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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Northumberland => Topic started by: kathboon on Saturday 02 June 07 14:35 BST (UK)
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Folly Road is now Park Road, Blyth. Has anyone any idea why it was called Folly Road in the first place?
When I was younger my grandmother used to tell up that one of her relations tried to see if there was coal on Crofton field without success and it was commonly called Donkin's Folly. A couple of years ago I traced a family member who understood that a rope works was built beside Crofton Field and this belonged to the Donkin's.
Anybody any clues ???
Kath
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Hello Kathboon.
I have just read your posting and thought I'd reply.
I wonder if Folly Road got its name from a nearby folly. A folly, as you may well know is a building or structure that was build seemingly for no particular purpose other than to reflect a landowner's wealth. I know that there used to be an old castle in the farm at Horton near Laverick Hall. Though they are some distance from one another there may have been some sort of reason. Also, have you considered looking at old-maps.co.uk which gives maps for the mid 1800's. I wonder also if you can date Park Road which I assume is probably near Ridley Park and then investigate from there. Blyth Library has a good local history section and the people there may be able to help. I know that they have a card system that would be used to check if any information on Folly Road was available.
Yours J.A.
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Hi J.A.
I hadn't thought of going down to the library to check this out, but as I work full time I can only get there on a Saturday. Will try then.
Kath
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The FOLLY.
Blyth today is dry. But it was a very wet place before the banks of the River Blyth were as well defined and controlled as they are now.
( To cut a long story short look at the maps on
communities.northumberland.gov.uk
>Blyth>Plans>Ordnance Maps, especially Armstrong's 1769, Fryer's 1820, Greenwood's 1828, to see various streams running through Blyth)
A tidal river/stream/burn called the Gut virtually split what is modern-day Blyth into two.
Broadly speaking it ran northwards from about Plessey Waggonway ( now Plessey Road) between Beaconsfield St and Croft Road, to run through what is now the Bus Station,
through the old Gas Works and into the River Blyth.
(The Gut marked the boundary between the ancient parishes of Horton and Earsdon)
At high tide a wide area was under water, at low tide the Gut was narrow, but the area was messy.
Trivia Angle... Where the pedestrian road crossing is today ( adjacent to PoundStretcher or Blockbuster,) there once was a bridge to allow a dry crossing of the Gut.
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At various sites in and around Blyth there were Salt Pans activity ( boiling sea water to produce salt) Cambois, High Ferry, South Blyth.
What was Crofton Field ( near Plessey Rd/Park Road) was filled twice a day with sea water from the River Blyth.
An entrepreneur decided to start salt production on the site.
Unfortunately it was not a success because the water had travelled so far from the river over shallow land, and most of the salt content was dissipated before it reached his boiling pans at Crofton.
So the area became known as "The Folly" , then the road got the name Folly Road, later changed to Park Road.
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This info from Bob Balmer, connected with Blyth Library.
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Today Union Street marks where the Gut flowed.
Misc. In the vicinity of the Folly there were two roperies.
Michael Dixon
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Thanks for that information Michael.
Kath
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There is a photograph of a flooded Folly (Park) Road in the following book. Balmer R (1983) Blyth in Old Picture Postcards. 3rd edition. Zaltbommel/Netherlands: European Library.
And a fine picture of the Waterloo Bridge over the "Gut" can be found in, Hogg W ed. (1957) The Story of Blyth, A Short History. Originally published by The Northern Press the book was republished by, McCall's Bookshop in Blyth where I obtained my copy a few years back.
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Folly Road, Blyth.
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Thank you for the pic of the former Folly Road, one of my ancestors lived there.
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Interesting information, re Folly Road, Blyth. Born and bred in Blyth, but never knew it existed. I came across its name when searching for a relative who came from Denmark and settled in Blyth. He was a seafarer. I found reference to his naturalization notice printed in the London Gazette, dated 1900. His address was shown as Folly Road. At what period in time was Folly Road changed to Park Road ? Jump forward 40 years+ and I used to visit other relatives with my father. They were his aunts, and they lived in Park Road, Blyth. And my father worked at Crofton Pit until it closed. Re the Danish connection- I have been trying to find out about a ship "The Flush" or "Flush" which was lost in the Baltic in 1919-20. One of the crew was Frederick Ravenburn. He may have served in the R.N. in the First World War, and after getting through that lost his life when his ship went down. The ship may also have sailed from Blyth on its last journey. Any information would be welcome.
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This has been an interesting subject to look into, though it has to be said that there seems to be nothing written about the folly.
However, Blyth did indeed have a 'folly'! I never new that, so thank you very much for asking the question. I just hope you get an update via email that this subject is still alive. The folly can be seen on this small extract taken from an 1860 map of Blyth. I cannot decipher if the 'folly' was behind the Horse & Wagon pub or if it is the small round object marked on the map close to the end of the rope walk under the 'F' of the word folly. I am guessing that it is the 'round' structure marked beside the rope walk, now the site of number 12 Rosamond Place. Wonderful stuff. Just wish I was living much closer to Blyth and Woodhorn so I could research it more fully.
