My only link with the village was when George Barrett and I found a beetle behind The New Tavern where he lived. We couldn't identify what it was and my father suggested that we take it over to a man in Ludworth who was very well versed in the natural history of the area. We went over on our bikes and found the house of  Bob Lofthouse. He had many stuffed animals as well as lots of cases with Butterflies and insects. He identified the beetle as a dung beetle and was quite common in the area. After his death all of his collections went to one of the Universities in Durham.

When I worked at Thornley Colliery as an apprentice we had to go to Ludworth Colliery to check the winder. It was required by the National Coal Board to check all the winder functions every year. At that time the pit was closed but I did manage to go down in the cage to one of the levels.

The following are thumbnail photographs of the village. Just digitize the photograph for a larger copy.

                Aerial View of the village

               Aerial View of Ludworth Primary School

                War Memorial

                Ludworth Tower looking from the East (from Raymond Briggs)

Possible used as a signal tower in the Elizabethan era ( I know there is a plaque adjacent to the road which gives more details on the history of the tower)

In 1422 Bishop Langley granted licence to Thomas Holden to crenellate his manor. Only a few fragments of the tower remain, a considerable part having collapsed in 1890. Only the west wall and a fragment of the south wall remain. The building was of 3 stories. There are traces of fireplaces and a newel staircase. The basement is vaulted. South of the road are the walls of several rooms. A bank-and-ditch enclosing the tower is no longer visible. The west wall of the tower measures c. 11.2m long x 1.5m wide x 10m high, and contains several nondescript windows. The wall is of rough limestone with ashlar quoins. On its east side is a barrel-vaulted basement 6.7m long and 1.8m high. A later well has been built below it. Around the tower are various banks covering fallen walls and foundations. (Courtesy of our roving reporter Allan Fulcher)

                Ludworth Tower looking from the South East (from Raymond Briggs)

                    The Queens Head Pub

                    South Moor Crescent

                    St Andrews Church

                    Land where pit was located viewed from the South 1997

                    Front Street 1986

                    Site of old colliery houses

                    Standish Arms 1940