Our Mission
Our mission in the Castle Eden Methodist Circuit is “to serve the present age and Calling to fulfil”. This mission statement is currently under review.
Alongside the wider Methodist Church, we respond to the gospel of God’s law in Christ by living out our discipleship through worship and mission in an ever-changing world. We do this through evangelism, learning, caring, service and worship, seeking wherever possible to work in partnership with others.
From the hymn by Charles Wesley StF658 v2
About the Circuit
How the Circuit Began
The Circuit was formed in 2007 through the amalgamation of three smaller circuits in East Durham:
- Hartlepool, serving the town and port at the mouth of the River Tees
- Durham Coast and Peterlee, serving the New Town of Peterlee and the large coalfields villages on the Durham Coast
- Thornley, serving ex-mining villages a little inland from the Durham coast.
Our Industrial Heritage
This was primarily an area of industry and commerce. Pit villages dotted the countryside and were connected by railways, while the coast was dominated by the large pits of Blackhall Colliery, Horden and Easington, all working well out under the North Sea.
These communities were served by the towns of Hartlepool and West Hartlepool, which later merged to become Hartlepool. From the late 1950’s, they were also served by the New Town of Peterlee, built for the old inland mining villages as their coal became depleted and the mines began to close.
The Landscape Today
Today, the area is very different, and people passing through often comment on how rural it looks. The pits have all closed, the spoil heaps and mining areas have been cleared, and the rolling landscape of the magnesian limestone escarpment once again dominates the scene. The seaside areas have also been largely cleaned up since the pits closed. The “Turning the Tide” initiative played an important part in this transformation, cleaning the beaches and restoring the coastal landscape.
Our Communities and Churches Today
The closure of the pits and their associated infrastructure has also had a profound social impact. Villages have lost many of their amenities and much of their close-knit social fabric. Widespread unemployment and related social problems mean that this part of East Durham continues to experience social deprivation.
The Circuit still has chapels in the former pit villages and a church in Peterlee. In September 2024, four congregations merged to form East Durham Methodist Church, with worship continuing at the separate sites. The congregation of the former Grange Road Church, now worships with St George’s United Reform Church in Hartlepool.
Travelling Around the Circuit
The A19, the principal north-south road through the Circuit, divides the area. Link roads from the A19 connect all the settlements in the Circuit.
However, in recent years, public transport has become a problem in many of the more isolated rural areas. Anyone with their own transport will find it easy to travel around the Circuit; for others, it is less straightforward, especially on a Sunday.
A coastal railway runs north from Hartlepool to Sunderland and connects with the East Coast Main Line, although Hartlepool and Horden are the only stations on this route within the Circuit.