Three Old Photographs.

[Vic Patterson]

Three photographs I bought at Wm. Ward's shop on our last visit to Bedlington, about 12 years ago (2000) We were married in St Cuthbert's 50 years 8 days ago!

[threegee]

Excellent scans and a good additions to the gallery Vic!

The first one 1960's, despite the sepia. The other ones well pre-war. The church clock face has been painted in rather crudely on the third, which is a tiny shame!

[Malcolm Robinson]

Isn't the first one the oldest seeing as the pit is behind the market place and in the second one the pit rows are?

[Malcolm Robinson]

BTW, excellent photos Vic..............

and if anyone else has any..........we are doing a heritage project and need as many as possible.

[mercuryg]

Malcolm, I have a small collection of postcards relating to the town, you're welcome to use them

[Malcolm Robinson]

Great thanks Merc...............

We are especially keen on townscape photos so we can see the development of Bedlington as a market town (but not exclusively) over the years.

[mickypotts]

Great pictures Vic, I added a comment for the one of the Neuk in the Market place

[keith lockey]

Brilliant photos, Vic. What amazes me is the smoke pollution in photo 2. Practically every house in Bedlington would have had a coal fire - we had two in our house - and these would have been belching out smoke 24-7. Our clothes must have been reeking after been hung on the washing line. (But I suppose everyone was the same!)

PS. Me and Jim Hunter went exploring in those derelict pit buildings - we got in via the showers. We got chased by a pitman. (Did they have pit security guards them days?)

[Canny lass]

PS. Me and Jim Hunter went exploring in those derelict pit buildings - we got in via the showers. We got chased by a pitman. (Did they have pit security guards them days?)

Don't know about security guards Keith but at Netherton we had a 'colliery polis', nothing to do with the men in blue brigade but on the payroll at the colliery. I'm not sure if it was a full time job or if he worked as a miner as well. The one I remember from the 50's was called Geordie Collis. He was a giant of a man and we kids were terrified of him. He was everywhere in the colliery, not just around the pit itself but around the houses and school as well, seeing that we kids didn't get up to mischief on colliery property. It wasn't hard for him to find offenders. We lived in a colliery and everything around us was owned by the colliery! I can distinctly remember him coming to the school one day and giving all the assembled children ( 2 classes of 5-8 year olds) a stern warning about destroying lupins in the school garden.

Edited September 14, 2012 by Canny lass

[Canny lass]

Isn't the first one the oldest seeing as the pit is behind the market place and in the second one the pit rows are?

Anybody know when the pit rows were built?

[Adam Hogg]

Anybody know when the pit rows were built?

Pre nationalisation/1947 would have a good guess late 1800's.

[Adam Hogg]

Isn't the first one the oldest seeing as the pit is behind the market place and in the second one the pit rows are?

Don't think so Malcolm if you look at the photo of the Dr there is no train track so it may be just after the pit closed in 68, i would say the oldest photo is the one of the church.

[Symptoms]

That first photo shows that they could have shot a Hovis ad there ... how quaint it looks. Just think what the town would look like now if they'd done all the buildings up and washed the stonework instead of demolition ... Lavenham eat your heart out!

[mickypotts]

Brilliant photos, Vic. What amazes me is the smoke pollution in photo 2. Practically every house in Bedlington would have had a coal fire - we had two in our house - and these would have been belching out smoke 24-7. Our clothes must have been reeking after been hung on the washing line. (But I suppose everyone was the same!)

PS. Me and Jim Hunter went exploring in those derelict pit buildings - we got in via the showers. We got chased by a pitman. (Did they have pit security guards them days?)

We called the security guard The Watchee

[Cyril]

We called the security guard The Watchee

So did we and we got chased on countless occassions happy days.

Excellent photos

[Browny]

Isn't the first one the oldest seeing as the pit is behind the market place and in the second one the pit rows are?

I'm no car nerd but that looks like a mark II Ford Cortina in the first pic, which I think were made from the mid 60's onwards!

[mickypotts]

That is a Ford Cortina in the first pic, I had a 69 as my 2nd car, so we can date this pic as late 60,s or early 70,s

[Malcolm Robinson]

MK11 Cortina's...................1967-1971 if I remember rightly. F-J reg.

[johndawsonjune1955]

Malcolm, I have a small collection of postcards relating to the town, you're welcome to use them

Get them on-line nice to see the old pics.

I will put some up very soon.

[Jayson]

I was brought up in flat just ta left of shrubbery and Tommys plumbers sign. Where Cortina was was a hairdressers I think with Batchies sweetshop in about 67. My mam began seeing a miner from Dr Pit in 60s before pit closed. My first shower was in dr pit, The flat and houses had no bathrooms. My grandad owned garage at back of houses. We moved away from here in 69 shortly after pit closed. Shops used ta burn rubbish outside in those days behind front street

[Jayson]

I was 7 in 69

[Jayson]

I was 7 in 69 when we left

[Jayson]

Anybody was a kid then I would love ta hear from them, had great memories playin in amonst all that

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

The timber yard and machinery stockyard was where the grassy area is,when I was a kid,[moved to Bedlington from Choppington around 1947-8..ish.]

The railway sidings went up that grassy area,and the pit props and planks for the coal fillers were stacked up there.

There were pit - tub wheels and axles,coal-cutters,cutter cables,[150 yds long and nearly three inches thick!],haulers, electrical switchgear and odd and ends,and everything else the pit would need as spares.

No fences,just the colliery polis,and not often yi saw him,cos we played aal owa the pit timma yard!!

When a was aboot thirteen years old,me mates and me took a pair of tub wheels and axle,from the yard,and carried them owa ti wa "camp",ti use them for weight-lifting excercises!

One of me mates was Jimmy Bower,of the hauliers family,whose Granda lived in the old street behind Baatchie's shop,along with he's Uncle Raafie,who

ran the red coal wagon,and used to do the marquees for events also.

Jimmy's Dad ran the green coal wagon.

The Bower's were all a lovely family.

Ye might just remember the family name,Jayson,Jimmy married a Welsh lass and moved down there to live permanently.[in the 1960's]

[HIGH PIT WILMA]

I think I posted a long story about the old saying,[amang pit-folks!]...."ye tell mair lees than a colliery polis..."!....somewhere else on the site.

I can distinctly remember sitting ootside the lamp-cabin,a few of us kids aboot ten years aad,quite often,watching Richard,[a lovely well-kept shunting loco] taking empty sets of coal trucks up the sidings,and full sets away from the screens,to be shunted doon ti the Aad pit.[bedlington A pit]

The small pit tubs and flat trams were taken up the timber yard by a pit pony,aboot six at a time,to be filled with props,planks,wood chocks,etc,to be sent back doon the pit.

The men would aal be sitting having a smoke,waiting for the buzzer ti gaan,signalling the start of their shift,and away they would trot,still smoking,up the steps to the Heapstead,complete wi Carbine [Acetylene] lamps mounted on soft cloth "Putter's caps".[before the hard hats came aroond].

It was a "naked-light" mine,where it was considered methane-gas-free,so the men could smoke underground.....as if that wasn't the most ludicrous law ever thought up![didn't matter if they smoked or not,with a minaiture Acetylene burner on their heads for a lamp to see with!!]

It was a relatively dry pit,and when the water ran out,in the lamps,it was common knowledge that when the pit lads ran out of spit to wet their carbine,[inside the lamp],they had to have a wee into the lamp,to get the carbine gassing off again!!.....primitive or what?

This was around the same time that the Russians were launching rockets into space in the Sputnik/Laika thi dog era!!

Great pics Vic!