johndawsonjune1955

Barrington again for you all.

Come on lets get the missing names for my personal collection of photographs. it would be nice if it got completed.

Mrs. Gorman's Class c 1959. Left to right. Back row: Stephen Bushby. Derek Williamson. Brian Woolett. Alan Cowell. Henry Hall. Leslie Tiffin. Ian Bryson. Geoffrey Douglas. Ian Collis. Middle Row: Unknown. Glenda Main. Sandra Welsh. Lynne Turnbull. Ian Carnaby. Harry Dixon. Unknown. Lorraine Cuthbertson. Yvonne Black. Sandra Taylor. Front row: Jennifer Dobson. Clara Lee. Norma Dickinson. Marlene Leightley. Mrs. Doreen Gorman. Unknown. Joan White. Elizabeth Butcher. Unknown.

Well your on about Barnton School teachers i hope this brings your memories flooding back. Do you remember them ? lets have your stories on them please.

Barrington Village Primary School c 1959. Above is the staff. Left to right: Lillie Scott. Ann Milburn. Doreen Gorman. Margaret Topham [Head.] Milne Hunt. Ina Straker. June Rowling. Betty Blair.

I remember when we did not have a bleezer to pick the fire up. Using newspaper instead. Bloody thing caught fire didn't it. I bet a few of you did the same ?

Barton wrote - "It would take three pails to bank the fire up for the night, plus two pails for a late top up."

I remember the term "bank the fire up for the night" or "banking-up"; Yep, my Mum would top-up the coal then ash from below the grate was piled on to form a sort of crust over coals... presumably to the slow the burn down (lack of oxygen maybe). Hey presto ... a rattle with the poker in the morning and away the fire would catch. Back boilers to heat the water - not those namby-pamby so called back-boilers found in central heating systems. Good old technology ... cast iron box in the back of the fireplace, flick of the chimney damper, flames wizz up the back of the fireplace and around the back boiler.

I remember when we did not have a bleezer to pick the fire up. Using newspaper instead. Bloody thing caught fire didn't it. I bet a few of you did the same ?

I see someone was talking about Barrington Pit. I just thought i would pen in a story for him and give him an insight into how dangerous it was working underground. It was during a Thursday morning of February 1915, when it became known that a deputy-overman named John Stafford was missing in Barrington Colliery. John had descended at 2. am for the purpose of examining the working places of the hewers to make sure it was safe for them to begin. When the hewers reached the station, Stafford, whose duty it was to meet the men was missing. Fearing that something was wrong, the alarm was given and a search party organised to find him.

A search party made several attempts to enter some old workings, but were driven out by the smell of foul air. Mr. Edward Carr, the under-manager, arrived, and attempted to penetrate the old workings in which Stafford was believed to be, but he was unable to do so due to the condition of the ventilation. Mr. Carr then had an emergency ventilation system fixed up and put into operation to enable him to enter the old workings and penetrate further in.

The under-manager, as he entered, shouted several times on Mr. Stafford and finally heard a faint response followed by a shuffling noise. Proceeding, he came across Mr. Stafford lying on the ground in a semi conscious state. Stafford was then removed from the old workings and sent to bank [above ground] where he made a speedily recovery.

He afterwards explained that he was examining an old air-way, and found the ventilation defective. He turned to return to the flat, when he was overcome and stumbled and fell, extinguishing his lamp. He attempted to scramble out in the dark, but was overcome again by foul air. Altogether Mr. Stafford had been missing four hours. During this time the manager Mr. Clough, wired for Ashington and Elswick Rescue Brigades, but their services were not needed when Mr. Stafford was found.

Do you want anymore stories on Barrington ? Or am i Boring you ?

I hope this pic and the names will bring memories flooding back for you lot from Barnton

Its Barrington County Primary School 1957

Hope you all like it.

