Alan Edgar (Eggy1948)

@Sloopy .Dog - never sen it refered to as a church but according to a transcipt on the Iron Wporks by Christopher Bergen the inscription above the door was :- .....................From Hawkes and Longridge the concern passed to Biddulph and Gordon, of London. It is difficult to decide when their ownership began or ended. Wallace says that they held them for 50 years. In that case they must have acquired them at the sale just mentioned, but in the ‘New County History.’ Mr Forster, quoting ‘The Industrial Resources of the Tyne, Tees and Wear,’ says they acquired them in 1809. This, of course, makes Wallace’s statement impossible. They certainly did hold them in 1829. The clock house appears to have been built by them, a stone over the door being carved with the date 1829, the initials of ‘G & B’ and a Latin inscription ‘VIVITUR IGNE ET AQUA ET FERRO DEO FAVENTE,’ of which a rough rendering would be: ‘We live by fire and water and iron and God’s favour’............... Bedlington Ironworks- Christopher Bergen.docx

@Canny lassOn the Blyth FB group Bob Simmons posted this photo of the bridge and the Clock House is still there but he didn't have a date for the photo. I posted the photo on the Bygone Bedlington FB group hoping some car geek would recognise the vehicles on the Hairpin Bend and come up with an approximate date but it didn't happen. @John Fox (foxy) - four years ago posted the following photo of the Clock House and I was able to add a couple of comments. On the Bedlington remembered FB group (I am no longer a member of that group) one member said his mam had some of the engraved stone plague, that was above the door of the Clock House, in her garden. and would like it to be passed on to anyone that was interested - that was probably 4 or 5 years ago. I contacted east Bedlington Council, via email, and I did get a reply from a secretary who said that a councilor (can't remember the name) was given a budget to look into the history of the area and hopefully document the info found and possibly commission some feature to display the info/history uncovered. Unfortunately after a few emails and many months the response from east Bedlington Council ceased so I assume the research was dropped. I had a good tidy out of my email inbox and i deleted the emails on this subject as I assumed no more would be heard. This is the photo Foxy posted and you can see from my comment a bit of what was on the plaque above the door. The article, that my link to the newspaper article pointed to, no longer exists. Perhaps I should have asked Tracey Gair, her family might have known something

And with the clock :- Joe - I haven't been to see the Iron Works sculpture and Google Street view of the area near the Furnace Bridge is still 2009. There was a sculpture near the bridge and I thought there was a plaque giving details of what the sculpture was for. @Malcolm Robinson was involved (I'm sure ) Further into the Free Woods there is another sculpture linked to the Iron Works :-

@Sloopy .Dog - there was. This is the front cover of a book by Evan Martin :- Evan Martin, and his father, Stephen B. Martin, have published many booklets on Bedlington. The majority of the booklets contain old photos, with some info, of the town and a couple, like the one on the Iron Works (46 pages - including a few photos/images) deal with the one specific topic. These are some of their booklets :- If you use the Search bar at the top right of the page and input "Evan Martin" you will be returned loads of postings that include extracts from the Martin books. Without the quotes you would get everything that had the single words Evan and Martin included in the posting.

Thanks @John Fox (foxy)

There are 'Hot Spot' maps on the DMM site. The maps are for 1898, 1928 & 1951 and they show the active pits at that time. If you visited the Bedlington Colliery page on that site you can select each 'Hot Spot' map by selecting the Go to... links on that page. This is a direct link to the Bedlington Colliery page :- http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/b022.htm You can explore/play for ages on the DMM site This is a copy (without the built in links) of the 1951 'Hot Spot' map - Netherton Colliery not on this one :-

@Sloopy .Dog - I have added the names of collieries I can remember that were in the area - don't think I've missed one but @HIGH PIT WILMA will keep me right. There was a railway link between the tow Bedlington pits and they both dumped the waste onto the same pit heap. The site of the 'A' pit main shaft can be located on the Bower grange estate by the vent that was installed. I don't know exactly where it is but @John Fox (foxy) might be able to tell you.

