General

A common belief is that working in the archives is a cosy job where all you do is sit down and help people with their family history. This isn’t exactly true….. 

I love going out in a van to collect documents and over the years I have visited some interesting places. I had only worked for Northumberland Archives for a couple of weeks when I was taken out in a van to collect records from the Dickson, Archer & Thorp offices in Alnwick. It was liking stepping into a Dickens novel and you could almost imagine Scrooge sitting amongst all the parchments, ledgers and scrolled documents. I can still recall the smell of the building and remember it being extremely heavy work as we carried material from the upstairs rooms down to the van outside. My body ached for days afterwards but despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and was eager to go out again. 

Going to Prudhoe hospital in 2016 to assess a large collection of documents and plans was also extremely interesting. The hospital had closed so the building was bitterly cold and slightly eerie with its long corridors and rusty old signs. Some of the highlights of the day involved discovering a beautiful staircase, luxurious wallpaper and stained glass windows. The following year, staff spent a few days in the cellar of the Land Factor building in Haltwhistle where we appraised records which were eventually deposited at Woodhorn. It was extremely cramped, hot and dirty down there! It was also very hard physical work but above ground there were some lovely features in the building including lights and glass fire extinguishers.

Alongside all the outreach work we do with schools and community groups, we also work with other agencies such as the media, coroner’s office, police and law courts. We are regularly contacted by researchers who work for tv production companies as they want to use copies of our documents in their programmes. This can often be at very short notice which has an impact on staff as documents need to be scanned and permission may need to be obtained from the depositor if we don’t own the collection. Royalty fees also need to be paid when material is used on television or in a film. Last week we had a request from a film company in India who wanted to use one of our images in a scene in a Hindi film.

One of the departments we have regular contact with is the coroner’s office. Most coroners’ records are closed to public inspection for 75 years. However, if a request is made by a person to view records within the closed period, a request needs to be made to the coroner’s office.

When we are contacted by the police they are often looking into historic cases and need to consult records that we hold. If they need to visit us, they view the records in a closed room away from our Study Centre. The same procedure is followed for staff from the law courts when they come to look at historic court records. Working with these agencies is fascinating but I have to admit, I still love going out in a van!

This blog has been researched and  written by Hilary Love, one of the volunteers on our maternity care project. Project volunteers are researching maternity care in Northumberland with particular focus on Castle Hills Maternity Home, Berwick, and Mona Taylor Maternity Home, Stannington. We are also researching in less detail some of the other Maternity Homes in the county. This blog about Dilston Hall is one of a series that we will post about some of the other Homes. The project is supported by the Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Bright Charity and the Northumberland Archives Charitable Trust. We will be posting more blog content from the project over the coming months. 

A new hall was built at Dilston in 1835 after the estates had been passed to Greenwich Hospital. When the estates were sold, Dilston was bought by Lord Allendale. In 1878, Dilston House was built and this is now occupied by one of the present Lord Allendale’s sons. After he moved to Bywell in 1942, Lord Allendale granted the Hall for use as a maternity refuge for Newcastle hospitals. The Dilston Maternity Home became established and remained until 1965 when it transferred to a new unit at Hexham General Hospital. After this the Hall was used for the education of children with learning difficulties and in 1971, MENCAP became the owners of Dilston Hall, including the Church and ruined castle. It is now known as Dilston College for the Education of Teenagers with Learning Difficulties. (Taken from The Northumberland Village Book, written by members of Northumberland Federation of W.I.s.)

A letter from Dr. Hart, Obstetric Surgeon, in July 1948, outlines some statistics of use at that time:

Admissions – 600

Discharges – 596

Deliveries – 563

Still Births – 16

Neo-natal Deaths – 7

Caesarian Sections – 12

 Abortions -3

Maternal Deaths – 2

A report of the Hexham and District Hospital Management Committee in March 1949 records the increasing shortage of nursing staff (a familiar concern in 2023!) so numbers of bookings were restricted. 100 cases were booked per month and about 15 placed on the waiting list.

The Hospital was taken over by the Regional Hospital Board on 5^th July 1948 which meant cases could be admitted without considering county boundaries. Ante-natal Clinics were held and women encouraged to attend. Clinics were also held at Throckley and Forest Hall. 85% of admitted cases had been seen, preventing many complications. X-rays were done at Hexham General. Post-natal care consisted of an examination on 9^th day after birth and some had a second examination after six weeks if they lived near a clinic.

