Canny lass

That's an interesting brochure, Maggie! At first I thought it must be a printing mistake. Surely the relics of Cuthbert couldn't have been in Bedlington in 1069! They left Lindisfarne in 875, were nicely tucked up in Chester-le-Street in 883 and had found a permanent resting place in Durham by 995. A bit of digging showed that the relics did indeed leave Durham 1069-1070 when they were returned to Lindisfarne for a short period of time to escape the Norman invasion. I never knew that! That visit must have been well documented as there is an actual date, unlike the visit en route to Chester-le-Street.

continued from above: Then there's the work of John Hodgson, A History of Northumberland in Three Parts. Hodgson notes that the parish of Bedlington had already been given to the see of Durham soon after the year 900. I may be wrong but, to my way of thinking, if there’s a parish, there’s very likely to be a priest and if there’s a priest there is likely to be a church. Hodgson says of Bedlington that "there is little doubt that a church existed here prior to the Norman conquest. It continued a rectory, and in the patronage of the see of Durham till Bishop Farnham, about the year 1242, appropriated it to the prior and convent of Durham". Hodgson suggests that this may have happened in order to obtain financial backing for the improvements which started round about that time. Looking at the publication posted by Eggy, St Cuthbert’s Church, An Archeological Assessment, July 2015, page 10 https://cofenewcastle.contentfiles.net/media/documents/document/2019/01/Bedlington_St_Cuthbert_-_January_2015.pdf I see that even today there is a carved stone, previously situated on the eastern side of the nave and outside, which is now built into the internal face of the west wall to prevent further damage. This stone is dated to the 10th century while the earliest parts of the present church are from the 12th century. This seems to indicate that something has stood there prior to the present building. Who knows how long the ground may have been in use for religious purposes.

My school memories are that the monks rested for one night IN the church at Bedlington during their escape from Lindisfarne in 875 Rightly or wronly, I've also believed that the church in question was St Cuthberts, albeit an earlier version of the present. I’ve also always believed that the flight from Lindisfarne ended up at Durham in 995, the monks having taken the long way round via Chester-le-Street and Ripon. No GPS in those days evidently! I was, therefore, somewhat surprised to see, on reading Maggie’s brochure, that the relics had been in Bedlington in 1069, some 74 years after reaching their final resting place in Durham! This prompted a bit of revision on my part. It's not at all impossible that the ground upon which St Cuthbert's stands was concsecrated much earlier. Generally we tend to think of christianity as having arrived in Britain with the mass conversions of the sixth century. Such conversions in Northumbria are recorded by Bede. However, there's good proof in Northumberland that christianity was being practised in the roman fort at Housteads a couple of centuries prior to this , as a place of christian worship is built into the fort. Then there's the work of John Hodgson A History of Northumberland in Three Parts. Hodgson

Seemed such a shame to start a new topic when this one is waiting to be recycled! The biggest, warmast, most heartfelt wishes to you all for a very merry Christmas. Of course, it could have been even better if things had been different from the beginning .....

Hello Brian! Nice to have you among us again. Sorry to hear about your bad health but pleased to hear you are on the mend and back home - 90 days is a long, long time to spend in hospital, especially if you are the patient! This is the worst thing about being a pensioner - you finally have time to be ill. Hope things keep improving for you and that Christmas is kind to you.

I didn't know that, Malcolm. The commemorative plaque is a lovely idea and the design is just perfect. Thanks for taking the initiative to make it happen.

Thanks, Bedlingtoian1 I haven't heard of this one. I'll be giving it the once over when I get a bit of time.

Thanks, Vic, Pete and Alan! Those kind words mean a lot. Really, things are going remarkably well, all things considered. It's just that it seems to drag on and on with never ending rounds of hospitals and health centres but we're getting there slowly. Of course we have our down days but we have plenty of 'up days' as well and these are becoming more frequent now. Hope things are getting better for you and your wife Vic. This ageing thing is a beggar, the curse of the elderly.

That's a great 'before and after' photo! Pete, you're the only one I would be able to recognise today!

