Front Street West

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JHM (Jimmy Millne) in arms? (in background?)

Front Street West Trinity Church?

There's a photo in Evan Martin's "Bedlingtonshire" book from 1920 on page 14 that seems to confirm this is Trinity Church to the far right. 

I'm having difficulty seeing those two buildings as one and the same church.

One is stone built, the other is brick built.

The brickbuilt church has corner buttresses.

The windows have different sizes and placements.

The roof angles are different.

Yes i agree. I don’t think it’s the same building. I do think it may be the same location though. There are some similarities between this stone building and one in Evan Martin’s photo and the other building with the two chimney stacks. 
 

i don’t know if reproducing Evan’s photo here comes under fair use or not but perhaps @Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) has a copy or can confirm the location. 
 

In Evans photo this building could be further up towards the Red Lion than the Trinity church building in the Google image. 

1 hour ago, Andy Millne said:

i don’t know if reproducing Evan’s photo here comes under fair use or not but perhaps @Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) has a copy or can confirm the location. 
 

 

I'll have a dig around and see what I can find on that church building.

A few years ago I bought one of Evan Martin's books from his wife. his daughter advertised them on the Facebook groups. I asked them both if there was any problem with me scanning the images and posting them on other sites - they both said there was no problem as the books were no longer being published and the copyright period - given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish etc had elapsed. I was happy with that 🙂

Here's another observation/suggestion. Trinity Church is actually the building to the far right of the  picture towering above the other buildngs. Only the roof and a small section of wall is visible but the wall has an interesting feature. Zoom in and you can see a tile-topped buttress and a part of the lighter, horizontal brick stripe. Both are clearly evident in the recent photo.

The building to the left of it and set back further from the road is now the garage.

20 hours ago, Andy Millne said:

There's a photo in Evan Martin's "Bedlingtonshire" book from 1920 on page 14 that seems to confirm this.

Church of Christ. Dig out the photo later - me tea's ready.

Was that not at Bedlington Station?

... and, as an afterthought, could that be railway tracks in the bottom left of the photo?

1 hour ago, Canny lass said:

Was that not at Bedlington Station?

 

Church of Christ was next to The Lion garage and the caretakers house, Garth Cottage (now called garth House) next to the church. The Lion garage extended over the land the Church of Christ was built on. I don't know why but my mam sent me, and my two older brothers, to the Church of Christ in the late 1950's. So we walked from the Oval area to the Top End on a Sunday.

@Andy Millne - I thought I had a photo of the whole building but I can't find one, just one with the congregation, c1930, at the front of the building. Ok if I share your photo with an old friend, Susan James (nee Hemsted) who's grandparents were caretakers for the Church of Christ - she might have a photo of the full church building? 

Thanks Alan, that makes sense with James D Millne, Elizabeth Millne and a young Jimmy Millne noted in the picture and @threegee’s notes on David Millne’s involvement with Church of Christ (https://www.bedlington.co.uk/gallery/image/2651-james-david-millne/)

Yes feel free to share with Susan. 

I think this confirms it - 1920 photo of Front Street West from Evan Martin's book, The Archive Photographs series - Bedlingtonshire, page 14.

From this photo of the same year...

If this is the same person in both photos. I wonder if the c1930 photo could be a little earlier judging by the moustache colouring  

I had a wander around the area using the enumerator's book for the 1911 census, just 5 years after the photo was taken,. Here are pages 13 and 14. (unfortunately, you get pages 7 and 8 as well as the book has been taken apart for scanning).

Following the enumerator on his rounds from  Hartford Road(Page 13 schedule number 277) you see that he moves west to east along the south of the main street - then called "High Street", recording as he goes:

Doctors Yard - private houses and lock-up shops

High Street - also lock up shops and private houses.

continuing eastwards on High Street, between schedule number 295 and 296 (Page 14) he records: 

Presbyterian Church (Now Trinity Church)

Private house x 2 (Now the garage)

Lock-up shop x 2 ( the single storey buildings with window shutters in the 1907 photo.

