Canny lass

Thanks Eggy! I'll have a look at that.

There aren't a lot of photos of Vulcan Place but clean cut bricks appear often in Bedlington's east end, especially noticeable in the buildings on the south side. Have a look in the gallery "Drinking establishments" for buildings around the Black Bull. We need some better photos.

I’m going to stick my neck out and say that it’s not a stone’s throw from the Barrington Arms in Vulcan Place. The clothing of James and Mary Morgan - no coats and James with his sleeves rolled up (possibly ready for, or even at, work) seems to suggest that they’ve just stepped outside for a minute, rather than be off on an outing. The woman in the front row is even wearing her slippers.

I knew i'd seen it somewhere! Now, if I could only find where i saved it on my PC!

You'll need to explain this one for me

Every coin has two sides so the situation you predict should more houses be built could equally well apply to the building of a leisure facility ie. logistical problems as people exit their homes en-masse to go to that facility for leisure purposes. I am, of course, assuming it would be the people of Bedlington who would be using it so the same people who are causing logistical problems by leaving their homes en-masse for work, school and shopping would be the same people leaving their homes en-masse in the evenings and at weekends to go to a leisure facility (I can’t really visualise anybody travelling from Ashington, Cramlington, Morpeth or Newbiggin when they have such a facility nearer home). The latter I see only as adding to the supposed logistical problems for Bedlington. I don’t believe the logistical problems related to going to work, school or to shop would change dramatically should more housing be built. Sometimes we just need to think outside the box. The recent Covid issue has shown that people now WANT to work from home and some companies have already closed their offices in favour of just that. Flexi-time has a long history and many professions, by their very nature, crave flexible working hours: health service, emergency services etc.. child care facilities, to name just a couple. There are also people who work far from home and travel only on a weekly, fortnightly or even monthly basis. Working 9 to 5 (thus clogging up the infrastructure) is a thing of the past – and not only for Dolly Parton. As for schools, they can also have staggered start and finish times. I’m not au fait with college times in Bedlington but here college students (over 16s) have 4-5 lessons a day and the remainder of the day is for own study, homework, groupwork etc.. If their first planned lesson is at 10 am they don’t need to be in school till 10am. If their last lesson finishes at 2pm then they can leave at 2pm – provided, of course, that they don’t want/need to use school facilities, such as libraries, computer rooms or sports facilities when they are welcome to stay. Going shopping doesn’t have to clog up the logistical works either. What happened to shopping on the way home from work and thereby saving petrol money and the environment? And, who’s to say that any of the above groups (workers, students, shoppers) would increase in size should there be new housing in Bedlington? Perhaps Bedlington is on its way to becoming a very pleasant dormitory town attractive to pensioners like myself or city workers looking for a ’no stress’ abode? Who knows what Bedlington will be like in 10 years time? We can’t predict the future. Lord knows I, who likes to know exactly how much money I have in my purse when i go shopping, (it’s an OAP thing!) could never have foreseen that a piece of plastic would herald the asphixiation of coins and bank notes. It ruffles my feathers enormously when shops refuse to accept cash. However, I do have a choice. If I want food I can go with the flow and accept that times have changed and cash is no longer an option OR I can go to another shop some miles away because I know that they still accept cash. It’s not unlike the problem facing Bedlingtonians regarding leisure centres. There are alternatives. If a leisure centre is important in one’s life , as food is important in mine, then it’s worth the effort of travelling locally or, in a worst case scenario, even moving house. I personally thought that I was spoiled for choice regarding leisure centres when living in Bedlington. Me and mine must have added enormously to the logistical problems of Bedlington, Cramlington, Blyth and Morpeth with our three visits a week.

Nedderton village must be first on your list! I'll be in touch to explain why soon.

Thanks, I'll see what I can do.

two memories are better than one - so one of us will.

Such a pity that you don't recognise any names, Allan! However, this family information is from 1911, some 9 years before your father's birth, so they could well be relatives. The 1921 census should be released soon and we can get a better picture of where your father lived. However, there are other sources available for research and if you'd like to give me your father's full name and date of birth I'd be happy to have a look for you. Of course, you don't need to post that information publicly. you can send me a direct message if it feels better.

A little correction needed there, Eggy. Plessey Street is not shown. The 1921 map only shows First-, Second- and Third street. Second Street being the two centre rows of the four with Third Street to the left and First Sreet to the right of them.

