My SIDDOWAY ancestors moved north from Rowley Regis to Sunderland and then Winlaton to work as nailors for Crowley Iron Works. There are two references in secondary sources to Siddoways - one for the funeral expenses for William Siddoway, and another for a shop application from Robert Siddoway. I would love to find the original records to see if there is more context. Does anyone know where the records are located that formed the basis for the Men of Iron and The Law Book of the Crowley Iron Works?
On a recent visit to the area, the librarians at The Story in Durham helped me find the farm my ancestors operated as well as a home built in the mid-1700s. One farm on the north-west side of Barlow Lane was operated with the NIXONS (one of my male ancestors married a Nixon), and a farm on the south-east side of Barlow Lane was operated by the RICHARDSONS (another marriage relationship) and had a sign identifying it as Normans Riding Farm. The Siddoways lived in a home on North Street. It was left to Richard Siddoway Bagnall in the early eighteenth century. It appears to be currently occupied as a duplex.
I was only in the area for a few days, but I highly recommend The Story in Durham. The research librarians and archivists were fantastic.