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

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 11TH NOVEMBER 1921

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GLENDALE NOTES

BRITISH LEGION MEETING

The initial meeting of the British Legion since becoming members of this great body was held on Monday evening last. Comrade Cowans, in the unavoidable absence of Canon Moran, presided. The attendance was very disappointing, but it is hoped, now that the laying of the bowling green has commenced, this may be the means of stimulating the enthusiasm. It is expected, if money is in the funds after the green is finished, a club-house will also be erected. So far there has not been anything but the monthly meeting. The first business was making final arrangements for Armistice Day.

“Poppy Field (Chollerford)” by wazimu0 is licensed with CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

A brief service will be held on Tower Hill. The ministers of the various churches in the town will take part; also the members of the Parish Council will be present. It is hoped that all ex-Service men will endeavour to be present, as the service will be a short duration. The Wooler Branch of the Legion will lay a laurel wreath on the memorial in remembrance of the great sacrifice of their comrades. Poppies, which have been made in the devastated areas, will be sold in the town, commencing an hour before the service. The Secretary gave a report of the bowling green, and explained that all the unemployed ex-service men in the town had been taken on. He also explained that there was seventy fully paid up members. He was pleased to report that a few intricate cases had been dealt with by him and all were proceeding satisfactorily. He would like to draw the members’ attention to a certain thing which was going on, and asked for their support in the matter. Many of the ex-Service men had held aloof from the branch, but now that they need assistance they were coming with their subscriptions in one hand and their cases in the other. It was not the game, and he wanted them all to help to blot it out. It was decided to have a reunion of ex-Service men, and after considerable discussion it was agreed to hold it when the bowling green was opened. Votes of thank concluded the meeting.

NORHAM AND ISLANDSHIRE

RURAL DISTRICT COUNCIL

A CRIPPLE GETS SIX MONTHS’ FOR BIGAMY

Three aged people figured in a case at the Newcastle Assizes on Monday, when William Henry Usher, 60, miner, pleaded guilty to a charge of having committed bigamy with Dinah Oliver of Embleton, at Rothbury in November, 1918, his former wife being then alive.

Mr C. B. Fenwick who prosecuted, said the facts of the case were most unusual, because of the age of the parties concerned. The first marriage took place so far back as 1886, being contracted at the Durham Registry Office. Accused and his wife lived together until 1915, when she left him on account of his temper. They were then living near Amble. Sometime later, in 1917 he made the acquaintance of the second “wife,” a widow of the same age. They were married in November of that year at Rothbury, he representing himself as a widower. In the spring of 1921 she heard something which aroused her suspicious and she taxed him with being a married man. He thereupon packed up his clothes and left her.

Rothbury Village Reference: BRO 1796-1-39

Prisoner handed in a statement to his Lordship, who expressed a wish to hear something about his character.

P.C. John Edward Hogg said he had known the prisoner for about three years and apart from occasionally getting too much drink he seemed to have lived a quiet life. He was a cripple. Witness added that in documents which he had prisoner stated he was formerly in the Army.

His Lordship – Do you know that to be true?

Witness – He told me that, but I cannot vouch for the truth of it. It might be so, and he says he was discharge with the rank of sergeant-major.

Mr Fenwick – it is very probable that his first wife may be able to tell us that.

Sarah Usher said prisoner had been a soldier and had been out in India about seven years. He left the Army when she married him. She thought his rank then was sergeant. She did not always live with him at Amble and witness stated that she lft him in 1915 because of his drunken habits.

His Lordship – Do you know whether his discharge papers from the Army were good or bad?

Witness – I think they were good.

How did he come to be a cripple? – I think he had an accident in the mine.

Dinah Oliver, who left Usher in 1920, going to live with her son at Scremerston, was then called, and she stated that when she “married” prisoner he stated he was a widower. He said he had been a widower for four years. She left him on one occasion and they differed over several things Witness added that she was afraid of him.

