BERWICK ADVERTISER, 19TH JANUARY 1923

20/01/2023 by Northumberland Archives

DEATH OF “KING OF SHOWMEN”

Mr John Evans, known s “The King of the Showmen,” a native of Spennymoor, and one of the most prominent owners of roundabouts in the showmen’s business, has died at his residence, 1, Strainton Place, Portobello, at the age of 51 years. His father was also a showman, but of the old school and in a small way.

Salmon Hotel, Berwick-upon-Tweed. REF: BRO 426/322b

In his boyhood Mr Evans came with his parents to Byker and began his career as proprietor of a coconut “shy,” and eventually kept on buying and extending his sphere of operations until he became one of the largest owners of attractions for fair grounds in the country. It is stated that frequently he had 18 traction engines to draw his paraphernalia about different parts of the kingdom. Among the fair grounds in which he had a controlling interest was the Jesmond Dene show ground, and he held leases for stands at the Spanish City, Whitley Bay.

For a time, he held possession of the Salmon Hotel, Berwick, but disposed of the property recently to Mr J. Sharp. He gave freely to many charitable institutions. He leaves a widow, a married daughter, and four sons, three of the latter being assistants in the show business. The funeral took place at Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh, on Thursday afternoon.

LOCAL NEWS

Now that the groupings of railways is an accomplished fact, it is just possible several employees will be affected as a result. The Railways Act 1921 specifically protests those with five years’ service previous to the passing of the Act, and the National Union of Railwaymen is circularising its branches urging branch secretaries to safeguard the position of members by keeping in touch with the Head Office on any case where they have been transferred to an inferior position as a result of the grouping. This usually has taken place at exchange stations- that is stations where previous to grouping one Company met another. Here the N.E. and N.B. met, and we learn the secretary of the newly-formed loco. branch at Tweedmouth has had occasion to request that the benefit of the Act be extended to his members, some of whom have been reduced about 20s weekly. He is in touch with Head Office and awaiting development.

The Tweedmouth N.E.R. St. John’s Ambulance Association held a successful whist drive in the King’s Arms Assembly Rooms, Berwick, on Wednesday evening, 10^th January. The object was to raise funds to enable their members to enter this year for the various challenge shields offered in connection with ambulance work. The first of these competitions is on the first Saturday in March, when the Newcastle and District shield will be competed for at Gateshead. On the first Saturday in April the Lord Wharton shield will be competed for at York, and in the second week in May a competition for the National shield will be held at the Crystal Palace, London, the shield going to the team judged the best in the national contest. The conditions under which the Company deals with the men is that each team pays their own expenses to the first competition at Gateshead. After that the Company pay the expenses of successful teams at the subsequent events. With this encouragement the men of the Tweedmouth class have worked hard to make their whist drive a success. There were 240 presents.

A house-to-house collection in aid of the National Children’s Home and Orphanage, London, was taken up in Tweedmouth by some of the teachers of the Tweedmouth Scotch Church Sunday School, this being the Church chosen for the Tweedmouth district. The amount collected was £9 16s 8d, this sum being handed over to Mr Buglass, Castlegate, who acted as Hon. Secretary. Thanks are due to the lady collectors for this gratifying sum for such a good cause. Some of the young boys in the Home belong to the county of Northumberland. The Church secretary, Mr J. Paxton, has received a letter of thanks from headquarters.

Owners of wireless sets in Berwick have been enjoying the operas broadcasted from Covent Garden, London, during the past week. The operas have also been picked up at Ayton. Berwick Wireless Club members are now engaged inbuilding up a three-valve set of their own. There are some 20 members of the Club and attendances at the weekly meetings on Wednesday evenings continue good.

Archibold Barton, alias William Wagstaff, a native of Derbyshire, who was wanted by the Kelso police for fraud and a contravention of the Aliens Order, was apprehended by Sergeant Middlemiss at Berwick Police station on Saturday, Berwick police were informed at 1.45 that the man was wanted, and by two o’clock he was under arrest- a really smart piece of work. We understand that a woman who had been in the wanted man’s company in Kelso has been taken into custody by the Kelso police.

