ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on main concern of locality and its social structure, rather than on one specific aspect of social life. From a sociological point of view the study of social change in County Durham in the twentieth century is primarily the study of change in working-class institutions and culture in the small and medium-sized communities which are scattered over this area. Small and medium-sized mining and former mining settlements, where formerly work and non-work ties were closely integrated, remains the most unusual feature of social structure in County Durham. The incidence of poor sanitation, bad housing and ill-health in mining areas is further discussed at the end of this chapter and in. Nevertheless, there do appear to be significant regularities which this chapter attempts to summarise. It is appropriate to emphasise that the chapter aims to serve as a corrective to the predominantly negative evaluation of the social character of mining areas made by many commentator.