His Lordship said it was a very serious offence, but he was willing to have some regard to the fact that he was a man of some years of age, that he was a cripple, and that he appeared to have had a good record in the Army. Fortunately there were no children of his second “marriage” to bear the shame.

Prisoner was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

LOCAL NEWS

The fashion of sending Christmas cards is still popular, and from samples submitted to us by Messrs Raphael Tuck and Sons, there will be a wider selection than ever from which to choose this season. Even the most fastidious in artistic taste cannot fail to find something that will appeal in the 3000 designs which this well-known firm has to offer. Cards that delight the children have always been a feature of Raphael House and this season’s designs are as fascinating as ever. Very dainty are the “Pot Pourri” series with their deliciously fragrant perfume. The silhouette mascot cards will be popular with these who pin their faith to the black cat as a symbol of luck.

Christmas Card from 1916 Reference: BRO 1775-2-1

There has surely never been anything more artistic produced than the beautiful garden scenes chosen by Queen Alexandra and Princess Mary this year for their cards. Queen Mary, King George and Prince of Wales have chosen historic scenes which are equally delightful. It is perhaps not generally known that these royal cards, which are reproduced for the use of the public. Great taste is exhibited in the greetings or quotations which all the cards bear. It is not only Christmas cards they have to offer. There is an equally wide selection of post-cards and calendars to choose from, and gift books, toy books and painting books galore to delight the hearts of the children. There are charming editions of Hans Anderson, of the equally popular Grimm, or of “Alice in Wonderland,” illustrated in a fascinating manner by Mabel Lucie Attwell. These are interesting stories of animals, birds, insects, that instruct as well as amuse; lesson books that make the learning of the alphabet a joy, or sets of picture building blocks to while away happy hours in the nursery. No better selection of goods has ever been issued from the studios of Raphael House.

Saturday evening was Guy Fawkes night and the youngsters in the town celebrated the occasion with bonfires and fireworks display. Some ingenuity was shown this year with Guys, and one burned at the stake in the Greens was quite original and up-to-date. Last week a Naval deserter eluded his escort at Berwick Station and hid in a passage in the Greens. His whereabouts was given away to the escort by a Greens resident and he was duly captured. To show their contempt of the informer, the youngsters burned his effigy.

In a discussion on rat extermination by the members of the Northumberland Agricultural Committee a motion that it was desirable that the Rats and Mice Destruction Act 1919 be repealed was defeated by 15 votes to 3, the view being expressed that the Act should be retained as the rat was one of the greatest destructive pests in the country. It was argued in support of the motion that rat-killing was a waste of public money and that the farmer who allowed the rats to accumulate should bear the expense of their destruction and nobody else. No fewer than 35,000 rodents had been killed in six months at 180 places, and it was stated the estimated cost for the year was between £800 and £600.

Lady Emma Tankerville

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Updated Blog by June Watson, Doctoral Candidate, Northumbria University, October 21, 2021 

The Tankerville Collection, Northumberland Archives Ref. NRO.424. The collection contains the private papers of the Bennet family, Earls of Tankerville, whose family seat was Chillingham Castle, Northumberland. The collection was deposited by the Tankerville family at Northumberland Archives in the 1970s. 

Lady Emma, 4th Countess of Tankerville (1752-1836) 

Lady Emma Tankerville, with eldest daughters Caroline and Anna, by artist Daniel Gardner 
Private Collection Photo © Philip Mould Ltd, London/Bridgeman Images 

Elite women who collaborated in the male world of early modern science during the eighteenth-century Enlightenment left little public trace of their existence and their voices were airbrushed out of historical accounts of the development of modern science. For those intellectual women who tried; their efforts were often ridiculed. (1) The recovery of Lady Emma Tankerville as a significant botanist and artist is important. She was an exceptionally gifted woman at the forefront of discovering new scientific knowledge in the early modern period and deserves recognition. 