Church Street, 1906. BRO 0426-338 Showing Berwick Police Station

Up to the time of going to press the goods sent in for Berwick Rangers’ free gift sale, which is held in the Corn Exchange on Thursday (this afternoon), were much below the expectations of the Committee. There were a number of bags of potatoes and a few hens, rabbits, etc., but the miscellaneous goods were not of a very high value. The view was expressed by one who has experience in such sales that the Committee would be lucky to clear £50 off the venture. The Committee were unable to secure the services of the Mayor to open the sale, but Mr H. M. Young, auctioneer, kindly consented to make a few opening remarks.

We have picked up what we believe is one of the earliest Berwick printed books, namely “The English Hero; or Sir Francis Drake Revived,” being a full Account of the dangerous Voyages, admirable Adventures, notable Discoveries, and magnanimous Achievements of that valiant and renowned Commander.” The book was printed at Berwick in 1760 and sold by R. Taylor. It consists of 183 pp., about 3½ inches wide by 5¾, is set in a beautiful type of the period, with artistic headings and sometimes tailpieces to the chapters. The last page is ornamented with an oval picture, an inch and a half wide, of an old-fashioned printing office. To the side two compositors are sitting on stools working at case; the centre is taken up with a large press with two pressmen with their hats on. One is inking the former with bladders, and the other has his hand on the frisket. From the roof on rails hang printed sheets.

THE LAST WOMAN HUNG IN BERWICK

Before the Recorder, Mayor and Aldermen, and a jury, at the Court of Gaol Delivery at Berwick on July 23-24, 1823, Grace Griffin was found guilty of the charge of murdering her husband, John Griffin, on 27^th April by throwing him to the ground and beating, trampling, and kicking upon him with both feet and hands, and was sentenced to be hung by the neck until she died.

Court area within the Town Hall where Grace Griffin was found guilty.

It was a sordid case of drink and immorality but stripped of an immense quantity of evidence immaterial to the issue and which the Recorder paid little attention to, the persecution built up its case purely on circumstantial evidence. Statements by a woman of loose character who had stayed in a room above the couple were to the effect that she overheard the man saying, “Oh Grace, it was you that did this to me.” This was not a very damning thing to hear but taken in conjunction with other things there was a strong presumption that the woman had caught her husband sleeping drunk and had set about him. The jury found a verdict of guilty after twenty minutes’ adjournment, and after they had heard a summing up from the Recorder rather in favour of the prisoner.

After the trial Mrs Griffin expressed herself as satisfied with the verdict of the jury, which she said could not have been otherwise in consequence of the evidence; the witnesses had sworn as much, she said, as would have hanged twenty. She appears to have been kindly looked after by the ministers in the town before she was hung. The Vicar (Mr Barnes) urged her to confess before giving her the last sacrament, but she adhered to her story that she was innocent.

Stocks used in the time of Grace Griffin

At 3 o’ clock on Saturday, 26^th July, the hangman arrived from Edinburgh and on seeing him entering her cell Mrs Griffin asked who he was. No answer was returned but when she proceeded to pinion her arms she submitted with calmness. Twenty minutes later she walked in deep mourning to the entrance hall of the Town Hall and when she saw the sea of faces looking up on her she remarked that she had often seen Berwick fair very thrang, but never anything like this.

Seated on a cart draped in black, she was borne to Gallows Hill and it is recorded that she waved her hand and nodded to acquaintances as she observed them in the crowd. She viewed the scaffolding without emotion and after engaging inprayer with the Vicar she mounted without movement. The bolt was drawn at 4 o’clock and with her hands clasped Mrs Griffin accepted human judgment.

Commenting on the execution the “Advertiser” of August 2^nd, 1823, says “In short the whole proceedings were conducted with a solemnity and decorum suited to the awful occasion. In the crowd we observed many eyes bathed in tears, and several females who from curiosity perhaps pardonable of seeing the mournful procession, found the scene too overwhelming for their feelings and actually fainted.”

A Year in the Life of a Village: Acklington in 1900

17/01/2023 by Northumberland Archives

How different was life in Northumberland over 100 years ago?