1. Are polar bears right-handed or left-handed? Answer =Left – David Attenborough told me J 2. According to his business card, what was the profession of Al Capone? Answer = 3. Golf balls were originally made of leather but what were they stuffed with? Answer = Goose feathers 4. What was unusual about the way in which author Raymond Chandler’s wife did the housework? Answer = She did it in the nude. 5. When was the first book on plastic surgery written? Answer =1597 6. How many times an hour can a desert rat have sex? Answer = once the dies 7. What did Florence Nightingale keep in her pocket during the Crimean War? Answer = An owl 8. At how many steps per minute does the Foreign Legion march? Answer = 88 9. Beethoven, Casanova, George V. Which of them was a Freemason? Answer = Casanova 10. At what age can a male eskimo be taught to smoke a pipe? Answer = 18? 11. For what offence was James Watt twice arrested? Answer = No idea but could it be ‘letting off steam’ 12. In which country was a referendum held to decide the placement of a public toilet? Answer = No idea – must be a joke. Is it a joke? 13. Only male canaries can sing . true or false? Answer = False 14. Maps of which country showed the capital city a few miles from it’s true position in order to confuse guided-missile programmers? Answer = No idea. Surely it has to be North Korea. 15. Which English poet was once thought to be a French spy? Answer = 16. Are scorpions immune to their own poison? Answer = Yes 17 Which racing circuit is built on abandoned RAF runways? Answer = Davidstow, Cornwall 18. How many minutes a day does the average newborn baby spend crying? Answer = One hundred and eighty (as shouted on the PDC World Darts Championships) 19. Who introduced the table fork to England? Answer = 11th century into Europe by Theophanu Byzantine wife of Emperor Otto the 2nd but the majority of England stuck to using their fingers until the 18th century. 20. Who played the piano in the Hollies’ hit He aint heavy, he’s my brother? Answer = Elton John I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Kangaroos cannot jump if their tails are lifted off the ground. Answer = I did. I’m the same

Joe - that Mr Edgar is my nephew Mark, and yes he lives in Bedlidlington station. I have asked Mark, via email, if he knows of the history of the garages. Mark used to rent the garage off his uncle, Robert Hall (also lives in Bedlington Station) so they just might have the history. I will let you know, if and when Mark replies. Robert, now retired, doesn't use social media etc. but if Mark doesn't come back with any info I will ask my sister-in-law (Mark's mam and Robert's sister) to get Robert to get in touch. On the 1938 (published 1937) map I posted you can see the Bedlington 'A' pit on the land that is now the Bower Grange estate. I don't know anything about any land the NCB might still own but I would expect that any NCB buildings in the Bedlington Station area would have been used by the 'A' pit. The Doctor Pit, at the Top end of Bedlington had all it's own buildings. The two pits were shared the same railway line for transporting their coal. From the Railway Station there was a branch line ran up to the 'A' pit and on through that pit to the Doctor Pit. Have you ever used the Durham Mining Museum (DMM) site to get info on the local collieries? The DMM site has all the basic info on all the Northumberland and Durham collieries. This is a link to the Index (A to Z) page for all the collieries :- http://www.dmm.org.uk/collnear/b022.htm

These images :-

@Sloopy .Dog & @Pete had a look at the old maps and there was a chapel next to the primary school but the old maps, upto 1938, don't show any buildings behind Ravensworth Street and Bridge Street. Had a look via Google street view and you can't get very close to the garages but there is a building, that I was unaware of when I lived in Bedlington, that could be the chapel you are on about. Check out these images :-

@Sloopy .Dog - within the Gallery there are 5 sections and one - Historic Bedlington - contains an album - 'Doctor Pit and Rows' and that album has 52 photos. This is a direct link to that album :- There isn't an album for the Sleekburn/Bedlington 'A' pit but the photos (many posted above within this topic) are contained in an album under the heading :- '

0 = one pint at 21:00 then one whisky + Christmas cake at midnight then bed. All the best for 2022 to everyone

@Sloopy .Dog - welcome to the group. I have never heard anyone say that the garage buildings were once owned by the National Coal Board (NC) but I will ask around and see what I can find out. I will also ask around about a 'small chapel'. I have never know there to be a chapel in that area - I no longer live in Bedlington. I was born, 1948, and raised there , but I can't recall a small chapel in that area you have mentioned. There were two coal mines in Bedlington. The 'A' Pit (used to be Sleekburn Colliery) and the Doctor Pit. The 'A' pit was where the Bower Grange Estate, Bedlington Station was and the Doctor Pit was at the Top End of Bedlington and Gallagher Park now covers a) where the Doctor pit buildings b) where the branch railway line connecting the 'A' pit & the Doctor Pi and c) where the 'pit heap' shared by both pits used to be. Later I will post you some links to info on the pits and some photos of the pits . Could you tell me exactly where the small chapel is - this is a current ectract from Google Street View showing Ravensworth Street and area :-

