Well, Here's Another Fine Mess You've Gotten Me Into

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University was coming to an end and the reality was kicking in, that I had better start finding a job or perhaps better still a career. In the dark days of the early 1980s, finding gainful employment wasn't necessarily straightforward and for many impossible. The Grocer's Daughter had reduced much of the old industrial landscape to rubble and to many, jobs were something that other folk had down in the South. What has that got to do with Bishop Auckland?? I knew 2 brothers at University. They hailed from Bish. Sunderland fans to the core. On the subject of finding a job down in London, the younger sibling was quite outspoken. "I would rather be on the bins back in Bish than go down there", he would pronounce. Tongue in cheek, of course. I have no idea whether that turned into reality or he chose an alternative path and I had no concept of Bishop Auckland - despite being only a few miles past Darlington, I had never been to the town. The latter still holds true, so I thought I'd put that right today. I boarded my usual 9:58 train and wondered whether I would be accompanied by the drinking hordes from Teesside invading York. It was York Races, so the party was in full swing starting at the North East Premier Seaside Resort. Suits for the men. High heels, posh frocks and fascinators for the lasses. A 100 joined at Redcar and a combined total of about 400 waited at Middlesbrough and Thornaby for the Trans Pennine Express. Vodka tonic, pimms in a can and cider sales had clearly been booming this Saturday morning! We had the rhyming ticket conductor was in residence.

We've arrived at the Boro and I've told you before.

Take your belongings with you.

We've enough lost property and we don't need anymore.

This is Shildon. The penultimate stop.

Take all your stuff with you, if you're getting off.

The journey can often be as entertaining as the destination. The joys of the Northern Railways.



Bishop Auckland is situated in a bend in the River Wear. It is home to the Bishops of Durham - having originally been the seat of their hunting lodge. The Land of the Prince Bishops, as it says on the road signs as you enter County Durham. The Romans were in town too. Binchester Fort is one of the better preserved Roman relics. The Roman Road, Dene Street, passed straight through the centre and the current Cockton Hill Road follows the route. It becomes Watling Road, not to be confused with the Roman Road elsewhere in the country. In true Roman tradition, an aerial view will show you it is as straight as a dye. Dene Street linked York with the outpost of the Empire on Hadrians Wall to the north. The market town grew up to support the Bishops Palace - Auckland Castle. I wandered into the grounds of the Castle and the edge of the 800 acre Deer Park that surrounds it. The Castle itself was closed for a refurbishment, but the big event billed as Kynren takes places on selected summer weekends. Kynren is billed as an "epic tale of England". An outdoor show with a 1000 volunteers takes you through "2000 years of British history, myth and legends". I peered over the battlements to try and see the river beneath. A walled garden dropped away on the opposite side.



As with many settlements, the industrial era changed the makeup of the town. Weaving was originally the primary industry. Coal mining took over and once employed 25% of the population. The coal ran out. The last deep mine closed in 1968. The railways arrived to transport the black gold away to the coast for export. The railway station lies just to the south of the market place and town centre, but the most prominent rail feature is the huge Newton Cap Viaduct that spans the River Wear on the northern edge of town. The Grade 2 listed structure was originally built in 1857 and stands 105 feet above the river below. The railway use of the viaduct also stopped in 1968 and it has since been transformed into the relief road for cars over the river on this side of town. The only trains to Bish now are on the 2 hourly service to Darlington.



The big employment source having long since declined, I read with fascination in The Chronicle that plans had been in hand to close the local DWP offices. There is a strange logic somewhere in the mind of a Government official that says people without jobs won't notice if the Job Centre closed. A cost saving, but at what human price? I read on and find the Job Centre plans had just been thwarted in the last few days.



I had alighted at the railway station. The original is long since demolished. The current version from 1986 sports a mural of gratitude achievements in Bish history from the railways, coal, the football club any way back to the Romans. Very colourful. The railway forecourt merges into Morrison supermarket car park. An Asda is just across the way. A town of this size cannot complain about choice with a Sainsbury, Tesco Extra, Lidl and an Aldi all within the confines of the Auckland towns. I say towns plural - Bishop itself merges into the adjoining St Helen Auckland and "World Cup " winning West Auckland. Cockton Hill Road was surprisingly busy. The shops were all occupied, although the it seems an E-Cigarette entrepreneur is always keen to occupy any available vacant unit.



I found the status of one of the most famous former residents - Arthur Stanley Jefferson. Arthur became slightly more well known as Stan Laurel and starred in over a 100 films and comic sketches with his partner Norvell "Oliver" Hardy. One half of the famous duo grew up in town and attended King James 1 Grammar School. His parents managed a theatre and the statue stands on the site of the now demolished Eden Theatre. It cause a bit of an issue when it was first put up. Durham County Council allegedly produced some leaflets laying claim to Stanley, but it transpires that he was born in Ulverston in Cumbria. He later moved to North Shields and Tynemouth. He has statues in both places. Stan of course departed our shores for Hollywood and ended his days in the slightly more glamorous surroundings of Santa Monica. As well as his statue, the memory of Stan Laurel lives on in the name of the local Wetherspoons pub - Stanley Jefferson - in the Market Place. It sits in a fine Georgian building and was well populated. A man can have no finer tribute than a pub named after him. Sir Anthony Eden, British Prime Minister between 1955 and 1957, was also born in Bish but doesn't seem to have been as fondly remembered. He has not a statue anyway and he had certainly missed out on the Wetherspoons prize.



