Gore Hall Farm Thornley, an Old Postcard View and the same scene in 2005

Just visible in the picture above are the 1877 school buildings at the very bottom of the road--these were demolished in the late 1970s. In the photograph below, taken in December 2005, Gore Hall Farm is obscured by the trees, but the farmhouse is substantially the same externally as in the old photo above. In the many decades between the two photos, the road has been improved from a dirt track and many houses have been built on either side: those to the left are Hillsyde Crescent. Also a road has been cut up along the former border of the field to the left centre above to service the large Gore Hill Estate, which was built on the hill in 1965-66. Travel details: for the bus to Durham, stand at the bus shelter on the right below. To go to Wheatley Hill, Wingate and Hartlepool choose the shelter on the left.

2023 Update: the farm was demolished several years ago, though an archeological report belated confirmed that it was of some historical signifiance. Inevitably, there is planning permission for the usual raft of identikit modern housing on the site, though construction seems to have been in limbo for many years.

NEXT PHOTO: Thornley High Street, in the 1950s and in 2005.

OLD THORNLEY HOME.