Blyth

[pityackafromblyth]

Keep the information, anecdotes, and history snippets of Blyth rolling in.  It makes interesting reading.  I am glad I was born and bred in Blyth - I always knew it was the centre of the world.

[aspin]

Itsssssssssssssssssssssssss not

LOL


Further up the coast is
near to about
the borders
and Berwick
The stage coaches used to stop there
nothing much left there now
Elizabeth

[pityackafromblyth]

rentaship,
I cannot help re your family roots.  Bebside High Farm caught my eye, and when I had a look I saw the surname 'Harper'. You are right about that, because I met him now and again at the Bebside Inn(next to the level crossing).  He was within walking distance of home from the pub.  He WAS known as Harry. One of his friends was "Bowker" Bailey, and I believe that he lived nearby. Why he got the name Bowker I do not know.  Another man who used the same pub regularly was called Sam.  He worked on British Rail on the rail lines.  He did a good impression of Jack Elam, the Hollywood star in mainly western films.  Unfortunately Sam was killed in, I think, the early 1970s, on evening or night shift, whilst working on a line in the Blyth/Morpeth area.  I believe that 3-4 men were killed as a train passed whilst they were working.
If you get a bit more feedback, you may get people posting info re the Bebside village- I remember the Bebside Co-op as it stood, and also the pit/colliery, bit I could not describe either of them, although the front of the Co-op would have fitted in nicely at Beamish. Good hunting.

[pityackafromblyth]

Hi Man aspin, (if your are a woman then you know 'man' is just a term, and not being sexist  ) I will get back to the meat of the thread in a minute, but here is a short anecdote which I was told. I have lived in Yorkshire for 40+ years, and years back I went into the local, and the publican( a Tyke) was laughing his head off. "What's the matter Tom ?" I asked.  Reply, "We've just had some Newcastle supporters in and they said to my wife, quote/verbatum, " How, Man, Missus, Lad, Woman, Hinny, hev yi got any ....... ?" I thought the landlord was taking the mickey out of me unti his wife reappeared and quoted the exact same words
BACK TO THE SUBJECT: stages would not stop at Blyth- the passengers would want to get off and settle there after meeting the locals. AND further north was not Scotland ready for welcoming the French, and the Berwickshire/onions/ites/or whatever the term is could not make up their minds which crown to support. :PI still think that Blyth is the centre of the world, but I stand to be corrected.

[rentaship]

Hi Pityackafromblyth.

The Bebside Inn was a regular watering hole for him. Many times in there with him during the early sixties, especially during the summer hay season and then again when the grain crops were harvested. The name 'Bowker Bailey' does not ring any immediate bells with me so it will be interesting to see if anyone picks up on that name.

I remember the Coop which was immediately across the road from the Bebside Inn and also the pit including seeing the chimney demolished. Cannot remember if it was with explosives or the Fred Dibna way with fire.  Thanks alot for your imput.

Peter

[Michael Dixon]

 I was born at 138 Front Street,  Bebside Colliery village in 1941. I went to St Cuthbert's Primary School at Cowpen ( between Cowpen Village and Cowpen Newtown)

138 was the last house on the west end of north side of Front St.  . Rehoused to Cowpen Estate
(Weardale Avenue) when pit died in eartly 1950s.  I used to frequent the Miners Welfare Hall
( The " Institute" = The Chute ) to play Billiards on one of it's three tables. Also got school dinners upstairs. I remember Jack Walker booking us onto the tables in 20 minute periods then flicking the table's lights off and on to signify time up. He had some duckers and divers to contend with, but he was a good patient chap.

You and PYoB wont like this bit.  The farm house was officially called Cowpen High House, not Bebside High House. The railway station preceded the pit and the pitmen's houses by about 4 years,
 and it was called Cowpen Lane ( because like Cowpen Quay) it lay in the "township" of Cowpen, one of the 5 townships that made up the Parish of Horton.

The "Township" of Bebside lay to the West of Cowpen township, ( The Heathery/Hathery Lane marked part of the boundary divided the two townships. 

The colliery village that developed around the "new" pit , lay within Cowpen Township, not Bebside Township. But it eventually got the name of Bebside from the pit which was owned by a coal company called Bebside Coal Company.

My brother Raymond's Sat and Sun pub crawl was Bebside Club, Bebside Inn and Kitty Brewster. He never wanted to go farther afield.


Michael Dixon

[rentaship]

Thanks Michael.

I see from birth certifcates tha Jim Walker, my grandfather, was born in 58, Front Row and my mother, his daughter, was born in 11 Front Row. I assume that Front Street and Front Row are one and the same or were there two different streets?

Jim died at 1, Dovedale Avenue. A next door neighbour there, on Tynedale Drive, was Bobby Taylor who was married to a Dixon. Chrissie,daughter of Jack and Tilly Dixon who I think lived at 36, Weardale Avenue. I assume some connection with you?

Never heard High House Farm referred to as Cowpen High House but interesting to know.

Peter

[blythboy]

Surely this must be Newsham, between the two level crossings!

[pityackafromblyth]

I stand corrected, blythboy.  Newsham is the centre of the world but only between the 2 level crossings. What was the name of the corner shop, just over the road from Newsham Junior school, where we used to buy our ice lollies ?  I was looking at a site re the Black Diamond, which is up for sale.  One advert for it quoted, "Strippers on a Sunday" Black Diamond centre of the world '
And we used to go to Walter Willson's, next to the top crossing for broken biscuits.