The search room at Woodhorn will be closed on Saturday 6/6/26

Northumberland Archives

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 2ND JULY 1925

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NORHAM BOAT RACES

Norham Boat Races were held on the Tweed on Saturday, fine weather favouring this popular annual event in the district. The cold wind was not felt on the riverside, where it was nice and mild, and though the sun only shone in blinks, it was very pleasant throughout the day, and the beautiful woods on the Ladykirk side of the river made a fine background for the racing events. There were, however, fewer people at the races than last year, and the gate unfortunately was down by some £5. This was no doubt owing to the many other events on in the district- Coldstream Sports and the Workers’ Gala at Wooler, etc. Sport was better than last year, and there were some very keen races. The river was divided into the two courses- English and Scotch, by means of floating buoys, and this plan worked well, there being practically no fouling owing to one competitor getting out of his course into his opponent’s. There was the old keen rivalry between Norham men and their neighbours from “Hurklie” and great was the rejoicing in Norham when it was a Norham man who carried off the Championship stakes, wresting the honour from its Horncliffe holder, the stalwart Tom Robertson.

Norham Castle on the River Tweed. Ref: BRO 515-178

Berwick Pipe Band, looking very smart in their fine uniforms, played selections down by the river side during the afternoon, to the great enjoyment of spectators of the races. One of the most interesting features of the races was the great keenness of the small boys who had come to watch. The youngsters not only helped by selling programmes, but took keen interest in the races, swarming round the good-humoured judge to ask time and again in anxious tones “Have they rowed for the cup yet?” The older ones kept their programmes marked up to date, and in between races discussed among themselves who was going to win the next event as well as debating whether to spend their last coppers on another bottle of lemonade or a pie. The tiny tots wee perhaps more interested in the gaily coloured balloons being sold on the river side, or the coloured canaries which fluttered in the breeze, worrying their mothers till they bought them either a balloon or canary to amuse them.

BERWICK PETTY SESSIONS

THURSDAY

Before A. J. Dodds, C. Forsyth, D. H. W. Askew, G. N. Broadbent, Esqs., Miss Henderson, and major A. Tower Robertson.

RIDING ON THE FOOTPATH

John Fleming, Norham, was charged with unlawfully riding a bicycle on a footpath set aside for pedestrians, on the Ord Road at 5.30 pm on 24th June.

P.C. Lindsay proved the case. Defendant said the road was rough. Witness thought the road in fair condition.

Defendant said his chain was liable to come off and the road was rough. He did not intend to do any harm.

The Bench reprimanded defendant but dismissed the case.

A DANGEROUS PARACTICE

Mr. Dodds said, before the press retired, he wished to remark on the dangerous practice of riding cycles at extreme speed when going round corners, particularly Bridge Street, and into Sandgate and round by the Garage.

Bridge Street, Berwick-upon-Tweed, dated 1959. Ref No: BRO 1250-147

Perhaps the Police would keep an eye on anything of the kind for at any moment a child crossing the road might be run over and killed.

1st K.O.S.B. BAND VISITS BERWICK

The Band of the 1st K.O.S. Borderers visited Berwick on Thursday, and by permission of Col. P. A. V. Stewart, C.B.E., D.S.O., and Officers of the Regiment, gave two performances in Berwick Corn Exchange. In the afternoon the attendance was very poor, owing no doubt to the many other attractions on in the town. In the evening there were a few more present, but the building was more than half empty. Among those present were Major C. F. Kennedy, Commanding Officer at the Depot, Berwick, and Mrs. Kennedy, Capt. B. C. Lake, Lieut. Watt, Lieut. J. B. Vans Agnew, Lieut. D. V. Kennedy. The band is well worth going to hear, and Berwick people missed a treat by not turning out in larger numbers. The items at the evening performance were greatly enjoyed and several were encored with great enthusiasm.

Corn exchange, Berwick-upon-Tweed. Ref No: BRO 1636/4/11

The conductor is Band master M. T. Kingston Jarvis. The selections from Tannhauser were very fine and also the selections from Greig. Very amusing was the wedding ceremony introduced into the descriptive piece by Lotter, the parson being represented by the bassoon, while the responses of the bride and bridegroom were taken by the flute and trombone. The Musical Jig-Saw cleverly worked in some 52 melodies ending with that fine Selenelle “1812” Overture by Tchaikovsky. The evening programme was: Grand selection from “Tannhauser,” Wagner: xylophone solo, “Orchid Blossoms.” Underhill, soloist, Musician barber (encored0; first selection of gems from Gilbert and Sullivan Operas, arrd. Godfrey; descriptive, “A Southern Wedding,” Lotter (encored); excerpts from “Greig’s Works” selection, “A Musical Jig-Saw,” arrd. Aston; a Military Tattoo by Col. Mackenzie Rogan, late Director of Music, Coldstream Guards; regimental march, “Blue Bonnets o’er the Border.”

