King Edward VII Coronation, planned for 26th June 1902, postponed until 9th August 1902:

Durham County Advertiser, Friday 27th June 1902:

Shincliffe

"The children under 15 years of age of the parish of Shincliffe are each being presented with a special Coronation medal. Messers R. Smith, T. Fenwick, J. Carss, A.E. Davies, J. Fenny, and T. Dickinson, have called at the homes of the youngsters and left the medals, so that they might be worn on Thursday. The same gentlemen have also left a dinner ticket for each person over 60 years of age for the dinner which is to be held on Friday. Each child attending the festivities will also be presented with a box of chocolate with a likeness of the King and Queen, and a flag to carry in the procession which will be formed at the Bank Top and march to the Rectory Field, the scene of festivities. A halt will be made at various stages and God Save the King sung. A band of music will be in attendance, and all Shincliffe is looking forward to spending a happy day. A grand display of fireworks will take place in the evening. Upwards of £48 has been collected towards paying expenses. Three small barrels of beer said to equal in quality the King's special brew, have been given by local brewers."

The coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra was planned for the 26th June 1902. A few days prior to this the King was taken ill and was told he needed surgery to remove his appendix. Already suffering from peritonitis, he was nevertheless reluctant to postpone, but was persuaded that unless he had the operation he would die. The coronation was rescheduled for 9th August 1902, but many communities continued with their celebrations as planned in June.

King Edward VII died on 6th May 1910 and King George V acceded to the throne.



King George V Coronation, 22nd June 1911:

Durham Chronicle, Friday 30th June 1911:

SHINCLIFFE

"Shincliffe was en fete on Thursday last on the occasion of the celebration of the Coronation festivities. For some weeks past a string and representative committee has been making the necessary arrangements. Mr A.A. Luxmore (chairman), Mr J. Willis (vice-chairman), Mr J. Carss (treasurer), and Mr J.M. Carr (hon. secretary), and other members of the committee have worked most assiduously and harmoniously to bring the festivities to a successful issue. Helped by generous subscriptions which were purely voluntary, the fund reached the handsome total of nearly £15.

On Wednesday, June 21st, in the schoolroom, every child in the parish was presented with a mug and a medal, and each infant with a suitable toy. These were provided by the committee, the mugs being presented by Mrs J.G. Ouseley, wife of the rector of the parish, and the medals by Mrs J.M. Carr, wife of the headmaster. On the 22nd the proceeding commenced by an assembly of the children, to the number of 250, at the Oddfellows Hall, in the presence of a large company, when suitable prayers were offered up by the rector, the Rev. J.G. Ouseley and the National Anthem was sung heartily by the children.

The children were then marshalled by the headmaster, Mr J.M. Carr, and the staff of the school, and the long procession wended its way to the village headed by Mr Morgan's string band, and accompanied by a large number of the adult population. On reaching the centre of the village the children sang very sweetly and the Coronation Ode composed by Mr Scott Elder, and at the foot of the village they rendered "God Bless the Prince of Wales" in a hearty manner, and by special request the Ode and National Anthem were again sung. The procession then marched to the field adjacent to the school, which had been kindly lent by Mr Moody, and engaged in racing until three o'clock when they all sat down in the school for a sumptuous tea. Afterwards sports were resumed, and kept up until nine o'clock.

At five o'clock the aged men and women of the parish, to the number 150, were entertained to a knife and fork tea, those who were unable to come having their's sent to their homes. The grace at the conclusion was sung by the old people heartily and in beautiful harmony. Seventy two of the old people had each presented to him one ounce of tobacco and a pipe, and it was a treat to see them enjoying their smoke after tea.

During the forenoon a congratulatory message was sent by Mr Carr to their Majesties, to which a gracious reply has been returned.

At Six o'clock racing was resumed, this time for all those over 15 years, and was kept up till nine o'clock, when the prizes were presented to the successful competitors by Mrs J.M. Carr.

The large gathering then sang the National Anthem and gradually dispersed after a pleasant and delightful day's enjoyment, each receiving on leaving the field some nuts and cake."

King George V Silver Jubilee, 1935:

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After the death of King George V on 20th January 1936, his eldest son became King Edward VIII. However, there was no Coronation as Edward abdicated on December 10th the same year, and his younger brother became King George VI. 

Coronation of King George VI, 1937:

The Coronation of George VI took place on 12th May 1937. The people of Shincliffe celebrated at the Reading Rooms in Shincliffe Colliery (see below):  
Photographs and information from Charlie Robinson.

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953:

Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne on 6th February 1952 upon the death of her father, King George VI.
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place at Westminster Abbey on 2nd June 1953.

