478.jpg

The Louisa Centre,

{{cite web

|url=https://thriveleisure.co.uk/index.php/leisure-centres/sites/?site=13

|title=The Louisa Centre

|website=Thrive Leisure

|publisher=Durham County Council

|access-date=4 April 2024

}} a sports and leisure complex, contains a gym, a 25-metre swimming pool (with a 300-seat spectators' gallery), a small pool, a sports hall, a shooting range, a soft play area, a nursery, meeting rooms, a café, and Stanley Library.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/2055/Stanley-Library

|title=Stanley Library

|publisher=Durham County Council

|access-date=4 April 2024

}}

File:South Moor Golf Course - geograph.org.uk - 835538.jpg on South Moor Golf Course]]

South Moor Golf Course, lying south of the town and to the west of The Middles,

{{Google maps |url=https://www.google.com/maps/@54.8551483,-1.6893821,3085m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDIyNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

|title=South Moor Golf Course

|access-date=28 February 2025}} was founded in 1923 and first operated by the National Coal Board. Redesigned in 1925 by Alister MacKenzie, a famous golf course architect, the course has 18 holes. It has a practice area, a short-game area, a pro shop, and a clubhouse that can host functions.

{{

cite web

|url=https://www.northerngolfer.co.uk/south-moor-golf-club-a-northern-powerhouse/

|title=South Moor Golf Club{{snd}}A Northern Powerhouse

|website=Northern Golfer

|publisher=Offstone Publishing

|first=Dean

|last=Bailey

|date=2023

|access-date=28 February 2025

}}

The Stanley Indoor Bowls Centre, with a large arena and grandstand, offers play for people of all ages and abilities.

{{cite web

|url=https://stanleyibc.co.uk/

|title=Stanley Indoor Bowls Centre

|publisher=Stanley Indoor Bowls

|access-date=13 April 2024

}} Inaugurated in 1977, it has hosted several top-level international events.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrmH2GOxVWo

|title=Stanley Indoor Bowls Centre

|last=Harris

|first=Brian

|via=YouTube

}} The Centre also provides meeting facilities for a range of community groups and clubs, and can be hired for private functions.

The Venue, a community centre and events space,{{rp|36{{ndash}}37}} has facilities for dance and martial arts classes, sports, theatrical productions, concerts, weddings and parties, meetings, and cooking classes.

{{

cite web

|url=https://www.4dtours.co.uk/the-venue-stanley/

|title=Virtual tour of The Venue

|date=24 September 2017

|website=4D Tours

|access-date=28 February 2025

}} It also has a small gym. Organisations based in or accessible via The Venue include Citizens Advice, Age UK, Foodbank, Community Money Advice, Welfare Rights, and Durham Action on Single Housing (DASH).

{{

cite web

|url=https://thevenuestanley.org.uk/page/facilities

|title=Facilities at The Venue

|access-date=28 February 2025

|website=The Venue

}}

Under the umbrella of SAYC, the Stanley Area Youth Consortium,

{{cite web

|url=https://youthconsortium.org/about-us

|title=About us

|publisher=Stanley Area Youth Consortium

|website=youthconsortium.org

|access-date=6 May 2024

}} trips and activities for children and young people in the wider Stanley area are offered by an array of youth clubs and voluntary associations.

These include Stanley Young People’s Club, focused on the South Stanley and South Moor areas;{{rp|30}} Oxhill Youth Club, founded in 1962,

{{cite web

|url=https://www.oxhillyc.com

|title=Oxhill Youth Club

|website=oxhillyc.com

|access-date=6 May 2024

}} which runs the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme locally; the Activity Den,

{{cite web

|url=https://www.theactivityden.org.uk/

|title=The Den

|access-date=20 April 2024

}} based in Tanfield Lea, active for nearly 20 years;

{{cite news

|newspaper=Northern Echo

|title=Stanley youth centre revamp thanks to £16,000 grant from Durham County Council

|last=Moore

|first=Hannah

|date=24 February 2016

|url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/stanley-youth-centre-revamp-thanks-10942534

|publisher=Newsquest Media

|access-date=20 April 2024

}} Clavering Youth Club;{{rp|11}} Beamish Community Football Club;

{{cite web

|url=https://www.clubdurham.co.uk/clubs/beamish-community-fc/

|title=Beamish Community FC

|website=Club Durham

|access-date=6 March 2024

}} North Road Gym, a boxing club for young amateurs;{{rp|21}} PACT House, a community hub;

{{cite web

|url=https://www.cdcf.org.uk/casestudies/pact-house-stanley/

|title=PACT House Stanley

|website=County Durham Community Foundation

|access-date=6 May 2024

}} and several community halls, schools, and churches.

