Canny lass

Silly me! It is January 2022. I must take more water with my whisky. Just checked, it's not available on Ancestry yet.

I think there must be a mistake here. The 1921 census hasn't been released yet. It's not due until Jan 2022. Eggy, I think you're right about a Chapel Row being located in Barrington Colliery but it was located within the parish of Bedlington and for the purposes of the census (at least those of 1901 1nd 1911) it lay within the boundaries of the enumeration district of Bedlington (sub-district 9). Some enumerators were a bit careless when it came to filling in the town name at the top of every page so it can sometimes be confusing. However, there was also a Chapel Row at the East end of the town, roughly in the vicinity of Bell's Place and Walker Terrace. I'll try and locate some paperwork on it tomorrow. Grahame, I don't suppose you ever had any relatives at Netherton Colliery?

Welcome to the forum, Grahame. It is a good thread and if you look around the site there are plenty more like it. Feel welcome and make yourself at home.

I've had a quck look at Clock House, through the census records and a few older maps. I can find nothing in either the census records or on the maps to suggest a church on that site. In fact, the building itself doesn’t seem to be named in any census before 1871 when it appears as ”Clock House” comprising five separate occupied dwellings. It’s worth remembering that the Bedlington Iron Works had closed some four years earlier in 1867. The families living there in 1871 were exclusively mineworkers families – possibly part of the great influx that ocurred around that time to cope with the íncreased demand for coal. The enumerator’s district description for 1871 includes for the first time ”some houses at Bedlington Iron Works” and Clock House is one of them. (also included are Garden House, Barrack Row and Bridge House). That’s not to say that people didn’t live at the Iron Works prior to 1871. The 1851 district descripton records ”houses in Cowpen Township at Bedlington Iron Works” and shows 35-40 dwellings recorded simply as ”Furnace” in the enumerator’s book. Judging by their recorded occupation, the residents were exclusively Iron Works employees. If Clock House was one of these dwellings is impossible to say as there were no individual addresses recorded at that time. Interestingly, Clock House appears as ”Clock Tower” in the 1901 census, when it houses four families.

Answers to last week's "New Year Special": Left-handed Second hand furniture dealer Feathers She did her housework in the nude 1597 122 A small owl 88 Casanova 3 years Flashing Liechtenstein True Russia William Wordsworth They are not immune to their own poison Silverstone 133 Thomas Coryat (1608) Elton John Normal service will be resumed tomorrow with the weekly quiz.

Joe, I don't know much about the history of the house, other than that when my parents lived there, 1933-35, it comprised two dwellings (and it's shown as such on earlier maps). I agree, it is a bit churchy in appearance and it does have an central door on the left gable end as can be seen in the photo which James posted. I haven't seen it marked as a church on any maps but I can have a look through some old census records and see if I can find any early information.

Now it's me who might be doing the misleading! I was wondering when the clock tower disappeared - not Clock House. Clock House is still shown on maps dated 1938 but the clock tower (which appears to be attached to the rear of the building) last appears on the 11922 map.

I'm afraid you've been mislead there, Eggy. Tracey Gair's mother-in-law, Margaret (Peggy Gair) was born in Back Stone Row, Bebside Furnace as were her following 3 siblings. The family didn't move to Clock House until 6 years after Peggy's birth and lived there only 2 years before moving into the Arcade on Glebe Road. BTW Foxy's photo is dated 1899.

That first photo of 1902 is interesting, James! You can clearly see the bridge as it was before the new parapet was added and I think I can just about make out the clock tower on the back of Clock House. I've often wondered when that disappeared. I've found it on maps from 1866 and 1922 but it doesn't appear on the 1938 map.

Nice picture from 1910! I haven't seen that one before. Looking at the last photo, you can see some of the housing of Bebside Furnace at the top of the hill. My parents started their married life there in the 1920s. By 1934 they had moved down the hill and were living in the house to the right of the bridge in the picture. That is Clock House, part of the old Iron Works. I've childhood memories of hurtling down that hill from Bebside in the upstairs front seat of a double decker bus which took the bend onto the bridge at what i thought was break-neck speed. It's a wonder we ever made it to Bedlington.

Bedlington Iron (and locomotive) Works occupied that site. It was later taken over as housing for the increasing population of miners in Bebside and became known as Bebside Furnace. You can read a short history here: https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Bedlington_Ironworks and there are some photos in the gallery of the bridge, Dene House and Clock House.

I didn't know that! Thank you!

The 1921 census should be released this year and there can be more to learn from that.

