Mr Weeks (Weaks?)

[Andy Millne]

Found this in the loft;

@threegee tells me it is Mr Weeks who has a connection with the mines and was an owner if not the original owner of Lairds House when it was built in 1777.

Does anybody have any more info? I thought it might interest others or at least serve as mild amusement if nothing else.

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

13 hours ago, Andy Millne said:

Does anybody have any more info? I thought it might interest others or at least serve as mild amusement if nothing else.

@Andy Millne - posted your photo on the Bygone Bedlington group for the admin, John Krzyzanowski to see as Woodhorn Museum (where John works) might have some info. If John replies I will update you.

A couple of comments from the Bygone Bedlington members :-

 

Scoop Jeffrey At first glance I thought it was Bernard Manning!

 

Vic Thompson Wow! That’s fantastic! Can it not be placed on show somewhere?

 

Lisa Kelly Barry Lairds house has one on the bar

Viv Mather From what I recall, Lairds House was a rebuild in 1777 of a previous farmhouse that stood on the site... not sure of family name, just that the present building wasn't the original.

Hide or report this

• Christine Warne Viv Mather it did belong as a farm to the Marshall family before it became a pit managers residence x

 

 

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

3 hours ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

@Andy Millne - posted your photo on the Bygone Bedlington group for the admin, John Krzyzanowski to see as Woodhorn Museum (where John works) might have some info. If John replies I will update you.

John Krzyzanowski Good find. The problem with this time era is it is pre planning. The documents are probably hidden away in some old solicitors papers.

 

[Canny lass]

18 hours ago, Andy Millne said:

Found this in the loft;

Reminds me of the beadle in Dickens' Oliver Twist!

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

@Alan dickson posted on the Bygone Bedlington group :-

 

• Alan Dickson Possibly it could be to do with the Iron works Alan, judging by the hair and mutton chop whiskers,

  
  eport this
• 

  Alan Dickson I've Seen photos of Mr Weekes and its not him.

[Canny lass]

14 hours ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

I've Seen photos of Mr Weekes and its not him.

There were two Mr Weekes - father and son. Mr Weekes senior was the mine owner's agent and his son took over the role after his father. Perhaps the photo is of one and the bust of the other?

https://books.google.se/books?id=spDHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=Weekes+bedlington&source=bl&ots=u5i540i3rM&sig=ACfU3U1SGIq1EdAGcRRhHmdC-dEZ3mUvtA&hl=sv&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjJxa3G_4znAhUAysQBHasSDgsQ6AEwA3oECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Weekes bedlington&f=false

Captured Memories 1900 -1918 Across the Threshhold of War by Peter Liddle

Mr Weekes gets a mention on page 9, but do read the whole of chapter 2 on Tom Easton (pages 7-12), A Northumberland Pit Boy. It gives some interesting insights.

 

[Canny lass]

I knew I'¨d heard this name before! Mr Weekes is mentioned in connection with Lairds House on the 'Discover Bedlington Leaflet which somebody kindly posted on Bedders for me a couple of years ago. I've searched but I can't find it. I have it saved as a pdf file and I'll try to post it here. I don't know if that's possible but here goes:

 

Bedlington CA Leaflet p.2.pdf

Seems to have worked!

Edited January 18, 2020 by Canny lass

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

19 minutes ago, Canny lass said:

I knew I'¨d heard this name before! Mr Weekes is mentioned in connection with Lairds House on the 'Discover Bedlington Leaflet which somebody kindly posted on Bedders for me a couple of years ago. I've searched but I can't find it. I have it saved as a pdf file and I'll try to post it here. I don't know if that's possible but here goes:

 

Bedlington CA Leaflet p.2.pdf 1.94 MB · 2 downloads

Seems to have worked!