Get your memories online or questions and see what we can all do

A photograph taken during 1957, of Barrington County Primary School. Back Row, Left to Right: Tom Dixon, George Trench, Roy Batchelor, Derick Edgar, Billy Montgomery, Wally Jackson, Andy Fairbairn, Ernie McGeorge, Laurence Napier, Billy Cochrane, George Frazer, Josey Robson. Third Row: Susan Barrat, Wendy Scott, Yvonne Harrison, Joan Clark, Linda Short, Margaret Dixon, Sheila Craddock, Joyce Fuller, Beryl Cassforth, Lesley Anderson, Margaret Gregg, Eileen Hutton, Liz Lee. Second Row: Cathy Swan, Ann Jenkinson, Vivian Johnson, Diane Dixon, Sandra Henderson, Carol Barron, Lynn Jarvis, Margaret Neil, Carol Slater, Ada Fuller, Margaret Jenkins, Mary Baker. Front Row: Charlie Spratt, Austin Anderton, David Adey, Melvin Rutter, Russell Perry, George Chapman, Jimmy Rutter. The teacher is Mr. Hunt.

As promised some history on Barrington or Barnton to others. Hope stories like these are of interest for you all.

Will post more soon.

The weekend of October, 28th and 29th, 1900, in Barrington would be the one that went into the history books. It was a wet and stormy weekend and one that caused a great flood. The culvert under the colliery railway sidings became blocked with debris. Over eighty houses were affected as the water rose up to eight feet. The buildings affected were Blacksmith, School, Middle, Old Wood, Railway, and Chapel Rows. People were woke up around 2 am, to find over twelve inches of water in their homes. For safety most the residents then moved to the upstairs of their homes, with some being prepared to wade onto the railway embankment and higher ground. The men then went to help the colliery agent to try and free the culvert from the debris.

The colliery agent was so shocked by the flooding that he ordered a boat be brought in from the River Blyth. While waiting the engineers went to the colliery workshops and constructed a raft to assist in the rescue operation. The colliery workshops was then named "The Raft Yard.†With the boat and raft now operational, the men went out to rescue people from their houses, and place livestock safely away from the flooded area.

For two or three days the turmoil went on, with the men attempting to no avail to free the debris that blocked the culvert. So a decision was taken by the agent and engineers to use high explosives to free the culvert. Seven and a half pounds of the high explosives were then placed on top of the culvert and the obstruction was blasted away.

The most damage was done to Blacksmith and School Rows as the water invaded them while in bed. As the hovels had only two bedrooms and a bedroom in the living room, it was about impossible to carry belongings up the ladder to safety as the water rose to four feet downstairs.

The houses in Chapel and Middle Rows were flooded to about the same depths as Blacksmiths Row, but as these houses had a more commodious and accessible upstairs they managed to save a great deal of their belonging. The cleaning up procedure was tiring for the people. Everyone rallied round to help one another with the cleaning and drying out. The homeless were accommodated by neighbors, friends and relatives.

The management at the colliery were very caring in their approach to assist the miners during the mopping up period. Miners were excused for a few days so they could work on their homes. Joiners and masons moved into the homes to make any repairs that were needed, and the colliery supplied extra coals for to heat the homes and dry them out quicker.

A local diarist recorded the following. "A sever loss of furniture and other goods and many pigs and hens drowned. A truly pitiful sight which will live in the memory of all.â€

It looks like the pic was taken in front of Bedlington High School, have a look at here

It is for sure Bedlington High School.

Did you know that we had an auxiliary army. ?

Well they were actually the "Secret Army" Now there is a lot of history connected to them and the Home Guard. We actually did a book on the secret army, not available now, but i can get it in its computer format and you could print it off yourself on ya printer.

For the Secret Army, The bank manager of Martins Bank in Bedlington was an officer and the commanding officer was Anthony Quale the actor, don't know if his name is spelt right. You know the bank manager lived in a big house on the left on ya way to the golf course and had enough explosives in his shed to blow Bedlington to bits.

Will sort out some topics i have promised to complete for members and if i get some more time i will post on the Home Guard in and around Bedlington.

BTW. Me grandad was in Choppington Home Guard. He was in the Battle of the Somme and was gassed by the Germans and sent home. It effected him the remainder of his life, God Bless him, and a lovely man he was. So when WW2 broke out he enlisted in the LDV which was later changed to the Home Guard.

hi,im tracing my Charlton family tree and would appreciate any help anyone has

ive traced my tree back to 1698 and right up to the 1960's my ancesters have lived at Bedlington.

their are so many names i could give but one of my main ancesters is my great,great grandad Thomas Charlton born 1807/1808 in Bedlington and died 1884 and buried at st cutheberts.census records shows 1861,1871,1881 living at the market place (opposite the church) which i believe now is a chemist,i also believe he had the premises round the back because he was a carpenter.

my grandad (george trevor charlton) left Bedlington in the 1960's with my gran (isabella 'betty' Charlton nee Oliver) and my dad (Alan) and uncle (David)

any help anyone has will be very much appreciated

thanks

ali

My wife is a Charlton, but what side are we looking at here ? Her dad id Denis and late mother Maureen. Her brothers are Trevor, Gary, sisters, Denise and Lyn. are we talking about the same side ?

