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Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy New Year

Merry Christmas to all.

Merry Christmas to everyone in this group from Bygone Bedlington:-

Hi Hi @AvrilG! Welcome to the forum. If Edward was 2 years and 10 months, rather than ‘almost 2’ then I believe that the following is his obituary, published in the Newcastle Evening Chronicle on March 15 1929. My 11-year experience of rummaging through old documents, digital or hard copy, leads me to believe that the churchyard you refer to is Cambois Churchyard. Old newspapers, and therefore digitalised copies, can vary in quality due to the ravages of time. I can understand your mistaking Cambois for Cambels. The letter ‘i’ can look very much like the letter ‘l’ in faded or blurred print (compare the ‘li’ in ‘Bedlington’ next to the MORTON name). Likewise, ‘e’ and ‘o’. It might help you in your search to know that St Andrews (Cambois) was a small church built in the 1860s as the mission church of St Peter (West Sleekburn). West Sleekburn is often referred to as Bedlington Station, as in the obituary. St Andrews didn’t have the full status of a parish church but was supported by the parish. You could say that St Andrews was a ‘subsidiary’ of St Peters (West Sleekburn) which was the parish church of both West Sleekburn and Cambois. St Andrews was, therefore, served by the vicar of St Peters with the help of a non-stipendiary priest until its consecration in 1998 when it became a parish church. All parish records for St Andrews would be held at St Peters (West Sleekburn) until that date. Andy has given you a link to St Andrews and here you can see where St Peters is. Good luck with your search! I have some newspaper cuttings about Edwards death if you would like them.

I had it confirmed this week that West Lea in Bedlington will get its new Playzone. This is something I've been fighting for since they were first considered for Northumberland! Originally 12 were projected, none for Bedlington but I managed to get that decision changed! It represents a substantial investment not just in terms of finance but in leisure activities as well! So for anyone who doesn't know what a PlayZone is, and they are not just for football, here is a taster...........

Seasonal Greetings to all here and wishing you all a happy New Year.

Is that Wilf i can see loitering by the traffic lights? Hopefully it is, cos that means it's officially Christmas! Whoopee!!! A very merry Christmas to everybody. I hope to be a bit more active next year as two eye operations have meant I've had to rely on someone else to read and write for me for a couple of months. Reading has been a little bit easier but only if I lift the laptop to within an inch of my face. However, I'm on the mend now but can't get new specs until the beginning of February when everything is healed. Have a great Christmas and knock hell out of what's left of the year!

I have attached photos of the only ironworks building remaining. The first one was probably taken in the 1950’s and the second one taken about 5 years ago. The building is now completely covered with ivy. I asked an East Bedlington councillor on site a few years ago why they were allowing ivy to cover this important historical building. He replied that once it was covered with ivy, no one will know it is there so the building will not be vandalized. An unusual way to protect historical buildings! I have attached a copy of Chris Bergen’s book on the Ironworks that may be of interest. Old ordinance maps should show the layout of the ironworks. History of Bedlington Ironworks.pdf

An honour and a great privilege to lay a wreath today at the Bedlington Cenotaph on this, Remembrance Sunday, on behalf of all residents in my Bedlington West Ward.

not at all. I have even got a paper hat which was worn by one of my uncles at the celebration

That's difficult to read even when you zoom in! Try these:

