In 2010, Thorpe Thewles History Group (TTHG) was contacted by Brian Powdrell from Hull. Brian had just acquired a set of three neatly written antique diaries from a local car boot sale. Once Brian got home and started to read the diaries more fully, he realised their potential historical importance. He decided to find them a permanent home within a library or heritage organisation based locally to where the diarist had stated he lived. This was a location unknown to Brian, the small village of Thorpe Thewles. Brian subsequently transferred the diaries to the TTHG on the agreement that they would transcribe, research and hopefully, in time, make their contents available to all. The diaries were written by a teenage boy, David McLaren, who lived at Manor Farm, Thorpe Thewles and present a vivid account of a young man’s life in the area in the years immediately leading up to the Great War.

Amongst some of the historic events described in the diaries are the Pontypridd and Ais Gill railway disasters, Britain’s first national railway and coal miners’ strikes, Captain Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole, the sinking of the Titanic and the Universal Colliery disaster in Senghenydd. David’s later diary entries intuitively perceive the growing political ‘storm clouds’ in Europe which ultimately led to the outbreak of the Great War in 1914. The diaries contain a veritable ‘goldmine’ of information for historians, particularly those with an interest in northern England.

TTHG secured a significant National Heritage Lottery Fund grant to make a full-length documentary about the re-discovery of the diaries, their contents and the life and times of the diarist. The documentary will comprise the reading and re-enactment of entries from David’s diaries along with historical commentary and analysis. After the film’s première, in Thorpe Thewles in late February 2026, it will be shown at several other venues across Teesside and County Durham, including one in Sedgefield, before being made available on YouTube.

Watch out for details of the Sedgefield screening in a future edition of this publication.

£5,390.49 is exactly how much money Sedgefield District Uniformed Services Group (SDUSG) donated back into the local community in 2025.

Here’s where it went:
• Feeding Families Food Bank £1,000
• Men’s local football team £300 for polo shirts and winter coats
• Dance Academy £320 to attend Ballroom competition in Blackpool
• St Edmunds Bellringers £168 for a new church bell rope
• Sedgefield Players £500 towards costumes for Sense & Sensibility
• Sedgefield Mediaeval Fayre fund £100.
• Sedgefield Community Association fund £400
• Sedgefield Primary School PTA £300 for first aid training for pupils
• Sedgefield Hardwick PTA £300 for playground equipment
• Sedgefield Handbell Ringers £202.49 for new hard carry cases
• Sedgefield Youth Club £300 for summer activities
• St Edmunds Church Christmas Tree Festival £300
• 2nd Sedgefield Brownies £300 for transport to Beamish Museum
• Sedgefield Out of School Fun Club £600 towards external canopy
• Trimdon Brass Band £300 for embroidered band polo shirts

This money is raised exclusively from the monthly coffee morning and raffle. Money from every cuppa, bit of cake or raffle ticket you purchase there goes into funds and is available for local groups and organisations like these to apply for.

Thanks to all our coffee morning goers for their support in 2025, and to all our volunteers who bake the goodies and facilitate the events.

Notice of Annual General Meeting

Sedgefield Development Trust will hold its Annual General Meeting on Monday 16 February at 7:30pm in the Oldham Room at Ceddesfeld Hall.Everyone is welcome. Come along to hear updates on our projects, learn more about what the Trust does, or share your ideas for new initiatives you’d like to see in Sedgefield.

Friendly Fixers
We want your ideas and your help!
We want to reduce the amount of stuff going to landfill, and help our community become more sustainable. This could be holding 'how to fix' workshops to learn basic fixing skills; hosting a 'world book day' outfit exchange; organising a seedling swap; adapting school uniform - or any other idea which promotes reuse and repair.

Come to our next Friendly Fixers session at Fishburn Youth and Community Centre on Saturday 7 February. Our usual monthly repair session will start at 10:30am, and we will be discussing new ideas from 11:30am.
We would love to see you!
If you have some ideas but can’t make it send us a message at repaircafe@sedgefielddevelopmenttrust.co.uk.

Trees for Habitats
The Woodland & Wildlife volunteers accepted about 25 real Christmas trees at Skerne Wood on a chilly but bright January morning. The trees have been used to extend the dead hedge, which over the years has proven to be a valuable habitat to small birds and insects. It is always a cheerful and sociable event, it’s great to talk to everyone dropping their trees off and work in close proximity to our fellow volunteers.

Thank you to everyone who attended, we value all contributions.

If you would like to know more about the project please contact Melissa woodland@sedgefielddevelopmenttrust.co.uk or our Facebook page - ‘Woodland & Wildlife – Sedgefield’.

Sedgefield Farmers Market Sunday 1st February, 8.30am to 12 noon

Citizen of the Year
Sedgefield Development Trust is proud to support this year’s Citizen and Young Citizen of the Year awards, alongside Sedgefield Town Council and the Rotary Club.

If you know someone who makes a real difference to our community, nominate them between 9 February and 31 March at:https://forms.office.com/e/f3ZzSAMYE8 or scan the QR code.

Nominees might contribute to a local group, represent our town, care for the environment, have carried out a great good deed, or be a positive role model.Young Citizen nominees must be under 21 on 31 December 2025.

As reported in our December edition, Sedgefield Young Farmers had planned their Tractor Run for Sunday 21 December and what an amazing event it was!

In total, the 2025 Christmas Tractor Run raised £7202, 100% of which is being donated to Zoe's Place Baby Hospice, an amazing local charity with a hospice in Middlesbrough which provides a home from home for babies and infants with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. It offers palliative, special respite and end of life care for infants from birth to five years old.

Sedgefield Young Farmers Club would like to thank everyone who came out and supported the event, waved us past, and donated, allowing us to raise this amazing sum of money, we were blown away by everyone’s generosity.

To Hardwick Hall Hotel for hosting us once again, and to the other local businesses; The Impeccable Pig, T.C.Harrison JCB Sedgefield, and Hopper House Brew Farm for donating prizes for the best decorated tractors, a huge thank you also. We look forward to seeing you all in December 2026!
Sedgefield Young Farmers

The autumn term at SCC ended with a number of musical celebrations on Tuesday 16 December 2025. On the morning, members of our school band and choir visited the Methodist Church in Sedgefield in order to perform a number of Christmas carols and share in some festive food with local residents who are living with the challenge of dementia. This is an annual event that has taken place for many years and students and residents alike enjoyed the morning immensely.

At the end of the school day, our annual Christmas Concert took place and for the first time, the initial ticket allocation sold out and this was reflected in a bumper audience. During the evening, everyone was able to enjoy in a wide range of different performances from soloists, small groups and our full school band. As well as the many students performing from the secondary school, we were delighted to be joined by the DMS Stars group – comprised of primary school children from our local primary schools.

All of the children performed wonderfully well and the talent on display was extremely impressive. The audience were also in excellent voice when it came to singing along to a number of festive favourites!

Alongside these Christmas events, rehearsals for the school show, that will take place at the end of the summer term, have also been taking place and there are lots of future performances for us all to look forward to!