THE MEANING OF MURTON . . .

The place name, Murton, which is the same as Morton or Moreton, depending upon how it was translated, is a very common Old English place name consisting of two elements, the Old English word meaning fen or marsh, from which we get the word ‘moor’, and the Old English ‘tun’ meaning an enclosure around a house, so a homestead, farmstead or often a village or a town, thus it can also be interpreted as ‘the farmstead on the moor’. Murton was one of four townships within the ecclesiastical parish of Dalton-le Dale. The settlement is marked as Morton on an 18th century map.

Previous names for the village have been Morton-in -the-Whinns, East Morton and Murton Colliery.

CHANGING OVER THE YEARS . . .

The village has seen considerable change in the last few years, with the closure of Murton Colliery in 1991, the refurbishment of the ‘Old Miners Welfare Hall’ now called the Glebe Centre, in 2001 and the Dalton Park Retail Outlet Shopping Centre now fully open.

The Colliery closed in 1991 and the Glebe Centre was named to honour the memory of the men, women and boys who worked in the colliery during the 153 years of its existence.

One of the outstanding features of the Village, however, remains the newly refurbished war memorial and village green, set in the heart of the old village this is now a focal point for residents to visit.