Barton Lad

It might also be worth considering a chapel of rest in St Cuthbert Church. There is an existing chapel of rest at present for people killed during the world wars. Maybe this chapel could be refurbished to include miners killed and maimed in our pits. The chapel would also include a remembrance book, similar idea to what is used at the Cowpen crematorium. I am not sure how practical it would be to compile such a book !!! There was a flower display at St Cuthbert several months ago, and I seem to recall someone had dedicated a flower arrangement to the miners, oddly enough in the chapel of rest,

Certainly the smashed windows of the Clayton Arms give a very bad impression. Does anyone know how they got smashed. Also the Railway tavern (mid week) appears to be struggling, bar nearly in darkness in the evening. I guess to save money. On a positive note, the Percy Arms has been converted into a Italian restaurant, which appears to be doing well.

Barrington football team, 1947?

The photograph shows the layout of bedlington station and barrington in 1924.

Picture of the Barrington Cricket team in 1946. I think the two Scott's brothers lived in Office Row. I also seem to recall the brothers having a proper quoit pitch behind the coal cree's. The peg target was in wet cement, which must have been covered up after every game. We never had any outdoor quoits, so I never really played the game. I assume they must have played for money, or maybe there was even a league.

I seem to remember that the Station Social Club was male only in the 1950's, no ladies were allowed into the club. How time has changed!!!

I can remember one night returning back home after a few beers. I decided to take a bottle of Muters pop to bed, just in case I needed a drink during the night. Slept right through to the morning and found the bottle of pop frozen. Our bedroom windows also froze up on the inside, but gosh it must have been cold that night for the pop to freeze.

No need to apologise Keith, but to be honest I cannot remember any old folk (pensioners) apart from the Phillipson's. I am sure there was, but the numbers must have been quite small, which begs the question where did they all go at 65. Hopefully they were given a miners cottage, or maybe lived in with their daughters/sons, but I suspect the answer was the life expectancy in the 50's was only 65 years. I can also vaguely remember doing some potato picking, which you need good connections to get on the picking team. The farm was somewhere over West Sleekburn, I think my wage was 17 shillings and six pence for 4 days. You were allowed to bring a pail full of potatoes home at the very end.

As a matter of interest who actually built the Oval shops and the houses. I guess it would before the likes of Bell and Leach were around?

Keith, your comment about the old folk, made me starting thinking. The only retired people I can remember were the Phillipson's who lived at the top of office row. He was an ex pit manager and according to my mum the coal they received was a better quality. After that my brain is dead, about old folk living at Barrington. I don't think there was a huge data base of people wanting to have their coals put in. Remember every house in the row's had family of several children, with at least one lad of capable of putting the coal in. But clearly some families wanted this service, but the numbers would not be large. The lads would know these clients and know when the coal would be delivered. I suspected they would sort out the arrangements during the school dinner time. I also understand they put several coals in on the same day, so pay could be attractive. My hunch is the lads pennies, would sub-element the family living, rather than to be used as pocket money. Remember they put-in several loads, so the pay could be attractive. But I could be completely wrong, but good luck to them at least they were prepared to work. PS: I never saw of them wearing anything from Marcus Price. Wow that is shop from the past !!!

I can also remember dog/whippet racing in that location. I think the shops were all built and the racing was on the field in front, which I think now belongs to the school. The hare/rag tethered was attached to an upturn cycle. Some guy turning the wheel like mad, when the white flag was dropped. I guess racing came to a stop, when the school was built, but not until the Netherton lads won the big money with their dog Rosie, or so the rumour has it. Maybe the police also had a hand in closing down the racing, since betting must have been involved. I think Netherton had a proper dog track!!!

Can anyone remember the practice of "putting the coal†into the coal Cree's for pocket money. The free coal arrived and was dumped in a heap, close to the Cree. Certain families could not put the coal in and relied upon the local lads (junior school) for this task, which they got paid for. I was never involved with this business, nor did I try to muscle in. It was enough to put our own coal in. I was never aware of any hassle, with this pocket money business, but I do suspect that if anyone was daft enough to try you may get spoken to. Incidentally, there was no police station/depot at Barrington. We had a visit maybe once a week with police on a bike from Bedlington. But we did have colliery police, but I am not sure how effective he was. Because of statement we used to use "you got a better job as a colliery policeâ€, in other words he had a very cushy job.

Keith to be honest, I never venture up into the loft, but I was told the loft was common. I guess the proof was this lad, several doors away, climbed along the loft to ask for comics at out loft exit. The rows was built pre 1900, therefore I suspect building the cheapest was the objective rather than safety etc. Thinking about the logistics of this loft stunt, I wonder how he managed to see. I would guess it must have been the summer nights, which would have given some light into the loft by the gaps/cracks of the roof. No one had any torches, and hopefully he would not have used a lighted candle or matches? The loft must have been very dusty, I wonder what his clothes was like when he returned back home. Also can you manage what other families were thinking when this lad was climbing over the top of their bedroom ceiling. Mice on prowl again!!!

The lad sitting between Catherine and Jean was Alan Jarvis. I think the lad between Robin and Derek was called Turner, but I could be wrong. About that time there was an influx of new pupils to the Barrington School from the Oval, Station. This was the result of families moving from the pit rows at Choppington to much more luxury lifestyle in the Oval.

Most of the pit rows at Barrington had a common loft therefore in principle one could walk along the loft and drop into another house. {Maybe the Bedlington/Choppington rows were the same}To my knowledge no one ever did, simply because the front doors were never locked. They were never locked, because there was nothing to pinch. But I do remember one night lying in bed, when the loft cover was pushed back and Tommy, who lived a few doors way, pushed his head through. Tommy wanted to know if I had any comics to swap. We swapped comics and Tommy was off back along the loft to his home. This only happed the once, but looking back it was little crazy. Swapping comics was a big pastime in Barrington, particular America cowboys, such as Lash LaRue and Jim Hardie, Wells Fargo Marshall. I also remember one Christmas the jigsaw puzzle of Jim Hardie. The puzzle showed Hardie was a right handed gun fighter; in fact he was left handed. Needless to say there was uproar. The jigsaw was removed, and re-issued. Just a pity I never kept the right handed puzzle!!!