Canny lass

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! 😡

@Harvs72 I think you can take that gentleman's claim with a decent pinch of salt. I agree with Eggy. I've lived in both the Hartlands and the West Lea estates and I've been a guest in West Lea and I've never heard of any such thing. @Maggie/915 have you heard anything about this?

Now that's what I call recycling! Well done, Malcolm.

Answers to last week's Christmas special: Rocking Around the Christmas Tree Going carol-singing at Christmas (not to be confused with ‘Orchard wassailing’ which has nothing to do with Christmas. A Pagan mid-winter festival celebrated in Norse mythology The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come A button January 6 16th century Flying Fish Cove A goat Eight maids a milking Clockwise Olympia was a snow-woman Capricorn Santa Baby A cactus Female. Males shed their antlers in November and are without them until Spring False Miss Fanny Bright Theodore Roosevelt 1920s New Year special tomorrow when we can see if, and how much, our learning curve has improved or otherwise.

Nice to see you're still around! We're a tough lot us Bedlingtonians! Have a really good Christmas, Brian.

Merry Xmas everybody! It's all over bar the shouting here. We're bout to take a break from eating and watch Donald Duck so here's the Christmas quiz to keep you busy for a while: In which Christmas song can you find the words “Everyone dancing merrily in the new old-fashioned way”? What is wassailing? Before being connected with Christmas, what was Yule? What is the name of the last ghost that visits Scrooge in A Christmas Carol? What is Frosty the Snowman’s nose made out of? Among Christians who lived in the East when was Christmas originally celebrated? In what century was Christmas first written as Xmas? What is the Capital of Christmas Island? What does Santa ride on in Finland? According to the Christmas song, what did my true love give to me on the eighth day of Christmas? In which direction should you stir the Christmas pudding mix if you want to avoid bad luck, clockwise or anticlockwise? Apart from being the world’s largest, what was unusual about the snowman named Olympia? Under which zodiac sign are you born if your birthday is December 25th? What popular Christmas song did Eartha Kitt record in 1953? The Grinch is as cuddly as a what? Are Santa’s reindeer male or female? In Japan, Santa is said to live on the moon. True or false? In the song Jingle Bells who was seated by my side? Which American president banned Christmas trees from the White House? In what decade did Coca-Cola start using Santa Clause in adverts? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. (and maybe you’d rather not) Caga Tío (the shitting log) is an integral part of a Catalonian Christmas. Starting December 8, children feed a log of wood every evening with morsels of food and cover it with a blanket to keep it warm. On Christmas Eve they leave the log alone and go to another room and pray for a lot of presents. On returning, they sing songs to the log while beating the living daylights out of it with big sticks and telling it to “shit”. The bewildered log obliges with sweets, nuts, small toys and the Catalonian delicacy Turron nougat. Believe me, it’s a sight to behold! Here is one of their songs (translated to English) for you to enjoy and get you into the spirit of Christmas: Shit Tió, Hazlenuts and nougats, Don’t shit herrings, they are too salty, they are too salty. Shit nougat, it tastes better, Shit tió, almonds and nougat, and if you don’t want to shit I’ll hit you with my stick! Shit tió!

Answers to last week's quiz: Denmark Spandau Aniseed Green 27 Mercury 1971 A gift TO the city of Troy Bramall Teddy Boys Scapa Flow Crossbow North Polish Christmas special tomorrow.