The impact of social history and the scope of archival material has shown how little was understood about elite women involved in science and new knowledge exchange. Only men could attend university and patriarchal culture made it impossible for women to upstage men of science or publish their contributions. My research into the private Tankerville family papers in Northumberland Archives has uncovered some remarkable correspondence about this amazing woman. 

The family correspondence revealed the inner life of a female intellectual described by her husband’s colleague as having ‘the most merit of any woman in England; is very clever and a great wit,’ who had a leading role in the world of gentlemanly science of the period between 1771 and 1836. (2) Lady Emma Tankerville née Colebrooke was accepted into the close scientific and aristocratic social circle of Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society, at his home 32 Soho Square, London. The house was previously her Colebrooke family London residence before her marriage in 1771. Banks personally named a new Chinese swamp-orchid in honour of Emma, the Phaius tankervilleae. Emma was recorded as the first person to successfully cultivate the orchid after its introduction to England in 1778 by John Fothergill. (3). The only other woman to receive this honour was Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III.  Sir Joseph Banks wrote to a friend in 1788, “Emma knows plants well and paints them exquisitely.” (4)  

Emma’s letters reveal a pious woman devoted to her husband and mother of eleven children. She took an active part in managing the family estate at Chillingham, Northumberland with the aid of her trusted steward John Bailey. At her main residence Walton House, she cultivated and experimented with exotic plants in her hothouses in her gardens overlooking the River Thames with head gardener William Richardson, (an estate purchased with her marriage settlement in 1771). (5) Her husband Charles shared her love of natural history and was a collector of rare shells. Charles was also instrumental in drawing up the rules of the game of cricket. (6) 

In 1803 letters reveal Emma and Charles predicted their vast family fortune would be at future risk due to the extravagance of their son and heir Charles Augustus, Lord Ossulston, later 5th Earl Tankerville. His gambling took a significant toll on the family wealth. Significantly, after Emma’s death in 1836, her personal collection of 648 botanical drawings was locked away in the family archive. Walton House her beloved main home for sixty years was demolished by her son. In 1840 on the same site, he commissioned architect Sir Charles Barry to build him an Italianate styled house known as ‘Mount Felix.’ Emma’s premonition proved correct as her son ran out of money and the house had to be sold to pay the building costs. 

In 1932 all the contents of Chillingham Castle and her beloved botanical collection were auctioned, and the unoccupied castle fell into disrepair. Emma’s collection was bought at the sale by The Bentham-Moxam Trust and donated to the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. (7) 

J Hassell 1822     Walton House – The Seat of Lord Tankerville, Walton on Thames 
© ‘Reproduced by permission of Surrey History Centre’ 

The Tankerville Collection of 648 botanical drawings at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is one of their most important collections. Costly conservation work is required for the collection therefore it remains in a climate-controlled area unseen by the public. The lack of provenance has also blighted the use of the collection for research. Many drawings are by important artists of the period such as Georg Dionysius Ehret and Margaret Meen, however hundreds are unattributed. The drawings represented every flower cultivated by Emma at Walton and were said to be the largest and best collection in London at the time.  

My current exhibition has concentrated on the twenty-one botanical drawings painted by Emma during a stay on the island of Madeira between 1811-1812. What was especially exciting to discover whilst examining the drawings at Kew was Emma’s handwriting in pencil on the back of each drawing. She wrote about the potential economic and medical benefits of each plant and their uses as a food source, signed and dated each drawing, and scientifically classified each one according to Linnaean taxonomy. This information would enable her to have considerable influence acting as a go-between in metropolitan scientific and political circles. 

Madeira was a Portuguese island in the mid-Atlantic that was favoured by the wealthy in the late Georgian period as a place to recuperate from tuberculosis on account of its temperate climate. It was relatively safe under the protection of the British garrison stationed there who were helping Portugal defend the island from Napoleon. Emma accompanied two adult children to Madeira who were experiencing health problems. Tuberculosis was a common virus of the day that saw no barrier to class or race. Fortunately for Emma, the family members recovered, and she returned home to Walton with them in 1812, plus her twenty-one illustrations.

