Haswell | |
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![]() St Paul's Parish Church, Haswell | |
Location withinCounty Durham | |
Population | 1,831 (2011)[1] |
OS grid reference | NZ375433 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | DURHAM |
Postcode district | DH6 |
Dialling code | 0191 |
Police | Durham |
Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
Ambulance | North East |
UK Parliament | |
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Haswell is a village inCounty Durham, inEngland. It is situated 6 miles (9.7 km) east of the city ofDurham, 9 miles (14 km) south of the city ofSunderland and 3.1 miles (5.0 km) north-west of the town ofPeterlee.
The original settlement of Haswell was located whereHigh Haswell is now on the hilltop before the village's centre moved downhill to its modern location on Salter's Lane. In the 14th century, Haswell's small population was nearly wiped out by theBlack Death.[2]
Resting on a limestone escarpment,coal was discovered in the early 19th century and a colliery was sunk by 1831.[2] Haswell became home to the first coal mine in the world with a steel cable down itsmine shaft. On 28 September 1844, ablackdamp explosion at killed 95 Haswell Coal Company workers, with just four survivors.[3] The colliery closed in 1896, and Haswell's population collapsed by 1901 after the miners left, leaving behind a rural settlement.[2]
Haswell was the birthplace of world championroad racing cyclistTom Simpson, born 30 November 1937, who died aged 29 onMont Ventoux during the1967 Tour de France.