The Nelson Family

John Nelson outside 56 Lakemore, June 2023. ‘Peterlee at 75’ exhibition. Castle dene shopping centre, Peterlee, 30/6 2023. John Nelson, one of Peterlee’s oldest residents. Photo ©: Mark Pinder +44 (0)7768 211174 [email protected]

John Nelson sitting on a rocking horse at 40 Helford Road, c.1968/69.

We moved from Haswell Plough to number 40 Helford Road in Peterlee in 1966. Our boys loved the fact we lived so close to the Dene. They played there all the time. The Dene is so beautiful. It’s one of the big attractions that drew us to Peterlee. In 1977 we moved to Dart Road, where we’ve now lived for the past 46 years.

When we first moved here, our address was 50 Dart Road. They demolished most of the houses around us in the early 1990’s and built a private housing development on the land. Our address was subsequently changed to 56 Lakemore.

Of the ten cantilever style houses they built off Southway, ours is the only one that remains. We feel very lucky, because there is so much green open space around us, front and back. It’s one of the reasons that we’ve never wanted to leave.

John Nelson

We spotted this rocking horse in someone’s garden in Easington and asked if would buy it for the kids. We were told that it had originally come from the old school.

John Nelson