Does anyone have any idea why some people at Bedlington and Netherton used to call their scullery the "klondike"? I heard this when I was a kid and my Dad later confirmed that I wasn't imagining it because he remembered it from his own childhood at Netherton in the 1920s/30s. I can't come up with any idea to explain it.

Does anyone have any idea why some people at Bedlington and Netherton used to call their scullery the "klondike"? I heard this when I was a kid and my Dad later confirmed that I wasn't imagining it because he remembered it from his own childhood at Netherton in the 1920s/30s. I can't come up with any idea to explain it.

klondike? is that not a place in cramlington! or a card game! there is reference to a gold rush in the US!  

Surely it's the mining connection. The Klondike gold rush happend just before the turn of the centurary. Most miners from wherever must have contemplated becoming involved, and many of them actually did.

I've mining on both sides of my parents families. On my mother's side, her parents did follow the call of gold. But later, to a more mature industry, and not quite that far West.

Anyway, amongst mining communities The Klondike would have become a euphemism for for somewhere way-out; somewhere you only ventured to at your peril. Hence Klondike, Cramlington.

In such dangerous occupations a sense of humour wasn't optional, it was an essential survival mechanism.

Surely it's the mining connection. The Klondike gold rush happend just before the turn of the centurary. Most miners from wherever must have contemplated becoming involved, and many of them actually did.

I've mining on both sides of my parents families. On my mother's side, her parents did follow the call of gold. But later, to a more mature industry, and not quite that far West.

Anyway, amongst mining communities The Klondike would have become a euphemism for for somewhere way-out; somewhere you only ventured to at your peril. Hence Klondike, Cramlington.

In such dangerous occupations a sense of humour wasn't optional, it was an essential survival mechanism.

The people I heard using this term were from my grandparent's generation, probably born between about 1890 - 1910 so they would have heard about the Klondike Gold Rush when they were children. Perhaps they heard of people who left to try their luck. I thought the Gold Rush must be the connection, but the sculleries I remember weren't the sort of places to make you think of striking gold...

I'd never heard of the reference to Cramlington/Klondike. The back of beyond, perhaps?

Thanks for to monsta and threegee for your suggestions.

Wikipedia.org doesn't seem to know anything about this derivation. I think perhaps you should add it to make sure it isn't lost to future generations. Yes, you can add things yourself - that's how it has grown so phenomenally.

Cross-checking I see that they're already spot-on on Netty!