On Bedlington.uk Now...

Welcome to the group @Vickkie Blake.

Billy Mcglen was my Grandad. I often (on what would have been his birthday) Google his name. This year I came across your post. It's nice to think he is so well remembered.

Well! That was a nice little wander around a place I love, and looking so much better than it's ever done before. Thank you Malcolm for all your hard work.

Didn't even post these ones..............but no one is saying I haven't been doing things anymore!

Now it is all just fluff........so..........

After having another go I put up some more!

Seems this stuff caused quite a commotion after I said this was some of the stuff I've been doing over the last few years Then being told I was dreaming...............

Seems everyday there is a different attack..........and I am not attacking any other candidates but I am going to defend myself! I don’t normally respond to overtly ‘aggressive’ posts, that’s a one way route, but somehow I’m being accused of ‘hiding’ something about this Members Local Improvement Scheme funding? Not quite sure how seeing as I posted the FULL details of the scheme three weeks ago on 1st April on this page, a page that’s open to public access. I do try and keep my residents informed! So the funding is there, the list of things I’ve supported with it is there along with the costings. Even the cancelled projects are listed so I’m not quite sure what’s been hidden? Members get an allowance of up to £15K PA to ‘spend’ on small projects in their wards. I make sure every penny of mine is spent in the ward or very close to it, if there are things which benefit my residents. Just some very recent examples: First the small path I had been asked to get done opposite Hartford Hall. I had it priced up off NCC and it came back at over £30K. I put in the last of my MLIS funding, just over £10K, and Christine, Bedlington Central, agreed to put in £4K to make it happen. So for the £10K in my pot we got over £30k’s worth of work done. Second one, the QE11 Memorial Path and Garden of Remembrance at West Lea Cemetery. We weren’t getting anything so I badgered the Leader of NCC until he told me to design a scheme and they would consider it for funding out of the QE11 funding NCC had already agreed. I did and eventually got £24K out of them. Along with £1K donation from the Friends of West Lea Cemetery group I put in the rest out of this MLIS funding. So we got over £50Ks worth of work done there. I’ve also put in £5K into the café and toilets upgrades at Plessey Woods which is costing about £300K! So nothing hidden it’s all there in black and white but given the associated funding it unlocks I’m happy to use it for projects which can be ramped up with clear community benefits, some smaller projects like dropped kerbs and bollards to larger projects like the QE11 stuff. Even sharing costs with neighbouring ward councillors on projects with joint benefits makes sense to me.

Like I said it getting unbelievable out there............ Well it seems the Labour candidate is now going around telling people I can’t get anything done because I’m not at the ‘Top Table’ because I’m not in the Labour party. I’m wondering which ‘Top Table’ that might be? Might be the MP’s ‘Top Table’, or the North East Mayor’s ‘Top Table’ or even the Crime and Police Commissioners ‘Top Table’? These are ALL positions which once elected should be ‘A’ Political and not be used to gain influence and promote individual devotees. They are supposed to be there to serve their respective communities in their positions without favour! Just goes to show the ‘locked doors and smoke filled rooms’ are very much still in play even today. And we thought we had seen the last of that sort of thing! Absolutely shocking but from a party that’s reneged on its promises to our elderly population, WASPI women, farmers, veterans and the sick and disabled, etc., etc. and seems intent on taxing us more and more so it can fritter cash away on building the PM’s international reputation, I’m not too sure its unexpected!

https://www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/north-east-suppliers-sought-landmark-31436618?utm_source=inyourarea.co.uk&utm_medium=iya-app&fbclid=IwY2xjawJvDTVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHi0eMNsqaviNgK8kv51ZUAfbenEM89HvLP9PpsVVC2_QRj7JVD0l6uyDhVy6_aem_mO_PBkDQX402OCn54xVsOA

I don’t know if you still need this info @Canny lass but thought it may be useful in the genealogy regards. I briefly remember him myself but I was very little (4-5?) when I visited in the Hartlands. His first name was George and he was the son of Christopher (Kit) McGregor and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Tweddle. Lizzie was the daughter of George & Grace Tweddle. Both Kit and Lizzie lived at 9 Cragg’s Buildings in 1921–Kit being a boarder. Geordie was born on 18 July 1923 at Craigs Buildings. His parents at the time lived at Liddle’s Yard. By 1939 him and his parents lived at Yard Row. They then moved to the Hartlands. His grandmother Grace died at 101 Hartlands in 1957. Geordie died in Sep 2008, there is a headstone in Netherton Lane Cemetery. I’m not sure about Kit and Lizzie, though. His uncle (George Tweddle) has a headstone at Netherton and is buried with Grace Tweddle.

*50-60s, sorry.

@Canny lass I wonder if there was one family/household per room at that time, hence the ability to squeeze nine families in there. Agreed about Millfield Cottages, there’s no glaringly obvious of the name connecting to the buildings (Craggs & Clark’s being previous landlords), and certainly could be that they were properties further down Puddlers Road. The Brewers Cottage is quite interesting, there was mention of Henry Clark owning/managing a brewery at Bedlington Iron Works, so they could be connected. I’m starting my way through the Puddler’s Raa thread, what an interesting read 😁 Directly from a family member of mine (whose siblings were born in Craggs recalls going to an aunts house in the 1950s, says the cottage (most likely #3) was nearer to the Bank Top Hotel and remembers that it had two rooms. Thinks the remaining properties were demolished in the 50s too.