TWEEDMOUTH NOTES

The annual picnic of the Tweedmouth Scotch Church Sunday School took place to Hawick on Tuesday (Mid-summer Day), by char-a-bancs. Never before has a Sunday school trip made this journey by buses, so one can imagine how pleased the youngsters greeted the idea and how they looked for the day to come. At about 8.30 in the morning the children began to gather at the church, and at nine o’clock about a hundred were marched down to the “Alley” in the West End, where eight buses were lined up. Never before has any party had a better send off than the 200 adults and children who made the journey. The West End was like a Feast Monday.

The journey was made via Coldstream, Kelso, Denholm and the outskirts of Jedburgh. At halt was made just a mile out of Hawick for dinner, but owing to a misunderstanding other arrangement had to be made and dinner was served in St. John’s Church Hall, in Hawick about one o’clock. After this the company adjourned to the Public Park, where races were held for the children and adults. The tug-of-war caused much excitement, especially among the older members. During the afternoon many took advantage of other amusements in the Park, such as bowling and putting. After the races many took the opportunity of visiting the War memorial and the Wilton Museum. About 5pm all sat down to tea in St John’s Hall.

Shortly after six a start was made for home after everybody had spent a most enjoyable day. A short halt was made in Kelso, and home was reached shortly after nine.

Manorial Documents Register Project

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Blog 3: Final Findings-Phipps Collection

I have now completed cataloguing the Phipps collection, which if you have been following my earlier blogs has produced some rather interesting finds. I recently presented a talk on the findings of the cataloguing project, which gave me a real opportunity to reflect on what I’d been able to find out about Samuel Phipps from the documents in his collection, and this blog will detail those findings.

One of the most important aspects of cataloguing an estate collection is a good understanding of the family involved. Ideally the estate owners’ birth and death dates, when they owned their property, how they acquired it, who were their ancestors, and did they have any heirs? Interestingly, with this collection, some parts of that information remained hidden, indeed, it wasn’t until my talk, when I met a gentleman who had also researched Phipps that I was able to establish a date of birth for Samuel Phipps – in my research, he remained elusive. Samuel Phipps was born in 1733 and died in 1781 making his age at death 48. A search through some local history books gave us the descent of one of Phipps’ properties, Barmoor Estate. In the 1912-1915 Berwick Naturalist’s Society Book, it states rather mysteriously that Barmoor was ‘acquired directly or indirectly’ from the representatives of the Bladens, by Samuel Phipps. This implies they were unsure of how Phipps came to own the property. The answer to this question came about in an unexpected place – I was reading a set of sales particulars for Barmoor estate, when I spotted a handwritten note on the second page (see below).

This inconspicuous looking bit of text tells us that Barmoor Estate was purchased by William Sitwell (Phipps’ great uncle), from Fenwick Stowe, for £30,500. Today that would be about £2,626,187.25. The note mentions that the transaction was witnessed by Samuel Phipps. In Phipps’ will, he notes that he inherited Barmoor from William Sitwell, though it should be noted that Sitwell’s will only states that he bequeathed the sum of £10,000 to Phipps, he does not mention the estate. We can at least infer from this that Phipps inherited the estate from Sitwell, though the wills perhaps explain the woolly explanation given in our history book.

Phipps died without issue and Barmoor was inherited by his second cousin, Francis Hurt, who later took on his maternal family name of Sitwell. We also know from some family history research, that in addition to the Sitwells, Phipps was also related to the Reresby family of Ecclesfield, through his maternal line.

Phipps held extensive property, this much is clear from his records and from his will. Much of the land was in Northumberland, including Barmoor, Yeavering and Coupland, but there was also Ferney Hall in Shropshire, and estates in Yorkshire and Derbyshire amongst others. His main base appears to have been at Lincoln’s Inn, Middlesex, where he practiced his business as a barrister, though we have plenty of receipts for travel, showing that he visited his other properties. Examples include these rather lovely hotel receipts (below), for example, which tell us that ale would have cost Phipps 6 pence in North Allerton, but surprisingly only be 3 pence in Harrogate!

