Spennymoor Town Hall And The Bob Abley Art Gallery

When in Spennymoor, the Town Hall Clock Tower is a noticeable structure and the rest of the building has interesting features too.

The Town Hall replaced an older building and construction was started in 1913 and finished in 1916. There were delays due to the First World War, for which resources would have been prioritised. The construction is of Edwardian Baroque Style and the architect was G. T. Wellburn.

The John Kitson Arch (John was a councillor for 39 years) is rusticated. It takes you through to the High Street and is worth having a peek inside as many of Norman Cornish's (we will hear about him later) 'works' are exhibited in lightboxes.

The Lantern and Clock Tower are the crowning glory and locals give cheeky references to the film Back to the Future due to the clock's number of repairs. In 2023 the council posted on Facebook:

"The Town Hall clock is currently under going repair work, please do not rely on the time as it may not be accurate."

Before we go inside, here is a bit of relevant background info. The Great Depression in the 1930s caused much hardship in the area, and there was a 27% unemployment rate, which was mainly men. A support organisation based on the old term for villages was formed with aid from The Pilgrims Trust. It was called the Spennymoor Settlement, and its ethos was:

'Tolerant neighbourliness and voluntary social service and {giving} its members opportunities for increasing their knowledge, widening their interests and cultivating their creative powers in a friendly atmosphere.'

(From the Tudhoe and Spennymoor Local History Society)

It was a great success with theatrical, artistic, and work skills being taught. The Town Hall still encompasses some of these attributes with a theatre and an art gallery.

I don't think the theatre has been altered and has 1920s features.

The Bob Abley Art Gallery entrance is below the Clock Tower. Back in the day, it must have been a grand entrance as there is a tympanum with the Spennymoor coat of arms.

John Thompson, who is the current curator, explains on the gallery website (By kind permission of the Estate of Norman Cornish):

"Bob Abley [1920 to 2014] was a retired secondary school teacher, who took on the role of voluntary curator when our gallery first opened [2011] He brought together local artists to display their work and the first exhibition he curated in June 2011, celebrated Spennymoor's art heritage arising from the Settlement Sketching Club started in 1931."

The much-revered artist Norman Cornish (1919 to 2014) has many sketches/drawings/paintings on show here and a dedicated room in the gallery with Norman Cornish's studio from Whitworth Terrace on loan from the Beamish Museum.

From a display board, we get an insight into Norman's early life. At 14 years old, due to family hardship, he started work at the Dean and Chapter Colliery colloquially known as the 'Butchers shop', due to the frequency of accidents. He walked the 3 miles to the pit at 2am on Boxing Day 1933. When he arrived there and signed a 'contract' as a datal lad (repair/service work paid daily), the official said to him, "You've just signed your death warrant, son."

During his career, the Pit Road became one of his most iconic images and it is worth reading the information.

Cornish had a flare for art and joined the Settlement Sketching Club around 1934. They would paint 'en plein air' in the surrounding countryside. This must have been a pleasant contrast to the underground grime of the mines. He had a mentor Bill Farrell, who encouraged the young man to 'sketch/draw/paint' his observations of everyday life. The work style can be considered as most have people in them.

From the Norman Cornish page on the Spennymoor Council website (By kind permission of the Estate of Norman Cornish):

"Before his death in August 2014, aged 94, he requested that his sketchbooks 'have a life of their own', so some of the 269 sketch books sit in his “studio” within the Bob Abley Art Gallery."

On spending his life in Spennymoor, Cornish said:

“It has everything and artist needs in order to depict humanity.”

His observation of everyday life captured the emotion of people. He also created 29 known self-portraits. Rembrandt, who Norman was influenced by, had nearly 80.

The local artist Lewis Hobson, AKA Durham Spray Paints, created a brilliant mural on a house wall of one of the self-portraits. Unfortunately, it no longer exists. There are some impressive murals around Spennymoor; check the Spennymoor Murals post.

There are other artists work on display which exemplifies how much talent there is locally. Some works are for sale including Norman Cornish.

Rusty the horses head is an amazing work of art by John Birkett. He works with scrap metal. He had over 40 years of experience in architectural metalwork and since 2018 has turned to sculpture.

There is some colourful glasswork by Nat Yates.

On the top floor, you will find Rock works! Steve and Chris Rock are twins and as the website says:

"[They are] Local to Spennymoor, Chris and Steve Rocks have a permanent exhibition of their work in the Bob Abley Gallery, which is proud to showcase these vibrant local talents. Winners of the Fine Art Trade Guild's Best New Artist award, the brothers are almost a unique entity in the art world - their closeness and understanding of each other means they work collaboratively on their art, painting on each other's work with spectacular impact."

Whilst there, I took a peek in the Mayor's/Council Chambers, and in the ceiling is a marvellous Art Deco styled glass dome.

Even the stairwells have some ornate lighting

See what else takes your fancy in the area using the Fabulous North map.