CL,I live next to the main road,and when the Bedlington Station High School is coming out,after 3-30pm,the "kids"...aged anywhere from 13-18 yrs old come past my front garden each day walking along in small groups,or some are on cycles.While it's wrong to generalise..I have seen a massive change in their attitudes over the last 24 yrs I have lived here..I have noticed how Boys aged 15-16 yrs ,a lot of them,act like wee bairns..in fact my two wee bairns didn't gaan on like some of these dae..and a think..when aa was 15 yrs aad..straight from my school desk...[yawn...roll eyes!!]..I was working and training underground at Seaton Burn Colliery..six miles away from home..I went down Choppington High Pit after my 16th birthday ,working with two older men,for twenty days "close personal supervision",then I was on my own..still working with the two John's,who were by now,my good Marra's..by the time I reached 17 yrs,my two older marra's left me to go to another pit to do their coalface training.After a few days.Ned Cushing,our old Training Officer,brought a lad inbye,same age as me ,and gave me a Certificate to say I was in charge of this lad for twenty days,then he would be my new Marra..next day, Ned brought this Lad's older Brother in and gave me another Certificate putting me in charge of him also.My point is,at 17 yrs old I was down a mine,in atrocious wet,dangerous conditions,in charge of two strangers..who were to become great Marra's IN and OUT of the pit..Now!..when I see these "Children"[by definition"]..aged 15-17 yrs,acting like idiots..and showing off in front of the lasses..I think...by hell..a wadn't waant them buggers working wi me a thoosand feet doon and ten miles oot under the North Sea filling 24 tons of coal onto a conveyor belt..driving an old fashioned coalcutter,drilling hard coal and stone by hand..carrying heavy arched girders which weighed aboot the same as two bags of cement..on their shoulders...for a quarter of a mile at a time...if we ever get back to mining coal..we will have to bring the German Contractors in..as we did in the past sometimes when the NCB wouldn't invest in specialist tunneling techniques which were way above what we had at our disposal..like at the Bewick Drift at Lynemouth..so much Water pouring in and flooding the workings..they brought Thyssens in..who had specialist refrigeration and freezing techniques ...they drilled holes all around the tunnel roadway,pumped a refrigerant into all the holes under high pressure..and this froze the water..allowing concreting of the roadway to take place..which sealed the roadway from water ingress..and I think these Specialist mining companies from Germany..even China!! will mine our coal in the future..if at all..seems I am back again....sorry for digressing!! Cheers!!

Hello. I posted on this forum a few years ago and exchanged some info with member @Rigger. Is he/she still around? He posted a photo of the Anvil Inn, Guide Post, which is useful in my researchers. I'm updating my website and the website designer is checking I have copyright to use the photo he posted. I just want to check it's ok to use it, and I will credit him/her as owner of the pic. I think it's good etiquette to credit - it's not right to go lifting stuff off the web. I don't make any money from this, so this is really a courtesy Thanks, all.

my Father was coal minor at isabella pit Jonty jobson as kids the joppa's would steak in and nick the pit props and cut them up for firewood we were chased by the caretaker one night as it happens we got a good hiding good old days the gala every year my first taste of caramac 1950's

Hi Canny Lass,we are now talking about conditions under the National Coal Board which was invested [is that the right word?!]..in 1947,in which Widows were allowed to live in their family home.Remember my Mother was evicted by the coal owners thugs ["Bailiffs"...THUGS]...BECAUSE MY fATHER WAS IN hOSPITAL DYING..AND NOT WORKING DOWN THE PIT WHERE THE OWNERS THOUGHT HE SHOULD BE..THEY HAD NO CONSCIENCE..NO CONCERN ABOUT THE WORKERS AT ALL..BUT IF A PONY WAS INJURED OR KILLED..THERE WAS AN INQUIREY AND THE PONY HANDLER WOULD LOSE HIS JOB AND POOSSIBLY BE JAILED ON TRUMPED UP NEGLIGENCE CHARGES....sorry about caps lock being on..glaucoma now..difficult trying to type and watch the screen..didn't realise it was on!!..I live at West Terrace in Stakeford for thirty years..the first 14 yrs were under NCB ownership,and I paid rent weekly from my pay.Down the street there were several Miner's Widows living with families in those houses.But NOT in the days before 1947!!...The pony's were "hung" onto the tubs or trams with either tracing chains from their collar each side and onto the tub handles,or Limbers..["Limma's"]..Shafts either side attached to a steel yoke and coupled to the tub middle "CockHole"..[I explained a few years ago about that term!...not indecent!!"]..with a Sheckle and Sheckle pin.So they PULLED the tubs along behind them.

Hi Folks!.Canny Lass,ye knaa me,not a nitpicker,only for correctness,for the education of the uneducated!!...but miner's coaal was never FREE!!..NOR WERE THE "FREE" houses they lived in!!..They were part of a miner's wage in lieu..and speaking personally,Linton Colliery gave the Miners coal which otherwise would be tipped on the pit heap..more stone bands than coal,also full of "Brass"[!!]..Iron Pyrites..which used to spit out onto the clippy mat and us if we sat too close!!..So!!Putters!!..the pic in my gallery on here,of my Father aged 14 yrs old,with his pony,in 1929,is when he was coal putting to his Marra,the older fella who was a Hewer.My Father putted the tubs out to a landing,where the other putters did the same thing..when there was a set of six tubs or more..the Drivers used to drive the set of tubs to the shaft bottom to be taken to bank.Every pit had it's own terms,but putters was generally the term used either for hand putting,or Pony putting.Hope that clarifies the subject.Never heard the term Cartman anywhere in any of the pits I worked at..[5 in total].

