Symptoms

I reckon Inspector 'Canny Lass' Clouseau may have uncovered a dastardly Victorian plot, namely, there could have been two Institutes. The one next to the Sun Inn 'explored' by Sym in the 60s and the Miners' one discovered by Canny wielding her magnifying glass. I have to agree with her that the extension plan I posted earlier does indeed look like the building beside Bedlington A pit. We need to find some old fella who might have supped in the Institute next to the Sun Inn to give us a clue to when it shut as a drinking establishment. Remember, my internal examination of the place in the 60s suggests it was in use unti maybe a short time before I got in there. More digging required!

Here's another snippet from The Freemason's Chronicle (see bottom right):

I read through that Doctoral Thesis (phew!) and found it very interesting but only a couple of mentions about our Mechanics Institute. It was founded in 1848 and closed in 1906 when it had 200 members (the last year when member numbers exist); most Mech Insts in the NE had closed by 1913. It's economic base and benefactor was the Bedlington Iron Works. You can read the Thesis here: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/5614/ but you'll need to download the .pdf document shown at the top of the page ... I can recommend the read as it opens the door for us into the Victorian drive for self-improvement for working men (and it was only for men); all most women had to look forward to was a life of drudgery back then. It clearly continued as a social club but no longer followed the purpose of it's founders, namely the pursuit of technical education.

I've been doing a bit of research on the Mechanics Institute and I'm currently reading a long dissertation some guy did for his Doctorate years ago on the history of Mech Insts. Ours, the one next to the Sun Inn took over the old courthouse and klink there and it was sponsored by the Bedlington Iron Works. I've got more details noted in my study but I ain't there at the moment so can't give dates. I'll try to do a summary and post it so we have some facts listed. The formation of Mech Insts was interesting national Victorian movement ... but more later.

Alan - It was up 'the grassy knoll' behind the War Memorial so your photo above is correct but the building I remember as the Mechanics Institute was behind what is now the Community Centre (perhaps it was an extension of the CC). I recall an open yard behind the building in the photo and a single height building which was the Institute; so, it formed a sort of L-shape with what's now the CC ... perhaps, both building formed the Inst. As lads in the mid-1960s we explored Bedders looking for mischief and once got into the old Institute. As it was a sinle storey there was a hole in the roof (the tiles had been removed) so we climbed up and dropped into the place ... It hadjust been abandoned!!! There were full sized snooker tables covered in dust, tables and chairs, a mahogany bar, mirrored shelves, etc. It was if they'd been supping the night before and just left it. Very strange. I recall another poster here some years ago talking about this too.

Here's a plan for the Mechanics Institute ... I think I downloaded it off the Northumberland Communities site.

Stunning photos! What strikes me is the apparent ranshackle nature of of the scenes, nothing plumb or level, and stuff lying all over. I realise that the guys would have installed the supports, etc. correctly and after a while the ground would have shifted and 'twisted' everything. I wonder if this environment would have been acceptable in our H&S culture?

Hi Sue ... yep, Terry made contact through this Forum. Look at the second post above ... that's Terry; you can send a personal message to him by sliding your curser over his user name TGH and click on message button in the box that appears.

As to Canny's confusion over "... publicans who appear to have had a second string to their fiddle ...". I recall reading years ago that many of the original ale houses were in private dwelling and that the wife of the main breadwinner would brew some jugs of ale* for immediate family. This expanded into to offering the ale to others for a price ... of course this brew had to be consumed soon after being made as it went off (this was before the use of hops to extend the life {and taste} of the ale). So perhaps this activity was formalised and acknowledged in census records. *remember back then that the drinking of water tended to be avoided in case you got ill (likely) and that ale drinking was seen as being a safe option.

Tonyp's earlier post about the vile Worthington E muck got me thinking about a challenge ... That impressive list of boozers elsewhere on this thread could be complimented by naming the breweries that owned them; I know that it'll be impossible to do it for many of them 'cos the old fellas that supped in them are long gone but I'll make a start. The Railway Tavern = Vaux (that vile Mackem stuff) I suppose the Clubs were a type of 'free house' so were able to sell stuff other that Federation Ales. I know there was a Cameron pub (that Smoggie stuff) but can't recall the name of the pub and of course loads of Scottish & Newcastle ones (Blue Star). Go on ... you've got nowt else to do with your time at the moment.

Best wishes to all ... hoping you all have a good Xmas and a great New Year.

The Morpeth Herald is archived at: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ Dead easy to search for what you want and if you know the exact date of publication you get 3 views for free, otherwise you can pay as you go or pay a monthly or annual sub for total access. Hope this helps.