The photographs below (from Beamish Archives) show tree planting at the Bank Foot school to commemorate the coronation. On the right, headteacher Harry Appleton with  Alice Chapelow, Lottie Dazley and pupils.

We have two brief written recollections by Shincliffe residents. This was the first coronation seen on television. Few families had a T.V. set at this time, so a television was acquired for the occasion and placed in the W.I. Hut. A short extract from Parish Council minutes dated 1953, held in the Archives, states:

"Television for Coronation

Resolved that the television set provided for the coronation be placed in the W.I. Institute"

Unfortunately, neither of our two recollections below include a memory of the W.I. Hut.

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The first recollection is by Margaret Wise. Her words were hand-written by someone else:

 "Margaret Wise and here sister Ann were at the Church Hall to watch the Coronation on T.V. there. (She thinks arranged by Sammy Moore [The Rector] and possibly, Tommy Jopling [The Tower Captain]). Her memories are that, here, it rained all day; the T.V. went wrong as Princess Margaret's procession was shown; the Queen of Tonga delighted the crowds with her behaviour. * (Possibly Beth Driver was there ?)" [The writer's question mark suggests Margaret is unsure, and this is clearly in contradiction to Jo Stobbs' recollection below.]

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The Second recollection of the Coronation - As remembered by Jo Stobbs (then Josie Mawson):

"There was great excitement in the village over the Queen's coronation. Most people didn't have television in those days, but Beth Driver bought one especially, and we all trouped down to her bungalow to watch it, agog. My mother, my sister Helen and I went, but I don't think my father did.

We all squeezed into Beth's front room to watch, and she plied us with cups of tea and biscuits. I don't remember who else was there."

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*  Queen Salote Tupou III of Tonga insisted she rode in an open carriage during the coronation parade, in spite of the pouring rain. This was a traditional Tongan mark of respect for the new Queen.

Queen Elizabeth II, Silver Jubilee 1977:

Click on picture below to enlarge:

SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS 1977

Described by Towan Hancock, with contributions from Norma Stead, Margaret Chapman & Ken Slater. 

The 1977 Silver jubilee celebration was quite a big affair, financed by the Parish Council. I was recruited by John Lightly (Chairman, Parish Council) onto a committee, convened from people involved in community organisations, to organise the celebrations. Frequent meetings were held from March onwards.

The events were held on the Jubilee Bank Holiday Tuesday 7^th June. At 10 am there was the tree planting on the lower green (?) in the village. Between 2pm and 5 pm various events were held at the school, fancy dress, etc.

All the children at the parish were given a Silver jubilee crown coin in a presentation case, photos below, which I collected from the bank in Coxhoe. As far as I recall it was decided afterwards to use surplus funds to buy the flag pole at the school, which I ordered, to mark the celebrations. Unfortunately it didn't get erected until later and we didn't put a plaque on it. The school declined to do so later).

In the evening there was the Silver Jubilee “Hoe-Down” held in the old farm buildings at Grange Farm. Several previous Shincliffe “Hoe-Downs” had been held at East Grange Farm and were organised by a group of local people including Tony Stead, Jimmy Laing, Jack Gibbs, Dick Horner and Ken Slater (treasurer). The bar was provided by the Seven Stars (Tony Hickson), meat bought from a wholesale butcher (McMurchie), cooked at the Masonic Hall, and assembled and served with a salad by the WI. Music was provided by The Trimdon Folk Band and the evenings were basically a ceilidh. Tickets were always highly sought-after. The proceeds were donated to some local organisation or charity. The Jubilee “Ho-Down” was opened by a “royal visit”, namely Mr.& Mrs. P. Boobyer from the village, regally attired in a Rolls Royce. The proceeds from this event are believed to have been given to Shincliffe WI and used to purchase the President’s chair.

Below: The Silver Jubilee Crown Coin:

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Queen Elizabeth II, Golden Jubilee 2002:

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Queen Elizabeth II, Diamond Jubilee 2012:

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Queen Elizabeth II, Platinum Jubilee, 2022:

Queen Elizabeth II, our longest serving monarch, reigned for 70 years and 7 months from 6th February 1852 to 8th September 2022.



Proclamation of the Accession of King Charles III:

The Proclamation was read on Sunday 11th September 2022 at 3:45pm outside the Church Hall, Shincliffe, by Michael Banks, Chair of Shincliffe Parish Council. Here is a link to video of the Proclamation of the Accession of King Charles III in Shincliffe Village:

https://www.facebook.com/100064456519013/videos/425589432793767/

Coronation of King Charles III, 6th May 2023:

Above: Decorated Post Box in Heathways and Tree House in the Miners' Wood, High Shincliffe, May 2023.