Sunak will lose over 150 Tory seats on July 4th. Tony Blair will resurface in some capacity (Starmer owes him, and he owns Starmer). We will get a one-term Labour government that will be in total disarray within 3 years. (maybe less) The Reform Party will win some seat(s) despite the huge FPTP disadvantage. Sunak and his wife will decamp to the USA, tempted by some plumb position. Donald Trump will practically sweep the board in the USA elections. By year-end, Nigel Farage will be appointed US special ambassador to the UK, and Starmer will be forced to go through him. Five out of seven is a win, and 7/7 would cement my pure genius! Feel free to add your own predictions. Go on, you know you want to! BTW Trump does support Starmer already, and I think I can probably see why.

1961: The delight of the MINERS' BRASS BAND PICNIC | Monitor 54 | Weird and Wonderful | BBC Archive John Gibson introduces us to the brass band carnival and the colliery band contest at Bedlington, Northumberland which occurs each year - as a grand occasion for the family - mixing politics, beauty queens and, of course, music. John was representing Pegswood Colliery in Morpeth, Northumberland, which as he predicted was to soon close, doing so in 1969, some 101 years after it first opened. This short film was directed by Ken Russell. Clip taken from Monitor 54, originally broadcast on BBC Television on Sunday 3 July 1960.

Wasn't "The Shirt Factory" in the council (BUDC) yard? I can remember the outpouring of girls from there at the end of their shift. It was always a place anyone industrious could get employment. The phrase "she works (worked) at the shirt factory" did have a tiny bit of social stigma in those days, though. It implied that the person might have done better at school. Having said that, it probably paid a lot better than shopworker or clerical jobs. The Rag Trade on TV epitomised this type of work. Work which was steadily eroded by the waves of imports from overseas "sweat shops", but don't get me started on so-called "globalism"! I recall they had a problem with asbestos roofing in the BUDC yard, and some poor worker being killed when the roof didn't support their weight. This might jog someone's memory on the place. I can also remember going into the Barrington establishment to deliver or attend to something, or maybe to seek someone out. At this point in time, I can't remember why I was there, though I have a brief mental image of the offices but not the work floor. It was, I think, a conversion and not a purpose-built factory. Update: Ah, yes, that's it above. Should have scrolled up! Just pointing out the social attitudes (snobbery) of the era, and no downers on the industrious salt-of-the earth people that worked there. A lot of that lingers on in the present day, when the thoroughly brainwashed ex-uni types regard themselves as socially superior and have a right to do everyone's thinking for them!

Miners picnic 1957

Didn't one of those on the left used to be Wemyss (sp?), the wholesale confectioner, back in the mid 1950s? I can remember carting an unstable load of empty crisp tins there on my bogey as an infant. Yes, those packets of crisps with the little blue bag of salt used to come in oversized biscuit tins to keep them fresh. My motive was purely economic - to pocket the deposit on them. Mr Wemyss, however - god rest his soul - wasn't prepared to cough up the going rate, likely embossed on the tins, and all I got was a pittance (or maybe a few sweets) for my trouble. The sweets are long forgotten, but the bitterness lingers on - such is life! 🤣

You should just be able to drag and drop the video into your post or upload to the gallery. If it's not a playable format inline it will embed as an attachment for download. You can also upload to Youtube/Vimeo and paste the link from there and it will embed inline here. e.g.

That picture of the Platform Ticket brought back fond memories. Back in the 60s loads of us lads used to go to the Mayfair in Newcastle to see bands ... we'd get the United bus from the Red Lion to the Haymarket. Trouble was the last bus back from the Toon would have been maybe 10 or 11pm, so no transport back when the show ended at 1 am approx. The only solution was to go to the Central Station and catch the 3am London to Edinburgh Mail Train which stopped at the Toon and Morpeth. We'd then walk from Morpeth to Bedders. The trouble was you couldn't wait in the Central Station as the British Transport cops used to throw you out unless you had a ticket. We weren't going to buy one for the full travel cost to Morpeth but always got a Platform Ticket out the machine (I think it might have cost 2d), waited in the station, then got on the train ... no ticket checks that time of night ... we did this for years.

@Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) @AvrilG St Andrews wouldn't have a graveyard as it wasn't a parish church. All burials would take place at St Peters (West Sleekburn). As for the Methodist churches in Britain, the majority didn't have graveyards either. Their members were also 'parishioners' of the churches parish and were buried in the churchyard of the parish church. The Methodist church was allowed to do christenings and marriages and at some point the Methodist ministers were even granted permission to conduct marriage services within the parish church. Multi-denominational chapels in graveyards and crematoriums, together with municipal burial grounds solved the problem.

PS Your great grandfather was still at the same address in Bedlington in 1914, before moving to Walker, Newcastle. His business appears in Kelly's Directory of that year.

Thought you guys might like a look........... 2083ad64-7e6f-47a0-b230-f3b96e429de7 (1).mp4

Hope everyone has enjoyed the festivities . Happy New Year 2025. Keep up the good work Mal .

I have always believed we need to allow our youngsters to have a voice and we should listen to what they have to say. That means they need to be aware of what’s going on so they can make informed decisions. Back in the 90’s I asked the ones hanging around the market place what they wanted and they told me just somewhere safe, warm and somewhere they could call their own. Didn’t sound unreasonable to me so I took that message to the District Council through the then Town Forum meetings. Like so many other Bedlington orientated requests it fell on deaf ears! When I became a town councillor and eventually chair of the Town Council I wanted to include our youngsters and even tried to set up a youth council as part of the Town Council so their voice could be heard. I also did sessions with some of youngsters trying to explain how the various councils work and which one did which service delivery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hKIe2Z19V8 When I became a County Councillor I took some up to County Hall as part of Democracy week so they could have first-hand experience of what went on up there. I have always tried to include our youngsters and get something for them. Now they, as well as others, have had a huge toll taken during Covid so it’s even more essential to do right by them! The first battle on that front I won and we will soon see the new PlayZone soon at West Lea. Lots more needed in that particular war of course!

That’s a few of the ‘big ticket’ items I have personal experience of, even back then just as a member of the public. Really shocked, saddened and disgusted in equal measures by a lot of it so I decided to stand myself for election. Given what I had seen there was no way I was going to join any of the political parties so I stood as an independent candidate for both the Town Council and NCC. I was successfully elected to the Town Council but the Labour candidate took the NCC seat I contested. The first year on the Town council was a real eye opener because I saw how the political parties really operated. The Town council was then made up of 5 labour members and 4 independents. Important decisions which should have been raised and debated at Town Council meetings in full view of the public were actually being made days before behind closed doors at political party meetings! I would watch 5 members vote before the proposal had been fully explained, never mind debated. Also in this first year the chair was ‘given’, by 5 votes to 4, to someone in recognition of his unwavering political support? I asked is this really the best we can come up with? So the council more or less drifted in the first year, I was given a project to shut me up after proposing it, probably thinking I would never be able to pull it off. That’s how we got the parking bays on Glebe Road to solve the problem of parking on both sides blocking access up and down that street. The next year we had a political protégée installed as chair and this time there wasn’t even the remotest disguise of democracy! Even the clerk resigned! Again to shut me up bleating on about what I saw as the crazy situation we had at the top of Attlee Bank for pedestrians, where they had to step out into the road to get back onto the footpath and then cross the road on the tight corner at the bottom of the bank, I was challenged to sort that out. I negotiated with NCC for permission to put a new path down to the Park but this time not going down the main road, going through the woods. I also priced the job up and found the NCC quote to be almost 3 times dearer than another quote I had. Took quite a bit of arguing but finally we got the job done for the reasonable amount and they made a decent job of it. During the monthly meetings some of the stuff that came up was absolutely ridiculous and 4 of us were constantly trying to get it changed. I had several official complaints about my behaviour lodged with the NCC Solicitor at the time and as far as I could see they were for having the audacity to vote and speak against certain proposals. So they always got their own way but for the life of me I can’t think of any really serious other improvements done that year. Members of the public were saying the same sort of things so in his wisdom the chair sent a letter to the press calling Bedlington residents nothing but whingers. At the very next meeting he had the police, out of sight in the council office, because about 200 people had turned up to have a go about his comments. This was a special meeting anyway because we picked a new chair for the next year. One of the Labour group on the Town Council had resigned and someone else had taken their place. We wondered how she was going to vote but we needed have worried she had seen for herself the behaviours on display at these meetings. The chair proposed himself, to thunderous disapproval from members of the public in the room, and other members proposed me. He even repeated some of the stuff he had said in the press article? At the vote one Labour councillor was seen to raise his hand to vote for me and another Labour councillor leaned over and pulled his hand down. This was called out by the newest member of the council and I believe videoed by a member of the public. So I was voted in as chair and immediately had to calm everyone down. I then spent months going through every line of expenditure so at the budget setting meetings I could ask councillors to justify each and every line! Some of the stuff in there was unbelievable, even down to excessive expenses claims! This produced something which no other ‘parish’ council had done; bring in a reduction to the tax charge every household pays. Not only that over the course of the two years I was in charge we put in two new play parks for our kids, one at West Lea and another at Meadowdale, put in new bus shelters throughout, painted the handrails around the Town, also the hardware such as litter bins, fitted larger and more litter bins…..the list goes on. One other thing we brought back was the Bedlington Fair day. I used the money that generated to pay for an enhanced Xmas light switch on show. We had calls from councils all over asking how on earth we had managed to do everything while still doing a reduction in the precept. Not hard when you have some good people around you! I think I also have the dubious award for the most complaints lodged against a sitting Chair, all off one political group, even a NCC councillor got in on the action! All dismissed as vexatious and time wasting. I even had a councillor knocking on my neighbour’s doors asking if they knew anything bad I had done???????? I must have really been a pain in their backside, so doing my ‘job’ properly then! This is what you are up against politically when you stand as an independent; everyone has a go at you. I had pretty juvenile comments and attacks against me on social media platforms and even had my social media account hacked. Never mind faint heart never won fair maiden!

