Canny lass

Make a cuppa, this is long but I hope you find it as interesting as I did. If I had paid the ½d toll everytime I’ve gone through Bebside Woods the past couple of days, I’d now be 2/- out of pocket! However, I’d have considered it money well spent as I’ve managed not only to make aquaintance with the occupants of the ’Hapenny Woods’ and witness its change from agricultural to industrial but also to plot the development of Bebside from it becoming a civil parish in its own right,1866, to its abolishment and incorporaton in Blyth 1920 – long overdue in my research but I won't bore you with that bit. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find Toll Cottage recorded by this name in any public record. Neither have I been able to find any occupation recorded which relates to the collection of toll money. Presumably, like so many other addresses at that time, it was a familiar name given by the locals to aid identification. Census records from 1841 to 1911show only 4 dwellings in the woods between Bedlington bridge and Rose Cottage. In earlier years they are simply referred to as ” cottages in the woods” but since 1861 they are named. The names of these dwellings have, however, changed a few times. The properties are never the less identifiable because of similarities in their names, their location on the route of the enumerator, their occupants, who don’t appear to have moved much and, in later census records, by the number of rooms in each dwelling. Starting at the Bedlington end and working along the river Blyth towards Bebside we find: Bridge End Cottage (4 rooms), formerly called Bedlington Bridge and occupied 1871-1911 by Thomas Weighell, occupation winding engineman. Mill House (more than 5 rooms), even called Bebside Mill and occupied 1861 by horse dealer Samuel Gardner. The property was clearly well suited to horse dealng as it is occupied 1871 and 1881 by another horse dealer, John Henderson. In 1891 Mill House does not appear by name and instead is named as a second Bebside Mill Cottage. The occupant then is Joseph Thompson (former occupant of the smaller, two-room Bebside Mill Cottage) his wife, 5 children, mother-in-law and horse dealer John Henderson, the former Mill House occupant, who is now a lodger. Joseph Thompson remains in residence 1901 and 1911. Bebside Mill Cottage (2 rooms), also called Bebside Cottage, is unoccupied in 1861 but in 1871 the occupier is agricultural labourer, David Rutherford but 1881 sees coal miner Joseph Thompson in residence. Ten years later, 1891, he has moved into the next-door,larger, four-room Mill House together with his family and the 2 room Bebside Mill Cottage is occupied by steam-ploughman, George Summers, his wife and 3 children. 1901 Bebside Mill Cottage is recorded as unoccupied but the enumerator makes a marginal note that one person, a man, ”slept in house on night of 31 March but is entered on 200 schedule 3 Brick Row where he stays during day”. Thrown out by the wife perhaps or indulging in a bit of hankey-pankey? I’m sure there’s a story there somewhere and all the more interesting because he is a relative of mine! By 1911 the cottage is again occupied and coal miner Herbert Wilkie, son-in-law of neighbour Joseph Thompson, has moved in. Wood Cottage (2 rooms), in 1861 called ’Woodmans Cottage', lies on the parish boundary and as such is the last dwelling before Rose Cottage, Bebside Furnace. The name has changed many times: Bebside Woods Cottage (1871), Bedlington Cottage (1881) and Bedlington Woods Cottage in 1891 before becoming Wood Cottage in 1901. For more than 30 years, from 1861 to and including 1891, Wood Cottage was the home of Mathew Cairns and his family. He was a woodsman by occupation until 1881, possibly looking after the Halfpenny Woods. In 1891, aged 54 years, Mathew was still in residence but now living alone and his occupation is given as ’gardener’. In 1901, even Wood Cottage is occupied by a miner Thomas Aisbitt but in 1911 it has been taken over by his son, Richard, former ”pit heap lad” now market gardener. Wood Cottage is, I believe, the so-called ’Toll House’. It seems appropriate, because of its location at the boundary and that Mathew, being a woodsman, should have included in his duties the collection of toll money for the landowner – perhaps his employer. Why his occupation changes to gardener may be due to a change of land ownership or he may be working at Bebside gardens by the old Iron Works or at Cowpen gardens at the top of the hill. It could be interesting to know when the toll was abolished. But, is Wood Cottage the building in the previous photos?