The Town Hall is in the centre of the Market Place. A grand restored piece of Victoriana. The pubs on the other side away from Wetherspoons had failed yo compete. The Monaco, the Queens Head Hotel and the Postchaise Hotel had all closed their days for the last time. Sports Direct had faired better and occupied a big Victorian building on the Newgate Street edge. The Newgate Shopping Centre was a concrete block and held no interest. Bondgate had a mix of local shops, including a shop which sold a series of menacing looking air rifles and crossbows, as well as a vast range of jigsaws to while away the cold winter afternoons. The Boys Don't Cry tattoo parlour was closed. A disused shop on Newgate Street had an art exhibition. Bishop Bear was outside, keen to encourage extra viewing. A girl sang to a background track of Blondie's "Call Me". Bishop Bear danced around to the beat.



I wandered over to Kingsway, former home of the former 10 time FA Amateur Cup winners - Bishop Auckland AFC. The club had played at their town centre ground for over a century, but we're forced to vacate in 2001 due to the crumbling state of the facility. Bishop Auckland Cricket Club, the former co-tenants, still occupy the space. The rain fell steadily and the covers were on. It seemed very unlikely that there would be any play today. The football stands are long gone and there isn't a great deal to see. The crowds of over 16,000 for some of the glory days of the past are no more. The club that played in front of 100,000 was forced into a nomadic existence, before coming home at the Heritage Park on the edge of town. The King James 1 Grammar School next door is now a new fangled Academy. The older buildings remained to one side. I wandered off down Railway Street. It formerly held the loco engineering works of Langford, Gardiner & Co. They closed in the 1930s. A heritage plaque indicated that the family also ran the Auckland bicycle works producing a spring machine for extra comfort. The bicycle apparently took the fear out of bad roads and paved streets. I guess Rayleigh didn't succumb to these bold claims.



I set off on the long walk for Heritage Park where Bishop Auckland of Northern League 1 were entertaining the Middlesbrough U23 team. We would see how the potential future greats of high level football would cope with the members of the 2nd oldest League in the world. Middlesbrough had signed the star of the Shildon AFC show, Lewis Wing, who I had seen in April. I was interested to see how he would integrate into the full time game. Heritage Park is technically in St Helen Auckland, hidden behind a Sainsbury superstore and a retail park. The place was buzzing and the retail therapy clientele of Bish looked like they had departed the town centre for this place. The key draw was surely the drive through Starbucks, although Happy Meals were doing a bomb next door. Football parking would have been a challenge. The hosts had shared in recent times with Darlington and as well as a modest Main Stand, a few hundred seats were perched at the town end with a covered terrace behind the other goal. The Sainsbury side was open. I had heard that the floodlights were a donation from Manchester United. I looked up at the pylons. What floodlights? The poles were devoid of any lighting. I know Darlington were desparate to finish their new ground, but takng the floodlights is taking things a bit far. A job to finish before the season starts. Bishop attacked the open seats in the 1st half. A small group of their fans congregated there. A solitary flag draped over the empty spaces. A sign proclaimed "Strictly No Standing". It was completely ignored. Boro started with experience in midfield. Adlene Guedioura showed why Mr Monk had omitted him from the first team squad Portugal trip and should have really been given a straight red card on 2 occasions for blatant retaliation. He survived with a solitary yellow to be substituted at 45 minutes. It is quite amazing to think we were watching a 30+ cap international footballer being made to look ordinary Joe by a Northern League team. The Middlesbrough team were out fought, out played and out competed and were 3-0 down by that time. George Miller, the teenage centre forward from Bury signed for substantial money looked lively enough and hit the bar, but wasn't helped by poor service. They made 7 subs and steadied the ship. Lewis Wing came on and looked more likely to make the first team than most of his counterparts. Luke Armstrong had flashes, but it finished 3-0. I know it is early in the season, but I suspect quite a few will be looking for a new career sooner rather than later. On this performance, your average Wearside League wouldn't be queuing up to sign many of them on. The recruitment policy of Boro at first team and youth level has seemingly been suspect. Relegation and no youth coming through. The message to the ex-manager with tactics that sent a town to sleep appears to be "well, here's another fine mess you've gotten us into".



It was a lengthy walk back for the train, but I had over a hour. Weather aside, it had been an interesting day. I concluded there would be worse places to collect refuse and set off back to Teesside.



Appendix 1

Pre-Season Friendly

Bishop Auckland AFC 3 Middlesbrough 0

Date: Saturday 15th July 2017 @ 1500 Hours

Venue: Heritage Stadium, Bishop Auckland, County Durham


Attendance: Est 300

Goals: 1-0 ( Lovegreen 10 Mins), 2-0 (Fairley 24 Mins), 3-0 (Fairley 32 Mins)





Bishop Auckland: Robinson; Lovegreen (Madden 46), Hart, Martindale, Riding, Jury (Capt.), Goundry, Trotter, Moffatt. Thompson (Ward 77), Fairley (Dalton 72). Unused subs: Madden, Harrison.

Middlesbrough U23: Hemming; Johnson (Capt. from 45), Brewitt (Capt. to 45), (Guru 46) Dale (Cook 46), Reading, Lambert, Wilson (Hegarty 46), Guedioura (Curry 46), Miller (Armstrong 46), Cooke (Wing 46), Mohammad (Malley 46). Unused Sub: Pennock (gk).

Referee: Mark Edwards

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Photos

Market Place, Bishop Auckland
Wetherspoons - Stanley Jefferson

Bishop Auckland 3 Middlesbrough U23 0
......what does the sign say again?

Bishop Auckland 3 Middlesbrough U23 0
.......second goal

Bishop Auckland 3 Middlesbrough U23 0
.......first goal

Bishop Auckland 3 Middlesbrough U23 0
Hands up if you think I would get a game in the Northern League.