Concrete things in fields

[lilbill15]

Hello, while rummaging in Google for info on the concrete ?caps in the fields between the remains of Netherton colliery and Choppington I found this chain of chatter. Not at all surprised to find Messrs Fox and Edgar in the thick of it!😁x

Checking if it’s still active and whether I can access it without Facebook which I have grown to dislike; is there anybody there?

Yes, of course, Eggy’s there, the Wizard of Bedlington, ready to help and advise. x

Walking towards the lonnen from old Netherton to Choppington there’s a field with several circular concrete things sticking up out of the ground with a ? trapdoor on top, plus a green metal caninet next door.  ?? Something to do with the old mines? Please advise, anyone? Thanks xx

 

 

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

@lilbill15- I don't know so I asked Alan Dickson (ex Barrington fella that used to take his dog for a walk way) and he replied :- 

 

Alan Dickson

 

Its the old Choppington Clayhole Alan, they are pipes to expel any gas as the Clayhole was used as a landfill site some years after it closed,

Think the metal hut contains a pump for any water build up below ground,

You can hear running water if you stand beside it.

 

[lilbill15]

14 hours ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

@lilbill15- I don't know so I asked Alan Dickson (ex Barrington fella that used to take his dog for a walk way) and he replied :- 

 

Alan Dickson

 

Its the old Choppington Clayhole Alan, they are pipes to expel any gas as the Clayhole was used as a landfill site some years after it closed,

Think the metal hut contains a pump for any water build up below ground,

You can hear running water if you stand beside it.

 

Many thanks for this Mr Dickson, but I think the things I’m asking about are in the next field- they are concrete about 18” high and approx 5 feet in diameter, there’s a dark green door on top looks big enough for a man to get in. The green cabinets beside it is about 4 feet high and ?8-12 inches deep. I must remember to take my phone with me next time to take a pic. Regards, R

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

16 minutes ago, lilbill15 said:

Many thanks for this Mr Dickson, but I think the things I’m asking about are in the next field- they are concrete about 18” high and approx 5 feet in diameter, there’s a dark green door on top looks big enough for a man to get in. The green cabinets beside it is about 4 feet high and ?8-12 inches deep. I must remember to take my phone with me next time to take a pic. Regards, R

Roll on the photo 

[lilbill15]

👍🏻😁x

[lilbill15]

On 16/05/2021 at 11:38, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

Roll on the photo 

Right, will attach photos (hopefully), please don’t scoff when you notice that there isn’t a “green door “- amazing how my memory deceives me 🥴! Mr Dickson is probably exactly right about what these are; I was misled by “hut”. Regards to all x

[lilbill15]

3 hours ago, lilbill15 said:

Right, will attach photos (hopefully), please don’t scoff when you notice that there isn’t a “green door “- amazing how my memory deceives me 🥴! Mr Dickson is probably exactly right about what these are; I was misled by “hut”. Regards to all x

😁x

[lilbill15]

Hello, this week’s rummage has been watercourses- Green Letch-> North Sea and also tracing back Bothal Burn.... trying to avoid buying OS maps if possible. Trying to pinpoint Ewart Hill in relation to the Green Letch (obviously got nothing better to do 😶) x

have read previous posts about flooding Westlea and cemetery and Ewart hill opencast x

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

4 hours ago, lilbill15 said:

Right, will attach photos (hopefully), please don’t scoff when you notice that there isn’t a “green door “- amazing how my memory deceives me 🥴! Mr Dickson is probably exactly right about what these are; I was misled by “hut”. Regards to all x

 

Photos posted on Barnton group - for Alan Dickson to see. Let you know when he replies🙂

[lilbill15]

Thank you very much x

[Rigger]

On 23/05/2021 at 15:03, lilbill15 said:

Hello, this week’s rummage has been watercourses- Green Letch-> North Sea and also tracing back Bothal Burn.... trying to avoid buying OS maps if possible. Trying to pinpoint Ewart Hill in relation to the Green Letch (obviously got nothing better to do 😶) x

have read previous posts about flooding Westlea and cemetery and Ewart hill opencast x

Was Ewart Hill not where the ventilation shaft was for the Doctor Pit on the road from Bedlington to Hartford Woods?

[lilbill15]

16 minutes ago, Rigger said:

Was Ewart Hill not where the ventilation shaft was for the Doctor Pit on the road from Bedlington to Hartford Woods?

Hi Rigger, thank you very much for this. You prompted me to have a look at older maps of Bedlington, found High Ewart Hill and Low Ewart Hill either side of the Hartford road.        (?60’s), so now I know the right area. Thanks again, regards x

[Rigger]

4 minutes ago, lilbill15 said:

Hi Rigger, thank you very much for this. You prompted me to have a look at older maps of Bedlington, found High Ewart Hill and Low Ewart Hill either side of the Hartford road.        (?60’s), so now I know the right area. Thanks again, regards x

As a kid we used to stop off  there on the way to the woods and chuck a stone down the shaft and wait for the noise when it reached the bottom.  Many years later I worked at the same Dr Pit pit.

[lilbill15]

Just now, Rigger said:

As a kid we used to stop off  there on the way to the woods and chuck a stone down the shaft and wait for the noise when it reached the bottom.  Many years later I worked at the same Dr Pit pit.

Wow 😳, you’ve seen some history! My Granda Graves worked at the Dr Pit too.     Your prompt then took me to 60’s maps of Bedlington and Choppington, showing what I think is the course of the Green Letch from the High Ewart Hill area all the way to    ?Willow Water Choppington and into the Sleekburn then on to the Blyth etc. Lovely x, this week’s rummage completed ✅.  Thank you very much for the steer x

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

Doesn't show the area either immediately either side of the Hartford Road but this is photo, of only a couple I have seen, shows the bridge that was built over the river Blyth for the opencast waste to be transported to the Bedside disposal site.