Answers to last week's quiz: A percussion instrument Vienna Little Tommy Stout Delia Smith Wally Leonardo da Vinci Andrew Johnson Darts Lonnie Donnegan A dove and a raven James Fenimore Cooper Prince Charles (Duchy of Cornwall) New quiz tomorrow.

It's OK. A very kind non-member but avid reader contacted me with birth details for both Edith Godsmark and her father which solved the problem. Thank you LAB!

@Les Dixon This is not Frankie Morland. The name was later changed to Derek Taylor which I agree with. Would you be meaning Frankie Morland from netherton Colliery? I don't recall a brother Bob only a sister Joan. If it's frankie from Netherton, then his father was called Bob, I believe.

Have you looked at the actual book (Bergen's), David? In books of this age it's not unusual to find at the beginning or at the end a 'List of Illustrations' with a source reference. That source can be either a page in the book where the photo is to be found or the origin of the photo. Might give you a clue where to look next.

I haven't been able to find a marriage entry for either couple and I've searched 1880 -1920. Of course, it wasn't uncommon to 'live over the brush' as the saying went at that time. I haven't found them on any census yet either but if they weren't born before 1911 it would be impossible. I'm working on the photos at the minute and might have something to report back on tomorrow.

It would be interesting with a date of birth, approximate year would do, so that I can find them on the census and see what the adress was. The names of Fredericks parents could be useful if it was before 1911.

You're right there, Vic!

The more heads the better!

Sounds nice but at 2 million quid I doubt if I'll be one of the 130 people on the waiting list for an Evija.

@James there's nothing wrong with drawing the wrong conclusions from research. Even the wrong conclusions can be very helpful in enabling the research to move forward. Your last post gave me a whole new angle on the area. Previously in my research, I've followed the family from Crofton through Cowpen, Bebside, Bebside Furnace, across the river to Walker Road then up to Glebe Road and eventually to Netherton where I was born. Until now I haven't thought about looking at Bebside Furnace area from Bedlington and moving along the riverside as you did in your last post. Now I can see it clearly. As I've moved along the riverside from the furnace area towards Bedlington, the last house on the riverside has always been Rose Cottage - next door to Clock House. Had I gone further, into the next parish I could have been certain that I was correct in my conclusion much earlier. I've been using the census for Cowpen and Bebside which 1891 enumerates "all that part of the township of Cowpen west of the railway (...) and houses along the riverside as far as the Bebside Township boundary". Had I just stepped over the boundary I would have found Toll Cottage. For a while I considered it also as Rose Cottage but thanks to your input I see clearly that it is not, because Toll Cottage lies exactly on the parish boundary but not in the Bebside Parish I've researched. This first map from 1866 has a lot of damage but it shows the boundary clearly with Toll House (Green) immediately to the left. I've marked Clock house (Blue) and Rose Cottage (Red). All can be seen clearly on the second map from 1897. (same colour marking). Now i'm happy! The location of Rose Cottage is decided!

It's very late but it is still Friday: What is a glockenspiel? In which European city is the Spanish Riding School based? According to the nursery rhyme who pulled pussy out of the well? Which cook has written a book called Winter Collection? In The Last of the Summer Wine who is married to Nora? Born in 1452 who recorded his scientific notes in mirror writing? Who became US president after the assassination of Lincoln? The World Professional Championships of which sport moved to the Lakeside Country Club, Surrey, in 1966? Who was known as ‘The King of Skiffle’? In the Bible, which two birds did Noah send out from the Ark? Who wrote The last of the Mohicans? Who owns Dartmoor Prison? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. George Michael was sacked from his Saturday job at British Home Stores for not wearing a shirt and tie in the stockroom. Answers on Thursday next week.

Answers to last week's quiz: Aldwich Charles I Joseph Managua Welder Ian Botham Tchaikovsky Brandy 8 Dana Anthony Eden 6 New quiz tomorrow.

You make speeches at home? What your poor wife must have to put up with!

