Near Blyth? Completed with thanks

[Mr. Tibbs]

Barbara, I read your message after replying to Malcolm; you write exactly as I feel.  I fully endorse all that you say.  Rootschat is a marvellous site and everyone is so generous of their time and help.  With grateful thanks.
Pat

[Michael Dixon]

 An American acquaintance of mine raised the question of the term
 " townships".  Different from the modern term "township", and not necessarily related to "town"

 Here according to the 1861 census are the population figures for the five townships that comprised the territory of Horton Parish.

Cowpen 6291
Bebside      53
East Hartford 13
West Harford 62
Horton        368     . A total of 6787 folk within the Parish.

With more pits opening and more industry within Cowpen Quay etc the figures from 1901 census were .....

Cowpen.17829 ( including Cowpen Village, Cowpen Quay, Waterloo, Bebside Col. etc)
Bebside        58 ( still just a few fields)
East Hartford 667 ( now includes the Colliery village)
West Hartford  79
Horton  2111 ( now includes New Delaval colliery). Total Parish pop.20744.

(Trivia Note. "Townships" in Ireland were smaller and termed "Townlands" . The Republic of Ireland which does not use Postcodes, still uses Townlands to facilitate mail delivery. Northern Ireland uses Postcodes)

Michael

[stanmapstone]

A Township was a division of a Parish which formed a unit of local administration; it levied a separate Poor Rate and appointed a constable. An earlier term was 'Vill', a district or group of houses that bore a name.
See http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/types/status_page.jsp?unit_status=Tn
Stan

[Mr. Tibbs]

Stan; Michael-you are absolute mines of information Recently I was trying , yet again, to discover my maternal grandmother's family in Co Galway and I made the mistake of writing township when I meant townland.  One of these days, I'll know what I'm talking about hopefully ... and it will be thanks to chatters like you two

[Michael Dixon]

 Mr Tibbs,

 I was in Northumberland County Records Office (Woodhorn) yesterday and to satisfy my curiosity, looked up the Hoad/Weightman marriage, in the marriage register of Horton Parish, church of St Mary the Virgin, c1879.

No Show !

 The couple were not married in the Parish church. They were married in St Mary's church, the "chapel of ease" born from St Mary the Virgin, Horton, in 1864. (Eventually becoming an independant parish in 1896)

At the time of their marriage in 1879, the new St Mary's lay within the community of Waterloo, in the Township of Cowpen. Later streets, Church St and Wanley St were built adjacent to the church.

So the "chapel of ease" did it's job in that the couple maybe walked a couple of 100 yards from Cowpen Quay to the new St Mary's, instead of hiking up(it was uphill)  to the mother church at Horton, about 3 miles away.

( When the two neighbouring Urban Districts of Cowpen and Blyth amalgamated in 1907, the combined area was called Blyth, hence St Mary's Parish , Blyth, neighbouring St Mary the Virgin Parish, Horton)

Michael

[Mr. Tibbs]

Michael-you astound me: your knowledge is so wide-reaching! Once again, I cannot thank you enough.  Without your input, I would blithely have accepted the information on the marriage certificate as St. Mary's Church, Horton.  When will I learn? >:(I like the idea of the two of them just tripping along the street to the chapel of ease-"Let's get it over, pet.  It won't take long."  Bless him, Robert was lame so that would make it much easier for him.  Mnay, many thanks
Pat

[Michael Dixon]

 Pat,

 Then just after their marriage they moved from the Cowpen area, into the Blyth area,i.e.  Wellington Street.

 Cowpen also had a Wellington St, but when Cowpen and Blyth merged in 1907 as "Blyth" , the ex-Cowpen "Wellington St" (in Cowpen Quay) got a name change to Burt St. One of a few street name-changes, necessitated by the merger.

Most of my info on Horton/Cowpen/Blyth etc has come from books/papers etc in the dusty cubby-hole in Blyth Library, including the volumes of The History of Northumberland, mentioned by Malcommon.

Michael

[Mr. Tibbs]

Thank you, Michael
Dusty cubby hole or not, it seems to have a wealth of information!  How soon after they were married did they move?
Pat

[Michael Dixon]

 Pat,

 So from their residences in Cowpen Quay, Cowpen, they married in 1879.

On the 1881 census, ( 5091-14-21) taken as at 3rd April, they are living in 3 Carlton St, Blyth not neighbouring Wellington St, as I mistakenly reported earlier.

Their one yr old dtr, is recorded as born Blyth.

So they moved to Blyth between their married and birth of first child.

Robert was living in Folly Road, Blyth on 1871 census ( 5132=52-5)
Coincidentally a 1900 photo of Folly Rd has just been posted on this board 
-see topic Folly Rd.

 I noticed the marginal annotation on this census recording 11 yr old Robert as " lamed"

His father James would probably have worked at the Blyth Ropery ( shown on Ordnance Survey maps on Northumberland Communities web site)

Sarah Hoad, grandaughter of a Customs Officer , lived in Whitley ( Bay) village on 1871 census ( 5122-40-7).

By 1891 census ( 4178-84-58) Sarah/Robert had moved to Gateshead

Michael