When I first opened the boxes in this collection, nothing was in any kind of order, so all of this information was very useful to help me to identify how the material should be arranged. I could separate out the material into the various estates, and I could understand why letters from the Sitwells and Reresbys were found in the collection. I could also start to separate out records which related solely to Phipps work as a barrister, and not to his own land holdings.

One of my favourite aspects of this collection was the sheer number of purchase receipts, and the detail they provided about Samuel Phipps as a person. We do tend to focus on the running of estates when looking in these sorts of collections, and it can be easy to forget that we’re looking into the history of a real person. These receipts bring Phipps to life and can also tell us about the life of a wealthy gentleman in the late 1700s.

There are documents like this perfumier receipt for 1790-1791 (below left). Phipps died in 1791, so these we his final months, but even at that time he’s buying a ‘swan down puff’, ‘powder’ and multiple pots of ‘pomatum’ (used to slick down hair) – fashionable to the end! We also have a wine list, which includes Madeira, a popular wine at the time, but also a 1726 stock vintage wine for £3 and 15 shillings, or £241.80 in today’s money, he seems to be a man of expensive tastes.

One account which divulged a surprising amount about Phipps, was his funerary expenses. The list is very detailed and not only tells us a lot about what might be included in a gentleman’s funeral at the time but also gives us some idea about Phipps’ physical appearance. Unfortunately, our collection does not include a painting or likeness for Phipps, so this is the closest that I came to having an idea of what he looked like, albeit in quite a morbid fashion! If you look at the image below, which is a snippet of funerary expenses from the appropriately named ‘John Heaven’, the first entry is for a ‘very long Elm Body Coffin lined with superfine Crape and dup ruffled’. The latter terms are archaic spellings of ‘crepe’ and ‘dup’ fabrics, both popular with funerals at the time. Note that they are ‘superfine’ implying a higher-grade fabric. We can also see from the term ‘very long’ that Samuel Phipps was a tall gentleman, at least for the time. Later in the same document, there is an expense of a ‘very large fine quilted mattress for the body to lay on’ – again ‘very large’ implies quite an imposing gentleman.

NRO 2372-G-1-2-1-1-004 – Phipps’ funerary expenses

All of the fabrics noted in the expenses, seem to be of the highest quality, and this even extends to those working at the funeral. One entry is for ‘6 rich Black Silk Scarfs for Ministers, Clerk, Steward, Apothecary, and Undertaker’, these set the executors back £15, which in modern currency would be £861.46 – more than the cost for his coffin!’ Not to mention what would be an additional £60 in modern money just on ostrich feathers to decorate the procession.

We can also use these expenses to gain a bit of an understanding of funerary arrangements in general. In this same document, towards the bottom of the list, we find ‘The usual allowances for Beers for all the Inn porters and under officers’, this implies it was an expectation at the time to provide that. We also find a payment for two ladies to sit ‘up with the corps: 5 nights & 5 days’ – that’s quite a wake! Perhaps this was as much to protect the fine garments and funerary items as the body. The final fee for the funeral was £127 10s 7d (£10,980.84 in modern currency) with an additional £10 (£861) for the gravestone.

From these expenses, Phipps appears to have been affluent and fashionable, and this may inspire an almost Dickensian image of a rich gentleman, though Samuel Phipps appears to have been a very charitable man. The collection includes letters and accounts which can tell us a bit about Phipps’ personality. In one such account, Thomas Johnson owed Samuel Phipps a debt for £473 3s (£40,826.45 in modern currency). Despite this sizeable debt, a note added to the account shows that Phipps ‘advanced for the support of Thomas Johnson, his wife and children £9 19s 6d’ that would be nearly £860 today, so it’s a significant additional sum given by Phipps to ensure Johnson is still able to provide for his family. There are sales particulars included with this account which show that Johnson, a coach-master, did eventually have to auction off his household furniture to pay for the debt. From a historical perspective, this is interesting in itself, though for a property in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London. Included in the inventory are ‘crimson check furniture’, ‘A set of 3 beautiful, rare old Gold Japan image bowls’ and ‘a large hair trunk’ – I’ll admit the latter concerned me on a first read but I’ve since learned that this is a leather trunk where the hair hide remains!

We do have a copy of Phipps’ will, though is very fragile and hard to read. Fortunately, there is a scan of the original available online. This tells us that in addition to his charitable nature in life, he bequeathed annuities (annual payments) to many of his servants in sums of up to £30, ensuring their care after his death.