That's too complicated for my mind at this time of the day!

In the actual House of Commons?

Thanks for the input @James! This area is extremely important to me as my parents lived in Clock House and I had sisters who were born and died there. I've researched it backwards, forwards and inside out but I'm still not 100% sure of my findings. Bridge House, I'm 100% certain so I try to guage everything from there but I've had several theories along the way and haven't ruled any of them out yet. My own personal childhood memories of the immediate area are limited to taking the bus across the bridge to visit family in one of the rows at the top of the hairpin bend, Stone Row, and nothing more. It would help me enormously to know exactly where the entrance to the woods was. I don't suppose you could point it out on a map for me? I fully agree with you about the gardener's cottage. I feel it seems a bit on the small side for a boiler room or any other sort of power house for industry of these dimensions and it seems reasonable that the gardener had his dwelling near at hand. This was the case at the top of the bend where Cowpen gardens lay.. Getting back to Rose Cottage, I can't agree with you that Rose Cottage, as I call it, and Toll House, as John calls it, are one and the same thing. Here are the differences that I see. for the sake of easy comparison, I am posting these two photos once again but this time side by side: First of all, forget whatever you've been told about size not being important! It really is, at least when it comes to comparing buildings. Toll House shows: max 2 stones width between door and window max 2 stones width between window and gable end Windows 2 panes wide full width lintel stone above and below the window frame No stone surround on windows Rose Cottage shows: At least 6 stones width between door and 'porch' plus further 2 stones width to door At least 6 stones width between window and gable end Windows 4 panes wide No lintel stone above the window Windows have full stone surround Apart from these details the obvious thing that's missing in John's photo of Toll Cottage is Clock house - which would be seen in a photo taken from that angle as there was very little space between them. What do you think? I have a couple of other possibilities for Toll House in mind but it depends on where the entrance to the woods was located. There are several instances in census records of "cottage(s) in the woods" that might fit the bill if their location is right in relation to the entrance. Grateful for any help you can give me here.

You might try the Northumberland Archives,Michael, https://northumberlandarchives.com Thomas Davison has popped up in my reasearch earlier on documents related to Bedlington Colliery - last one dated 1857.

In my family too but they were in coal-mining. They've probably tread common ground. Re the location of the Rose & Crown Inn in the photo:

A fantastic work, researched and written as a tribute to his grandfather who, I'm sure, would be extremely proud of his grandson.

Sorry, editing problems again! continued; On every census record I've waded through over the years for the riverside area, Rose Cottage is next door and to the east of Clock House. There are no further dwellings recorded in an eastward direction along the river. When the enumerator moves from the Iron Works towards the bridge and hairpin bend he records the dwellings in the order: Bridge House (sometimes called Bridge End House), Clock House and Rose Cottage before goung up the hill to Se View, paradise Row etc. In John's picture there is a gate leading into, or out of the Halfpenny Woods. This suggests to me that it is the Toll house and I believe it to be on the riverside (there were several Toll Houses on Lord Ridley's land, at least one up on the hill), as the ground slopes steeply upwards behind it. Comparing John's Toll sign photo and his Toll Cottage photo of 2013 suggests to me that the sign was placed at the right corner of the gable end facing away from the photographer in the cottage photo. A very small portion of that gable end is seen on the right of John's sign photo. It has a very, very short eves over-hang and a tree, behind a block stone wall, immediately to its right. Furthermore, there is a down-pipe from the gutter which leans slightly inward towards the bottom. All three are also present in John's cottage photo. Assuming that the sign is placed to be read by people entering the woods, I believe the Toll Cottage photo to be taken from inside the woods and therefore looking towards Bridge House. Therefore, I think that it may possibly be a dwelling recorded as Bebside gardens in the 1901 and 1911 census. The gardens skirted the river bank on the Bebside side of the river.

Eggy, I'm not sure that I agree with John on this one if he is saying this is Rose Cottage on other sites. January 2, 2013 John posted a picture of what I believe to be the same building but called it Toll Cottage. He also posted the photo of the Toll sign, which you repost above, on the same date - both from his private collection.