Help! Alnwick ancestors.

[jacdee]

Can anyone help me?!!  I'm tracing my ancestors, Crowther, and know they lived in the Amble/Alnwick area. Apparantly my GGGranfather worked in Alnwick Gas works, and died as a result of an accident there. But I can't find Alnwick Gas works anywhere! Does anyone know where I can look?
Also one of my great aunts worked in an asylum in Morpeth, and was apparantly killed by an inmate there. Where would I find out any info about this? (i think it might of been in the 1930's) I've done various searches on different search engines, but am hitting my head on a brick wall!!
I'd be very grateful for any help!! Thanx.

[Sisterjane]

Hello Jacdee
If yuo "google' Alnwick gasworks you will find shedloads of info ,may even tell you about the accident
Joe

[fluffnco]

Hi jacdee

Think the asylum you mention may have been St Georges. It was used as a hospital for people who had depression in the 1960's where they gave the notorious electric shock treatment. There is/was also a huge hospital for people with mental/physical disabilities called Northgate. Unless it's closed down in recent years it is still home to a lot of people.

Hope this helps

Fluffnco

[jacdee]

Hey Joe,
Cheers for your help. I did Google and ended up on the newcastle uni page, which showed a pic of the gasworks, which was great. No mention of the accident though. Maybe my relatives were mistaken about that! Do you think maybe the gasworks were known by another name? I was thinking maybe it was owned by a company or similar?

Hi Fluffnco
Thanx for the info, I'll give it a whirl! Just wish my relatives could remember more details!!

[sillgen]

If you have a date for the death in the accident look at the local papers.    My ancestor died when a piece of ironstone fell on his head from bucket at Palmers Yard in Jarrow and there was quite a bit in the paper and on his death certificate.  There should be a coroner's report too.
Andrea

[jacdee]

Thats a good idea! Never thought of that! Is there a website that has the old papers online? The accident was between 1918 and 1920. I do want to get the death certificate, but don't know if I can do that without a definate death date? Where would I get hold of coroners reports? One of my other ancestors died in Usworth Colliery in 1879, would there have been a newspaper report on that? Sorry for all the questions, but am quite new to all this!

[sillgen]

You can search the deaths at www.1837online.co.uk for a modest fee or by looking at films at your local library or LDS centre - there is a list of those on www.familysearch.org.   FreeBMD on the rootsweb aite has a lot of them but not all.  Worth trying there to start with.  All newspapers are held at the British Library site at Colindale - not online as far as I know but the local record office might have them on film.   They could help with Coroner's records too.   If you publish his full name on a post someone might have access to the deaths locally and find it for you.
Andrea

[jacdee]

Cool, thanx alot for your help!

[Tessy]

Regarding your ancestor who died in the mines - go to the Duham Mining Museum website - dmm.org.uk/colliery. You can go to the appropriate colliery and you will find when your relative died and sometimes they have a report of the accident. And the hospital you're looking for is probably St Georges - I think it has been there since the Victorian times. It is a mental hospital. Good luck