Hopefully me pic of the proposed Stakeford Bridge is on now

This engraving of the proposed bridge at Stakeford is from 1904.

However, a cheaper version was decided instead of this.

Now as my previous post on this a, Joe Mason, the master mason, was involved in the building of this.

With the pic of the Queens Head, Guide Post, and the horse and trap, Joe is holding the horses head.

I hope this helps in the history topic.

me pic aint showing.

John, it is rather simple thanks to the innovative forum software the Bedlington.co.uk site is using.

well thank you very much indeed. get some pics up now. Keep the topics coming its very interesting site and will contribute regular on here from now on.

thanks again

Does anyone have any idea about what used to be in Barrington.

Was there a pit there, and when did it close?

Was that the only industry?

I am researching my family tree, and have relatives that lived in Office Row in the early 1900s.

Are these buildings still there? Did they belong to the coal board, or who else owned them?

My relative was described as a servant girl, living in office row, but I assume Office Row would not be where she worked, only lived.

Would love to hear of any history of this street, and/or Barrington.

Theres a lot of history connected to Barrington and the pit. Michael Longridge was a co-owner who had the Bedlington Ironworks. He wanted coal for the ironworks at a keen price and got involved in it. The first pit at Barrington was a landsale one and owned by Thomas Mason. It was Longridge that approached him for coal. When Barrington Colliery was due for improvements it was all carried out, but for some strange reason it never reopened.

I will get the history of Barrington on here very soon. Even got an old map of the village and pit. All the info. But i just dont know how to upload an attachment off my computer. If someone lets me know i wil get it up for you and history.

Oh, there was also a toll here too and you had to pay to pass the barrier. It was set up by the Coal Company.

I have fond memories of Barnton we lived in Alexander Row I went to the school until it was decided to close it (Mrs Topping was the headmistress if my memory serves me correctly) and we were all sent to the far reaches of Bedlingtonshire to continue our education I among others was sent to the Station School.

I remember the co-op and and I also remember a little shop which only sold sweets and pop it was just like a wooden shed I forget the name of the street it was on but it stood at a right angle to Alexander Row and you had to go through a cut to get to it, there might have been two streets at one time but one was getting demolished because the footballers used one of the dissused houses as their changing room.

I remember the rag n bone man coming round and a french bloke selling onions mind you he had an Ashington twang about his dialect lol.

I remember not so fondly the oot side netties and believe me they were cald in winter

my mam used to cook all our meals on the fire using the old black ranges we bathed in a tin bath in front of the fire on a first come first served basis the kettle was constantly on topping the bath up as the water cooled.

On a winters morning I remember Ice on the inside of my bedroom window.

The front door was normaly locked as it was rarely used but the back door was always open even if we went out, thieving from a neighbour was very rare. However I do remember a spate of thefts from a few houses in the street and no one could figure it out until someone worked out that as the houses were in a row and there was an empty house in the middle unlike today in the loft space you could go virtually the full length of the street undetected if you were quiet and these buggers were dropping down through the loft hatches stealing things and going back up this went on for about 2 weeks... I remember the day they were caught after they were sorted out vigilante style by very angry pitmen and their wives the police were called I know these 2 fellows never ventured near Barnton ever again mind you it was a punishment to behold.... at times I think it should be done now.... .Happy days as they say lol

I`ve been trying to find some photo`s of the school but these are the only images i could find. The information given with the painting read `The school was a wooden structure with seven classrooms. The painting shows Jo Daison ringing the bell and Bedlington Brickworks in the background.

The next image is a class photo taken in the 1930`s. The Headmaster Ben Berkley (front row, first right) and Jim Wood, teacher of class 3 (middle row, 3rd from right)

Is that painting of the school done by McKenzie the painter and decorator at Stakeford ?

