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This Week in World War One, 6 October 1916

08/03/201807/10/2016 by Northumberland Archives

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 6 OCTOBER 1916

BERWICK PETTY SESSIONS

A Naval Offender – Edward Hay, leading seaman, H.M. motor launch, was charged with being drunk and disorderly in Church Street. He admitted that he was only drunk. P.C. Spiers said the offence took place at eleven o’clock. Prisoner said he had no ship and no home to go home to, and began to get abusive. – Sergeant Wilson corroborated. – Captain Norman said the whole world owed much to the noble service accused belonged to, and he hoped it would be a warning to him not to come there again.

Drunk and Disorderly – Catherine Lovelle, Berwick, was charged with being drunk and disorderly. She said she had been left a widow 18 months ago, had never applied to the Guardians for relief, and if she had made a mistake she had suffered for it. The Chief Constable said there were 15 previous convictions. These commenced in 1885, but she had not been before the Court since 8th January, 1913. Fined 5s or seven days, and a fortnight allowed to pay.

William Wood, temperance hotel keeper, High Street, was charged with having failed to obscure his window lights on the 26th Sept. He pleaded not guilty. Sergt. McRobb gave evidence as to the offence. The lights came from the back premises and witness was accompanied by P.C. Spiers. It was a white-washed yard, and the light shone very bright. When defendant’s attention was called to the matter he would not listen to the witness, remarking that he could prove different. The lights were reduced before defendant came out.

BRO 1250-93 WOOD'S HOTEL, 1959 — BRO 1250-93 WOOD’S HOTEL, 1959

– Defendant repudiated this, saying he could prove differently. – P.C. Spiers corroborated, and said one window had no blind at all. – Defendant, addressing the Bench, said that the offence had been very much exaggerated. – The Chief Constable said that the defendant had been already admonished. He had no desire to be vindictive and he admitted Mr Wood might have a difficulty in superintending his lights in such a business as he was engaged. – Capt. Norman said defendant had no exercised the care he should have, and he would be fined 25s. Defendant explained that on one occasion the offence complained of was caused by a gentleman who was undressing and going to bed. The gentleman had opened the window, causing the blind to flutter. – The Chief Constable said in such a case the gentleman complained of would be summoned.

RAILWAY CARRIAGES

Mr Smith referred to how strictly we were watched at home and abroad in regard to lights shown a night while all the time at night the railway carriages came along showing quite a glare from the door window. It was absurd for the railway company to order blinds down while having the centre window without any blinds. If any passenger did not shut down the side blinds they were liable to a fine, and yet there were only two-thirds blinded and one third of the carriage a blaze, as that part was opposite the lamps. He thought it ridiculous that the public should be put under these regulations so well enforced on the streets and respecting their houses, and yet these express rains from Edinburgh a blaze of light passing their homes. The whole country was illuminated by the light from trains. It was a shame and disgrace that these rains should go up and down the country in these times so brilliant.

The Chairman – You cannot expect much consistency in Government regulations.

Mr Smith urged the sending of a petition against the bright lights on trains.

Mr Westgarth felt, as did also the Chairman that as good a purpose would be served by the matter being ventilated through the Press. The matter then dropped and his concluded the business.

CHESWICK

The children of the above school subscribe, four shillings and seven pence towards the

Jack-Cornwell-VC-aged-16-was-fatally-wounded-by-shrapnel-aboard-HMS-Chester

“Jack Cornwell Memorial” on Thursday, September 21^st, 1916. I will be remembered the

boy, Jack Cornwell was in the Battle of Jutland, and though losing his life, his heroism will be long remembered. Collections have also been made by the scholars for the National Sailors’ Society, 34 Prince Street, Bristol, a society doing useful work for our sailors. The names of those who volunteered for collecting cards are as follows:- Robert Glahome, Cheswick Farm, 10s; James McLeod, Oxford, 16s 6d; Elizabeth Wedderburn, Goswick Station, 5s 3d; James R. Ferry, Sandbanks, 8s 8d; Robert Johnson, Sandbanks, 5s 3d; James Black, Berryburn, 11s 3d; Joseph White, New Haggerston Smithy, 6s; John Henderson, Cheswick Farm, 6s; Joan Grahamslaw, Windmill Hill Farm, 5; John Turner, Berryburn, 14s; Jane Jackson, Windmill Hill Farm, 5s 3d. The total amount collected, £4 13s 2d, has been duly forwarded to the Secretary.