In the Phipps collection there are many estate records and surveys, so anyone from the Barmoor, Yeavering or Coupland areas at least should be able to find out some information about their local area in the collection. As this is a cataloguing project, I was not able to spend too long researching the records I found, but I will mention here that we had some finds like the sketch below.

Sketch and plan of an un-named property in Yeavering (undated).

While I don’t know much about this property, indeed the sketch is even undated and I can’t say for sure if the property still stands, but this remains a fascinating find. It’s not the only sketch or plan found in the collection which may hold answers to one of your questions.

I hope this blog has given you an idea of some of the information you could find if you researched this collection. You may have an interest in the local area, in everyday life in the 1700s, or specifically an interest in Phipps and his family, all of these topics can be researched in this collection. The Phipps collection has been catalogued and this catalogue will be going online in the next two months, so do look out for that.

The project was completed with funding from the NACT and the Community Foundation Windfarm, with support from Northumberland Archives, so I will end with a final note of thanks – without that funding this collection would remain uncatalogued and these findings would still be a mystery.

Beth Elliott, Project Archivist

BERWICK JOURNAL, 4TH JUNE 1925

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MEMORIES OF AN OLD BERWICK BELL RINGER

“Ring a ding dong”! It is about 45 years ago since Mr. Joseph Redfearn, Wallace Green, Berwick, first began to toll the bells in Berwick Townhall, and he is the last of those old Bell Ringers. Mr. Thos. Statham was the Master bell ringer in those days. Tom Statham died several years ago after a long and worthy career as a Corporation Official. The other Town bell ringers when Mr. Redfearn began were Elias Weatherburn, the late Ald. Turnbull, Jas. Unthank, Geo. Weatherburn, John Moor, who had an ironmongery business in Hide Hill, and has been in London now for many years, William Strangeways, Mr. Redfearn and Mr. Statham, a ring of 8 bells. There was no teacher, and they were not members of a Society of Bellringers. They rang the same old round, with a variation that was known as the Queen’s change. They worked by figures in the old days, and from the common ring of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ,6 7, 8, they would turn to the Queen’s change, which was 1, 3, 5, 7, 2, 4, 6, 8, and then back to the common ring again.  They rang half hour peals at 8am, 10am, 12 noon, 3pm, and 6pm. They rang for the Battle of Waterloo, Queen Victoria’s Birthday and Ascension Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day and Berwick Fair. Mr. Redfearn rang his last peal on New Year’s Day.

Berwick Town Hall early 1900’s. Ref No. BRO 426-294

Mr Redfearn came to Berwick from Newcastle his birthplace, the year after the Royal Border Bridge was opened – over 75 years ago- and his memories of the old town are quaint indeed. Berwick was wretched place in those days. The soldiers would not let one into Wallace Green; they had sentries on guard at both top and bottom. The soldiers of that day were often rough and tumble lot, and the people in the Town had some stirring times. Police Force in those days comprised a Supt., a Constable and a special constable. At harvest time Irish harvesters used to come to town in trucks with scarce a “duddy” on them. Reaping machines wee not in use then. When the Irishmen got tipsy and began a hullaballoo, old Proudfoot, the solitary constable, was the only one that could quieten them.

The granaries were in full swing then; and Castle Terrace was unknown. There were only 2 houses there. One, which is now occupied by Miss Pearson, was owned at that time by Capt. Smith of the old Volunteers. At one time there was no less than 3 public houses in Wallace Green, where Wallace Green Church now stands. Public houses were numerous then, but many of them have been done away with.