Picking a village in mid-Northumberland – Acklington – I decided to investigate the history of the village to see how different it was in 1900. To do this, I carried out research on the British Newspaper Archive, before heading back into the actual Archives to cast more light on the happenings in the village at this time.

*Acklington and surrounding area, c.1900*
*OS 2^nd edition*

January 1900

The new year got off to a sad start when a body that had been found half a mile from Acklington Station on 30 December 1899 was identified as Thomas McKinley, a ware printer, from Glasgow. The inquest was held at the Station, and the details appeared in the Shields Daily News.

Topically, the York Herald reported on Wednesday 24 January, that a conference had been held with the Directors of the North Eastern Railway [N.E.R.] to discuss wages and hours. One of the concessions to be made was for Porters who worked at Stations that handled both goods and passengers – of which Acklington was one – would see their wages increasing from 18s (approx. £75 today) to 19s (approx. £79 today).

The School reopened on 12th January but attendance throughout the month is noted as being poor due to influenza, and some removals. Samuel Turner was the Headteacher, and Laura Patterson the Pupil Teacher.

February 1900

Admitted to the School this month were Gabriel and John Ray of Guyzance, both formerly pupils of Whittonstall School, near Prudhoe. They only stayed at the school for five months, leaving in June.¹

The weather the week of 9th February is noted as being the ‘severest of the season’, with snow falling every day and it being intensely cold. The School was closed on the 12th due to a severe snowstorm which blocked the roads. Although it opened the next day, the snow was still very deep, and only 34 pupils were present. The storm raged again on 16th, and although some scholars made it into School the next day, ‘their feet were so wet that they were sent home’. Heavy rains followed the snowstorms, which again affected attendance.²

Two burials took place in the Churchyard this month:³

· George Tate, aged 69 years, of Guyzance

· Margaret Park, aged 60 years, of Bank House, Acklington

March 1900

Mr. R. Hume of Acklington – a workman employed by the Duke of Northumberland – was commended for his entry in a hedge cutting competition at Mr. J. Bolam’s farm at Bilton. The competition was mentioned in the Newcastle Courant on Saturday 3rd March, noting that it was being carried out to promote and popularise the system of laying or ‘pleaching’ of hedges which was being practised in southern England. Each competitor had to cut and lay 17 yards of hedge, starting at 8.30am and completing by 1pm.

Two baptisms took place in the Church this month:⁴

· Mary Elizabeth, daughter of James (Miner) and Margaret Eleanor Briggs of Chester House

· Isabel, daughter of Joshua (Miner) and Anne Gray, of Togston Terrace

Poor attendance in School at the beginning of the month, with even the Pupil Teacher being off ill with influenza. The children were given a half day on Ash Wednesday, and also on the 16th, as there was a sale in the village, so the School closed at noon. The weather – snowstorms and rains – as well as illness, were still contributing to poor attendance at the end of the month.⁵

Log Book, Acklington Church of England School
Ref. CES 1/3/1

**References**

¹ Acklington C of E Admission Register, ref. CES 1/4/2
² Acklington C of E Log Book, ref. CES 1/3/1
³ Burial Register of Acklington St. John the Divine, ref. EP 161/19
⁴ Baptism Register of Acklington St. John the Divine, ref. EP 161/1
⁵ Acklington C of E Log Book, ref. CES 1/3/1

Tweedmouth and Spittal Manor Court

10/01/2023 by Northumberland Archives

Berwick Record Office holds a lot of manorial records which relate to manor courts in the surrounding area, but what are manorial records? And what can they tell us about life in the past?

The manorial system operated throughout England between the 12th and 20th Centuries and has left a wealth of documents such as court rolls, surveys and maps for us to study. The manor was an administrative unit in which a lord exercised jurisdiction over his tenants. A manor, while similar in some ways to an estate, shows its greatest difference in the use of manorial courts. Lords had the right to hold their own manorial courts, through which tenants were expected to abide by their customs. These customs ensured that tenants upheld the law, while also maintaining their lands and livestock correctly. Tenants paid rents to the lord of the manor, and if they were found to not be upholding the manorial customs, they could face a hefty fine at the manor court.

