Bedlington Terrier History

[topbedlington]

When I joined your exclusive group I was really glad to have another connection to Bedlington. My first connection was to the Adamson family who ran the newsagents shop on Front Street, right across from the original Dun Cow. Some of you may recall or know the Adamsons. They moved from Front street when they sold the business and moved to a council home. Mr. Adamson passed on this year. He was a wonderful man. When we were first there in the 70's, I started my search for anyone who knew about the breed that made the town famous. I even popped into the Bedlington Terrier Inn and with the sawdust on the floor I was told to say "Giz a brun, Jock". It was then that word spread there were Americans in town. From our window in the Dun Cow, we heard bells in the early morning and looked out to see the horse drawn milk wagon.

Anyway, we returned and returned ( and the Adamsons visited us in America), and spoke to more folks and began a search for more information and for the for the old Cooperative Society china that had the picture of Wanny, the bedlington terrier on the motif. (if anyone knows how I can add to my collection, please write). Also, I am still hoping to find a family link that has information on the beginnings of this breed. Can anyone help?.........

[johndawsonjune1955]

It is said that the main breeders in 1822 were Ned and John Coates sons of the vicar. Many a tradesman in the town too took an active part in it at the same time including Ned Stoker, Joe Aynsley was said to be extremely devoted to the breed.D

Did you know badger baiting and !*!@# fighting were principle hobbies in this area until it was made illegal ?

[topbedlington]

Yes, I did. Sorry to take so long for an answer. Are you the formost expert of Bedlington Terrier history in the area. If you are not, who is? Does your Co-op still hold breed history or is there a place in town that is the repository for all Bedlingtonshire history?

[CBC]

You might find this interesting.

A COPY OF THE DRAFT LETTER WRITTEN BY JOHN STOKER TO MR I OLIVER IN 1878, DESCRIBING THE CROSSED MADE TO PRODUCE THE ORIGINAL BEDLINGTON TERRIER

Dear Sir.

As I promised to give you a little account of the Bedlington Terrier, I now fulfil my promise in the plainest possible way.

The Bedlington Dog has gained a great name in this country, and in other countries as well, but no greater then he is entitled to. The fanciers thought they were the handsomest gamest dog that ever was bred. Original colour Black, Grizzle or Blue, Black or Blue, Tan Liver or Liver and Tan Yellow or Sandy, sometimes with grey hairs with strong wired hairs and the tuft of lint on the top of the head and ears. The Liver, Yellow and Sandy to have flesh noses.

His dog is a cross-breed, chiefly from Alnwick, Denwick, Rothbury and Longframlington. A dog that Sir Mathew Ridley of Blagdon had to follow foxhounds. His name was DON. These dogs are indebted to the Dandy Dinmont and the Otterhound, which you see from their large ears.

The principal breeders of these dogs:- I will give their names as they were known by, nevertheless they were the most respectable tradesmen of our village. Ned and John Coates, these were the sons of our village vicar, Willie Weatherburn, Joe Aynsley, Bob Hoy, Jim Haw, Tom Bell, Bob Steel, and Ned Stoker, my father. Many others I could name – Jim Anderson, Will Scott and Maven were the principal breeders in Rothbury; Jim Haw and Adam Wakenshaw in Alnwick, and a gentleman from Denwick, his name was Makepeace.

These were short-legged dogs but of good stuff. Sir, I was now about to speak of 56 years ago. I give you this wholly from memory, with the information I got from the old breeders. I am now 46 years and I can recollect perfectly when I was en years of age, of he names and colours and what was said about the qualities of these dogs. Ned Coates' bitch, FEABY, was black with white hairs and got from Jim Haw and from this the real stuff was bred. He put her to the Blagdon dog, DON, and got three dog pups, Brandling's PEPPER, grizzle and an, Sir Mathew's RECTOR, dun colour, and Weatherburn's PEACHAM, grizzle and tan.

Dogs produced were black, grizzle and blue, black or blue and tan, liver or liver and tan, yellow and sandy, sometimes wih grey hairs.