[lilbill15]

7 minutes ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

Doesn't show the area either immediately either side of the Hartford Road but this is photo, of only a couple I have seen, shows the bridge that was built over the river Blyth for the opencast waste to be transported to the Bedside disposal site.

Blimmineck! Before we heard that cuckoo this morning we were on top of the heap and Josephine was telling me to that bridge, describing it’s position. Now we’ve got a picture- is that on permanent display at Woodhorn? My rummages involve maps/www/on foot with friend and dogs, plus car for further afield. I’m presuming Woodhorn is opening up like the rest of the world? 🤞🏻🤞🏻x

P.S. Are you a wizard Alan(Eggy1948) all-seeing/hearing/knowing???x

[lilbill15]

PPS sorry, forgot to ask for the date of this picture, please? Also have found dates for maps I’ve looked at (1947) x

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

6 minutes ago, lilbill15 said:

Blimmineck! Before we heard that cuckoo this morning we were on top of the heap and Josephine was telling me to that bridge, describing it’s position. Now we’ve got a picture- is that on permanent display at Woodhorn? My rummages involve maps/www/on foot with friend and dogs, plus car for further afield. I’m presuming Woodhorn is opening up like the rest of the world? 🤞🏻🤞🏻x

 

No idea if it's still on display at Woodhorn - haven't been to Woodhorn since the grand kids were small = 25 years ago🙂.

This is the only other photo of that bridge I can remember seeing - John Brown posted it on local Facebook group (I think)

[lilbill15]

9 minutes ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

No idea if it's still on display at Woodhorn - haven't been to Woodhorn since the grand kids were small = 25 years ago🙂.

This is the only other photo of that bridge I can remember seeing - John Brown posted it on local Facebook group (I think)

Thanks again x Sorry to ask daft questions; regards R x

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

14 hours ago, lilbill15 said:

PPS sorry, forgot to ask for the date of this picture, please? Also have found dates for maps I’ve looked at (1947) x

No date given for the colour photo that was displayed at Wodhorn. If we could see the speakers on the bandstand we could work out what year. 

All I can say is that it is 1952 or later as the first Northumberland Miners Picnic to be held at Bedlington was 1952. As it's colour I would assume it's mid 1960's.

[lilbill15]

11 minutes ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

No date given for the colour photo that was displayed at Wodhorn. If we could see the speakers on the bandstand we could work out what year. 

All I can say is that it is 1952 or later as the first Northumberland Miners Picnic to be held at Bedlington was 1952. As it's colour I would assume it's mid 1960's.

Thank you very much Alan, I shared these pics with Josephine and she’s chuffed to see them, she’s sure she saw this bridge back in the day. We’re planning a trip to Woodhorn with the dogs to combine their run and swim with our visit to the museum- another very useful steer, thank you very much kind sir x

[Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)]

42 minutes ago, lilbill15 said:

Thank you very much Alan, I shared these pics with Josephine and she’s chuffed to see them, she’s sure she saw this bridge back in the day. We’re planning a trip to Woodhorn with the dogs to combine their run and swim with our visit to the museum- another very useful steer, thank you very much kind sir x

There was also a bridge, for the opencast traffic, across the road near the bottom of the Bedlington Bank that led the traffic to the one in the Woodhorn gallery photo. This is the only photo I can find of the one over the road :- 

 

[lilbill15]

16 minutes ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

There was also a bridge, for the opencast traffic, across the road near the bottom of the Bedlington Bank that led the traffic to the one in the Woodhorn gallery photo. This is the only photo I can find of the one over the road :- 

 

Thanks again, same forwarded to Josephine.

And houses on the right hand side of the picture. ALL the backs of those heads look like someone I used to know, that memory trickery again 😂!x the clothing and hairstyles all look 50’s but that doesn’t necessarily date it accurately, not everyone dresses bang up on date. Josephine has just texted-keen to explore for actual remains down the Bedlington bank- looks like that’s the next excuse to get the dogs out-after the rain stops. We’re very grateful for your continuing information feed, and I’m sure Poppy and Max appreciate you too xx 
    Currently trying to buy visitors pass for Woodhorn online - NOT a user friendly process! However, as it’s still raining then happy to rummage about online.

[James]

18 hours ago, lilbill15 said:

Hi Rigger, thank you very much for this. You prompted me to have a look at older maps of Bedlington, found High Ewart Hill and Low Ewart Hill either side of the Hartford road.        (?60’s), so now I know the right area. Thanks again, regards x

I have no dates of the years that the Ewart Hill pit was in operation but the map shows it was disused in 1897.  It had only one shaft 361 ft. deep and worked the Low Main Seam. Following the Hartley Colliery disaster in 1862 when 204 men and boys died of carbon monoxide poisoning, all collieries had to have at least 2 shafts so that in the event that one shaft was out of action or damaged in some way there was a second shaft for the underground workers to use as a means of escape. I assume from this that it must have closed before 1862. If anyone can download an earlier map of the Ewart hill area it may give some idea of when it was in operation. Long after the Ewart Hill Pit had closed, the Doctor Pit mined a connecting roadway to the shaft in the Low Main seam workings and used it as a downcast ventilation shaft. You can see the shaft “cap” (a concrete cover) from the road as you walk past the farm

The photo shows the Low Ewart Hill farm that was demolished in the 1950's and the coal beneath it mined by the opencast. At the same time the road that used to pass this farm was diverted. This area is now the golf course.

[Canny lass]

Try having a look at another topic on this forum:

https://www.bedlington.co.uk/forums/topic/3197-ewart-hill-opencast/

 

HPW gives a good description of the wooden trestles of the bridge being built in 1954. There's a lot of information about the workings at Acorn Bank as well.