A local manor that Berwick Record Office holds documents for is that of Tweedmouth and Spittal. This Manor was purchased by the Corporation of Berwick in 1657 from the Earl of Suffolk for the sum of £570. Looking at the first surviving manor court book for Tweedmouth and Spittal during the late 1650s and 1660s we can see the types of offences that were discussed. Most cases concerned settling debts between individuals living within the manor and the maximum amount that could be claimed was 39s 11d (the equivalent to over £200 now). In October 1658 the Jury of the Manor Court ruled that Margery Cooke owed John Unthanke this amount plus the costs of the court. Most debt cases concerned smaller amounts of money as can be seen in the records from 16th October 1662 which detail debts such as Mungo Moody who owed John Hoggart 5s, James Richardson who owed Henry Morris 18s 6d. The same names tend to crop up again and again throughout this book and we can get a feel for the personalities in the area through their actions that brought them to the attention of the Manor court.

As well as debts it is possible to discern physical conflicts that happened in the community through these documents. On 8th May 1660 eight cases of blood and/or affray were recorded in the court, a majority of which concerned George Moore, William Shernside [Chirnside], William Dunken [Duncan], Isabell Dunken and Henry Morris and his wife. Most of these individuals were ordered to pay 1s 8d in compensation to those they were accused of attacking. This was the equivalent to £8.76 in today’s money but at the time that would have been a day’s wages for skilled labourer.

Although blood and affray is one of the more exciting aspects of manor court records the majority of cases discussed were of a more mundane nature. Concern over local infrastructure was regularly mentioned and people were encouraged to keep their drains in good working order or risk fines. In October 1658 Roger Allam, Isabel Gill and Edward Lambe were all warned about the state of their ditches and threatened with a fine of 10 shillings if the work was not completed by the following May. 10 shillings was the equivalent £50 now, and again this does not sound like a lot but it was the equivalent to 7 days labour for a skilled tradesman – can you imagine what it would be like to lose over a week’s pay?

As well as people, animals were also a potential nuisance to the community and their owners were often fined for abusing their right to use common land. In 1658 Bartholemew Potte was fined 1s for ‘for keeping Ducke wth doe abuse the water’ and Thomas Law of Spittal was also fined 1s 8d for the way he kept his ducks and geese.

Amongst these slightly repetitive claims the occasional unusual line crops up that amuses us researchers and makes trawling through these pages worthwhile. In this book I found two entries of particular interest. The first was recorded on 14th October 1658 read:

The Jury also present James Richard for resetting John young who is a p[er]son suspected for adultery ffer th[a]t he left his owne wife & went away with a whore.

This really piqued my interest and sparked a lot of questions. Are they punishing a man for assisting in another’s adultery? Is adultery not normally a matter for church courts as it falls under their theological/moral jurisdiction? Is male infidelity normally commented on or prosecuted? Or is this an unusual case of punishing someone for a practice that a blind eye was normally turned to?

The second intriguing entry comes from some years later on 14th May 1663 and is far more bizarre than the first.

Imp[rimis] William Roule for Entertaining a woman that came from Scotland and was delivered of a Child in his house, fined 13s 4d

It[em] Widow Crawforth for Intertaining a woman that came out of Scotland & was delivered of a Child in her house 13s 4d

Once again these fines are not extortionate, only costing £70 each in today’s money, but they were the equivalent of 9 day’s skilled labour at the time. But to me the money is secondary in this case, the really interesting feature is the woman and her child. Who was she? Why did she come to Berwick to deliver her child? Did she know William Roule and Widow Crowforth? Was her child illegitimate? Why were William Roule and Widow Crowforth living together? Why is the woman not being fined?

Manor courts have so much to reveal about life and society in the past. They ask so many questions and open so many doors into future research. These records for Spittal and Tweedmouth are particularly valuable as they pre-date the parish registers for this area and therefore are useful for family and local historians providing information about individuals and their activities. The insight these records give us into the everyday life of normal people is also invaluable because so many sources focus on social and political elites and so this alternate view allows for a more democratic reading of the past.

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