Tomb Of Nicholas Wood, 32 Metres To South Of Church Of St Nicholas

This is a tomb dating to circa 1855, located 32 metres south of the Church of St Nicholas. Constructed from sandstone, it is designed in the Gothic style as an altar tomb. The structure features three cusped-arched panels, flanked by coped buttresses that support a frieze with simple flower decoration, and a cornice. Inscriptions detail the memory of Maria Foster, wife of Nicholas Wood, who died in January 1855 aged 56 years, and also of Nicholas Wood himself, who died in December 1865 aged 70 years. Nicholas Wood was the engineer to the Hetton Coal Company, who, in 1820, oversaw the sinking of the first shaft to reach coal beneath the limestone of Durham. He collaborated with George Stephenson to design the Hetton railway, which opened in 1822 and transported coal to the Wear. In 1825, Wood published "A Practical Treatise on Rail-Roads and Interior Communications in General."