8 May 2002: The second day of The Queen’s tour in the North East of England

The industrial heritage and scenic coast of County Durham were on display in the Jubilee visit to County Durham.

The Queen and Prince Philip began their day in Seaham, a seaside town, arriving in the Royal Train at the local station. There The Queen viewed a history exhibition put together by two local primary schools, and a performance of music and dance. There was also time to meet some of the town’s residents, with a walkabout outside. The Duke of Edinburgh in the meantime visited a photographic exhibition and a display of local produce, also meeting pupils from Seaham School of Technology and the local business community.

The Queen travelled on to the town of Easington, where Her Majesty visited the town’s colliery. Easington Colliery was the scene of a terrible mining disaster in 1951 when an explosion claimed the lives of 81 men and two rescue workers. The Queen met three of the surviving rescue workers, Arthur Bartholemew, David Patton and George Ottowell. The former, at the age of 84, has lived in the town all his life, and lost his uncle in the disaster. The men presented The Queen with a bronze statuette of a mine rescue worker, and were delighted to hear it would find a permanent home in Buckingham Palace.

The Easington Colliery band played as The Queen visited displays, watched a dance demonstration and chatted to local people. They included some of the thirty-one married couples from throughout the district, who this year are celebrating their own Golden Wedding anniversaries.

In nearby Blackhall hundreds of residents, including pupils from the village’s three primary schools, lined the streets to wave as the Royal car made its way to the coastline. At Blackhall Rocks, The Queen unveiled a cairn celebrating the completion of a coastal regeneration programme. The award-winning Turning The Tide project has helped to reclaim the East Durham coastline from the ravages of coal tipping. The Queen also viewed an exhibition showing the dramatic changes.

The Duke undertook separate engagements, visiting Shotton Hall, Peterlee, where he met local Gold Award holders in The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, together with representatives of local schools and community groups.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh met up again at historic Durham Castle in the university town of Durham. They had lunch in the castle, before setting out on foot to the market square, the Millennium Place, talking to local children and people of all ages. The Duke of Edinburgh occasionally lifted children over the barriers to give flowers to The Queen. There were large crowds in the centre of Durham and the first sunshine appeared. Four stiltwalkers had dressed as the pop group The Beatles, while other street performers entertained the crowds. 

In Clayport Library The Queen met local school children working on IT projects and visited the new Gala Theatre, where a new production by Northern Opera was in rehearsal.

The final engagements of the day were at Darlington and Stockton Campus. The Queen visited Darlington for the first time 35 years. More than 10,000 people packed the market square and surrounding roads to see The Queen. A floral banner spelling out Welcome and a host of flags were displayed outside St Cuthbert’s Church and crowds of people packed into the church yard to catch a glimpse of her.

The Queen made her way around the market square, talking to local people. Scout Jennifer Kirkly, 13, helped Her Majesty unveil a commemorative plaque in the market square to mark her visit. Local children put on various displays for The Queen. Dancers from the Tees Dance Initiative and Darlington Youth Dance performed a routine on a specially constructed stage and representatives from all the town’s primary schools released gold and purple Jubilee balloons into the air.

The Duke of Edinburgh spent the afternoon at the Stockton Campus, Durham, which His Royal Highness had opened in 1993. His Royal Highness toured the campus, meeting students and visiting the Human Performance, Human Sciences and Physiology Laboratories to see some of the latest research projects.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh flew back to London ready for the following day of engagements in East London.

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