Canny lass

I didn't! Can't wait to impress with that gem at the next social gathering.

It certainly is! My childhood Netherton Colliery and the same area today:

Nice easy one to start off the new year: What is the highest British decoration for bravery? Who or what is a fustanella? How many standard bottles are there in a Magnum? Who was George Michael’s partner in the pop-duo Wham? Tyto Alba is better known by what name? What is the name of the pilgrim in John Bunyan’s famous book? Which chemical element has the symbol Ca? What is the popular name of the pyracantha? Name the English landscape artist who painted The Haywain? What is the largest island in the Caribbean Sea? Which English football club play at Roots hall? Who was the first man to drive at more than 400 mph? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Shirt buttonholes are vertical but pyjama buttonholes are more often than not horizontal. Answers on Thursday, next week.

Both long gone, I'm afraid.

In 1881, according to the census of that year, there were 23 dwellings on Chapel Row. However, by 1911 this number had been reduced to six. It was a period of great change in the area with a lot of development around the Bell's Yard area. In 1911, while the enumerator notes 6 dwellings with a Chapel Row address, two of the residents give their address as Bell's Place so there was a modicum of confusion. There still weren't any house numbers to speak of which makes it even more difficult.

There's a Chapel Row at Cambois as well, and even that came under the heading 'Bedlington' for census and parish purposes way back then. i remember being bogged down with Chapel Lane research for ages, a few years ago. It can be quite confusing - as can most of the 'row' names of the greater area of the six townships. Fantasy in naming wasn't at it's best. I use Ancestry for my census research. It costs me about 120 pounds a year, but I think it's well worth it.

Ernest was living with his parents and 3 siblings in Yard Row, 1911 and is recorded as attending school, aged 5. Here's a picture of the school (compliments of Evan Martin):

It might be worth looking through the gallery images for Netherton and Nedderton old photos. There are school photos and mining photos where you might be able to place Henry or even Ernest now that you have a face to compare. Ernest must have started his schooling at the same infant school as me. feel free to ask if there's anything about Netherton I can help with.

Thank heavens it's not! We'd have two years of Covid in front of us!

@Grahame ApplebyThanks for the map showing Chapel Row, East End. Saved me looking for it. Have you seen this: http://www.newmp.org.uk/article.php?categoryid=99&articleid=1511&displayorder=97 You do appear to have some connections with Netherton Colliery. I asked about that connection because I was born there - in the next street, Howard Row. That was many years after Henry's death of course, but there were still two Appleby families in the 50s. Relatives, maybe?

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