Allan, if you view the video above you will see Plessey Street, formerly called 2nd Second Street. It looks a bit the worse for wear in the video but in 1920, when your father was born there it would be almost "state of the art" as those rows were built between 1907 and 1915 and brought such "mod-cons" as outdoor, flushing toilets, electric lighting and a fresh water tap, in the street - one tap for every 8 houses! You'll find many more details on the photos in the gallery recommended above by Alan Edgar. If you've any questions feel free to ask.

Correction! That should read: Howard House, the former pit manager's house, and the adjoining offices - not Office Row as i have mistakenly written. Sorry about that!

Hi Allan, welcome to the forum! You are right in saying that the colliery houses are now gone but there are a couple of remnants of the place left. Howard House, the former pit manager's house, and the adjoining former Office Row, still exists but is now a school. Just a few hundred yards away is Blue House farm which was also there in the 1920s. Moving on towards Morpeth, you come to Nedderton Village where the old junior school exists, though no longer in use as such. However, I'm not sure if it was in use for the colliery children as early as the 1930s when your dad would be a 'junior'. Second Street, Netherton Colliery consisted of 2 rows of houses: 1st Second Street and 2nd Second street, as far as 1911 at least. "nd Second street later became Plessey Street. I'd have to wade through my research for an exact date. Hower there was a Mills family living at number 13 2nd Second Street. Head of the household was Ralph Mills, born Sunderland then aged 29 and married to Rachel, also 29 . They had three children: maria, William and Thomas aged 2 months to 2 years. Only the baby was born in Netherton Colliery indicating that they recently moved to Netherton. Also living in the house was Ralph's brother William, aged 20, also born in Sunderland, Albert Gibbon, a lodger aged 21 and Barbara Scott, a 19 year old servant with roots in Netherton. Quite a crowd for 3 small rooms! Do any of those names ring any bells?

Hope you enjoyed it, Vic! How was your trip to Blighty?

Very belated, I know, but hope you had a good day, Andy.

Hi Tony! If you don't manage to find a magnet with Bedlington on it I can recommend these. https://www.smartphoto.se/fotopresenter/kylskapsmagneter?pvc=MagnetSheetSquare&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIw4TTyY3q-gIVCdKyCh3A5g3AEAQYASABEgKN3vD_BwE Take a few nice nice photos of your visit and make your own. I use them for the grandchildren's photos.

No, but we're on the same page as far as colour and age are concerned. Two out of three's not bad! How is it with equality here on Bedders? ´Not many females about. It's a good job for you lot that i just think of myself as "one of the lads".

Thanks James! And, an extra thank you for the Crofton Mill Colliery photo! Many of my relatives lived in Cowpen Square and worked there and that's the first picture I've seen. I have to admit my idea of a "tippler" was something quite unrelated to mining!

Hopefully we wil - but I'm not holding my breath while waiting for it to happen. The following is no reflection on the new cabinet, as of yet I haven't really looked at its composition, but sometimes i think equality of sexes and colours can go a bit too far. What do either of those matter if you are the right person for the job and work well in the team? I wouldn't like to be the employer who turns away a competent, prospective co-worker on my team just because they happened to have the wrong sex or colour needed to maintain the 'correct' balance in the workforce.

I'm very pleased to hear it!! You can further my mining education here by explaining what "tipplers" and creepers" are.

Have a lovely stroll down memory lane, Vic. Can't get away at the minute otherwise i would have loved to meet up with you. Maybe another time.

That should be far left. I edited it but it doesn't seem to have been amended.

Left to right: Nrs. 7, 6, 5 and 4 Netherton Lane today. Nr 7 far right is The Louge (Hairdressers). I had a look at the 1911 census and two dwellings of the five on Netherton Lane were occupied by Douglas (possibly related). There were no numbers then but 5 must have been Douglas House with 4 rooms. Next door, at number 4 (at the far right of the picture) named "Netherton House", lived a 34 yo woman also named Douglas. She gives her civil status as married but is registered as head of the household. She has two children aged 4 and 1 yo. Strangely, she has the smallest family of all occupiers but has the largest house with 5 rooms. Could it be possible that Ann's GG grandfather was a boarder in that house? Boarders weren't unknown, even on Netherton Lane. next door was The Cottage, Netherton Lane also occupied by a female head with 2 teenage grandchildren and 2 boarders - a head teacher and a bank manager.