The awrd initiated by @Bedlingtonian in 2020. Last year, 2023, the members voted for https://www.facebook.com/Thefriendsofwestleacemetery The first three years we had a poll, created by @Andy Millne, and last years was a suggestion that the members agreed with with so no poll. As it has been another quiet year, even for the regulars @Canny lass - @threegee - @Vic Patterson & me, I would suggest the same method as last year but naturally if anyone wants a pool then please ask Andy to set it up. Even Piper has had a quiet year and hasn't even had his coat trimmed for the trophy and is lying down on the job My vote this year would be for Malcolm Robinson. Regardless of his politics he has fought tirlessly for Bedlington and kept us and Facebook members aware of what is going on, or not going to happen, in Bedlington.

I need to pinch that cartoon GGG😄

If anyone wants to know whats going in now..............

HPW - perhaps there's someone near you and on here with a scanner; some of these have software that'll scan handwriting then convert it into text ... any mistakes could be picked up via you proof reading the results and making corrections. The fact that you're using a computer to access this place may mean that your PC may have voice to text software so all you need is a microphone to dictate into ... currently, this type of software is very accurate for 'normal' speech so I don't know how it'll cope with a dialect. You'll recall that we messaged each other previously when I advised you to maybe get an agent for your project ... these folk have loads of resources including contacts who may help with recording/transcribing your story. Also, don't forget that podcasts are huge these days and there may be an additional outlet there for your story. There will be an audience for it. Whatever you do keep writing the stuff and make sure that you leave instructions about what should happen to your archive when you're gone. Don't really worry about your tale being written in pen and ink ... some of our greatest writers used the method (and some still do).

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/cambois-qts-blackstone-datacentre-30040349?fbclid=IwY2xjawFo1G1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHelTQqer6zG_UMIyHLIej9wtdt55fpMWziqjd2EJh_jgRYQLM85ZoS9rQg_aem_Kw40vxjBh9gk9qudhLBkKA

Same here. The biggest distributor is in fact called Waterfall.

Hi @Miner Granddaughter and welcome to the forum. Bridge Inn, East End, Bedlington has nothing to do with Hartford Bridge Inn. Bridge Inn, East End was located on the main street (Front Street) in Bedlington’s East End on the corner of Walker Terrace. The following map, dated 1859, is not particularly clear but Bridge Inn is in fact named. It can be seen somewhat better, though not named, on the map from 1860. The best map I can find is 1897 which shows the Bridge Inn (marked red) and the Wheatsheaf, its close neighbour, marked blue, on the corner of Chapel Row. In the extract from Evan Martin’s book, which Alan posted above, Robert Leslie is named as the innkeeper of Bridge Inn, East End. I found him in the 1881 census in the building marked red on the above maps - on the corner of Front Street and Walker Terrace.