It is purely a guess, but it might be something to do with the Ridley family. The whole of the land in the Blyth area was part of the Ridley Estate.
Wonderful stuff! ;D
Philip
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Has to be said on closer inspection and with comparison of the 1897 map that the folly was likely under what is now 83 Stanley Street. Certainly within a few feet of that location anyways.
Philip
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Philip,
I hope someone tackles a proper bit of research into the matter of the "Folly".
My concept of Blyth's Folly is that it was an area that earned the title of Folly rather than a construction.
Where Union and Beaconsfield Streets are today, used to be a wide swamp-like tidal area with no housing. Eventually work on better defining the south bank of the River Blyth succeeded on keeping this area dry and the building of streets.
The southern part got the name "Folly" as this was where a local entrepreneur sited his salt pans. His venture failed. New street built near site of failure gets called Folly Street, now Park Road.
Just at the south end of Beaconsfield St there was pub called Royal Tavern. This pub/hotel started in 1889 when licence was transferred from the Waggon in Folly Road.
Maybe I am just perpetuating an old wife's tale that has no basis in fact ?
Notice on the 1860 Ordnance Survey map, the dotted line running along Plessey Road then turning northwards through the middle of the Gut. This was the boundary between the two parishes of Horton (west) and Earsdon (east)
Bridge St in the centre of today's Blyth got it's name from bridge(s) constructed to prevent wet feet
(site was supposed to be adjacent to the Blockbuster shop)
Michael
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It appears to me that "Blyth Folly" on the map is indicating either the houses to the left of the name or that area of the map rather than a "thing". :-\
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I sought out the thread you mentioned Michael and thought I'd link to it so as to have as much information as possible gathered to one spot. Thanks for the heads up on it.
Philip
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,331622.0.html
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Last night TV Channel BBC2 showed the programme "Coast" featuring Brittany, France.
Presenter Neil Oliver visited modern day operations in Guerande of harvesting salt from
"salt marshes". Workers shovelled the shallow water back and forth , helping the sun evaporate the sea water, leaving the salt deposits.
Past salt operations in Britain made up for the lack of sunshine by encouraging sea evaporation by boiling the sea water in saltpans ( Low Pans at Cambois, Hartley Pans at Seaton Sluice, Howden Pans at Wallsend,)
So did a Blyth entrpreneur try the same in the messy tidal area of the Blyth Gut ( once called Cowpen Brook).
Looking at the 1860 Ordnance Survey map of 1860, I wonder what those rectangle shapes are just to the south of Bridge Street, to the east of the Gut. Gardens or what ?
httm://communities.northumberland.gov.uk/004891FS.htm
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Wow, loads of information regarding the Folly. Unfortunately I have now been informed that 'Donkin's Folly' was not in Blyth at all, so has no connection with Folly road.
My cousin has since told me that Donkin's Folly was actually in Cramlington. It was on the roundabout outside the MSD factory. It was a brick structure that actually looked like a derelict windmill, but it was actually used to help sink a pit to see if there was any coal underground. Her grandmother (my g.aunt) said that her father sank a pit shaft there, but came up with nothing (this would probably be around 1880ish as my g.aunt was born in 1876). It wasn't until the 1900s that people realised that the whole area was full of coal (but on the surface. She was often said to be really saddened by the fact that her father had failed to find coal.
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A little more info re the Folly and the salt pans, whether related or not!
It would be good to refer to the Ridley Papers. I have no idea where they will currently be, if they still exist. They do make mention of 8 salt pans in Blyth, 4 at North Blyth and two pans at The Folly. ;D
Heavy taxation ruined the industry which by 1825 was in severe decline nationally. I have no idea whether some salt was produced at Blyth in the years after that, because the last of the old salt pans was not destroyed until 1876!
The juicy bit I am waiting to get to can now be imparted to you. Two men, James Nelson and a man by the name of Douglas (I assume surname) tried to revive the trade in Blyth in 1838, probably using some the abandoned pans in Blyth, possibly even the ones at the location we are now discussing as The Folly. Sad to say that their efforts did not pay off.
So over to the experts now. Where are the Ridley Papers? Can they be read?
Philip
I have got the above info from an old book published in 1971 titled 'Blyth in the Eighteenth Centruy' by W.R. Sullivan published by the Oriel Press, ISBN 0 85362 135 7
http://openlibrary.org/works/OL7278747W/Blyth_in_the_eighteenth_century
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Hi Phodgetts, regarding the Ridley Papers. If you are meaning any papers regarding the Blagdon Hall Ridleys, these papers are kept in the archives at Woodhorn. The only reason I know this is that my g.g.g.grandfather was a Colliery Agent for the Ridleys and when I wrote to Blagdon Hall to see if they had any information on this fact, they directed me to the archives at Woodhorn
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Hi All,
I've got a little bit more information about "The Folly" at Blyth. I did see somewhere on researching it, that "1897 map that the folly was likely under what is now 83 Stanley Street" - however, on examining the various maps, I would suggest that it was where 25 – 41 Park Road are. I tried to attach images, but despite only totalling 860kb, the 2nd and 4th were rejected, so I have put them at: https://sites.google.com/site/williamsmithmariner/
the first is from Tithe Award, Plan (31 Dec 1840) and shown on https://communities.northumberland.gov.uk/007160FS.htm for Blyth (with permission of the Diocese of Newcastle), I've identified it by a red arrow, it certainly appears to be buildings, [below].