Royal Border Bridge early 1990s. Ref No. BRO 515 377

Mr. Redfearn served his time as a cabinetmaker with Mr. Patterson, Berwick, and afterwards worked for Mr. Robt. Wood. His last master was Mr. Brown, Castlegate. After Mr. Brown died, he was in several places his last being with Mr. Goodall, in West Street. Mr Redfearn married Margaret Yeoman in 1868 in Berwick Parish Church, the then Vicar Rowe, officiating. They have had a family of 11, 7 of whom are still living. Mr. Redfearn’s son is Managing Director of Redfearns’ Garage in Golden Square. Mr. Redfearn has always had great love for music and was in 3 bands in Berwick. In 1860 he joined the Volunteer Band. He was in Mechanic’s Band when it was organised over 40 years ago. (He played the trombone), it amalgamated with the Volunteers after being in existence for about 14 years. He played in Artillery band, 1st in Fife and Drum Band and then in Brass Band. He played in a string band when he was 10 years of age. He was a member of a noted string band that played at all the dances in the surrounding district, at Ayton, Duns, Coldstream, Milne Graden, Paxton House and in the Scottish Border villages especially. He was an adept on the piccolo and very skillful with it. The other members of the band were Coun. Campbell’s father who played the bass fiddle, John Hogg, who died a few years ago in South Africa, was the 1st fiddle, Mr. Anderson was 2nd fiddle, and Mr. Ford and Mr. Bock played the cornet. Mr. Redfearn is the only survivor of that orchestra, but today he remembers the happy times they had. Until a few years ago, he continued to play the piccolo, at which he was a master hand. Mr Redfearm and his guid wife are still hale and hearty. He is rather deaf now, but if there is anything he regrets he has to relinquish it is the bell-ringing. He is only sorry the Berwick Bellringers were not trained to lay the bells in a proper way, when they could have rendered the chimes as they are done in other towns.

We hope our very old friend “Joe” Redfearn may enjoy many years of retirement in the good old town, which he loves so well, and where he has been such a useful citizen throughout a long and valued life.

SCOTTISH SCOUT WEEK

BERWICK SCOUTS’ DISPLAY

This being Scout Week, a special effort was made to augment the funds of the Berwick Association, by a 2d annual display by the Boy Scouts of Berwick, Tweedmouth and Spittal, on Tuesday night in the Flagstaff Park, Berwick. There was a record attendance, every vantage point being crowded. There was a very long programme, which lasted over 1 ½ hours, but during this time not a dull moment was experienced. The Scouts who were formed up at their headquarters, were headed by Berwick Pipe band, and marched in procession form there along Silver Street, up Hide Hill, High Street, Walkergate Lane, Parade, and thence to the Park. S. M. Parkes was in the enclosure ready to welcome them; after which they formed a circle and rallied round the Commissioner. Thereafter the flag was hoisted, and cheers resounded again and again. National Anthem was next sung, in a hearty manner by all. The programme now began in real earnest and went with a swing the whole time.

4 boxing bouts were next witnessed, the first being between Troop Leaders Johnston and Gleig. This was the most exciting of all, they really seemed to mean business and gave the crowd a good exhibition of boxing. The next bout was between patrol Leaders Blythe and Shearlaw, and though they did not get so near to grips as the others, yet they gave quite a good exhibition. The next bout was between 2 young boys, Scouts Clements and Weatherburn, and a good show they put up considering their ages. The most laughable of all was the contest between Scouts Renton and Trotter, who were bare-backed, one being whitened and the other blackened, almost out of recognition. They too showed quite a good knowledge of the art.

A few members of the 1st Berwick gave an excellent exhibition of Indian club drill, to the accompaniment of ex-Pipe-Major McMillan.

Berwick Boy Scouts Annual Camp at Wooler, 1910- Group Photograph. Ref No: BRO 2599-BOX 3-File 1 -015

While the Sea Scouts were giving their display of life-saving, various stunts were going on by the other Scouts, including signalling, jumping, skipping, lassoing, single sticks, etc.

The Eightsome Reel by mixed units caused much hilarity amongst the spectators, as the boys were in good form. They wee accompanied by the pipes and drum.

A rather novel item was that consisting of a new type of sword dance by the 2nd Berwicks. It was good to watch, and we are sure to most it was new, making it all the more appreciable. The same Troop gave a display of games which were much enjoyed.

The campfire sing-song was another laugh-provoking item, with the Scouts all arrayed in wraps of multi-coloured materials. They arranged themselves round the fire, before which they sang “E’en gen Yama.” The Commissioner then declared the campfire open, and a selection of songs were given, S. M. Gleig being the moving spirit. Choruses, etc., were given in lusty fashion. The Commissioner and S. M. Gleig gave contributions in which the Scouts joined in. The organ accompaniments wee played by A.S.M. J. Elder.

The proceedings were brought to a close by the singing of a verse of “Abide with me.”

Votes of thanks were called for by the Commissioner for Major Kennedy, Depot K.O.S.B., for the assistance he had given, and for help received from the barracks; and also to Berwick Pipe Band for so kindly playing for them that night.

Capt. Lake, Depot K.O.S.B., kindly acted as umpire for boxing. Those in charge of collecting boxes were Mr. Parker, Counc, Thorburn, Mr. Simmen, jun., Mr. W. Howe, Mr. Hoggarth, and Miss Hogarth.

Amount received, up to going to press, is 12 5s.

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