Thanks for all the rootling around! Yes, family tradition had it that David Gray was a little 'posher' than gran's father - we used to have a splendid photo (now sadly lost) of him 'taking the wages to the pit' with a horse and open cart. They were quite strict - Gran said they didn't allow playing cards in the house - but she was encouraged to read (eg Chatterbox annuals which we do still have). As you say the 'Academy' was possibly something quite unofficial - and perhaps more geared towards 'ladylike' training. Gran was always baking, sewing, embroidering, knitting and crocheting but I don't think she ever had a 'proper' job. Her husband Robbie was certainly upwardly mobile - from a mining family but worked his way up in marine insurance and bought a house in Gosforth. I've seen the 1939 Register entries too. As my mother told it, Robbie got in a bit of a bind about Newcastle being bombed at the very start of the war so packed them off to the Seahouses area for a while, but they came back to Elmfield Gardens fairly quickly. Gran's mother was a daughter of William Wilson, blacksmith, of Wilson's Yard in Front Street. He died quite young and his widow ran the business for the next decade or so, then when she died, her eldest son, also William Wilson took it on. He was in charge when Gran was a child - she said that she used to play in the yard and hide in the pit which was used when they made huge cartwheels. I'd love to find a picture of that business. I do find family history fascinating and so much of my mother's side relates to the Bedlington area.

Reuters, BBC, Associated Press were all reliable and trusted news sources, even Blyth News Ashington post was good (especially to use as a bleezer!) Daily Mirror was just for the crossword. The Newcastle Journal/Evening Chronicle on line was alright but I gave up fighting all of the advertising. Can't beat Facebook for the real facts.....

Oh! ... I have to have a go at this. 1. The most fragrant Kier will sweep into No10 having slaughtered the Tory scum by a monster margin - 500 seats to a rump of opposition parties. He will be singing Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice as he goes through the black door. 2. The glorious Labour Party will sweep all the crazy SNP out of office up in chillyjockoland. 3. The devine Angela will co-ordinate the rounding-up of all those corrupt and swivel eyed Tory/Reform/Brexit nutters and house them in re-settlement centers before shipping them off to Rwanda in cuffs ... this will be broadcast during prime time on the wonderful BBC. 4. An arrest warrant will be issued for Boris Kerfuffle Johnson for crimes against public decency. He'll be captured in some upstairs room in a Soho knocking shop. After a lengthy trial at the Old Bailey he'll be found guilty and sent down for a 10 stretch at the Scrubs where he'll become the 'plaything' of a brutal lifer. 5. Tony Blair should join Johnson at the Bailey but will instead spearhead Blighty's re-entry into membership of the EU. 6. Manchester City are found guilty of all that financial naughtiness and stripped of all their silverware and relegated to the Northern Counties Sunday League. The mighty Toon sweep all before them and cement their place as UK/Europe's top dogs. 7. The Yankees elect Trumpet in November and he declares war on China/Russia/North Korea and the World as we know it ends.

Miss Cambois 1960. 14.58. Got to love the "happy dancer" Zoom and freeze brings all the families back, slower simpler times, times were much harder then but you wouldn't think so looking at the faces, especially the kids. Most of these people have left us now but with the magic of cinematography we can enjoy their company again.

Hey, it's the modern BBC: you simply can't expect inclusivity, diversity, and getting the year right - all at the same time! OK, try 3:35 for the peek at the calendar. It's the time difference here, you see!