The Madeira Collection will be exhibited at the Alnwick Playhouse Gallery from Dec 1, 2021, until Jan 17, 2022 in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Northumberland Archives. Afterwards it will be exhibited at the Queen’s Hall, Hexham from March 7, 2022, until April 29, 2022. A booklet based on the Madeira drawings and my research will be available at the exhibitions. 

  1. Londa Schiebinger, The Mind has No Sex? Women in the Origins of Modern Science (Cambridge, M.A.: Harvard University Press, 1989), p. 5. 
  1. Herbert Maxwell, (ed.), Creevey Papers: A Selection from the Correspondence and Diaries of the late Thomas Creevey, M.P. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1903), p. 36. 
  1. Edward Smith, The Life of Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society with some notices of his Friends and Contemporaries (London: John Lane, The Bodle Head, 1911), p. 83. 
  1. Ibid. 
  1. ‘Walton House, the seat of Lord Tankerville,’ painted by John Hassell 1822. © Surrey History Centre, Ref. SHC/4348/4/30/3. 
  1. ‘A  Catalogue of the Shells contained in the collection of the late Earl of Tankerville 1825,’ https://ia800204.us.archive.org/3/items.catalogueofshell00sowe/catalogueoshell00sowe.pdf. Auctioneers G B Sowerby F.L.S., Regent Street, London. Accessed: May 5, 2021. 
  1. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ‘The Tankerville Collection.’  

About the Author 
June Watson is currently a Doctoral Candidate at Northumbria University. She has a special interest in recovering women of science of the late eighteenth-century. Her dissertation ‘Recovering the Women of Science in the Post-Colonial World of Empire’ was highly commended by judges for the Women’s History Network M.A. Competition 2021. She will continue to research and restore women to the narratives of early science, by investigating their social networks and the global trading activities of their families. This will show how their social networks served as an influential power base, becoming inextricably interconnected socially and politically, exposing women’s wider engagement in other disciplines.  

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 27TH OCTOBER 1921

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WOOLER’S FUR AND FEATHER SHOW

RECORD ENTRY-MANY LOCAL WINNERS

The promoters of the Wooler and District Fur and feather Show may be warmly congratulated on the success of their third annual Show, which was held in the Archbold Hall on Thursday last. Since the Society was inaugurated three years ago a number of shows have been held, but for entries and quality this Show surpassed all previous ones. This year it was confined to utility classes only, the exhibition classes being suspended. The Committee were fortunate in obtaining the services of Mr Powell-Owen, London, as judge in Poultry Classes, one of the best judges in the country. When his name appeared on the schedule sent out his was sufficient to bring a record entry. In the Bantam Class Mr G. Hall, Mindrum, was also an efficient judge. He was a wide experience I the poultry world and is an adept breeder of poultry, as those who have visited the poultry farm at Mindrum can testify.

Archbold Hall, Wooler Ref: BRO 426-1255

The large hall was filled with poultry, only space being left for the people to pass down, and the small room was used for the housing of the ducks. The Show, being an “open” one brought entries from all over the country, and it is pleasing to report that many of the local fanciers figured largely in the honours list. In the breeding pen class Mr W. Brown, Haugh Head, Wooler, lost the silver cup by one point, Mr Huntley, Hirsel, taking away this coveted prize. In this class two pullets and a cockerel constituted the pen. In each case the pullets were awarded equal points, but the decision was given to Mr Huntley as his cockerel gained one point more than the local. A very fine Wyandotte hen was on view belonging to Mr Wm. Harbin, Ashington, which was awarded first prize and four specials; also Mr G. F. bell, Mindrum, for a white leghorn cockerel was awarded first prize and three specials. Some of the classes were of such excellent quality that the judge awarded almost every bird a ticket. Mr Owen gave entire satisfaction throughout and had a most strenuous day. Starting his duties at 10am, he went on without a break until 4.10pm. Mr Hall also gave of his best as judge in the Bantam Class. It fell to a Woolerite to gain the special prize for the best bantam of the Show. This was with a white Wyandotte hen. Mr J. Wilkinson, Ashington Villa, Wooler, in the game cock or hen class, took first, second and third prizes with his well-known winning birds.