(ALL GRAND DOGS)

Hoy's ROCKEY then crossed with Coates' FEABY

Giving

Coates' PEACHAM (liver and tan)

Now comes colour selection – black or black and grey pups done away with.

After 1850 when badger and fox baiting became illegal, the old stuff became scarce, and the type bred for show purposes was not quite the same.

These were grand dogs. Next, Joe Aynsley took her to Rothbury to Jim Anderson's PIPER in 1825. PIPER was a yellow dog with grey hairs, very strong, and showed the Otterhound a little. He was said to be the games dog for foxes or badger that had ever been in that part of the country.

It was here that the Bedlington fanciers gained their objective. They got a litter of two bitches and one dog- Coates' JEAN, Liver, Haw's WHISKEY, Grizzle, and Joe Aynsley's PIPER, the dog which we are all trying to imitate now. He was liver with wired hair and the tuft of lint on the top of the head. The old fanciers said a gamer and a better specimen could not be.

Bob Hoy got a yellow bitch from Carlisle and put her to Aynsley's PIPER and got yellow ROCK. From this a quantity was bred. Aynsley's PIPER put to JEAN his sister bred Weatherburn's FEABY. This was drowned near Plessey Mills with an otter. FEABY put to Hoy's ROCK and bred Coates' PEACHAM, liver and tan. This was Ned's real fancy. He was of the right stuff.

JEAN again put to PIPER and bred Soulsby's MATCHEM, liver and tan. This dog dies of wounds he got from a fox in its hole.

Bob Fish – yellow by PIPER, Ned Stoker's PEACHAM, black and tan by PEACHAM, PIPER being liver with a flesh nose. This became he fancy colour and when a bitch had more pups than they wanted her to give milk, the black or grey were put away with, and the liver or yellow kept.

By this time the fanciers were all in possession of good stuff.

John Stoker, Joe Aynsley used to set stone traps to catch foxes to try their dogs at. When there was one there was generally a good muster of dogs. The fox came to hand on two or three different times on a Sunday morning and there was a grand muster on each occasion. Ned and John Coates were leading men with these dogs, baiting the fox at the same time.

Their father, our village vicar, preaching the gospel to the people of our village church. Edward Coates shortly after this time went wrong of his mind and was taken to the Mad House. He begged on his friends to let PEACHAM go with him. They consented. He grew that savage that no one dare go near him and he was destroyed.

Their average weight was about 20lbs and of wiry appearance, generally ill-throven dogs that would not feed fat, the head to have a long jaw, good-sized ears to lie flat to the cheek, head rather narrow between the ears and to have a regular taper to the nose, the underjaw to be a little black, the feet to be rather large, high arched toes and long claws, often to be cut, the tail generally straight out or a little drooping, the head well up, the eyes of a glassy appearance, a little sunken in the head, unless roused – and then they were 'piercers'. This dog had a very peculiar gait which I never saw in another dog. I have seen them go for miles on three legs. This was a common thing with these dogs.

I am about to speak of 34 years ago – 1844. I will name a few of the cracks.

CROWNER I should have named this dog before, of Jim Anderson

NIMMEL by Joe Aynsley's PIPER

Harry Creighton's ROCK, liver and an, by Hoy's ROCKEY

Jimmy Maughan's BUSSEL, liver and tan

Willie Clark's MOLLONOX. Dory liver, Hoy's PIPER

Joe Young RATTLER, black and tan, Hoy's ROCKEY

Jack Fish FIDDLER, yellow, Soulsby's MATCHEM

Tom Wilson BILLY, liver and tan, by BUSSEL

Bob Steel PINCHER by ROCKEY

Harry Hardy FLINT, short legged breed

George Oliver ROCK, liver and tan, by BUSSEL

Tom Soulsby's bitch, liver, and Weatherburn's VENOM by Hoy's ROCK

Bill Hoy's GREAP, blue and tan.

By this time I could name hundreds of dogs but I will name my favourite, one of he firs that I have a perfect recollection of. That is Hoy's PIPER, out of a blue bitch of Will Scott's by ROCKEY, dark liver but one of the first to show signs of blood breeding, as he was lint all over. He was a fine upstanding dog but he grew that savage in early life that Hoy could not manage him.