part 2. Sorry you've had to wait but my geraniums, fuchsias, dahlias and vegetable patch couldn't! Part 2 The Gibson family When Henry and Hannah Gibson experienced the sorrow of losing a child, albeit an adult child, in 1808 they probably couldn’t begin to imagine the sorrow which their son, Philip, and his wife Ann would start to endure just seven years later. Together, Philip and Ann had at least ten children. The firstborn, Henry born 1814, was followed by son James in 1815 but James lived only one day. The next child, daughter Barbara, was born 1816 and died at just 39 days old. The following year, 1817, a third son is born. He is named William but dies before reaching the age of four. As if this wasn’t enough, Philip’s father, Henry, also dies in 1818 and a further son, John born 1824, dies at the age of ten months. The children James, Barbara, William and John are also remembered on their grandfather’s gravestone, shown in my previous post. What a start to a marriage! Four infant deaths and Ann was probably pregnant on the occasion of each. She must have been a really tough woman – which later history in fact confirms. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for Philip and Ann. As well as the firstborn, Henry, there are five other survivors. Ann born 1820, lives to be 58 years old and Philip, born 1822, lives to be 36. At the time of his death, in Keekle near Whitehaven, Cumberland, he was unmarried and engineer to the Whitehaven Cleator and Egremont Railway. His sister Elizabeth, born 1827, dies also in Cumberland unmarried at the age of 69. Brother James, born 1829, reaches the age of 49 and the youngest, another Barbara* born 1916, attains the great age of 85 years. (*it was then common practice to re-use the names of children who had previously died. These were family names intended to ’live on’ in the family). Where in Bedlington the family lives is initially difficult to determine as postal addresses were almost non-existant but here is ample evidence that the family resided in Bedlington’s East End where the family business is recorded as early as 1814 and by 1841 it is evident that Philip and Ann lived in a house on Front Street in Bedlington’s East End and adjacent to the entrance to Bell’s Place – the house which now has a blue plaque. About the time of baby Henry’s birth in 1814, Philip’s entrepreneurial side comes into evidence when he, a grocer and draper, branches out into the world of iron goods – more specifically, nail making. His location on Front Street East is perfectly situated for this enterprise, just a stone’s throw from the Bebside slit mill which could provide materials (shown below on Greenwood’s map of 1828) and the river Blyth which provided a means of transport for the finished product by keel boat to the port of Blyth for further distribution nationwide – and perhaps even world wide, as the British Empire grew. Just where Philip’s workshop was located isn’t known and initially there may not have been any workshop. Nail-making was, at least in the Midlands, predominantly a cottage industry and I can find nothing to suggest that it wasn’t so even in Bedlington. The master nailer would purchase rods of iron from the slitting/slit mill. These were then distributed to nailers who hammered a point at one end and a flat head at the other. The finished article was then collected for shipment and the nailer was paid for his work which more often than not took place in a lean-to shed at a simple two up one-down nailer’s cottage which probably housed two families. This had the benefit that even wives and children could help in the work. Well worth a read is https://bromsgrovenailmaking.wixsite.com/nail-making/untitled-c139r a graphic description of the nail trade in Bromsgrove. The type of trade described there had it’s negative aspects in regard to payment of nailers though I am not suggesting that the Gibson family were engaged in anything of that nature. However, at some point Philip did have a workshop and it is documented that his son Henry ”after leaving school, served his apprenticeship as a chainmaker with his father” and worked at his trade for many years in ”his father’s workshop” (Morpeth Herald 12 APR 1902). In 1941 Philip, then about 50 years old, gives his occupation only as ”grocer” and his sons Henry and Philip, appear to have become involved in the industrial side of the business which has developed to include chainmaking. The youngest son, James, is still at school but will, on leaving, join the firm. Sadly, some five years later in 1846, Philip passes away after a short illness, aged 59 years. He is also buried in St Cuthbert’s churchyard. The business falls to his widow, Ann who continues to run it with the help of sons Henry, Philip and James. By 1855 the nail and chain manufacturing side of the business has expanded to include a blacksmith’s shop. The drapery side of the business has ceased to exist but in its wake appears an ironmonger’s business. Philip and James are named as managers of all aspects of the business. While Henry seems to concentrate on chain-making. The family clearly has a goodhead head for business and now has a finger in several of Bedlington’s trade and industry pies. To be continued. Note: It’s always difficult with ages and dates unless birth and marriage certificates are obtained. It is therefore advisable to think +/- 2 years on everything.