The second image is Blyth Folly shown on the OS six-inch of England & Wales, surveyed 1859, published 1865; there was a windmill at the end of the ropery tract, and the circular item just below the words "Blyth Folly" was likely that;
The third shows Folly Road on the OS six-inch 1888-1913; [below]
and fourth I have overlaid with a red star where I think the folly was on a current plan.
The 1841 census shows several families living at the “Folly” being: CHEPPLE, SCOT, ADAMS, GARRET, BROWN GATIS and DUNN and they appear to be living in seven separate dwellings.
My interest in this was that the father of Capt William SMITH (c.1779-1847), Mariner, who discovered Antartic (almost by accident), his father, another William, is mentioned in Wallace’s History of Blyth, (1856) stated his (William Jnr's) father died, at the Folly, Blyth; "1824. August 10. Died at the Folly, aged 90, William SMITH, father of William SMITH the discoverer of New South Shetland."
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Some of my relatives lived at various homes in The Folly, over a 20 year period.
Here is a snippet from my profile on poor great-aunt Bridget (Mrs Stephen Cochrane) :- The family address was 4 Folly Wood Houses - the houses were called “wood” houses, because they were constructed of mahogany wood. However, the accommodation they provided was of a very poor quality, as shown In the July 1891 report made to the Blyth Local Board by the newly appointed medical officer, Dr J Cromie. He described how there were
“4 houses at the Wood Row, Blyth Folly, with 17 persons without either drains, privies, ashpits, or water taps, and that the roofs admitted the rain and were not fit to live in.”
The rents were 3/6d a week and his recommendation was the houses should be closed at once. It was agreed by the committee that a notice should be served on the owner to “put the houses in a sanitary order” or they would be closed. The landlord agreed to the closure of the properties and the tenants were asked to move out: but in May 1892 legal action had to be taken to serve Stephen Cochrane with an eviction notice to quit one of the properties. (By then Stephen was a ship's fireman and away at sea for most of the time, but home often enough to father a child most years. I don't think he was unduly concerned about the living conditions of his family.)
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The newspaper cutting below explains the origins of Folly Road. I don't know the date or the paper it came from. However it is in my great grandfather's scrapbook, and is likely from the 1930's. It also denotes that the builder of "Cuddy's Folly", from where Folly Road got its name, was his great grandfather. Hope this finally resolves the mystery.
(https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqDQ0UHjCd-JnAssUT0Cq0Pn6f5B?e=7iNIUx)
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqDQ0UHjCd-JnAssUT0Cq0Pn6f5B?e=7iNIUx (https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqDQ0UHjCd-JnAssUT0Cq0Pn6f5B?e=7iNIUx)
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And this is the painting of the row of houses referred to in the newspaper article
(https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqDQ0UHjCd-JnAyvtHWmJsrvNDGu?e=lSzEu7)
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqDQ0UHjCd-JnAyvtHWmJsrvNDGu?e=lSzEu7 (https://1drv.ms/u/s!AqDQ0UHjCd-JnAyvtHWmJsrvNDGu?e=lSzEu7)
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What a fascinating thread. My Dad would have loved this, he was keen on Blyth and family history. And especially naval history.
The only link I have is that we lived a block away from Dinsdale house in my youth.
And his office was on Stanley St.
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Thank you for posting the newspaper report, which refers to the mahogany houses in my previous post #19. Another snippet of evidence to add to the sad tale of the life of poor gt-aunt Bridget.
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Thank you for posting the information and images.
I can now place in my mind's eye exactly where the buildings were. I have two images, photos of a sketch and painting. I have no idea who now owns the pictures or where they are. I received the images I have from the late Michael Dixon, a regular poster and contributor on here. The pictures are of 'The Horse & Wagon' pub. I used to think it faced onto the old Plessey Waggonway, but how wrong I was. The pub was off Plessey Road facing more or less southwest. As you can see in the sketch, beyond the pub was open fields and you can see the train in distance atop the embankment heading for the South Staith. My guess is the buildings in the distance are of the ropery that lead from Bath Terrace towards the old Cottage Hospital which stood close by the park entrance.
In the colour picture, the Plessey Road was just out of sight to the left, and on the other side of the road would have been the muddy slake which Crofton is now built upon. Amazing to think at very high tides, the Folly would have had its very own saltwater front.
Fascinating stuff. A real rural scene now lost to Victorian housing development. On that note if you re-examine the pencil sketch you can see rooftops and chimneys in the background. They would have been newly built Victorian houses 1- 23 Folly Road, now Park Road, because prior to them being built nothing stood behind The Horse & Wagon pub!
If you were to go stand in the entrance to Maughan Street, at the Crofton pit end, and looked across to the backs of what is now Park Road, you'd be looking right at the spot where the Horse & Wagon pub stood, at was called way back 'The Folly'.
Thanks again
P ;D