What an interesting chap he was. Don't know if he is alive today. Used to see him with his dog out for a walk. He was originally one of the Pitmen Painters. He did did a lot of paintings and i got a lot of them in 6x4 duplicated off him. He was also a keen cyclist and he passed his memories on to the Sixtownships. Makes interesting reading. But what a painter.

I miss the neighbourhood spirit,unlocked doors open to all! Some things I miss from my child hood are Milk Bottles(sweets) proper ones, Tudor Bovril crisps,Texan bars, being able to play in street without getting ran over by a chav in a super-charged Nova Waiting for buses that never turned up, ever! STANDING on the terraces at St James' Park, playing Japs 'n' English never Germans 'n' English for some reason! Playing on the pit heaps, getting chased off the farmer with his 'Jelly Gun' Tettie picking with same farmer Being scared of 'The Colliery Polis' Generally having fun and not knowing what 'white lightning' was and not being bothered anyway!

Am gettin auld

Cracking topic here. Yes the pit heap was brilliant. We moved from Scotland Gate to West Avenue in Guidepost in 1961. There was, still is today, a lonnen at Patterson's Farm and i and my friends as kids walked down there to the pit heap regularly. One day on the pit heap i found, what i know now, as a fillers shovel, the handle broken off. I went to the top and some of my friends had old conveyor belting to slide down, but me, my new shovel slide. I sat on it and away i went, it was like out that Chevy Chase film the National Lampoons Vacation when he used one to slide. I was doing some speed and was heading for the burn at the bottom. I had to roll off the shovel it was going too fast. When i rolled off i still landed in the burn. Never forget that. All the lads were having a laugh, but when me mother seen the colour of me when i got in, i got a clippin on the ears and sent in the bath.

The colliery pollis never caught us but should have if he knew that we had a camp in the Choppington pit stockyard made from wood chocks. Great days indeed.

Crisps brings to mind "Chipmunk Crisps" do you remember them ? Tudor tho was my favorite. What with all these take-overs you can't get a decent crisp. i think there all bland.

Tettee picking was hard work too. We picked them for Patterson. Jack was a canny fella, and sadly his son, Neil, a couple years older than me, died of a heart attack at a young age.

Oh, do you know there's an Anglo Saxon burial site on that land ? Can't say where tho, but one is there and would love to see the right people do a dig. I took Barry Mead down to it and he was buzzing. That sort of thing is his forte, but nothing has happened as of yet.

I remember when living at Scotland Gate me dad telling me not to go in the farmers field as the farmer had a jelly gun. Never went in and me dad was pleased i listened. Mind you it wasn't the jelly gun that frightened me off, it was that huge bull that the farmer had in there. Never told him that tho

Yes some memories posted here. Keep them coming.

i remember something aboot that the vicker at the time was locked up coz there was a kids body found under the floor of the little chapple that was why it was demolished before it was knocked down it was used as an under age brothel

Use the site in a correct manner m8. if you got nothing better to say just don't bother with silly remarks.

Need to follow up the Stakeford Bridge with the proposed bridge drawing for it and more info. But how do i upload a photo of it off my computer. Im a historian, not a computer genius. Lets know please asap

Mention of place names brings to mind that few people are aware how Scotland Gate came by it's name. It is dimly supposed that it came from a battle between the Scots who had come over the Border on one of their marauding cattle stealing expeditions, and the inhabitants of that district. That is not so, however. Nearly everybody is aware that all the fields on a farm have distinctive names, and it happened that a field behind the plantation was called Scotland. A roadway from the main road was made through among the trees which had been cut down, and this was enclosed by a large iron gate. One house after another was built near it, (but on the opposite side) so they naturally became known as those at Scotland Gate, hence the present name.

from an original and rare document dated 1901.

more on our new website : www.sixtmedia.org.uk

get some topics going on our heritage and see what we can dig up of interest.

I think that is one of the most informative posts on the boards, well done John keep them coming.

Thank you for your comment.

Go to: www.sixtmedia.org.uk and there is more of the early history of Choppington & other townships in our area.

Does anybody remember The Gardeners arms?.

I was looking back on some previous topics today and was reading with interest about Bedlingtons claims to fame and how Bedlington could best be promoted throghout the world to bring in visitors

Camille continued on the theme of the Bedlington terrier and how it may have been created because of a bet in the Gardeners Arms. I do not know if that is how the Bedlington actually came into being what it is today [ I know it was bred fom a Rothbury Terrier] but she is possibly not too far away with her facts.