Some of the info posted on the JMS Property Service FB page :-

The responses to the posting on the Bygone Bedlington group = George Weatheritt mint . John Edwards So no longer used by the grave diggers ? Alan Edgar Author John Edwards - as far as I know it's now just a base for the 'Friends of West Lea Cemetery' :-https://www.bedlington.co.uk/.../9346-west-lea.../... BEDLINGTON.CO.UK West Lea Cemetery.....update: West Lea Cemetery.....update: John Edwards used to pester the lives out of the poor blokes working there when we were kids Sarah Gibson John Edwards no I run the friends of westlea cemetery group its now in our name. It's taken 20 months to secure and then apply for funding to turn it into a usable space we made wreaths from it this year and sold them , profits off almost 1300 we will be putting into the cemetery this coming year.. we will be based there from now on .not in my kitchen haha ... and help maintain, litter pick, cut back undergrowth extra all year as well as hoping to make mothers day Easter things to carry on funding further projects we have a Facebook page the friends of westlea cemetery group Sarah Gibson the old bench and fireplace is still there Sarah Gibson Caoline Dobinson Great we popped in to chat to the the lady who was making the wreaths remember this building very well glad it’s now in use well done everyone Jackie Connell That's awesome Because it was an eye sore thanks to all the friends at the cemetery for keeping the cemetery tidy and it’s only right they have got somewhere to go and have a place to get together with a cuppa Robert Cox Is that the grave diggers hut Active Alan Edgar Author Robert Cox - so I've been informed but as I was a Bedlington station lad it's not a place we used to play around when we were kids. This is the inside of the building now :- Robert Cox Alan Edgar thanks Robert Cox Alan Edgar yep that's it Sarah Gibson Robert Cox yes two rooms Kay Jeffrey Mick Hedley show mam this… we were there last week x James Mole So sad to see the cemetery in such a state, my dad was sextant there many years ago, he took pride in keeping the law ed grave areas neat and tidy, flower boarders down the driveway, enhanced the beauty of the resting place for those laid to rest there… See more Jennifer Ward James Mole thats why we set up the group so we can start to get the cemetery looking nice again. We are glad to have more volunteers as our group is very small at the moment. The more helpers we get the better xx James Mole Jennifer Ward HI, you and your fellow volunteer's are to be commended, surely the local authority must take some responsibility for the upkeep of the Cemetery. Jennifer Ward James Mole unfortunately it is an ongoing battle to get anything done x Maret Smith My parking space when I visit the cemetry Pauline Thompson That’s great x Susan Ibbetson Brilliant job Julia Ann Mileham That's good Davey Short A big well done to Mick Stevenson from JMS for his great work.https://www.facebook.com/JMSPropertyServices/ JMS Property Services 5 ·Property Bedlington 3 Robert Cox I went a while ago and couldn't get the wheelchair though the long grass

@Malcolm Robinson - as there aren't a lot of Bedlington residents use this group I posted a bit of your comment plus a couple of the photos on the Bygone Bedlington FB group and 94 members in the past 8hrs like what's been done :-

@Pete & @Canny lass - I will post my latest update of the YM plan in the comments for the photo 'YMCA 1977' in the 'Old Photos of Bedlington 2' album and any further updates I will do in that album. @Andy Millne - would you close this topic so no further comments can be added and after I type this I will repost the 'Piper award 2021' photos so the topic ends up as it started = award to CL

@Harvs72 - never heard, or seen any comment on social media, about haunted properties at Hartlands or West Lea. Even if I had I would not believe them as I am one on those who just do not believe in any paranormal activity. From 1948 I have lived in 7 properties and stayed and 50+ holiday homes and hotels and the only things I had to compete with I those buildings are - insects of all kinds and building materials that creak and crack as they expand and contract when warming up and then cooling down.

1. In which Christmas song can you find the words “Everyone dancing merrily in the new old-fashioned way”? Answer = 2. What is wassailing? Answer = an annual tradition to bless orchards to ensure a good harvest for the year to come 3. Before being connected with Christmas, what was Yule? Answer = Norse winter feast 4. What is the name of the last ghost that visits Scrooge in A Christmas Carol? Answer = 5. What is Frosty the Snowman’s nose made out of? Answer = 6. Among Christians who lived in the East when was Christmas originally celebrated? Answer = 7. In what century was Christmas first written as Xmas? Answer = 16th 8. What is the Capital of Christmas Island? Answer = Flying Fish Cove 9. What does Santa ride on in Finland? Answer = 10. According to the Christmas song, what did my true love give to me on the eighth day of Christmas? Answer = 11. In which direction should you stir the Christmas pudding mix if you want to avoid bad luck, clockwise or anticlockwise? Answer = As I am not superstitious either way - if I was then clockwise. 12. Apart from being the world’s largest, what was unusual about the snowman named Olympia? Answer = It was female 13. Under which zodiac sign are you born if your birthday is December 25th? Answer = 14. What popular Christmas song did Eartha Kitt record in 1953? Answer = 15. The Grinch is as cuddly as a what? Answer = 16. Are Santa’s reindeer male or female? Answer = 17. In Japan, Santa is said to live on the moon. True or false? Answer = 18 In the song Jingle Bells who was seated by my side? Answer = 19. Which American president banned Christmas trees from the White House? Answer = Theodore Roosevelt 20. In what decade did Coca-Cola start using Santa Clause in adverts? Answer = 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! Answer = I didn’t

@HIGH PIT WILMA - and all the best to the two of you

@Canny lass & @Pete - I posted the aerial photo of the YM + my latest plan on the FB group Bygone Bedlington to see if anyone could remember the layout of the rooms. Check out these two comments and if required I will update my plan - probably in the new year