Having a rough year HPW. Hubby had a brain haemorrhage, just days before Christmas, which was caused by a fall in September. The head injury caused a long slow bleed which was successfully operated on but left him with epilepsi. This has caused loads of problems - not least the loss of his driving licence. Living as we do (in the 'wilds of wanny', as the saying goes) two cars and two drivers are a necessity. This has meant a) lots of time sitting around in hospitals and b) lots of time sitting behind a driving wheel, neither of which are favourite pass-times of mine. There hasn't been much time to sit down at a computer but, be assured, I try to 'pop-in' a couple of times a week on my mobile (usually in a waiting room somewhere!) and read the site. However, I don't find this medium practical for writing so I haven't been able to respond to so many posts. There is light at the end of the tunnel, however. The seizures are under control and the last brain scan, 4 weeks ago, shows that his brain is back in the centre of his head where it should be. All good news! Hopefully after a year without seizures he will be able to drive again and life will return to normal for us both.

That goes for me too!

I may have been barking up the wrong tree here. It now strikes me as odd that the faces in that photo are all young. William Henry Boll (WHB) was 48 years old in 1911, just one year before the photo was taken. WHB was undoubtedly the headmaster at Nedderton Village School and living in School House in 1911. So I don’t think he is in that photo of 1912. A bit more research reveals that he had another son, Hugh Clementson Boll, (HCB) who also entered the teaching profession. HCB’s occupation is given as “pupil teacher”, age 18 years in the 1911 census and he is living in Nedderton village, walking distance from Netherton Infants School. I’m more inclined now to think that this is the Mr Boll in the photo of 1912. He seems to have done very well in life aspiring to the dizzy heights of “Headmaster Senior School” in Manchester 1939.

Thanks Eggy! I don't know how I've managed to post that twice. The second was meant to be an edit of the first! BTW, it's only fair to say that I don't know which of the males in that photo is Mr Boll. It's a fascinating photo. Netherton infant school only had two classrooms, so they can't be staff, and most of them look well over school age and can't be pupils. Also, if I can say so with no disrespect to the people of Netherton, the clothing seems somewhat out of place for a colliery worker's family.

Update: Eric George Boll was indeed a police constable in Lancashire. He married in Chorley, Lancashire in 1934 to Chorley born Muriel Sandiford. Whether the move to Lancashire was initiated by love or employment remains untold. I forgot to add that Eric George had a brother, Alan. Could this manuscript be dedicated to, or even about, Alan?

The Mr Boll in this photo is Bedlington born, William Henry Boll, who was head teacher at Nedderton School. Eric George Boll was his son, the seventh child of eight born to William and his wife Agnes while living in the school house in Nedderton village shown in Carole's photo above. They had one servant living in (1911) which must have been a great help to Agnes. Eric, at some point before 1939, moved to Lancashire where he died in 1974 at the age of 68 years. I believe that he was a police constable but have not been able to verify that as yet. This sounds like a very interesting document, which I would certainly be interested in reading. It should be preserved and available to all. Woodhorn Museum sounds like a good place, or digitalized for availability on-line. I'm sure Maggie can tell us more about school house. All I know is that it had 6 rooms and 10 residents in 1911.

The Mr Boll in this photo is William Henry Boll who was head teacher at Nedderton School. Eric George Boll was his son, the seventh child of eight born to William and his wife Agnes while living in the school house in Nedderton village shown in Carole's photo above. They had one servant living in (1911) which must have been a great help to Agnes. Eric, at some point before 1939, moved to Lancashire where he died in 1974 at the age of 68 years. I believe that he was a police constable but have not been able to verify that as yet. This sounds like a very interesting document, which I would certainly be interested in reading. It should be preserved and available to all. Woodhorn Museum sounds like a good place, or digitalized for availability on-line. I'm sure Maggie can tell us more about school house. All I know is that it had 6 rooms and 10 residents in 1911.

Ancestry. Very good . I've used it for years.

