Canny lass

@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.

@AvrilG Living in Ashington makes things a lot easier for you! Pop along to the Northumberland Archives at Woodhorn. I'm pretty certain that they will have taken care of the parish records from St Peters (West Sleekburn). You can find their opening hours at https://www.northumberlandarchives.com/. I don't think you need to book before visiting. They can do a search for Edward’s grave, verify which cemetery and give you the plot number of his grave. I forgot to mention that St Peters (West Sleekurn) got a new cemetery when the original was full. It is located next door to the Forresters Arms on Wansbeck Terrace in West Sleekburn, and just opposite the site of the old St Peters church and cemetery. Just when it was opened, I can't be sure but it is registered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as having a few war graves from WW1 so it was there at the time of Edward's death. It might be worth having a wander round the gravestones to see if any names ring a bell.

So sorry about this mistake! It should of course say Edward's death and not Edwin. My sincere apologies.

I don't know if you know the area at all so I thought you might like these as well. The first, and larger, of the photos is St Andrew (Cambois) and the second, smaller, photo is St Peter (West Sleekburn. I'll get all of these off to your in-box now.

This report, from the Blyth News 18 March 1928 is quite long so it is in two separate files. Read them one after the other the coroner's comments are the second part.

The news of Edwin's death, or rather the coroner's inquiry into Edwins death, was quite widely reported in the North East. It must have been a trying time for the family. Here are some of the newspaper reports: More following.

@AvrilG We try to help when we can! Would you like me to post the cuttings here (they are digital copies) or would you like them sent to your private in-box?

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.

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.

Hi @Richard Norton and welcome to the forum. Here is a map f and some photos that might interest you. The map is from 1922. In 1911 Henry was living and working in the building located between the Post Office and the Workingmen's Club. I've underlined these in red on the 1922 map so you can see the approximate area within the Market Place. In the following photo of the Market Place (1930) I've arrowed the house in which Henry lived and worked - the one with the white awning. I have no idea if he rented or owned the property but as he states that worked "at home" it's safe to say he lived on his work premises. The building is easy to locate from the 1901 and 1911 census records where it is always in the same location in relation to The Turks Head public house (the first PH to the right of my red line on the map). This next photo, date unknown) shows the market place from a different angle. I've arrowed the building again and you can clearly see the Post Office to its right, though Hub's Pork Butchers has now become Kiddies Corner. The Tudor style building to the far right is the Howard Arms. The larger building to its left is the Turks Head. The Fish & Chip shop to the left of Henry's house was previously the Workingmen's club - Henry's neighbour in 1911. I hope this is of some help.

Englishmen and scotsmen may well have been the same thing back then. A scotsman once told me that a Geordie was ”a scotsman wi his brains bashed oot”. Cheeky b……!

A proper little oasis!

Thank you Malcolm for this interesting series of 'factoids'. It's been an eye-opener learning how the well-oiled wheels of local politics function, don't function and even grind to a stand still on occasions. This sort of transparency, is something that is invaluable. Keep up the good work!

... why not give it another go, Malcolm. I think these would be much appreciated. When I've had 'foreign' family and friends with me on visits they've loved hearing the history.

Very nice indeed! What a transformation! Huge thanks to everybody that was involved.