Human settlement in England
Cold Hesledon is a village and former civil parish, now in the parishes of Murton and Dalton-le-Dale, in the County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is situated a short distance to the east of Murton. In 1961 the parish had a population of 997.[1]
Dalton Pumping Station
Within the village is a large Victorian, Gothic Revival former Water pumping station, designed by Thomas Hawksley for the Sunderland and South Shields Water Company.[2] The engine house contains a pair of 72" single-acting non-rotative Cornish beam engines by Davy Bros of Sheffield, dating from the 1870s when the complex was built. (Pumping engines of this period were more often of a double-acting rotative design (as seen at nearby Ryhope); the use of Cornish engines here seems to be due to the great depth of the well - some 450 feet.) The site suffered for many years from subsidence due to nearby mine workings; this in part led to the engines being decommissioned in the 1940s, and to the demolition in the 1960s of the striking campanile-like top section of the central tower/chimney. (The surviving chimney tower at Bestwood Notts., by the same architect, is of an almost identical design.)
The pumping station site was bought in 1995 with a view by its owners to transform it into a pub; however the building became Grade II* listed, which allegedly stopped its development.[3] It subsequently remained empty and unused for over twenty years, while applications were made to convert the property into apartments.[4]
In 2020, with the buildings under new ownership, planning permission was granted for their conversion into a wedding venue, bride shop and commercial offices.[4] In 2022 Dalton Old Pump House opened for business.[5] The twin engines and surviving buildings have been preserved and restored. Wedding ceremonies are conducted in the Engine Room, the Boiler Room is used for wedding receptions and other events, and the former coal store contains offices.
Other notable landmarks
Nearby is Dalton Tower, a ruined tower house.
Civil parish
Cold Hesledon was formerly a township in the parish of Dalton-le-Dale,[6] from 1866 Cold Hesledon was a civil parish in its own right,[7] on 1 April 1983 the parish was abolished and merged with Dalton-le-Dale, Hawthorn and Murton.[8]
