A Trip Down Memory Lane at Ridley Park Blyth: Part 1

This blog has been split into four parts.

As a member of staff working for Northumberland Archives, I am now working from home doing a variety of jobs including, typing lists of various records, writing Facebook posts, completing online courses and compulsory learning. Some of my colleagues have written blogs for social media and I thought I would give this a try too.

At the present time it is very important not only for physical health but also for our mental health to make sure we take time out to exercise; this is where I got my idea from to write this blog. Everyday my husband and I go for walks from our front door. We are very lucky as we have the beach right opposite the house, but many walks we do involve visiting the beautiful Ridley Park in Blyth.

Ridley Park was established in 1904 on land donated by Viscount Matthew White Ridley. It is now managed by Northumberland County Council, Blyth Town Council and also Friends of Ridley Park, a community group set up in 2012.

Pictured below is a bust of Viscount Matthew White Ridley which proudly stands at the entrance of Ridley Park. The original bust, created by local sculptor George Skee, was unveiled in the park in 1909 but unfortunately it was stolen in 2008. In 2019 this new bust was unveiled thanks to the Friends of Ridley Park who received a grant from the Ridley family charity and also a grant from Blyth Town Council.

Ridley Park holds many happy childhood memories for me. I grew up in a house right opposite the park. A small terraced house which was lovely except it had no garden. A small concrete backyard with a few flower pots, not an ideal place for children to play in, however we were lucky having the park on our door step. My sister and I spent many hours especially in the summer months playing in our gang at the park. We made dens in the woods and played fairies and witches, mixing brews and potions out of any old sticks, mud, berries and leaves we could find, then went home covered in mud only to be shouted at by my mother “ look at the colour of you get in the bath now! “. But I didn’t care we had had fun. On hot days we would pack a picnic and towel and play in the paddling pool. Anyone forgetting their bathing costume would have to paddle in their vest and knickers. ( I always made sure I had mine!).

In my teenage years we used to play tennis in the tennis courts. It cost 20p for an hour and we would reenact that year’s Wimbledon. I was never very good at tennis and often got the job as ball boy. As well as tennis we regularly played pitch and put. There was a wooden hut on the edge of the green where we paid to hire the clubs and balls. The clubs were ancient and were kept in a large metal dust bin and were all bent and out of shape which made the game harder to play!