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My grandmother Julia Hunt and her brother Charles were both born in Bedlington around 1876/78 but our family had previously lived in Norfolk. They returned to Norfolk when both still children. I'm trying to ascertain why their parents would have moved to Bedlington and think this could have been to work in the mines. I would also like to know what form of travel they would have used both ways and what the conditions were like for families who worked in the mines. Also I would like to find out why they came back to Norfolk. I have established that workers were advertised for in Norfolk and my great grandfather was originally a farm worker/labourer. Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hello Walsham wanderer and welcome to the forum! One way to move forward in your research would be to obtain a birth certificate for either Julia or Charles. There you will find both the occupation of the father, John I believe, and more importantly the family's address at the time. It wasn't uncommon for farm workers at that time to be 'contracted' för X number of months with housing provided. Once the harvest was safely in the contract ended and the worker was free/forced to find another contract. Once you have an address I may be able to help you further. BTW Is there any chance that Charles has been married twice?