Houghton-le-Spring is a former mining town in the City of Sunderland, formerly in the County of Durham and three miles south from the outskirts of Washington and a similar distance from Lumley and Chester-le-Street to the west. Like Chester-le-Street, the name Houghton-le-Spring contains the Norman-French element ‘le’, which also occurs in the name of nearby Hetton-le-Hole.

Rectory, Houghton-le-Spring
Such ‘le’ suffixes often occur in the historic County of Durham where the ruling Norman Prince Bishops of Durham needed to identify places with similar sounding names for practical administrative purposes such as taxation.

Houghton-le-Spring church
Houghton, as it may be called for short, is pronounced ‘Ho-Ton’ (not Howton or Hoffton) and indeed its name derives from ‘Hoh-Ton’ (heugh-ton) which means the hill spur (hoh) with a farm or settlement (ton).

Church Street, Houghton-le-Spring church
There were two Houghtons within the Bishop of Durham’s land. The other is near Gainford to the west of Darlington and is called Houghton-le-Side to distinguish it from Houghton-le-Spring.

Houghton-le-Spring
Also in Darlington is the similar sounding Haughton-le-Skerne, again within the former realm of the Prince Bishops, although this is named from a ‘haugh’ (flat riverside land) rather than from a hill (hoh/heugh).

The proximity of two Hettons called Hetton-le-Hole and Hetton-le-Hill to the south of Houghton-le-Spring could also be a factor in the use of the distinguishing suffix at Houghton.

Church Street, Houghton-le-Spring church © David Simpson
As far as ‘le-Spring’ is concerned, it might be thought the ‘Spring’ in Houghton-le-Spring is named from some kind of well or spring that emerged from the neighbouring hill and although this is a possibility the name seems to have sprung – if you will pardon the pun – from its association with a family by the name of Spring. In 1311 Houghton was held by the widow of a Henry Spring and later, in 1420, a John Del Spring is mentioned in connection with Houghton.

Houghton church tower
Mining town
Much of the early history of Houghton-le-Spring is centred upon the attractive church of St Michael and All Angels which was the centre of a very large parish but the town has at least two centuries of industrial history that resulted in Houghton’s expansion.

Sunderland Street, Houghton-le-Spring
As well as coal, limestone quarrying has long been an important industry at Houghton but coal was the dominant industry until the early 1980s.

Newbottle Street, Houghton, the main street of the mining town
It was in the nineteenth century that Houghton became a significant colliery district. This followed the opening of Houghton Colliery (1823-1981) which was one of the first collieries to mine the coal that lay beneath the magnesian limestone of eastern Durham, where it was previously thought that coal was absent.

The Houghton banner at the Durham Miners' Gala
The Houghton banner at the Durham Miners’ Gala © David Simpson
Being on Lambton land, Houghton Colliery, (just north west of Houghton), was opened by Lambton, the Earl of Durham, the year after the rival Hetton Colliery Company’s Hetton Lyons Colliery at Hetton-le-Hole, opened to the south. It was at Hetton in 1822, that mining in the previously ‘concealed coalfield’ of east Durham began.

Newbottle Street, Houghton
Houghton’s busy town centre is centred on Newbottle Street which led to Houghton colliery and then onward to Newbottle. It resembles the main street of many other former mining towns in County Durham and ‘Tyne and Wear’.

The main street at Chester-le-Street or Durham City’s North Road are similar streets that spring to mind. Like both of those towns Houghton is a place with mining links that had also been a town of importance in medieval times.

Houghton church
Bernard Gilpin and Houghton Feast
Houghton’s church of St Michael and All Angels dates back to Norman times but possibly stands on the site of an ancient place of worship on this prominent hill, perhaps even pre-dating Christian worship.

Houghton-le-Spring church
Some parts of the church are still Norman but it is mostly of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries with impressive windows from this later period. The Norman church was burned by the much-feared Scottish raider ‘The Black Douglas’ in a raid on County Durham in 1319.

Houghton-le-Spring church
The medieval and pre nineteenth century roots of Houghton are very apparent in and around Houghton’s parish church where there are attractive buildings of earlier ages that reflect Houghton’s past importance.

Houghton-le-Spring church
Notably, on the east side of the church is Kepier Hall, a building of 1574 that was once the Kepier Grammar School founded by the local rector Bernard Gilpin. Next to the old grammar school is an almshouse of 1668 founded by prominent Sunderland merchant George Lilburne with a commemorative plaque in the stonework to mark the foundation.

Almhouses, Houghton-le-Spring church
The plaque reads: “George Lilburne esq built the moiety of this hospital at his own charge and endowed it with ten pounds per annum forever for the maintenance of the poor people Anno Dom 1668”. The Lilburnes of Sunderland had been prominent North East figures during the Civil War.

Almhouses, Houghton-le-Spring church
A second plaque on the opposing wing and also set into the wall notes: “The charitable intention of the Reverend William Sharp M.A., carried into effect by Miss Dorothy Spearman his heiress by will. Who added to the revenues of the almshouses £18 per annum”.

Almhouses, Houghton-le-Spring
Across the green over Broadway to the west of the church is the castle-like Houghton Rectory where the sixteenth century rector, Bernard Gilpin once resided. It is medieval and was embattled after 1483 with much work in the 1560s and 1664. Its eastern wing was added in 1794.

Plaque commemorating Bernard Gilpin outside the rectory
All of these buildings reflect Houghton’s importance and are rather surprising features of a place that might be considered a mining town. Even the town’s most prominent nineteenth century building, the nearby former brewery of 1874 (now converted into apartments) is something of a surprise.

Former Robinson's brewery building, Houghton-le-Spring
The church is of course the focal point for the old part of the town and inside are some notable monuments including a thirteenth century effigy of a cross-legged knight. However, the biggest, and most noticeable feature is the huge tomb of Bernard Gilpin (1517-1583), who was known as ‘the Apostle of the North’, although there is no accompanying effigy.

Gilpin, a member of an important Westmorland family, was the great nephew of Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of Durham (1530-1559) and in 1552 the bishop appointed Gilpin as vicar to the historic parish of Norton on Tees.

Houghton-le-Spring church
Later, Gilpin became Archdeacon of Durham and in 1557 was appointed rector at Houghton-le-Spring, then one of the largest parishes in England. Despite his important status, Gilpin was a generous man who always had the interests of his parishioners at heart. On all Sundays between Michaelmas and Easter he declared his rectory an ‘open house’ and gave free dinners to all who visited, whether they were rich or poor.

Churchyard gate, Houghton-le-Spring church
Residents of Houghton today commemorate Bernard Gilpin’s generosity in the roasting of the ox at the annual ‘Houghton Feast’, a fair which he is said to have inaugurated. The tradition is that an ox was once donated by Gilpin to be roasted and distributed amongst the members of his parish.


Houghton Fair is now a more modern fairground attraction, which takes place on the first Friday of each October. Gilpin was a scholarly man, and keen to see that the humble and poor received a good education. He even sent some of his brightest young parishioners to university at his own expense.

Kepier Hall, the former Kepier Grammar School, Houghton-le-Spring
With the financial help of a Londoner named John Heath (who owned land at Kepier near Durham), Gilpin founded the Kepier Grammar School at Houghton-le-Spring in 1557 and this considerably helped to improve the educational standards of the district.