• John Curr (c. 1756–1823), born in West Kyo, managed the Duke of Norfolk's collieries in Sheffield from 1781 to 1801. Several of his technological innovations contributed to the development of the coal-mining industry.
• John Buddle (1773–1843), born in West Kyo, was a prominent mining engineer and entrepreneur who helped improve the safety of coal-mining. His innovations included the use of the Davy Lamp.
• Jonathan Rodham (1843–1917), who lived in Oxhill before emigrating to the USA, was Hillary Clinton's great-grandfather.{{cite news |last=Havery|first=Gavin |url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/12914762.Hillary_Clinton__From_North_East_mining_stock_to_American_presidential_candidate/ |title=Hillary Clinton: From North-East mining stock to American presidential candidate |newspaper=Northern Echo |date=27 April 2015 |access-date= 27 March 2016}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-tyne-37797422|title=US Election 2016: Hillary Clinton's English mining roots|last=Briggs |first=Caroline |work=BBC News|date=4 November 2016|access-date=7 June 2024}}
• Thomas "Tommy" Armstrong (1848–1920), famed as a song-writer and music-hall performer, lived for most of his life in Tanfield Lea. He was known as "The Pitman Poet" and "The Bard of the Northern Coalfield".
• David Horsley (1873–1933), born in Stanley, was a founder of the Hollywood-based US film industry.
• Frank Keegan (?–1916), from West Stanley, was one of the heroes of the 1909 West Stanley Pit disaster{{cite news |url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/4128870.keegan-hero/ |title=Keegan the hero |newspaper=Northern Echo |date=16 February 2009 |access-date=7 June 2024}} and Kevin Keegan's grandfather.
• Michael Heaviside (1880–1939), a miner who lived in Craghead, served in the Durham Light Infantry during the First World War, and in 1917 was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroism during the Battle of Arras.
• Joseph Crawford (1910–1997), born in New Kyo, was a coal miner and trade unionist who became general secretary of NACODS, the National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers (1960–1973), and was president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in 1973. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1971.
• Tom Lamb (1928–2016) was a miner at Craghead Colliery and an artist who sketched and painted the underground life of miners as well as County Durham landscapes.
• Alun Armstrong (born 1946) is an actor from Annfield Plain.
• Micky Horswill (born 1953), from Annfield Plain, is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Sunderland, Manchester City, Plymouth Argyle, Hull City, Happy Valley (Hong Kong) and Carlisle United.
• Kim Darroch (born 1954), from South Stanley, was Britain's ambassador to the United States from 2016 to 2019.
• Mak Wilson (born 1957), from Shield Row, was a puppeteer for Jim Henson's Creature Shop and the BBC, working on films including Labyrinth, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Babe, and Muppets Most Wanted.
• Yvonne Ridley (born 1958), from Stanley, a journalist, author, and politician, was held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan for 11 days in 2001.
• Glenn McCrory (born 1964), from Annfield Plain, was the IBF cruiserweight champion from 1989 to 1990.
• Brian Tinnion (born 1968) is a former Newcastle United and Bristol City footballer from Burnopfield.
• Carly Telford (born 1987), from Tanfield, is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Notts County Ladies F.C., Chelsea, and the England women's national football team.
• Lewis Miley (born 2006), from Stanley, is a professional footballer who plays mainly for Newcastle United and the England under-20 national team.

File:West Stanley Pit Memorial, Stanley, Co. Durham - geograph.org.uk - 7330424.jpg]]

There are two memorials to the 1909 West Stanley Pit Disaster: one unveiled in 1913, four years after the event,

{{cite web

|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/west-stanley-colliery-disaster-memorial-315102/

|title=West Stanley Colliery Disaster Memorial: East Parade, Stanley, County Durham

|website=Art UK

|publisher=Public Catalogue Foundation

|access-date=5 May 2024

}} and another unveiled in 1995, 86 years after.

