For generations, the villages of Ryton, Crawcrook and Greenside shared the same Parish, the same Coal Company and the same Urban District Council. Traditionally picturesque and rural, the area boasted an historic centre and pretty riverside as well as a cluster of colliery communities. Central Ryton supported early commuting via the railway, but most revenues came from the coal trade, which dominated the local economy.Using a series of old images in the Ryton, Crawcrook and Greenside areas...