As I have mentioned before, I used to live in the market place when I was a kid. On [very odd] occasions my dad used to take me with him to the Gardeners Arms on a Sunday morning. The landlord was a friend of my dads , he was a character called Ned Metcalfe. Ned was a prominent and well respected breeder of Bedlington terriers and he bred them in kennels behind the pub. [behind front st. east]. Ned and I shared a birthday and he used pull me a "special" pint [1/2 a very weak shandy]

On one such occasion, I could only be about 6 or 7 years old, the Gardeners was a bit busier than normal and a few of the "strangers" were very well dressed. Ned introduced us to a couple called Bill and Evie, Bill was a breeder of Bedlingtons and was here to take one or two away down south and maybe to America he said. This guy, Bill, I remember, was the perfect gentleman and seemed very popular [i remember being a bit peeved at not getting my normal attention from Ned], probably because he bought more than his fair share of rounds. Also I remember telling my dad that the bloke gave me the creeps, Bill heard me and broke into hoots of laughter.

I later found out that this couple were none other than Boris Karloff [real name William Pratt] and his wife Evie. I know he came back to the Gardeners a few times in the 60's before he apparrently became crippled with arthritis, then he used to send someone else.

On the point of promoting Bedlington, it would help if some people would actually admit to coming from here when asked where they come from. Where ever I have been in this country, or abroad , if someone asked where I came from I would proudly say BEDLINGTON then let them ask where bedlington is and then I would tell them that it is a small town in Northumberland. I saw Jayne Middlemas being interviewed on telly not long ago and she told the interviewer that she was from "near Newcastle". Yet Ross Noble told an audience on t.v. that he came from Cramlington. Could be that Ms Middlemass feels that Bedlington is not up there with the best places to come from , unlike Ross Nobles Cramlington or the Charlton brothers' Ashington.

yes it was the place to be if you were interested in bedlington terriers. will post some history on it soon.

Just found this on the journal site whilst browsing and thought this may have jogged a few memories.

In the early days of transport and at the Furnace Bank on the River Blyth, a bus would stop at the top of the bank and let its passengers off. They would then have to walk down and up the bank at the other side and get back on to complete their journey.

Taken from Journal site: http://bedlington.jo...bedlington.html

its from a story i did for them in the extra. "a life lost for a penny"

www.sixtownships.org.uk

more stories of interest.

Just found out where Storey`s Buildings were and they aren`t where we were thinking! They were opposite what used to be Taits shop at Choppington. Richardson Buildings is still there but Storey`s Building isn`t. I`m assuming they would have been to the left of these houses?

Another point of interest now that you mention Taits Shop. Taits was once a public house too. The Pig & Whistle" it was. When they began making their own superb ice cream, the old cellar was an ideal storage for it. Nice and cool.

Opposite Taits was once another pub, the Choppington Inn. Long gone and they used to bottle their own ale too.

Hi. John Dawson here. Sixtownships Community Group Secretary and local historian. Good topics talked about on here. First, Storey's Buildings was to the rear of where the Welfare is today (2012) I see another topic on how Scotland Gate got its name. This is a very interesting topic indeed and i will clear the mystery up today. In the old days all fields had names given to them by the farmers and it just happened to be that when Scotland Gate was developed the field the building were erected on was "Scotland" and the with the entrance the name Scotland Gate. Gateway to Scotland Gate.

Another interesting topic is Guide Post and how it actually got its name. The ancient Salter Road ran from Morpeth to the north east coast and at the north south road at east Choppington stood a sign post, also called a fingers post, and this was actually interpreted into Guide Post in the first half of the 19th century when the area was being developed.

