As Local History Month comes to an end, Karen Emerson looks at the North-East to see if it has always been such a great place to live.
The North-East is one of the property hot spots of Britain, often listed as one of the most desirable places to live. Being in the limelight is not new to this region. The North-East has been a leader in many innovative ways but many people are not aware of its history.
Nowadays we have some of the best night-life in Europe, climbing house prices and fantastic facilities on our doorstep.
The North-East has magnificent historic buildings and, while a few years ago many were left to deteriorate, they are now being refurbished for a new life as luxury homes.
The history of three such sites being redeveloped by Bowey Homes is fascinating:
A presidential neighbour
WASHINGTON is divided into 16 districts or villages.
Eight are on the sites of older villages, of which the most historic is Washington itself.
The development at Liberty Green is in the heart of Washington village, near Washington Old Hall, now a National Trust property.
The hall was once the home of the ancestors of George Washington, the first US president.
In 1180AD William De Hartburn bought the manor of Washington from Hugh Pudsey, Bishop of Durham, and changed his name to William De Washington.
More amusingly, folklore dictates that nearby Picktree and Rickleton would have been inhabited by very different neighbours - a goblin called Picktree Brag and local landlady Elsie Marley, who drowned in a coalpit.
Another neighbour was the Lambton Worm, a mythical beast that terrorised the area suckling from the udders of cows and swallowing children whole.
Terrorised by outlaws
IN the Middle Ages, Spennymoor was the property of the Earls of Northumberland.
It was later possessed by the Nevilles who, in 1569, forfeited their land to the Crown.
By 1862 the land had become Church property with the moor acting as common ground linking Kirk Merrington, Whitworth, Old Park, Binchester, Byers Green and Tudhoe - providing free grazing for all cattle.
Spennymoor suffered under Norman rule and wild animals roamed the moor while outlaws terrorised the inhabitants. At this time, the Scots were constantly attacking the inhabitants.
The year 1616 marked the start of coal mining and this was the beginning of prosperity in Spennymoor.
Housing was speedily improved but 1879 saw the end of industrial progress. A colliery disaster added to the problems but by 1892 the ironworks at Spennymoor had become the largest in Europe and prosperity returned to the town.
The National Coal Strike in 1926 dealt a devastating blow. Many collieries were closed and Spennymoor was a depressed area. The years prior to the Second World War did much to re-establish the area when the Government built a Royal Ordnance Factory and some modern factories.
Now an important centre for new industrial and manufacturing complexes, the town is thriving. Surrounded by beautiful countryside and Bobby Shafto's Whitworth Hall, just six miles from Durham, Spennymoor is a desirable place to live.
The Elms, in Spennymoor, is a development of three- and four- bedroomed family homes.
A bloody history
HEXHAM'S history does not begin until 674 AD, three centuries after the Roman departure, when in Anglo-Saxon times, an abbey was founded by Northumbrian bishop Wilfrid using stones from Hadrian's Wall and a nearby Roman Fort.
The abbey, destroyed time and time again by Vikings and Scottish raids, dominates the busy market place.
One of the bloodiest events of Hexham's history took place in the market place in 1761. A protest was held against methods of conscription into the local militia and around 5,000 men attended the meeting.
As protesters made it clear they would not give in, magistrates ordered soldiers from the North Yorkshire Militia to open fire. At least 40 people were killed and 300 injured.
The event became known as the Hexham Massacre.
Nowadays, Hexham is a tranquil place to live and Bowey's West Quarter, a development of six- bedroom detached family homes, is proving very popular.
* Karen Emerson is marketing director of Bowey Homes.
* For information on Bowey sites tel (0191) 482 7711.