This is a real mystery! I couldn’t find Carr’s Buildings anywhere on (or leading off from) Front Street in the 1911 census and I can’t find it anywhere on (or leading off from) Glebe Row. The address ‘Carr’s Buildings’ just doesn’t seem to appear anywhere. However, it seems to have been a time of great confusion as far as the street names of Bedlington go. According to the enumerator, the whole of what we now call Front Street West was then called ‘High Street’ but no resident uses this name – most of them preferring to use ‘Front Street’ instead. Some dwellings were given specific names by the residents, in particular those that had a specific function, such as public houses, and those side streets and yards having their common entrance from the main road. From the Market place and heading north towards the Red Lion, the residents call these: Mason’s Arms, King’s Arms, Brewery Yard, Old Brewery House (home of Dr. Trotter), St.Cuthbert House, Howard Terrace (3 dwellings), Foggan’s Yard (12 dwellings, mostly 1 room), Baptist Yard West End (16 dwellings of 1-2 rooms) and West End – the latter being the last building before turning the corner onto Glebe Row and then occupied by Robert Beadnell. Most of us can probably remember Beadnell’s grocery shop on that site. With the exception of Foggan’s Yard and Baptist’s Yard, both with the addition of ‘High Street’, none of these names are taken up by the enumerator. The same situation is evident along the length of Glebe Row. Turning the corner from Beadnell’s and continuing towards Choppington as far as the Dr Pit Cottages on the western district boundary the official name seems to have simply been ‘Glebe Row’. However, even here the residents have their own unique way of defining the place they called home. Next to Beadnells was Kidd’s Yard with 10 dwellings ranging from 1-3 rooms. In one room we can find a father and son aged 69 and 30 years living together with a female servant aged 14 years. Talk about overcrowding! Continuing down Glebe Road, the residents use the names: Charlton’s Buildings (7 dwellings), Oliver’s Buildings (16 dwellings), Alma Inn, Front Street, Renwick House, Renwick Yard, Tankerville Yard, Arcade (6 dwellings 1-2 rooms, my parents lived here), Tankerville Arms, Fountain Yard (6 dwellings of 1 room) and Fountain Inn. The public houses are taken up by the enumerator with the addition of ‘Glebe Row’. No mention by either residents or the enumerator of Carr’s Buildings. I eagerly await the release of the 1921 census in 2021. We should be able to pinpoint it accurately with you having named relatives living there Eggy. By the way, ration books, along with National Dried Milk, Cod Liver Oil, Orange Juice and Virol were collected from the Food Office, formerly the Alma Inn. I've vague memories of visiting in the early 50s.

I can tell you that Carr's Buildings doesn't appear in any of the 19 enumerators books in the 1911 census. By that I mean the book into which he transcribed the information given on the individual census forms. However, 1911 was a good year for researchers because we even have accesss to the individual census forms filled in by the householders. My experience tells me that, not infrequently, the street name given by the householder and the street name given by the enumerator are not the same. Carr's buildings may just have been the name given by the residents themselves. If I can get a bit of time over today I'll have a wander up Front street (through the census forms) and see if any resident has used that name.

The pit heaps at Netherton always had a horrible smell when it rained - a sulphurish sort of smell. I've no doubt there's some scientific explanation - HPW? I never liked the smell of a wet, pure wool cardigan either but I doubt if that was particular to the area.

Nr. 1: I knew his face rang a bell! I'll get my coat.

Nr. 3 is definitely not Frank Bower. Nr 2 is, I believe, one of the Leonard/Lennart boys, Joe, Martin or Edward from Third Street. The others are familiar faces but just now I can't put a name to any of them.

I've come across this in my search for "Arcade", Bedlington. It's just a few doors down the road. 1911 Fountain yard comprised six dwellings. Nr. 1 and 2 were somewhat larger, both having 2 rooms while nr. 3-6 had only one. The families living there ranged from 2 to 8 persons and the majority were miners, though one bricklayer is recorded. Fountain Inn and Fountain Yard appear to have been neighbours of the Tankerville Arms public House on Glebe Row but they may have been opposite or adjacent to it. I'm tempted to think it was on the same side of the road, partly as it was located next door to the "Dr Pit Cottages" (logically these would be beside the pit) and partly because in 1904 the west side of what we now call Glebe Road was not built upon. It was farmland, so called 'Bishops Meadow', for the needs of the vicar of St Cuthberts. The housing area retains that name even today. If Mikki Lee Townley can give me some more information about Isabel (her parent's names would be a good help) I'll see if i can find anything nearer 1904. Glebe Row was a complicated area. The adress of every dwelling was simply Glebe Row but residents put their own names to various parts of it and these were later made official.

It would be rude not to give some form of redress, really.

No apologies needed, Vic. There is light at the end of the tunnel but it's been a long tunnel to get through. A good laugh is always a good medicine!