A new book has been published chronicling the history of Shildon Railway Institute.
The book, penned by the current Institute Chair, Dave Reynolds, journeys from its founding by Timothy Hackworth and colleagues in November 1833, as the first such organisation in the world for railway employees, through its centenary celebrations in 1933 and on to its 190th anniversary milestone in 2023.
An Insatiable First: 190 Years of Shildon’s Pioneering Railway Institute was launched at a special event at the Institute last Saturday.
The date was chosen as being closest Saturday to the day the current Institute building opened in 1913, and was also by coincidence the birthday of Hackworth’s great-great-granddaughter, Jane Hackworth-Young who was present at the book’s launch.
The author described the illustrated book as being like a journey, by rail, during which the reader might imagine looking out from the window of their carriage at different scenes from the Institute’s past as they pass by.
It begins with the earliest days of New Shildon, before taking in events leading to the first meeting in the cellar of the Globe Inn in 1833.
It journeys along the years in which the organisation met at the Wesleyan schoolroom, the opening of a reading room at the Masons Arms, the first dedicated building on Station Street and its subsequent expansion.
It travels on through the North Eastern Railway era and new building on Redworth Road, the LNER and British Rail eras and the founding of the Sports Ground site.
It then witnesses the closure of the works in 1984 which brought separation and ownership by the members, leading to the triumphs and challenges of the present day.
It even looks ahead up the line to consider the future and how the Institute might continue to serve its community.
At the launch event, Mr Reynolds set out the Institute’s vision that the current committee wanted everyone, members and the surrounding community, to know more about the Institute’s past and present.
He described what makes it special, the stories that defined it, and how the Institute must continue to help celebrate life, family, community, ancestry and the town’s unique rich and proud industrial heritage and identity.
“We’re so lucky to have this living legacy of Timothy Hackworth and the Stockton and Darlington Railway,” said Dave, “and for it to be owned by its community of members so that they all have the privilege of playing a part in determining where it goes from here. That is such a rarity.”
Copies of the book, which is available in both paperback and hardback format, can be bought directly ‘in person’ at the Institute, or ordered online internationally from Amazon.
Purchases made at the Institute will benefit from a special discounted price with all proceeds going towards helping sustain the Institute for the next 190 years.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