A draft copy of a report by P. H. Knighton, Architect to the Hospital Board, dated 17 February 1950, considers the pros and cons of the possible acquisition of Dilston Hall. His recommendation was to approach Lord Allendale to find out whether he was willing to sell with a view to its adaptation as a Convalescent Hospital, once alternative and suitable accommodation could be provided for maternity patients.

A poignant and touching memory was recorded by Mr. Alex Hillary, April 6^th, 2007, as reported to Susan Hedworth, Community Care Assistant.

“Memories of Baby Burial at Dilston Maternity Hospital.”

“I was a taxi driver at Dilston Hall then…. It was a maternity place then ….and I had to take the dead babies up for post – mortem at Shotley Bridge. They crossed their little arms over their chests, just so, with a flower in the middle, and I would come and wrap the cloth over them, put them on a tray and lay them on the back seat of the taxi. I used to have to take them to the Infirmary in Newcastle, too. Live babies, but maybe with no roof to their mouths. The nurse used to  go with them. There’s not one of them came back alive. She said they experimented on them  – to make them better you know. But it didn’t work. …….

But I still remember all those babies, laid out in front of the altar in that old chapel they have there. They were so beautiful, some of them. And do you know where they were buried? There’s that cemetery on the back road from Corbridge to Hexham. Well, just over the wall – that’s where they are. Yes, it’s consecrated ground and they put all the unbaptised dead babies there.”

Image Ref: ZMD/148/183

The picturesque borough of Morpeth, Northumberland has a fascinating history of political activism and further evidence of this has been found with the transcription of the town’s manorial records.  Certainly, it would appear that from the second half of the 17^th century those aligned with the craft guilds went head-to-head against the power and privilege of consecutive Lords (Earls of Carlisle/Morpeth), who were keen to preserve their status and interests.

Indeed, disputes arose due to the gradual erosion of the rights and privileges of Freemen and the continuous attempts by the Earls of the borough in reducing their number. Certainly, the status of Freeman in Morpeth came with decision making responsibilities including the appointment of officers, the making of by-laws and participation as jury members at manorial courts. Crucially, the role came with the privilege of a vote in parliamentary elections, a factor that influenced the reduction of Freemen. However, the Lord’s interests were protected with the appointment of his supporters in influential roles such as Stewards and Bailiffs and through financial inducements. Unfortunately, in the early 18^th century the borough was tagged as ‘the most corrupt, mercenary place in the whole North.’[1]

The situation for the Freemen intensified throughout the 18^th century, and the record below (Ref No: SANT-BEQ-28-1-3-149-151A) provides an account of riotous court proceedings which were instigated by the Carlisle administration in appointing non-elected Freemen as a show of defiance following a narrow election defeat.

In addition, the document below (Ref No: SANT-BEQ-28-1-2-534/535) confirms the involvement of Francis Eyre, a London based lawyer with political aspirations and the financial means to pursue it. Indeed, Eyre is described to the Morpeth Freemen as ‘a person of strict honour and probity, a benevolent heart, and blest with a sufficient fortune, one who would cheerfully undertake all your battles against power and riches.’[1] Therefore, in the mid-1760s this lawyer embraced the plight of the Freemans of Morpeth as well as his own ambitions. Surprisingly, in 1767, Eyre was successful in a legal bid to admit thirty-three Freemen, albeit the duplicity of the Carlisle officials would negate this victory in the forthcoming election, through unscrupulous technicalities. Certainly, without these measures, the Carlisle stranglehold on the borough was threatened. However, albeit Eyre did manage to gain a parliamentary seat for Morpeth at the 1774 election, this was short-lived and won through coercion from his supporters.

Indeed, credit must be attributed to the citizens of Morpeth who against the odds took a stance against authority for nigh on a century due to the consistent abuse of privilege administered by various Lords of the borough, albeit several did succumb to the financial rewards on offer in return for their obedience. However, whilst the influence of the Lords continued, compliance was not guaranteed.

This blog was written by Helen Stewart, a Master’s student at Strathcylde University, who has been researching Northumbrian Manorial Records as part of a university placement with Northumberland Archives. Her work has included using some of the documents already transcribed during the Heritage Lottery Funded, Everyday Life in a Northumbrian Manor Project, and has allowed her to showcase some early findings in the records.

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1 J.M. Fewster, ‘The Earls of Carlisle and Morpeth: A Turbulent Pocket Borough’, Northern History, 51:2 (2014), p. 247.

2 ‘Eyre, Francis, (1722-97) of Colesborne, Glos.’,The History of Parliament, British Political, Social and Local History, EYRE, Francis (1722-97), of Colesborne, Glos. | History of Parliament Online, accessed 05 /04/2023