Brenda Hall (nee Erskine)
Interview conducted and transcribed by Emily Birkett on 27.08.24
Thorntree Gill, where we lived, was a close-knit community. Everyone knew everybody, and we had good
neighbours who helped each other if needed. I remember that some men sometimes went to the local
club on Saturday nights; the women would sit outside and chat on summer evenings.
The houses were in a cul-de-sac, and there was a lamppost where we would tie a rope around and play
skipping ropes – sometimes, the adults would join in! I remember one of the lads up the road joined the
army, and one night when on leave, he was “teaching” everyone to march properly – with sweeping
brushes over shoulders! It was that type of community. One of our neighbours sometimes borrowed a cup
of sugar or something from my mam.
The rents were expensive compared to colliery houses, where some people previously lived, as they
were new and had central heating plus inside toilets and bathrooms. When I was at school, we had to
paint a view from our window. We could see open and grassed areas, and I remember the teacher
remarking, “I know where you live.”
The rear of the houses looked over Castle Eden Dene. There was a field with a beck and a stream. We
would play there and have picnics in the field. It’s overgrown now, and there is no access. A pipe went to
Dene Villas at Horden, and some children tried to walk across it. There was also a rope swing there.
We had a lovely view every day. I think it was in the ‘50s when a small plane came down towards
Blackhall. I remember people talking about it and trying to get a piece of the crashed debris.
When the Queen visited Peterlee, all schoolchildren lined the road from Horden towards Peterlee with our
Union Jack flags. I think she came from Horden train station. She wore a yellow outfit.
Only a few of us in my junior school class had a Peterlee address. Following the 11plus exams, Horden
pupils went to Henry Smiths Grammar School, and we went to Seaham Girls Grammar School. I
remember my parents being anxious about paying for my uniforms and extras.
My dad was a miner at Blackhall Colliery. We moved into Thorntree Gill in 1952. I would have been 3. My
brother was born in 1952 before we moved in, and my mam had a home birth with my youngest brother in
1962. The house was semi-detached. Our neighbours were an elderly man and his unmarried daughter.
They were very good to me. He taught me to embroider and gave me wooden rings, embroidery silks,
and cotton. His daughter bought me some leather-bound classic books such as Little Women, Good
Wives and Pride and Prejudice, which I still have.
In the 1950s, Wilfred Pickles was an actor, BBC radio presenter, and show host. He visited our
neighbour. At the time, he presented a show called “Have a Go.” I have a card somewhere with the words
to the song “Have a Go Joe ” printed on it, which he and his wife Mabel autographed.
When I was young, we had a week-long family holiday to Blackpool every year, where many local people
went. My mam used to book tickets to go to theatre shows each night, and we saw some big stars at the
time. In the 1960s, The Searchers, a pop group, came to perform at an open-air concert at Hartlepool. My
friend from school was staying at our house that night. I thought there was transport put on at the end of
the concert. I remember asking how to get home and being told transport was unavailable to Peterlee. I
had to wake my parents up to pay for the taxi!
After I left school for a couple of years, I used to go to the local club dances with friends after work. There
were groups on most nights. We danced all night, never drank alcohol, and one glass of orange juice
lasted all night. The Argus Butterfly in York Road used to have bands that performed there and then
became famous. The Norseman Hotel was a very nice place. My friend had her wedding reception there.
It overlooked Castle Eden Dene. It’s upsetting when you see it now. The town centre also had a
department store, Doggarts. There was an escalator to the upper level of shops and a water feature
nearby. Sadly, there are no department stores now.
When I was young, if you needed to see a GP, you went to the local surgery and waited your turn in the
waiting room, but there were no appointments. You always asked, “Who’s last for Doctor….?” so you
knew who you followed. The Health Centre in Peterlee was a bonus as it had several services in the
same building: dentist, chiropodist, x-ray and outpatient departments. Community nursing staff were
based there. The surrounding GPs held surgeries, and hospital consultants visited to hold clinics. The
child welfare clinics were busy then, and all the new mums attended with their babies as many young
people moved to Peterlee.
My mam and dad lived in Thorntree Gill until they died. They had very good neighbours who became
friends for life. When they retired, mam and two friends often met for coffee and a half-hour chat each
morning and afternoon. On a sunny day, they sometimes sat outside one of their houses for a while.
Following my mam’s death, her friend moved to live near her daughter, saying it wasn’t the same.
The houses once needed floor repairs. Caravans were provided at the entrance to Thorntree Gill for
residents to move into. The council provided packing and storage facilities and gave some financial
support for redecorating once the repairs were completed.
My brother used to work at the Fisher-Price toy factory, and he got us passes to see Princess Diana
when she visited. We waited a long time but were rewarded when she came over to speak to us, shake
our hands, and accept the roses our two children gave her. I remember how beautiful she looked and
how slim her hands were.
Peterlee has changed a lot over the years, and I have some very good memories of living there.