The Gibson's were an interesting family well worthy of a it of research. Here's the start of a few posts that may help you get acquainted with them and their business. August 28 1753 a wedding, which will eventually lead to a blue plaque being placed on the house currently known as 34 and 36 Front Street East, Bedlington, takes place at St Cuthbert’s Church in the town. The house is the former home of the Gibson family – the last of the Bedlington nailers. The groom is 23 year old Humphrey Gibson, and his 21 year old bride is a Bedlington girl, Ann Stephenson. In March the following year, 1754, the couple’s are once again in St Cuthbert’s Church, this time to celebrate the baptism of their firstborn – twins William and Henry Gibson. Very little else is known of Humphrey and Ann, though it’s possible to assume that Ann dies young as Humphrey remarries in 1766 when the twins are just 12 years old. His bride on this occasion is Isabel Moss. Of the twin William I can find no information but Henry is raised in Bedlington. He later meets his wife, Stannington-born Hannah Jameson and they also marry at St Cuthbert’s in November 1784 when both are 30 years old. Together the couple have five known children: William born 1785, Philip born 1788, Henry born 1790, Ann born 1792 and Hannah born 1794. November 19th 1808 their oldest son William, then aged 23 years, is lost on a passage from Corunna, Spain, where he is a mate on board the Providence, an army transport returning from the Peninsular War – part of the wider Napoleonic wars. Almost home, the ship and all hands are lost in a storm at Bolt Head near Salcombe, Devon and the master, Robert Denton, is the only survivor. (Source: McDonald, K., 1992, The Bolt-Whole, 84 (Article in Serial). SDV147889). William’s body is recovered but is not returned to Bedlington for burial. Instead, he is interred at Malborough, Devon. He is, however, remembered on his father’s gravestone in St Cuthbert’s churchyard. It is left to Henry and Hannah’s second son, Philip, to carry the Gibson name forward and in doing so he leaves a lasting footprint on Bedlington. In 1812 at the age of about 24 years, Philip marries 20 year-old Ann Rutherford in her parish church at Stannington and just two years later, in 1814, he lays the foundations for a company that will become the last chain and nail manufacturer in Bedlington. Fourteen years after the company’s founding Pigot and Co, in their county directory of 1828, describe Bedlington in the following manner: ”With the exception of the iron works here, which are supposed to be the largest in the north of England, this place contains nothing worthy of notice either to the inquisitive tourist or the man of business.” This ”nothing of interest” included Philip Gibson who’s name is listed in two categories of traders: ”nail makers” and ”shopkeepers & dealers in sundries”. Philip, along with 5 further shopkeepers, 1 further nail maker, 4 blacksmiths, 5 boot & shoe-makers, 4 butchers, 3 cartwrights & joiners, 2 coal owners & merchants, 2 corn millers, 2 dressmakers, 5 grocers & drapers, 9 inn-, tavern- & public house keepers, 1 iron founder, 1 joiner, 6 stone masons, 2 tailors, 1 baker, 1 veterinary surgeon, 1 saddler and 1 ’clogger’, is part of Bedlington’s ’business sector’ at that time. Of Pigot’s description to judge, none of them appear to have made any noteworthy impression during his inspection in 1828 yet the company founded by Philip Gibson had already survived into it's fourteenth year and would become a household name in Bedlingtonshire for well over a hundred years. The Gibson’s appear to have been a family with a head for business and subsequent generations of Gibson’s would play an important role in developing and diversifying the business from the house on Front Street East. Over the next few weeks I’ll try to relate what my research has discovered. Have patience though, the gardening season is in full swing here and I have to make outdoor use of any fine day that comes my way.

The aad photo of the shop is hoo aa remember..broon painted shop front..roller shutters in later yrs,probably after the break-ins..the war hadn't been owa just four yrs prior ti my first seeing this Aladdin's cave..the only sweets I ever got at that age was when me Mother tuk me ti Doctor Hickey's Surgery,at Choppington,just up the bank from where a lived in Storey's Buildings,doon aside the Willow Bridge at Choppington Station..Dr Hickey aalwis kept a big tin of sweeties on his table at the side,and every kid who went to see him,even if it was their Mother who was the Patient,they got a sweetie..that was the way to befriend the kids and allay any fear aboot gaan ti see him!![dinna forget..we didnae hae the drugs we hae nooadays..us kids picked aal sorts of infections up..!!

Hi Folks,Wemyssies was a confectionery wholesaler when aa was a bairn livin doon Hollymount Square from 1947..as a got ti aboot five yrs aad,me aader Brother,who would be eight yrs aad,[taakin aboot 1949 noo!],used ti tek me aroond and up Bell's Place,and aroond the corner..and we used to gaze in the windae of Wemyss shop,at the piles and piles of big sweet jars of sweets of aal description..we kids had nowt..me mutha cudnt gie us a jam sammidge in the afternoon when we hungry between meals..so we used ti drool owa the sight of aal these big sweet jars..we used ti watch vans coming and gaanin,loading and unloading whacks of these jars at a time and wondered what was gaan on..we didn't knaa wat the words "Confectionery Wholesaler" meant!..we were pitmans kids..a still wasn't at school yit..[a started in the Autumn term at the Bedlington Village Infants school in 1949].In later years,some of the Millfielders broke in and stole jars of sweets,the same ones broke into the Clayton Ballroom..they got caught and fined..it was a big crime scene in them days..hearing of local lads being taken to court..Bedlington was a quiet peaceful little village!!..It seems that building hasn't changed much owa the yeors...but Bedlington sure has!! Cheers!