Extract from the pdf leaflet :-

[James]

There were two members of the Weeks’ family that lived in Lairds house. The first was John George Weeks, born 1844 and his son Richard James Weeks, born 1884. Each of them held the position of Agent for the Bedlington Coal Company. (Information obtained from one of Evan Martin’s books and the Durham Mining Museum.)
The Bedlington Coal Company transformed Bedlingtonshire and there is no historical reference to the company anywhere that I have seen.
The Bedlington Coal Co. Ltd Challenge Cup, a solid silver model of a Bedlington Terrier was donated to the National Bedlington Terrier by Richard Weeks in 1936 and is still the top trophy presented at their annual Championship Show.

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

24 minutes ago, James said:

The Bedlington Coal Co. Ltd Challenge Cup, a solid silver model of a Bedlington Terrier was donated to the National Bedlington Terrier by Richard Weeks in 1936 and is still the top trophy presented at their annual Championship Show.

 

@James - back in May 2018 whilst Googling info on the Bedlington terrier I found a photo, in an online  'Google -blog', of the National Bedlington Terrier Club Show. I joined the blog to see if I could find out any info but there was no additional info in response to the question(s) I asked. What did happen after I joined is that the owner of the Blog closed it down ..

Fortunately I had already downloaded the photo and one of the Bedlington Terrier Club members who was a member on one  of the Bedlington Facebook groups (can't remember which one) gave me some info that I have added to the photo and also posted an image of the photo that the Bedlington terrier Club help :- 

[Tonyp]

Needed to start this hi Vivienne Mather 

[threegee]

On 16/01/2020 at 21:28, Andy Millne said:

Found this in the loft;

@threegee tells me it is Mr Weeks who has a connection with the mines and was an owner if not the original owner of Lairds House when it was built in 1777.

Does anybody have any more info? I thought it might interest others or at least serve as mild amusement if nothing else.

 

He was the Bedlington Coal Company over-manager; in modern parlance the Managing Director.  I say over-manager because both the Doctor Pit and the 'A' Pit had under-managers.  His son was the 'A' Pit (Bedlington Station) under-manager and my grandfather (James David Millne) was the Doctor Pit under-manager - though grandfather had a manager's "ticket" and was offered colliery manager positions elsewhere which he gratefully declined.  Both reported to Mr Weeks Senior - which I've always assumed is the above depicted one.  The Weeks family were succeeded at Laird's House by the Crudas family.

Mr Weeks was also probably a board member of the coal company, and likely held shares.  The house was owned by the coal company, so in fact he didn't actually own it.  I can tell you this as a certainty as that's the party it was purchased from in the late 1940's or very early 1950's.

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

@John H Williams - not the info you are after but this Topic on 'Mr Weeks' is probably where the NBTC info in my memory is coming from😉

On 08/02/2020 at 19:29, James said:

There were two members of the Weeks’ family that lived in Lairds house. The first was John George Weeks, born 1844 and his son Richard James Weeks, born 1884. Each of them held the position of Agent for the Bedlington Coal Company. (Information obtained from one of Evan Martin’s books and the Durham Mining Museum.)
The Bedlington Coal Company transformed Bedlingtonshire and there is no historical reference to the company anywhere that I have seen.
The Bedlington Coal Co. Ltd Challenge Cup, a solid silver model of a Bedlington Terrier was donated to the National Bedlington Terrier by Richard Weeks in 1936 and is still the top trophy presented at their annual Championship Show.

 

On 08/02/2020 at 20:11, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

@James - back in May 2018 whilst Googling info on the Bedlington terrier I found a photo, in an online  'Google -blog', of the National Bedlington Terrier Club Show. I joined the blog to see if I could find out any info but there was no additional info in response to the question(s) I asked. What did happen after I joined is that the owner of the Blog closed it down ..

Fortunately I had already downloaded the photo and one of the Bedlington Terrier Club members who was a member on one  of the Bedlington Facebook groups (can't remember which one) gave me some info that I have added to the photo and also posted an image of the photo that the Bedlington terrier Club help :-