Browney

Browney is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated to the south-west of Durham and adjoins Meadowfield. It is part of the parish of Brandon and Byshottles.

Browney Colliery closed in 1938. The Browney Wesleyan Chapel was built in 1887, to seat 270, and cost £400. Browney British School was built in 1881 by the colliery owners, and consisted of mixed and infants, with accommodation for 407 in all, the average attendance being 309 in 1892. The Browney Colliery Reading Room and Library was provided by the owners of the colliery. The library comprised over 1000 books, and the reading room was well supplied with the usual papers. This was at a time when popular culture emphasised the benefits of literacy and when the Worker's Educational Movement was at its beginnings. There was a relentless drive for self-improvement, linked to the literacy connected with the Book of Common Prayer and standard forms of worship.