@loopylou I can certainly agree that Clarkes Cottages and the Craigs Bldgs adjoining the Puddler's Arms are one and the same thing. My only reservation is that the 4 dwellings of Craigs Bldgs have become 9 dwellings in Clarkes Cottages - but it is possible. However, I'd be hesitant to say that Millfield Cottages are the same thing as the flats in Craigs Bldgs. It seems like an odd thing to call a flat a cottage. It needs some more work. If we get a bit of rainy weather this week I'll have another look at the area. Have you read any of the posts in the topic "Puddlers Raa (Row)"? There's some interesting info from people with first-hand knowledge of the area. You'll need to get your wellies on to read it as you'll have to 'wade' through a lot of info which isn't directly related to Puddler's Row. We do tend to digress a bit on this forum! One of the things you'll find in the topic is this photo of Liddle's buildings from 1910. The angle on the corner suggests to me that it may be the building marked in orange here. It's definitely on a corner!

Great work @Canny lass 😄 I agree that this is likely what the buildings were laid out as. A good thing that the enumerator was so detailed. Still such a mystery! A quick peek on the 1881 census brings up also detailed addresses of the area. After Liddle’s Cottages (Liddle’s Yard?) there is “Clark’s Cottages” followed by the Puddlers Arms, then “Millfield Cottages”. After “Millfield” follows Puddlers’ Row. I was wondering due to these two addresses surrounding the Puddlers’, the “Clark’s Cottages” may be a reference to BLUE in Craig’s Buildings, and then “Millfield Cottages” refer to the RED part of Craigs. These addresses aren’t brought up again.

Sorry, I forgot to include the source of the enumerators description of the buildings:

Make a cup of tea, there's no way of explaining this quickly! This may throw a little light on the mystery! The enumerator for Bedlington, District 9 in the 1911 census, was one J W Gaskin. He appears to have been a man who took his work very seriously. Going above and beyond the call of duty in meticulously recording the statutory requirements: name, age, birthplace etc. of each person he recorded even a brief description of the building in which the residents lived. From these descriptions I think its now possible to identify the buildings at Bank Top – at least in 1911. @loopylou Yesterday you described the census for 1911 in the following manner. (I’ve taken the liberty of colour coding your text so that I can compare them to census records, photos and maps. Unfortunately I can't use coloured text here). You said: “No. 1 Craggs (missing, a shop? Uninhabited?) BLUE No. 2 Craggs Buildings (Weightman) BLUE No. 3 Craggs Buildings (Elliott) BLUE No. 4 Craggs Buildings (Kinghorn) BLUE following these are Old Puddlers Arms (Mawson) GREEN Old Puddlers Arms (Thain) GREEN Old Puddlers Arms (Cole) GREEN Old Puddlers Arms (Burrell) GREEN All of these addresses ”Old Puddlers Arms” have two rooms each, which equates with the eight rooms described in the auction. then confusingly Craggs Buildings (no number) (McMullen) RED No. 2 Craggs Buildings (Thompson) RED No. 3 Craggs Buildings (Hutchinson) RED No. 4 Craggs Buildings (Campbell) RED No. 5 Craggs Buildings (Hadaway) RED Craggs Buildings (no number) (Parker) RED These also had two rooms each. Then after follows River View. It would appear that No. 2/3/4 are duplicated, but I do not think that these are the same properties, rather that the end six properties later become No. 9-14 of Craggs.” Let's ompare that with what the enumerator says. The enumerator describes the buildings these people lived in as follows: P 10: Sch nrs. 217 – 219 “Craigs Buildings, 1 block of 4 cottages” (1 unoccupied therefore only 3 sch. Nrs.) BLUE P 10: Sch nrs. 220 – 223 “Old Puddler’s Arms, 1 block 4 dwelling houses” GREEN P 11: Sch nrs. 224 – 229 “Craigs Buildings 2nd block in flats, 6 dwelling houses” RED There after follows River View starting with “a semi-detached villa, a villa, 6 more semi-detached villas and then 1 block 7 cottages”. If we transfer that information to a map (this one from 1924 as it’s the nearest I have) it looks like this: Following on from the red marking of Craigs Buildings, 2nd block, I’ve marked the enumerator’s description of River View: semi detached villa (pink), villa (yellow) and 7 semi-detached villas (purple), 1 block of 7 cottages (orange). If we then transfer that information to the 1930s photo it looks like this: There are a couple of questions that arise: The unmarked space between the blue marking and the green marking has no immediate explanation from the enumerator. I would suggest that it could be one of the 3 houses, each with four rooms, described in the 1864 advert as these are “adjoined” to the Puddler’s Arms. If this is the case then it should be marked BLUE. Much depends on the location of the outer wall of the Puddler’s Arms – to the right of or to the left of the unmarked space? In total, the three cottages have 12 rooms. The advert dated 1869 includes 6 double cottages of 2 rooms each. This also gives a total 12 rooms, so these could be the 3 roomed cottages mentioned in 1864. An alternative explanation for the space would be that it was occupied by the 2-roomed cottage offered for sale with the Puddler’s Arms in 1869 as part of the same lot for sale in 1869. If this is the case then it should be marked GREEN. To me it seems that, at least in 1911, the large building contained not only the public house (to the right) but also 6 flats (to the left). I’ve said before that housing was at a premium due to the need for a greatly increased workforce in Bedlington. Perhaps the Puddler’s Arms originally occupied the whole of the building but renting out accommodation may have given the opportunity to provide a better income – for infinitely less effort.

https://www.eastbedlingtonparishcouncil.gov.uk/garden...