I see another good topic about the Queens Head and Anvil Inn. The person is right in saying the old queens was pulled down to make way for the round-a-bout when the slum clearance began. However, if you go into the bar of the Queens Head today, you are actually in the "Smithy" as the Old Anvil Inn, which is the top end of the lounge, as it was extenteded at a later date, had the smithy adjoining it. When the then Bedlington Terrier was built at Bedlington, the Anvil Inn tenant was offered the tenancy of the Bedlington Terrier and took the offer up. The Anvil stood empty after that for many years and when the old Queens Head was demolished, it was decided to rename the Anvil Inn the Queens Head. Now at the old Quuens Head the licensee was a Mr. Shiel, and Mr and Mrs Beal ran the pub for him. He decided to let them take the license over in their own right for their loyalty and he was to retire. I have many photos of the old Queens Head and of the inside, with the Beal's perfoming terrier in the bar, and of the opening of the Queens Head as we know it today. if anyone is interested i will post them up, let me know, as i am always busy doing something on the history of our area. I had spoke to Mrs Beal prior to her death, and she loaned me many pics and a duplicated them and gave her the originals back. She was a very interesting woman, and she told me she was once a nurse. i remember the Beal's son very well as he was a little older than me and went to the old Guide Post Secondary Modern School. Oh, before i go, Joe Lawson, holding the horses head on Queend Head pic, was a master stone-mason and was involved in the building of the very first Stakeford Bridge, as well as other prominent buildings and Storey's Buildings.

take care, if anyone needs any help i will try to answer questions. I will put up the story of how the Church at Choppington came to be very soon as its also interesting, and maybe about the performing bears at Choppington.

All the best for the New Year to you all.

regards

john

I am researching my family history at the moment and my grandfather and great grandfather both had an address of Storey's Buildings... Does anyone know what they were, where they were or have any information on them at all?

Thanks!

Thought I'd give this one a bump... as it has had 400 views!!

There must be a picture of storeys buildings somewhere... I have a challenge for you all, can anyone find it??

I have one but my collection is being listed for easier acess and just can't put my hands on it. As soon as i come to it i will post it. Why not let us post some old pics of Choppington and Guide Post on here for all. I got some rare ones too and very interesting they are. Lets see what we can do

I am researching my family history at the moment and my grandfather and great grandfather both had an address of Storey's Buildings... Does anyone know what they were, where they were or have any information on them at all?

Thanks!

Hi. John Dawson here. Sixtownships Community Group Secretary and local historian. Good topics talked about on here. First, Storey's Buildings was to the rear of where the Welfare is today (2012) I see another topic on how Scotland Gate got its name. This is a very interesting topic indeed and i will clear the mystery up today. In the old days all fields had names given to them by the farmers and it just happened to be that when Scotland Gate was developed the field the building were erected on was "Scotland" and the with the entrance the name Scotland Gate. Gateway to Scotland Gate.

Another interesting topic is Guide Post and how it actually got its name. The ancient Salter Road ran from Morpeth to the north east coast and at the north south road at east Choppington stood a sign post, also called a fingers post, and this was actually interpreted into Guide Post in the first half of the 19th century when the area was being developed.

I see another good topic about the Queens Head and Anvil Inn. The person is right in saying the old queens was pulled down to make way for the round-a-bout when the slum clearance began. However, if you go into the bar of the Queens Head today, you are actually in the "Smithy" as the Old Anvil Inn, which is the top end of the lounge, as it was extenteded at a later date, had the smithy adjoining it. When the then Bedlington Terrier was built at Bedlington, the Anvil Inn tenant was offered the tenancy of the Bedlington Terrier and took the offer up. The Anvil stood empty after that for many years and when the old Queens Head was demolished, it was decided to rename the Anvil Inn the Queens Head. Now at the old Quuens Head the licensee was a Mr. Shiel, and Mr and Mrs Beal ran the pub for him. He decided to let them take the license over in their own right for their loyalty and he was to retire. I have many photos of the old Queens Head and of the inside, with the Beal's perfoming terrier in the bar, and of the opening of the Queens Head as we know it today. if anyone is interested i will post them up, let me know, as i am always busy doing something on the history of our area. I had spoke to Mrs Beal prior to her death, and she loaned me many pics and a duplicated them and gave her the originals back. She was a very interesting woman, and she told me she was once a nurse. i remember the Beal's son very well as he was a little older than me and went to the old Guide Post Secondary Modern School. Oh, before i go, Rutter who had the old Queens Head was a master stone-mason and was involved in the building of the very first Stakeford Bridge, as well as other prominent buildings.

take care, if anyone needs any help i will try to answer questions. I will put up the story of how the Church at Choppington came to be very soon as its also interesting, and maybe about the performing bears at Choppington.

All the best for the New Year to you all.

regards

john