Timothy Hackworth School first opened in February 1910 – here it is under construction in approximately 1908.
Who was Timothy Hackworth?
Timothy Hackworth was born in Wylam near Newcastle in 1786. Originally a blacksmith but he became involved in locomotive production when he was recruited by Christopher Blackett in 1808 to work at Wylam Colliery. At Wylam Hackworth helped William Hedley produce the locomotive Puffing Billy.
In 1824 Edward Pease, George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson formed a company in Newcastle to make the locomotives for the Stockton and Darlington line. George Stephenson knew of Hackworth’s work on the Puffing Billy and recruited him as superintendent of locomotive engine production. Hackworth worked with George Stephenson on Locomotion and was on board when it made its first public journey on 27th September, 1825.
In 1828 the boiler of the Locomotion exploded, killing the driver. She was rebuilt but did not perform well. The main problem was its inability to produce enough steam for a twenty-mile run. Timothy Hackworth took over responsibility for the Locomotion and enlarged the boiler and installed a return fire tube. This improved the performance of the locomotive but in 1827 was replaced by Hackworth’s new locomotive, the Royal George. Hackworth’s locomotive was mounted on six wheels, the cylinders were vertical, inverted and outside the boiler, and pistons and connecting rods drove the rear wheels.
In 1829 the directors of the proposed Liverpool and Manchester company were unsure whether to use locomotives or stationary engines on their line. To help them reach a decision, it was decided to hold a competition where the winning locomotive would be awarded £500. The idea being that if the locomotive was good enough, it would be the one used on the new railway. Timothy Hackworth, now manager of the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company decided to enter the competition. This was difficult as he had no factory of his own and the manufacture of the different parts had to be produced by local companies.
The competition was held at Rainhill during October 1829. Each competing locomotive had to haul a load of three times its own weight at a speed of at least 10 mph. The locomotives had to run twenty times up and down the track at Rainhill which made the distance roughly equivalent to a return trip between Liverpool and Manchester. Afraid that heavy locomotives would break the rails, only machines that weighed less than six tons could compete in the competition.Ten locomotives were originally entered for the Rainhill Trials but only five turned up and two of these were withdrawn because of mechanical problems. At first there were doubts whether Hackworth’s Sans Pareil would compete as she weighed more than six tons. However, it was eventually agreed to let Timothy Hackworth show what his new locomotive could do. After a promising start the Sans Pareil suffered a cracked cylinder. Ironically, the cylinder had been cast by the company owned by his rival, George Stephenson. Despite its failure to win the competition, the owners of the Liverpool & Manchester railway decided to purchase Sans Pareil and was kept in service until it was sold sold in 1831.
In 1833 Hackworth decided to leave to form his own Soho locomotive building company at Shildon. The company was very successful and Hackworth lived in a fine house facing the Shildon Railway Station (now part of the Locomotion Museum.) Considered to be now an old fashioned designer, Hackworth concentrated on building slow, heavy freight locomotives.
Timothy Hackworth had a huge impact on Shildon and played a huge part in its growth and development. He died in 1850.
History of our school
Around the year 1825, the village of New Shildon was born with the arrival of the railways. The village rapidly expanded as the railway works grew, employing more and more men followed by their wives and families and, in many cases, their widowed mothers, brothers and sisters. The only form of schooling in the village at that time was provided by the chapels and centred mainly around their religious teachings, Sunday schools and evening bible classes. The schools in New Shildon couldn’t cope with the number of children needing an education. Durham County Council’s newly formed Elementary Education Committee decided that they needed to build bigger, better and more modern schools with the capacity to expand as the population grew and with the facilities and equipment to deliver a first class education.
Opened in 1910 to accommodate the ever-increasing population of New Shildon the “Shildon and East Thickley New Shildon Council Schools” (now Timothy Hackworth Primary School) were opened. Many of the children had not previously attended a regular school and the opening of the Council Schools provided places for 1,100 children on the one site. The building was designed by Mr R Holt of Liverpool and the total cost to build the schools was £21,467 which included the land, buildings, furnishings and equipment. The whole of the site, built on Shildon Road (now Byerley Road) covered an area of 9,000 square yards incorporating playgrounds, playing fields and the buildings.
The opening ceremony was performed by Councillor M Watson JP on Saturday 12 February 1910 at 3.30pm which was followed by a free afternoon tea for invited guests. The school opened to children on 14 February 1910, it’s first headteacher was Ethel M Robinson.
In 1925, as part of the centenary celebrations of the first steam hauled passenger journey which took place on 27 September 1825, the school was renamed the Shildon and East Thickley Timothy Hackworth Council School in honour of the late rail pioneer and “father of New Shildon,” Mr Timothy Hackworth. On 28 June 1929 the boys’ department of the school ceased to exist and the school was then known as the Shildon Timothy Hackworth Senior Mixed School
Changes were made again in 1931 when on 25 August the school opened a new department which became known as Shildon Timothy Hackworth Council Senior Girls’ School. From this date the school site held three schools, Mixed Infants, Mixed Juniors and Senior Girls with a headteacher for each school. In July 1976 the Senior Girls Department was closed and the girls transferred to the newly built Sunnydale Comprehensive School. The infant and junior schools then amalgamated and became known, as it is today, Timothy Hackworth Primary School.
In February 2010 the whole school community joined in a week of events and activities to celebrate the school centenary. Children and staff dressed in edwardian type clothing for the whole week; lessons were held in an edwardian style classroom with a teacher from Beamish Museum; decade performances were given for the parents and the school was re-dedicated by Jane Hackworth Young, the great great grandaughter of Timothy Hackworth. In September 2010 the governors, staff and children were proud to welcome HRH The Duke of Gloucester who visited the school as part of the centenary celebrations. His Royal Highness toured the school and was particularly interested in the architecture of the building and enjoyed taking part in an assembly and unveiling a plaque to commemorate his visit.
To commemorate the school centenary the “centenary working party” produced a professionally published book about the history of the school. “Timothy Hackworth Primary School, A Century of Learning” gives a more detailed account of the history of the school and the town of Shildon. It is available to buy from the school at a cost of £5.00.
