Spennymoor Classics

This chapter is about subterranean classics in Co. Durham, but it is also about the dangers of classical erasure. It argues for a classical reception methodology that pays attention to the broader cultural matrix of communities. The main focus is the Settlement at Spennymoor under the Wardenship of Bill and Betty Farrell in which several writers and artists, including Sid Chaplin and Norman Cornish, found a nurturing environment in which their skills took root and flourished. It examines the quiet presence of Classics within this colourful episode of communal resilience and personal transformation. Chaplin tells the history of Roman Britain from below and uses allusions to classical mythology to communicate the titanic struggle of underground workers to a middle-class reading public. It briefly assesses the contribution made by a visiting Prussian countess, Tisa Hess, who made Co. Durham her home in the late 1930s. The chapter presents a few tales from ‘Pit University’ at Spennymoor and shows the relatively unobtrusive and yet still vital presence of the Classics within the working-class cultural history of the region.