{{cite web

|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/west-stanley-colliery-disaster-memorial-315078

|title=West Stanley Colliery Disaster Memorial: High Street, Stanley, County Durham

|website=Art UK

|publisher=Public Catalogue Foundation

|access-date=5 May 2024

}} In addition, a memorial headstone to mark the mass graves of those who died was dedicated in 2005.

{{cite web

|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/wear/4320283.stm

|title=Ceremony to remember dead miners

|website=BBC Wear

|publisher=BBC

|date=4 March 2005

|access-date=5 May 2024

}}

{{cite web

|url=https://www.sunnisidelocalhistorysociety.co.uk/burnspit.html

|title=The Headstone Dedication at St Andrews Church Stanley

|website=Sunniside Local History Society

|access-date=5 May 2024

}}

A memorial to the 1947 Louisa Morrison Pit Disaster was unveiled in 1997 on the fiftieth anniversary of the event,{{cite web

|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/annfield-plain-morrison-pit-memorial-315093

|title=Annfield Plain Morrison Pit Memorial: Front Street, Annfield Plain, Stanley, County Durham

|website=Art UK

|publisher=Public Catalogue Foundation

|access-date=18 May 2024

}} and re-dedicated in 2018 after it was moved to another site.

{{cite news

|newspaper=Northern Echo

|title=Former mining community re-dedicates memorial to 22 men killed in pit disaster

|date=24 August 2018

|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/16595703.former-mining-community-re-dedicates-memorial-22-men-killed-pit-disaster/

|access-date=18 May 2024

}} A service to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary took place in Annfield Plain Park in 2022.

{{

cite news

|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW_z6GOKJfs

|title=Louisa Morrison Colliery disaster 75th Anniversary Memorial

|first=Ken

|last=Rollings

|date=23 August 2022

|access-date=1 March 2025

|format=34-minute video with transcript

}}

File:South Moor Park, Co. Durham.jpg

South Moor Memorial Park

{{cite web

|url=https://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=8629

|title=Memorial Park 1914-18 1939-45 Korea 1951

|website=North East War Memorials Project

|access-date=1 June 2024

}} was opened in 1920 and dedicated to the memory of employees of the South Moor Colliery Company who died in WWI.

{{cite news

|url=https://www.newmp.org.uk/siteimages/NE%2012%2007%201920%20Mon%202_resize.jpg

|newspaper=Northern Echo

|title=Stanley War Memorial: Presentation of Public Park by South Moor Coal Co.

|date=12 July 1920

}} (clipping). It was rededicated in 1950 to also commemorate those who died in WWII.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.newmp.org.uk/memimages/Derwentside%202/South%20Moor%20S129/S129.01%20UVP2%2001%20GN.jpg

|title=Ceremony of Unveiling on the South Moor War Memorial: the Names of those who Died in the 1939{{endash}}1945 War

|publisher=Stanley Urban District Council

|website=North East War Memorials Project

|date=17 September 1950

|access-date=1 June 2024

}} (handbill).{{refn|group=lower-alpha |A casualty of the Korean War was later added to the WWII plaque.}}

The war memorial in Annfield Plain Park is inscribed with the names of the 263 men of Annfield Plain who died in WWI and the 66 who died in WWII.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.newmp.org.uk/memorial/cenotaph-1914-18-1939-45-park-a38-01/

|title=Cenotaph 1914-18 1939-45 Park Annfield Plain

|website=North East War Memorials Project

|access-date=11 February 2025

}} The memorial in Craghead, located off Edward Street, lists the names of the 109 local men who died in WWI and the 53 who died in WWII.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.newmp.org.uk/memorial/statue-1914-18-1939-45-roadside-c120-01/

|title=Statue 1914-18 1939-45 Roadside Craghead

|website=North East War Memorials Project

|access-date=11 February 2025

}}

The Masonic Hall in Stanley has a plaque commemorating members of the Coronation Lodge who served or were killed in WWI.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.newmp.org.uk/detail.php?contentId=9745

|title=Plaque 1914-18 Masonic Hall

|website=North East War Memorials Project

|access-date=9 June 2024

}}

Armed Forces Day, an official UK event, is observed on the last Saturday in June.