Forgot to mention: If you are looking for maps to show Bedlington's growth and development I can recommend downloading this pdf: https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/NorthumberlandCountyCouncil/media/Planning-and-Building/Conservation/Archaeology/Bedlington.pdf

@Sloopy .Dog the following map-sites are free to use and should be useful to you: https://maps.nls.uk/ https://www.oldmapsonline.org/ https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/maps Those I posted above are edited screen dumps from these sites. Re the Land Registry, I believe they do older searches as well but I don't have any personal experience of that facility. You could contact them and ask, before you order anything. Thanks for the photo of the church. I see that it says "Spiritualist Church" above the door but I can't read the first word. Have you been able to read it? I looked it up on Internet and it seems to still be in use as a spiritualist church at that address, although I can also see that the Ashington Spiritual community is now called "Ashington and Bedlington" Spiritualist Church - formerly it was just "Ashington". https://bedlington.cylex-uk.co.uk/company/bedlington-station-spiritualists'-church-19320980.html

Forget Ferndale house and Chester House! They were number 27 and 28. In 1939 number 36 was occupied by the Robinsons, a family of five plus what appears to be a visitor or boarder. The head of the family and one of the sons both worked for London North Eastern Railways - the father as a motor driver and the son a permanent way labourer. The residents of 37 did however have mining connections, the head of the family being a miner (filler underground). These two houses are pretty much mid-way between Bedlington A pit and Barrington Colliery. He could have worked at either. Have you considered using the Land Registry for England? They aren't too expensive if the history is important to you. https://www.landregistrytitledeeds.co.uk

Sorry Joe, i forgot to post the 1922 map:

@Sloopy .Dog Your house is definitely on the 1922 map. Have you any record of it, or your neighbour's house, previously being called Ferndale House or Chester House? These are the two names that show up next door to each other on Ravensworth Street in the 1939 register. That would locate them approximately between the two halves of ravensworth Street. In 1939 they weren't occupied by miners (who generally had a more simple terrace house, my relative lived in Liddle Street at that time)) but by a retired grocer and a retired schoolmaster. That's not to say they weren't owned by the colliery.

It's not the same chapel. The Colliery Methodist Chapel is just opposite the entrance to Bower Grange. I've marked the Spiritual Chapel with a pink dot.

There is a Spiritual Church that is first shown on the 1938 New series and there is a close neighbouring building. Could they be the garages?

Same here, Pete, now, but it was nearer 1-2 this morning at 6am.

Good morning 2022! How are we all feeling this morning? Be honest:

Happy New Year to all members. I was thinking about wishing you all good health and great happiness but beggar that, I just hope you all win the lottery! A bit of advice for this evening's festivities: If you're having wine, open the bottle to let it breathe. If it's not breathing, give it mouth to mouth!

New Year’s Eve or not, it’s still Friday. Here we are, on the brink of yet another new year and the pandemic is still very much alive and kicking. Who would have thought it possible, 10 April 1920, when I started posting a quiz to break the week up and keep the old grey matter ticking over and pliable. Once again it’s time to recap and take stock of anything we may have learned that might just come in useful one day. Get your thinking caps on! If you get this out of the way now, you’ll still have plenty of time to celebrate the arrival of 2022 - carefully and at a safe distance, of course. 2021 New Year Special: Are polar bears right-handed or left-handed? According to his business card, what was the profession of Al Capone? Golf balls were originally made of leather but what were they stuffed with? What was unusual about the way in which author Raymond Chandler’s wife did the housework? When was the first book on plastic surgery written? How many times an hour can a desert rat have sex? What did Florence Nightingale keep in her pocket during the Crimean War? At how many steps per minute does the Foreign Legion march? Beethoven, Casanova, George V. Which of them was a Freemason? At what age can a male eskimo be taught to smoke a pipe? For what offence was James Watt twice arrested? In which country was a referendum held to decide the placement of a public toilet? Only male canaries can sing . true or false? Maps of which country showed the capital city a few miles from it’s true position in order to confuse guided-missile programmers? Which English poet was once thought to be a French spy? Are scorpions immune to their own poison? Which racing circuit is built on abandoned RAF runways? How many minutes a day does the average newborn baby spend crying? Who introduced the table fork to England? Who played the piano in the Hollies’ hit He aint heavy, he’s my brother? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Kangaroos cannot jump if their tails are lifted off the ground. Answers on Thursday next week.

Not wishing to sound like a diva, or anything of that nature but ... about time too! It's completely stolen my moment of glory, my thunder, my accolade! 😡