About Us

The Birtley Heritage Group is a small local history group based in Birtley Library. We encourage people to delve into the hidden past and unearth some of the stories of Birtley's heritage to discover how the area has changed over the years and pass on that information to today's residents. Originally in 2009 we were a learner led and new partnership with Gateshead Libraries & Arts Service but are now a fully constituted group, encouraging people to learn, develop and share our fascination with Birtley's history.

We maintain our strong links with Gateshead's Library Service, to whom we are indebted for professional help and advice. We have regular, advertised talks in Birtley Library with speakers covering a variety of subjects and everyone is welcome, in addition to our own talks, guided walks and exhibitions.

If you have any information, queries, items of interest or photographs relating to Birtley we would love to hear from you.

Our Videos

All the videos were created from photographs in the Heritage Group Collection.

Birtley In Old Pictures

Take a nostalgic wander through Birtley of old. Many of the buildings have now gone, but there are still some featured you will know and recognise from the old photographs.

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War Graves

We remember the men buried in Birtley who died in service or as a result of conflict, and are commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). Birtley New Cemetery, St. John's Churchyard, St. Joseph's Churchyard and the Elisabethville RC Cemetery.

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Leisure And Recreation

Using old photographs, we see how the people of Birtley spent their spare time. In 1910 Birtley's roller skating rink was acknowledged as one of the finest floors in England. Do you remember Bolam's Picture House?

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Birtley Belgians

The unique story of Elisabethville, a purpose-built and self-contained settlement in Birtley, home to over 6,000 Belgian refugees and wounded soldiers who came to work at the National Projectile Factory during WW1.

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A Walk Around Elisabethville

We take you on a walk around Elisabethville, from the comfort of your own chair! See where the village was situated and where the buildings stood compared to the present day: the hospital, the barracks, the food store, the school…………

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Birtley Industry

Birtley has a long industrial history, and was mainly known for its mining, brick making and iron works which flourished from the middle of the 19th century and resulted in an increase in the town's population.

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Events 2026

All Events are 2.00 - 3.00 in Birtley Library (Unless otherwise stated).

Cost £3.00 to be paid at the door (Cash only). No children, please.

Date Title / Details
03/03/2026 North East Miners Banners.
An illustrated talk on the history and heritage of Miners Banners by Ken Smith.
19/05/2026 A Treasure of Memories, Durham Advertiser 1934 - 1961.
A look back at our local history in this illustrated talk by Julian Harrop, covering 27 years of the Durham Advertiser.
02/06/2026 The Tanfield Railway.
An illustrated talk by Arthur Smith on the over 300 years old Tanfield Railway.
07/07/2026 Old King Coal.
Join us for an afternoon of mining songs with Fool's Gold.
01/09/2026 Queen Coal.
Dave Griffith's fascinating illustrated talk on the lives of men and women in North East Mining Communities.
06/10/2026 George, Robert, Timothy, Thomas and the Brolly Man.
Martin Peagam's illustrated talk on the origins of the railways.
10/11/2026 The Battle of Britain in the North East.
An illustrated talk by Dennis Fox about the eight RAF squadrons that took part in this battle on 15 August 1940. And on the role women took in helping to defeat the enemy.
01/12/2026 Dive Into Durham.
An illustrated talk by Gary Bankhead, underwater archaeologist on his dives into the River Wear.

Recent Projects

  2024/2025 Digital Project  
The Birtley Heritage Group have been collaborating with Skills4Work to produce a series of video presentations based on old photographs from our archive collection and images donated for the project. This working partnership has been very successful, helping us to share the history of Birtley with a wider audience.
  War Graves  
Using photographs taken by the Skills4Work group themselves, we remember the men buried in Birtley who are commemorated by the CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) with this video presentation.

Lest we forget.
  Leisure and Recreation  
A look at how the people of Birtley spent their leisure time outside of work. Birtley had a variety of sports clubs including cricket, bowls, tennis, golf and football, and several cinemas to entertain people.

Prize Bands, an open-air swimming pool, and the local pubs are all featured here in this presentation - and much more put together by Skills4Work.
  Birtley Belgians  
In 1915 to overcome the shortage of artillery shells, munitions factories were built across the country known as National Projectile Factories (NPF). Armstrong-Whitworth were commissioned to build two factories in Birtley, one to produce shells and the other cartridge cases.

An extraordinary agreement was made between the British and Belgian Governments; Belgian officials would manage the NPF and recruit a Belgian workforce of experienced men withdrawn from the front, civilian refugees and wounded and disabled soldiers. To house the Belgian workers and their families, a unique settlement was built called Elisabethville. This is their story.