The Birth of Billy Elliot Land

Situated on the East Durham coast the three villages of Easington Colliery, Horden Colliery and Blackhall Colliery are very close to each other, and linked by the shared name of ‘Colliery’. Each village owed its existence to the collieries they each had. Before the collieries came, the villages did not exist. The strength of these three mining communities and the extensive pollution left on the coast would make it be easy to conclude that these villages had been involved in mining for many, many generations. This is not so. Easington Colliery, Horden Colliery and Blackhall Colliery are now closed. Easington was the last to close in 1993. Coal was first drawn from the pit in 1910. These 83 years are about the lifespan of a single person. Horden and Blackhall also had time spans similar to the average life of an individual. This is the story of the birth and early years of these three villages and the strong communities that quickly developed.