Shiney Row2.jpg

Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) · February 7, 2021

With some info.

Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) · May 2, 2021

Back in 1960 Ken Russell made a remarkable film about mining in Northumberland called The Bedlington Miners' Picnic. John Gibson was a Bedlington miner in the 1960's working down the pit and making a decent living. He was also the real life star of a Ken Russell documentary film - The Bedlington Miners' Picnic in 1960. One of the photos taken was of John Gibson, of Bedlington, going work, at Pegswood Colliery, on his bike along Shiney Row.

With one photo Ken Russell posted he added some info saying the miner was - 'on his way back home from his shift' but my view is that the miner is cycling out of Shiney Row, onto the main raid, to make his way to Pegswood Colliery.

This is the photo, with the Dr Pit in the background, with some of the info that went with the photo :-

Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) · May 2, 2021

A photo from 2018 that @James posted and I shared on the Bygone Bedlington group and Esme Dent answered my query about wnich end of the row No 1 was at.

James · May 5, 2021

Shiney Row was numbered the other way; No 1 Shiney Row was nearest Glebe Row and No 49 was nearest the Doctor Pit.

After making the Bedlington Miners Picnic in 1960, Ken Russell came back to Bedlington to film some scenes at Bedlington A colliery (The Aad pit) for his 1969 movie “Women in Love”.

Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) · May 5, 2021

Cheers @James - I will let Esme know about the Shiney Row house numbering☺️.

I left Bedlington on the 5th of January 1969, to start work in London on the 7th January. Only came home for a long weekend in the summer of 1969 and I never heard anything about Women in Love - it was only about 5 or 6 years ago when stumbled across info online about the 'A' pit staging some scenes for the film :-

Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) · May 7, 2021

@James - Esme updated on the Bygone Bedlington group and whilst I was doing that I noticed this comment :-

Florence Palmer

My nana lived at number 1 Shiney row she had 3 bedrooms upstairs kitchen, pantry and a parlour room on the back it was a posh sitting room with another fire place in .She also had a bath under the stairs .with a sideboard in front to hide the door ..My friend lived about 6 doors away from my nana she had 2 bedrooms upstairs massive one and a skylight room very small her mam and dad slept in the large sitting room downstairs that had a setee in for guests .a kitchen and a pantry

So I asked Florence to confirm which end No 1 was and she replied :-

Florence Palmer

Alan Edgar next to Glebe Road they had a back garden and a side garden as they kept chickens ..

James · May 7, 2021

In the photo, No 1 is the first house with the shed in front of it. I assume the shed is in the side garden that Florence refers to. Being the end house it would have been the only one with a side garden. (I think Andy and Flo Turnbull lived there.) The Gardens on the left of the picture were the Doctor Terrace gardens. The Shiney Row gardens can’t be seen – they were on the south side of the row.

Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) · May 7, 2021

@James Florence has said :-

Florence Palmer

Alan Edgar I was named after my nana Florence Turnbull she made loads of proggy mats and used to hang them on that short wall outside .many times people would ask her if they could buy the mats ..our job was to cut the old coats up into strips for her, God help you if you cut them too small ..

James · May 9, 2021

Before they moved to Shiney Row, Andy and Flo Turnbull lived at the “bottom end” in No 27 Bell’s Place with their sons Bill, Bobby and Andy and our family lived near to them. Florence says they kept chickens in the garden at Shiney row. At Bell’s Place they not only had chickens but they also had a pig that the neighbours helped to feed with waste food we called “slops”. I’ll not mention what happened to the pig but I think you can guess!

I have been hoping for years to find a photo of Bell’s Place and I thought that perhaps Frances may have one passed on to her by her grandparents.

Bell’s Place was demolished along with Old Colliery Row in the late 1940’s and Hollymount Square was built on that site.

Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) · May 13, 2021

On 09/05/2021 at 07:37, James said:

I have been hoping for years to find a photo of Bell’s Place and I thought that perhaps Frances may have one passed on to her by her grandparents.

Bell’s Place was demolished along with Old Colliery Row in the late 1940’s and Hollymount Square was built on that site.

I have asked the Facebook members if anyone has info/photos on Bell's Place but the only response was from one lad, that now lives in Australia, who said when he was next in the UK he would search through his dad's old photos - his dad lived in Bell's Place.

lilbill15 · July 19, 2021

On 02/05/2021 at 11:40, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

Back in 1960 Ken Russell made a remarkable film about mining in Northumberland called The Bedlington Miners' Picnic. John Gibson was a Bedlington miner in the 1960's working down the pit and making a decent living. He was also the real life star of a Ken Russell documentary film - The Bedlington Miners' Picnic in 1960. One of the photos taken was of John Gibson, of Bedlington, going work, at Pegswood Colliery, on his bike along Shiney Row.

With one photo Ken Russell posted he added some info saying the miner was - 'on his way back home from his shift' but my view is that the miner is cycling out of Shiney Row, onto the main raid, to make his way to Pegswood Colliery.

This is the photo, with the Dr Pit in the background, with some of the info that went with the photo :-

OH! REALLY!? I’ll have to tekaluk at that. Thank you for the info 😁🌈xxR

Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) · May 10

On 02/05/2021 at 11:40, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

Back in 1960 Ken Russell made a remarkable film about mining in Northumberland called The Bedlington Miners' Picnic. John Gibson was a Bedlington miner in the 1960's working down the pit and making a decent living. He was also the real life star of a Ken Russell documentary film - The Bedlington Miners' Picnic in 1960. One of the photos taken was of John Gibson, of Bedlington, going work, at Pegswood Colliery, on his bike along Shiney Row.

With one photo Ken Russell posted he added some info saying the miner was - 'on his way back home from his shift' but my view is that the miner is cycling out of Shiney Row, onto the main raid, to make his way to Pegswood Colliery.

This is the photo, with the Dr Pit in the background, with some of the info that went with the photo :-