It does't matter what industry it is, it'll eventually be overrun by the tick-box Nazis in their sharp polyester suits and sporting 100 quid haircuts ... they always spoil it for those getting their hands 'dirty'. To make matters worse they believe what they're doing makes things better! I think I posted once before about visiting the Doctor Pit as a lad and was shown into the winding house to watch the winderman operate the tackle. I clearly recall some hand-painted marks on the big green winding drum to indicate the position of the cage on it's journey down the shaft and the winderman would watch these really carefully to slow and then brake at the correct moment ... I don't know how accurate these marks were as the cable must stretch and different loads must affect the behaviour of the tackle. After the visit to the winderhouse we were taken on a visit below ground ... Jack Dixon, the pit electrician (and our next door neighbour in the Riggs), took us on this visit.

Part of me rejoices at the news of a new deep coal mine in Cumberland (I've never liked the name Cumbria or Northumbria ... I still address letters home to Northumberland). I'm at a loss, however, to know where they're going to get enough skilled workers to create the place; is there anybody alive who knows how to sink a shaft or build the necessary underground infrastructure? Watch out HPW ... you could get drafted. https://www.westcumbriamining.com/ The other (small) part of me worries about the polar bears choking on the fumes from the coke works. Still, the Chinese seem to building loads of coal powered power stations (one new one a month) with little regard for the environment.

Yep, I'll send him a copy of the snap. I was at school with him.

I'm still in contact with Barry Muldoon

Even the Lesbian March was better supported

The Great Kipper Slither Here's some quick & dirty comparisons from history: The Peoples Vote March (this weekend) Selma to Montgomery Suffragettes

The asbestos never got us ... we're both still 'fighting fit'. Mind, he still smokes! I've been thinking about those redundant boilers and I'm sure they were heated by combusted coal dust blown into the furnaces - I recall big blowers as part of the tackle. I doubt gas would have been used as this pre-dated North Sea gas so enormous quantities of Town Gas would have been needed. Maybe there's some 'old timers' out there who'll confirm.

1968 not 1969 ... perhaps my brain is turning to mush!

It was used as engineering manufacturing company that produced nuts and bolts, and other fittings. How do I know this? My old man knew the boss and arranged for me and my brother to have a holiday job there during the school Easter hols of 1969; It was arranged that I could use some of the facilities to finish off my A'Level Engineering project - a racing kart (some folks call them go-karts but this was a serious bit of kit). I bent the tubular chassis there on their pipe bending machine and welded it together with their oxy-axcetelene gear ... the school didn't have this type of tackle. Anyway, what i recall was banks of multi-chuck automatic machines producing bolts in their thousands, turning the hexagonal bar stock to size, threading and then parting-off ... the finished items cascaded into metal bins for fork lifting away. Whilst I worked on my kart my brother got the job of stripping the asbestos lagging off three (it might have been two ... memory fade) huge boilers using a hammer, saw and crowbar. This was 1969 and well before H&S at Work Act ... no protective gear apart from a mask and dust everywhere. So these boilers play into baths theory. I can't recall the name of the firm.

I wonder how many "patriotic Kippers" will see it through to the end? I wonder if we'll be able to make comparisons with all those other great marches from history?

I rest my case m'lud.

I wonder where Cympil (the orignal poster) is now ... he was last here in 2013. I often wonder where all our 'lost friends' end up - some must croak and other might just get fed up of the Forum. I don't post as often as i used to ... I just got turned-off by the infestation of all those Kippers a while back. The place seems to have been fumigated so perhaps it's time for some more Symwisdom.

Every summer a load of us lads* spent a month or so staying in Keswick (in the town's camping site) basically getting p*ssed and funding it all through our weekly SS Giro sent 'poste restante' from the SS Office ( in Bedders Council Offices on Front St) to Keswick post office ... it was for 4 guinees or £4.4s. We were all in the Woolpack pub in Keswick watching the moon landing and getting p*ssed - the pub was operating a 'lock-in'. Anyone who was 15+ and still in full-time education could 'sign-on' with the SS during the school holidays and get the the Giro; if you were at home you had to go into the SS and sign a green card to collect the Giro. But, if you said you were going on holiday, but were prepared to return if a job was found for you, you could arrange to have the Giro sent to a forwarding address, hence Keswick Post Office. We operated this weeze for about 4 years every summer. It's funny, but years later when I was in my early 60s I applied for an old age pension forcast - they sent me a list of my history of NI contribution and I got 3 years of credit due to this signing-on weeze. I'm amazed they kept the records. *some of those lads are members of this forum or have been rediscovered through it.