After the judging, Mr Owen, when asked his impressions on the Show, said: “It is one of the best I have attended of its class. The quality of the poultry was excellent, the white Leghorns and white Wyandottes being a very strong class. One of the special features of the Show was the ducks. It was evident they had not been handled much, as it was difficult to get them to stand up. Taking advantage of the ante-room, where they were shown. I took them out on the floor so as to get at their good qualities. I was quite pleased to see that, although produce had come from all over the country, the members’ poultry were much in evidence and to a very high standard.

In the evening Mr Owen gave a demonstration on a pen of five Rhode Island Red hens belonging to Mr G. bell, Mindrum, which had been awarded second position in the national laying list at Bentley, Suffolk. This test was open to all England. The total eggs laid by these five hens were 905 eggs for 48 weeks. It was explained, that, during the first two months, only 17 eggs were laid and 888 in 31 weeks, a record being kept on each hen during the test. Mr Owen demonstrated in in a most lucid manner, took each hen singly, and explained the merits and demerits of each of them. Many of the points he touched were invaluable to the large number of fanciers who were listening to the lecture. Out of the 905 eggs laid during the test only 75 eggs were second grade. After addressing the meeting for an hour, Mr Owen answered a number of questions asked him.

BERWICK SANITARY AUTHORITY

MEDICAL OFFICER’S REPORT

Dr P. W. Maclagan, medical Officer of health, in his report to 30th September, stated there has been little infectious disease in the Borough during the past quarter, one case of scarlet fever and four cases of diphtheria. Three cases of diphtheria occurred in Scremerston and were removed to Berwick Fever Hospital under the agreement with Norham and Islandshires. The Child Welfare Centre has been visited weekly and the attendance of mothers and children is well maintained. The question of the insanitary houses in the Borough on which Demolition Orders were served in 1914 has been reconsidered by the Public Health Committee. Some of them remain in habited and in view of the house shortage no action can be taken in the meantime. The others are to be dealt with. Water closets are being introduced in to several houses in Spittal and Tweedmouth, and as the cost of these improvements decreases this work should be carried out more freely in the future.

MOTOR CARS IN CASTLEGATE

The Mayor mentioned that the magistrates had recently been called upon to deal with a case of motor cars left standing in Castlegate. In that case the magistrates felt that it was an unpleasant duty to perform, for no one inside or outside the Council wished to do anything to prevent people coming into the town. At the same time the Magistrates had no other option but to administer the law. It had been suggested by the solicitor in the case that the magistrates might ask the Council to appoint a small committee to meet with a committee of the National Farmers’ Union and discuss the matter.

William Elder & Sons, 1904. Ref: BRO 1497-025

Councillor Campbell suggested that the committee might consider the removal of portion of the paved footpath and the cement block which marked the footpath near Messrs Elders’. This portion was where the police found difficulty when cars left standing encroached on that paved line, and he thought if necessary the committee might even consider the removal of the enclosed plot in front of Messrs Elders, so that an open space could be made and they could fall back on the old market character of the ground.

It was agreed that a committee consisting of Ald. Elder, Ald. Wilson, Councillor Darling and Councillor Campbell be appointed to meet with the Committee of the N.F.U. and report back to the Council.

War Memorial, Castlegate, Berwick-upon-Tweed. © Copyright J Thomas – (cropped image) Creative Commons Licence 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0).

The question of carrying through matters in connection with the War Memorial site was remitted to the Parks Committee with powers, and it was also agreed to grant permission for the temporary placing of a diagram barometer on the Scotsgate showing the position of the War Memorial Fund.

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