Dick Gibb of Shields came to Bedlington and offered Hoy any price he wished to name but Hoy would not part with him. The he grew worse and about ten months later Hoy went to Shields and made Gibb a present of him. The first time Gibb gave him his liberty coming along Shields street, PIPER spied a cat in a draper's window. In a moment he dashed right through the glass and killed the cat before he was got off. Gibb, in the end, was very cruel to PIPER. There was a French ship came into Shields harbour and they had a brown bear on board. Gibb took PIPER down and slipped him at the bear. He got badly torn. Not content with his, he took him back the next morning and le him go. The bear did not kill him but he died of his wounds that day. There was a grea many bred from PIPER. Hoy thought more like his own and bred them until their hair was more like a wool or poodles, not terriers.

About this time there was a mugger fetched a badger, new catched, from Scotland. He was a very large one, more than two stones in weight. I was there to see them with many others. Evertone to a dog was of he right stuff. You would actually say that when these dogs were slipped from the hand it was a bullet from "Armstrong's ninety pounderâ€.

There are two dogs quite exceptional as they were as large as an Otterhound. One bred by Edward Coates, he was haired and made every way like the other dogs and known as 'The Bear'. I am told he was a bear. The other, Ben Aynsley's ROCK, the same breed as Jim Anderson's PIPER. This lets you see the Otterhound is in them. This was a grand dog for hunting. He was shot at by a gamekeeper and lost his eyes. He was in Bedlington many years after that. He used to go from the house to the farm and back just as if he had his sight. He could manage any dog that came into close quarters – bull or any other. Size was no object. The colour I omitted as it was a common one with these dogs, black blue or lint backs and light underbody and legs. They were known by the fanciers as saddleback dogs.

After this, badger and fox-baiting was done away with and the Bedlington Terriers went very much out of fashion. It was many a time said that there is none of the old stuff now. It is very nearly true, I believe there are not. Those dogs are come very much into repute this last ten or twelve years, chiefly bred for show purposes. There are some very nice-looking dogs, I will name a few.

Pickets of Newcastle – chiefly blue

Tommy Wheatley's blues

Tommy Thompson of Wideopen – blues of a larger size

John Aynsley's PIPER – the best specimen we have had for a few years – of Clark's breed

Baty's MAT – dark liver by John Aynsley's PIPER, winner of many prizes

John Walker's ROCK – Liver by MAT, first prize at Bedlington this year and the gamest dog we have in our neighbourhood.

Your bitch, MEG, is of Adam Wakenshaw's old blue bitch by Thompson's blue dog of the Gablehead. He was by PIPER. I put her to Walker's ROCK and got the dog I now have, HORNBY (liver and tan). He is the best specimen I have seen for years.

The breeding of these dogs during the last thirty years is much indebted to Willie Clark. This gentleman lives on his means and has no-one in the house but him and his dogs. He apys them every attendance. The dogs are all good hunters for any kind of varmint and will hunt in any place, but the softer ones are generally the best for finding their game. The old breeders prefer a soft bitch, well bred, put to a game dog for getting good stuff.

I think you will be tiring of me now and so I will conclude.

From yours

John Stoker, son of Edward Stoker of Bedlington.

To I. Oliver November 16th 1878

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

Aad "Gunter" Metcalfe,who ran the "Gardner's Arms" ,doon Bedlington Main Street,tucked in beside Beadle's paper shop,used to breed the Bedlington terrier,did so aal he's life,and HE was ancient when aa was ownly ten years aad,in 1954.

Anybody remember him?..[aalwis wore riding breeches and boots,and carried his horse whip......it was odd-looking to us kids who were terrified of him,just seeing him used ti mek us run away...he had a permanent scowl,as if he hated kids...full stop!]

Probably was a canny bloke,but wor perception didn't convey that to us!!

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

Very interesting article ,there,aboot the history of the breed...fascinating!!