Blyth History.

[peteloud]

I have just received an email from Les Purvis who was a classmate of mine at New Delaval Infants in 1951, his father was the manager of The Plaza.  He asked if I knew the date of the fire in the bakery at the Co-op.  He estimated that it was 1950.

I can remember watching the blaze and seeing the stables burnt out. As I can remember the fire I suspect that was about 1951, when I would have been 5 year old.

Does anyone have more information?

[Phodgetts]

Peter, please check your private messages.

Philip

[Phodgetts]

Is this the other photo of trimmers that you have?

The image is titled Coal Trimmers Blyth 1894.

The top row left to right, I have 8 names for and I am hoping you might be able to match them up because the list doesn't quite match the photo;

Unknown, Wilson, T. Loud, Robson, Bell, E. Bell, Tait, P. Rutherford.

Middle row;
A. Rutherford, T. Robson, Ritson, Golightly, M. Harrison, H. Lee, J. Loud, C. English

Bottom row;
G. Wilson, J. Golightly, J. Wright



Philip

[peteloud]

Yes, this is one of the other photos of trimmers that I have, but I have come across a few others, although the others do not have names.

I have the two "Trmmers" photos that are here in RootsChat on my webpage at http://www.peterloud.co.uk/photos/OthersUK/Blyth_1.html

I'd now like to find out if anyone has managed to put names to the trimmers in the other photos.

[skida]

In response to the mention of the Willow Tree above, it was once managed by a famous musical family, the Cloughs, renowned throughout the world as innovators in playing the Northumbrian Small Pipes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Clough

[peteloud]

Years ago I checked the family tree of the Cloughs and they lived at 2 Winship Street. I didn't see any reference to them living at the Willow Tree.

Tom Clough would often be accompanied by Jim Bainbridge on his fiddle, Jim lived a few doors down from the "Tree". He was my Aunt Mary's fiddle teacher.  I have a fiddle made by him.

Aunt Mary's next door neighbour was called Tom Clough, and his father was also called Tom Clough. They were preachers at the Independent Methodist Chapel in New Delaval when I was a child, (1950's).  I think that they were related to the musical Cloughs but I'm not sure how.

[skida]

I think it was Old Tom who managed the Tree back in the 1800s and this was mentioned in the book about "The Cloughs of Newsham"

There is a video about them here (the annoying flickering stops about halfway through)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j2Z161Rzg4

I used to work with another Tom Clough, who retired from bus driving not so long ago and who was a descendent.

[emmadog]

Hi Skida, thanks for the you tube link. Thught it was a lovely little film and brought back a few memories as my grandmas back garden looked on to the Isabella colliery.

Barbara

[colingrave]

New Delaval.
I have seen an ordnance survey map from the 1930s which shows rows of miners' cottages to the west of Delaval Gardens.  They would have been for employees at New Delaval pit. As a youngster in the early 1950s there was the colliery timber yard in the same location where the cottages once stood. The timber yard was encircled by the single track railway and NCB coal wagons were also stood there at times.
What I want to know is when were the cottages built, and when were they demolished ?  If I recall the contents of the map correctly, there were 4 methodist churches within that area of New Delaval, besides the schools, which leads onto another query - there were no public houses in New Delaval, they were all on the east side of the LNER railway line at Newsham, ie the Black Diamond, the Willow Tree, etc.  Who were the owners of the New Delaval Colliery, and also the land upon which the miners' cottages were built ? If there was a strong Methodist following in that area, would that be the reason for the absence of pubs ?

I believe there was also a pub to the west of the New Delaval Colliery called The Three Horseshoes. The last row of miners houses on the west side was called Sinkers Row. To the west of that was Robson's Farm and then The Three Horseshoes. The landlady's name was Mrs Cowan and she had a son called John. My relatives, the Chamberlains, lived in the miners houses at 77 New Row until 1935 when they opened a general store at 777 Plessey Road and the corner of Cosser Street. The mine was closed in 1955 so I'm guessing that is roughly when the houses were demolished, though there is a photograph of the derelict pit head still standing in 1969.