A walk down the Norman Cornish Trail in Durham, UK

Norman Cornish (1919-2014) was a talented artist from the town of Spennymoor, located about 11km south of Durham in northeast England. As Spennymoor was a coal-mining town, Cornish worked as a miner for 30 years from age 14 until he became a professional artist in 1966.

His gift was evident from an early age; as a teenager, he joined a sketching club at the Spennymoor settlement, which was founded in 1930 to provide the town’s inhabitants with opportunities to broaden their knowledge, interests and creative skills.

Cornish found his inspiration from the streets and people of Spennymoor, and most of his iconic works feature scenes from the town.

This writer recently had the opportunity to visit Spennymoor and dropped into the Town Hall to pick up a copy of the Norman Cornish Trail brochure and map, which plots a 2.4km route around the town, following in the footsteps of the artist and identifying the locations of some of his most famous paintings.

Here are some of the locations you can visit:

Town Hall

As the Spennymoor town council is justly proud of its most famous son, the Town Hall contains the Bob Abley Art Gallery, which exhibits a collection of Cornish’s works along with paintings by other artists.

Within the gallery you can see a recreation of the artist’s studio as it was in his family home on Whitworth Terrace. The Durham Mining Museum is also found in this building.

Eddy’s Fish Shop

fish1 — ‘Many of the ordinary but fascinating people who frequented these places have gone,’ Cornish once said. ‘However, in my memory and in my drawings, they live on.’ (Norman Cornish pic)

fish2 — Nothing remains of the original Eddy’s Fish Shop building. (Northumberland Traveller pic)

Sadly, the building that housed Eddy’s Fish Shop, once a focal point of the community, has since been demolished. The row of terraced houses on the left has had some much-needed modernisation over the years but has not really improved much in appearance.

Zebra Crossing

zebra1 — Deeply attracted to humanity, Cornish would often stop here to sketch the hustle and bustle of everyday life. (Norman Cornish pic)

zebra2 — Turkish barbers, Vietnamese nail parlours, vape shops, and mobile phone accessory retailers are seen here now. (Northumberland Traveller pic)

Like most English towns, the nature of the shops on Spennymoor’s main street has changed since Cornish painted the zebra crossing.

St Paul’s Church

church1 — This picturesque scene fascinated Cornish no matter the time of day or season of the year. (Norman Cornish pic)

church2 — Indeed, it looks almost exactly the same. (Northumberland Traveller pic)

Cornish painted multiple versions of this church. This view of the church has barely changed – even the tree looks the same.

Edward Street

edwards1 — ‘When out walking, I often passed by this street on my way home,’ Cornish said. ‘I was fascinated by the way it was “crowned” by the church.’ (Norman Cornish pic)

edwards2 — From the church, head along St Paul’s St and take the first right. You will now be on Edward St. At the trail board site, turn and look back and see how the street really is ‘crowned’ by the church. (Northumberland Traveller pic)

This is a typical terraced street in Spennymoor. The houses have been rendered and new windows and doors installed, but otherwise much remains the same… although cars have replaced the whippets!

Rosa Street School

rosa1 — Rosa St School was a rich source of inspiration for drawing and painting, and a hive of activity at certain times of day. (Norman Cornish pic)

rosa2 — The school opened in 1870. (Northumberland Traveller pic)

Cornish’s sketch cannot be too old, judging by the zigzag lines on the road, which were only introduced in the 1970s.

Brewers Arms

brewer1 — Cornish enjoyed drawing pub interiors ‘because I was fascinated by men standing at the bar drinking and talking or sitting playing dominoes’. (Norman Cornish pic)

brewer2 — There were 37 pubs in the Spennymoor area during Cornish’s time. (Northumberland Traveller pic)

The Brewers Arms – formerly the Bridge Inn – is just one of the many watering holes frequented by Cornish to capture his many excellent bar scenes.

Berriman’s Chip Van

van1 — Another of the artist’s iconic images reflecting the cultural landscape of a bygone era. (Norman Cornish pic)

van2 — A horse-drawn chip van was often found on this street corner next to the Town Hall. (Northumberland Traveller pic)

The original chip van has been restored and is displayed at the nearby Beamish Living Museum, which also has a permanent display of the artist’s former colliery home and includes some of his works.

If you like Cornish’s artworks, a visit to Spennymoor’s Town Hall can be combined with a gander to the Beamish Museum and Bishop Auckland Town Hall, where the Norman Cornish Mural is displayed.

This article first appeared on Northumberland Traveller. Read more articles here and here.

LatestHeadlines

A walk down the Norman Cornish Trail in Durham, UK

Named after the artist, this 2.4km route around Spennymoor town follows in his footsteps, identifying locations of some of his most famous works.