Miners' Sunday, a celebration of Stanley's heritage,

{{cite news

|newspaper=Northern Echo

|title=Stanley to hold Miners' Sunday to celebrate town's heritage

|last=Conner-Hill

|first=Rachel

|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/17856028.stanley-hold-miners-sunday-celebrate-towns-heritage/

|date=23 August 2019

|publisher=Newsquest Media

|access-date=18 May 2024

}} takes place in late August.

{{cite web

|url=https://www.stanley-tc.gov.uk/events-archive-2/#:~:text=Miner’s%20Sunday%20Event

|title=Miner’s Sunday Event {{!}} Sunday 20th August 2023

|website=Stanley Town Council

|access-date=18 May 2024

}}

{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book

|title=Voices of Stanley

|last=Bath

|first=Jo

|date=2014

|publisher=The History Press

|location=Cheltenham

|isbn= 978-0-752-46037-6

|url={{GBurl|P_46AwAAQBAJ}}

}} A compilation of extracts from oral histories in Beamish Museum's [http://collections.beamish.org.uk/search-results?query=stanley&go.x=26&go.y=31&searchType=audio&withPhotos=0&hiQuality=0 audio archive.]

• {{cite book

|title=Tommy Armstrong: The Pitman Poet

|last=Tiley

|first=Ray

|date=2010

|publisher=Summerhill Books

|location=Newcastle upon Tyne

|oclc=912959994

|isbn=978-1-906-72130-5}} Written by a grandson of Tommy Armstrong, this illustrated biography contains 30 previously published works and a further 16 that appeared in local newspapers.

• {{cite book

|title=Coal in the Blood: Coal Mining in Stanley & District

|last=Hair

|first=Jack

|date=2009

|publisher=Summerhill Books

|location=Newcastle upon Tyne

|oclc=743449487

|isbn=978-1-906-72112-1}} An illustrated history of local collieries, with a short selection of mining poems.

• {{cite book

|title=Memories of My Life in Tantobie in the Thirties

|last=Lown

|first=Joe

|date=2005

|publisher=Durham County Local History Society

|location=Durham

|isbn=978-0-902-95824-1}} A memoir.

• {{cite book

|title=Stanley Remembered

|last1=Harrison

|first1=Alan

|last2=Hair

|first2=Jack

|date=1999

|publisher=The People's History

|location=Seaham

|isbn=978-1-902-52723-9

|oclc=44563887}} A collection of photographs illustrating descriptions of local events and personalities and covering buildings, amenities, commerce, churches, collieries, and sport.

• {{cite book

|title=Tommy Armstrong Sings

|last=Armstrong

|first=Tommy

|author-link=Tommy Armstrong (singer)

|date=1971

|publisher=Frank Graham

|location=Newcastle upon Tyne

|isbn=978-0-902-83383-8

|url=https://archive.org/details/tommyarmstrongsi0000tomg/

|url-access=registration}} Lyrics of 25 songs, introduced by Tom Gilfellon.

• {{cite AV media

|people=Green, Simon (director); Reay, Levin (interviewer)

|date=2016

|title=This is Stanley

|type=film

|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh5mhCcv0h4

|access-date=19 August 2024

|location=Stanley, County Durham

|publisher=Stanley Fringe

|via=YouTube

}} A one-hour documentary, filmed over a period of six months, featuring the inhabitants and landscapes of Stanley and the surrounding area.

• {{cite serial

|title=For Craghead: 1968{{snd}}1969

|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pS7fWL37yTk

|access-date=19 August 2024

|series=A Year In The Life

|credits=Watson, Paul (producer); Houldey, Michael (director)

|station=BBC Two England

|date=5 October 1969

|via=YouTube

}} June 1968: as managers and miners work hard to raise the Craghead colliery's output, with their families hoping for the future, the rumour is of imminent closure: can their efforts avert this?

• [https://www.stanley-tc.gov.uk/ Stanley Town Council website]

{{commons category}}

{{Durham}}

{{Civil parishes in County Durham}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Towns in County Durham

Category:Civil parishes in County Durham