Christian Meeting House (presumably part of or behind the next building)

Primitive Methodist Chapel

Garth House, High Street.

So we got it mapped out correctly. Well done!

Page 13 (right side)

Page 14 (left side).

2 hours ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

I don't know why but my mam sent me, and my two older brothers, to the Church of Christ in the late 1950's.

She probably knew that you were destinied to do great things with old photos of the area later in life. Mothers are good at that sort of thing.

12 hours ago, Canny lass said:

I'm having difficulty seeing those two buildings as one and the same church.

One is stone built, the other is brick built.

The brickbuilt church has corner buttresses.

The windows have different sizes and placements.

The roof angles are different.

 

Right on Sherlock!! Nowt gets past your beady-eyed powers of perception and razor-sharp deduction!! xx

@Andy Millne - covered up the blemishes on your photo.

You’re a wizard Alan. 

24 minutes ago, Andy Millne said:

You’re a wizard Alan. 

I forgot to ask - on the Garth Cottage roof, next to the chimney and down to the gutter, it looks (to me) like cement fix. If from the original you thing that bit around the chimney is a tear/blemish I can cover that bit up with tiles and if you think the all they way down to the gutter is a blemish I will have a go at repairing that bit as well.   

32 minutes ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

it looks (to me) like cement fix.

I think you’re correct. 

I don't think you should change it. It looks like a roof repair and the same type of repair is evident on the single storey buildings. It's a valuable record of repair/building technique at the turn of the century.

On 13/06/2021 at 21:46, Canny lass said:

She probably knew that you were destinied to do great things with old photos of the area later in life. Mothers are good at that sort of thing.

Is it another of my clouded memories but was there a blue “hut”, behind the Church of Christ where I spent a lot of time at a youth club of sorts? I also definitely attended young teenage disco’s, in the Methodist church hall, remember that always finished with ‘the party’s over 🎶’ x I’m unclear about my Brownies career but suspect that was at the back of the Trinity church? Regular flibbertigibbit, me 😁x

Th

1 hour ago, lilbill15 said:

Is it another of my clouded memories but was there a blue “hut”, behind the Church of Christ where I spent a lot of time at a youth club of sorts? ...............

Can't remember the colour of the building behind the church but it was there and it is where the youth's met and the junior section of the church met - including me in the late 1950's. 

Just seen a comment on the Bygone Bedlington group from Susan James (nee Hemsted - grandparents lived in Garth Cottage and helped with the upkeep of the church) :- Susan James-Hemsted

On 13/06/2021 at 22:22, lilbill15 said:

Right on Sherlock!! Nowt gets past your beady-eyed powers of perception and razor-sharp deduction!! xx

@Canny lasson reading this comment again it sounds facetious and possibly even sarcastic. I apologise, this was not my intention; I was ineptly attempting to convey my continuing admiration of your acute scrutiny and attention to detail. I think you are an adept detective of maps and photos, perceptive and precise (hence my reference to Sherlock H) My very best regards Roseanne xx

13 hours ago, lilbill15 said:

Canny lasson reading this comment again it sounds facetious and possibly even sarcastic. I apologise, this was not my intention

No apologies needed. I didn't find it to be either facetious or sarcastic. I learned a long time ago to look at details rather than the whole. As a child, I loved those "Find five differences" games that appeared im magazines and newspapers and could spend ages perusing all small details. That experience has been very valuable in my job as I learned to look at details, rather than the whole, at a very early age.

Not too many years ago I collected 3 of the grandchildren from nursery and school every day and they stayed with me until mum and dad came home from work. One of their favourite games was "Spot the difference". While we waited outside the door, one child remained in the sitting room and changed one item in some way. Then we entered and had to spot the difference.  Good fun.

I needn't tell you how useful it is when you are doing family research.