LOCAL NEWS

The Playhouse. – The great attraction at the Playhouse this weekend is the exhibition of the great official war film, “The Battle of the Somme,” which the Playhouse management have secured at great cost. “The Battle of the Somme” is the greatest moving picture in the world, the greatest that has ever been produced. Where ever it is shown it should make an end in the minds of men to the pretentions of pompous princes who have long claimed the right as the “All Highest” to doom their fellow creatures to suffering and destruction for the gratification of their mad ambitions. It is impossible to believe that the world will ever forget this picture. Its impressions will never fade from the memory of this generation. Men who see it will never talk lightly of war again. In this picture the world will obtain some idea of what it costs in human suffering to put down the “Devil’s Domination.” The doors are being opened 15 minutes earlier to allow all seats to be secured previous to commencement. The final episode in the great Trans-Atlantic film, “Greed” will be shown in the earlier half of next week, and it will be accompanied by another powerful drama – “The Vindication.” On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday next week there will be shown “The Wandering Jew, “ a powerful adaptation of Eugene Sue’s world renowned novel and play. The variety entertainment will be supplied by Harry Drew, the famous Welsh Basso in his monologue and vocal – “Over Forty

Writing the Century: Stannington

29/11/201603/10/2016 by Northumberland Archives

Stannington Sanatorium collection will feature in a play broadcast on BBC Radio 4 this week by Newcastle University’s senior Lecturer in Creative Writing Margaret Wilkinson. The play will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each day from Monday 3^rd October to Friday 7^th October at 10.45am, with a repeat at 7.45pm. Margaret often uses archival research in her plays, including working with post graduate students to tell the story of the 1649 Newcastle witch trials in The Newcastle Witches, performed at the Newcastle Guildhall in 2014. Margaret’s play Queen Bee has been performed at the Northern Stage and 8 other venues, and Blue Boy has been performed at the Durham Literary festival. She won the Northern Writer’s awards Time to Write award in 2000. We asked Margaret to tell us a little of what it was like to write the play and the sources of her inspiration for it.

Margaret Wilkinson (right) with Dame Sian Philips at the recording.

My inspiration for writing ‘Stannington’ came from the wonderful resource I found at Northumberland Archives based at Woodhorn, Ashington and the kind assistance of the

Fancy letters and famous faces

28/09/2016 by Northumberland Archives

Having previously looked at marks made by clerks and residents of the manors, we will now look beyond the doodles to decorative letters and drawings that are works of art in themselves. Though these had been commonly used in the medieval period their use declined through the centuries, and by the seventeenth century were reserved for a few areas of written texts, such as the legal documents like deeds. In those occasions where they remained they became less about the content of the text and more for decoration. as we go through our manorial documents we often come across examples that are eye-catching.

Below is a nice example of a letter done with shapes and swirls.

One that is a little more complicated…

More complicated still…

Or this one, from a document of Charles I, which takes it further…

This is so stylised it becomes difficult to make out the ‘C’ it represents.

However, many examples contain drawings. In the medieval manuscripts these are known as historiated initials and inhabited initials. A historiated initial relates to a picture in the letter that relates to the text, where an inhabited letter is purely decorative. The below sixteenth century example is an inhabited letter, which includes a rather unusual face. Perhaps he goes back to earlier traditions of the psalter and other illuminated works.

We start to see images of the monarch used in some documents such as deeds, and these historiated initials are very skilfully and professionally done. The monarch would be depicted in a cartouche, often attached to the first letter of their name. The earliest example we have come across is James I:

James is shown on his throne next to a stylised ‘J’. Under his cloak he appears to be shown in medieval dress. His shoes are certainly of a much older style, quite unlike the decorative heeled shoes he is usually depicted wearing. Next to the image are the symbols for England (rose), Scotland (thistle) and Wales (fleur-de-lis) joined together, illustrating that the three countries were united by his rule. The swirls turning to leaves may also hark back to an early style of decorating pages.

Next we have James’s son, Charles I.

We can see Charles I in a cartouche, surrounded with ornate patterned decoration and a panel showing roses, unicorns, and other emblems of state, with swirling rose leaves filling the space. The letters are also very ornately decorated. The image of Charles is very well drawn, and shows him with the crown, orb and sceptre.

We have also come across Charles’s granddaughter, Queen Anne. This, like many decorated examples, is an ‘Exemplification of Recovery’, which recorded the breaking or ‘barring’ of an entail (a passage of land solely down the family line), so that the land became fee simple and could be mortgaged, sold or willed to someone not in the entail. They became obsolete in 1833, but were often highly decorated with the monarch’s image and seal to show authenticity.

Queen Anne, from an Exemplification of Recovery, 1710.

Here we see Queen Anne in a cartouche, with her hair elaborately curled and wearing a chain of jewels. The pearl necklace she wears is perhaps the one still owned and worn by the royal family today.

Detail from the same Exemplification of Recovery, 1710.

Further along the top of the same document we see a great deal of detailed decoration. The swirling leaves in Charles I’s decoration have grown to become huge scrolling acanthus leaves, which support a rose, and cover much of the top section. Between the leaves we have the Royal coat of arms of Great Britain. This has Queen Anne’s own motto beneath it – ‘Semper Eadem’, meaning ‘always the same’.

These are some examples we have come across in our research, but there are a great many more in our collection, including this beautiful and ostentatious deed from the reign of George II. The decoration transforms an ordinary legal document into something fantastic and beautiful, and gives an added value to the claim that it upholds. We will be keeping our eyes peeled for more monarchs and interesting letters as the project continues.

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