General

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.

April 1900

Admitted to the School this month were:^₆

· Lily Davidson of Acklington Station

· Frank [Francis] Birkett of Acklington Station – the son of John and Zenobia; John was the Railway Signalman at the Station

· Dorothy Potts of Acklington – the daughter of Robert and Annie; Robert was the Village Blacksmith

Four baptisms took place at the Church this month:⁷

· Robert Thomas, son of Adam (Labourer) and Elizabeth Mather, of East House

· Caroline, daughter of James (Shepherd) and Henrietta Jeffery, of East House

· Gladys, daughter of Mary Ann Isabella Parker, single woman, of East House

· John William, son of John (Miner) and Isabella [Clapperton], of Acklington Park

One burial took place in the Churchyard this month:^₈

· William Clapperton, aged 1 day, of Acklington Park

Another death occurred in the parish on Thursday 26 April. Mr. John F. Brewis of Morpeth was found dead on the path that led from Acklington Station to the River Coquet. He was a keen angler and had gone on Wednesday morning to fish at Felton. More details would be revealed at his inquest in May…

May 1900

The inquest was held at the Railway Hotel in Acklington, and was reported in the Morpeth Herald. Mr. Brewis was 65 years of age, and had left Felton at 7.45pm to catch the last train from Acklington to Morpeth at 8.45pm. His body was found 300 yards from the Station, having died from heart failure, presumably from rushing for the train. Brewis was noted as a talented organist, having been made the organist of Morpeth St. James when he was only 13 years old. He was buried in Morpeth churchyard.

Admissions to the School this month were: _⁹

· George, Bella and Alexander Davison of Chester House, who had previously attended Felton School

· Edith Hammond of Cavil Head, who had previously attended Ulgham School (cousin of William Smart)

· William E. Smart of Cavil Head, who had also previously attended Ulgham School (cousin of Edith Hammond)

· John and Andrew Johnson of Cavil Head – sons of Samuel and Isabel; Samuel was employed as a Hind at Cavil Head Farm

· William and Thomas Wilson of Morwick, who had previously attended Newham School

Attendance at School is noted as being low, and a special sale was held at the Mart on the 10th which caused several absences.

When the Relief of Mafeking was announced on 16th, the news arrived in Acklington just after 10pm, announced by the ringing of the Church and school bells. The Morpeth Herald reported that the village street became lively, and that on Saturday (the day after news broke), the village was decorated with flags. On the Sunday, a large congregation assembled in the Church, representing nearly all the families in the district. In the School Log Book, it is noted that there was a half holiday on 21st May in honour of the Relief.^₁₀

Two baptisms took place at the Church this month:^₁₁

· Robert Thomas, son of Elizabeth Robson, single woman, of Acklington

· Francis Susannah, daughter of Margaret Briggs, single woman, of Cavil Head

June 1900

A gathering of cyclists took place in Felton for a Church Parade, in aid of the Felton St. Michael and All Angels restoration fund. 200 cycling clubs were represented, including Acklington’s, and there was a crowd of over 300 cyclists.

School attendance varied this month, and on Friday 8th June, children were given a day’s holiday to celebrate the occupation of Pretoria.^₁₂

The London Evening Standard reported the death of Mary Jane Tate, aged 69, second daughter of the late Thomas Tate of Bank House, Acklington. The event had occurred in Durham on the 10th June.

One marriage took place in the Church this month:^₁₃

· Marshall Summers, aged 20 years, a Miner of Sunderland, married Helen Summers, aged 17, of Acklington, the daughter of John Summers (Miner)

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^₆ Acklington C of E Admission Register, ref. CES 1/4/2

^₇ Baptism Register of Acklington St. John the Divine, ref. EP 161/1

^₈ Burial Register of Acklington St. John the Divine, ref. EP 161/19

^₉ Acklington C of E Admission Register, ref. CES 1/4/2

^₁₀ Acklington C of E Log Book, ref. CES 1/3/1

^₁₁ Baptism Register of Acklington St. John the Divine, ref. EP 161/1

^₁₂ Acklington C of E Log Book, ref. CES 1/3/1

^₁₃ Marriage Register of Acklington St. John the Divine, ref. EP 161/26

The building now generally known as Etal Village Hall began its life in 1926 as Etal Peace Commemoration Hall, its construction having been instigated by Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Joicey in memory of those lost during the Great War, and to encourage “Reading and Study, and the promotion of rational Recreation” amongst local residents.

The “Club”, as it is described, was open to people over 16 on an annual subscription basis, and was overseen by a committee made up of some members nominated by Colonel Joicey and others to be elected at an annual meeting.

The larger part of the hall was set up as a games room and contained a billiard table, the smaller section behind the wooden partition was described as “The News Room” and contained books, newspapers, and a “Wireless Receiving Set”. Both were open every weekday from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m.! Unsurprisingly, one of the rules specifies “The comfort of readers must not be disturbed by unnecessary noise” Only the person specifically appointed by Colonel Joicey was allowed to move the billiard table or to operate the wireless.

All of these fascinating period details come down to us because the hall is fortunate enough still to possess the original document of Standing Rules and Regulations drawn up for the opening of the hall in January 1926, printed up as a poster and framed for display ever since. It’s a fantastic starting point for the heritage project being undertaken by some members of the current hall committee this year, but they are hoping for more!

Have any of the older members of your family passed down any memories of the early days of Etal Hall?  Perhaps you recognize the names of the original committee members whose signatures are still visible at the foot of the rules document? They are: J.L. Weatherhead (Hon. Sec., Treasurer and Librarian)  Wm. Mole, J. Tully, A. Wilson, R.Guthrie, Wm Gusthart and T. Wallace.

We are especially interested to find out about how the hall may have been used in the 30s, 40s and 50s, as so far we have very little archival evidence for this period.

Meantime, dear reader, please take note, the next time you attend an event at Etal Hall, as Rule 5 very clearly states: “No gambling or bad language will be tolerated on the premises, and the committee shall have power to suspend or expel any member guilty of misconduct.”

You have been warned!!!

(Please contact Helen Moffit on 01890 820566 if you have any information to offer the project, or email hmoffitsvq@btinternet.com)

This blog has been written by Dee 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. 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.

For a generation of women in Northumberland the name Mona Taylor was synonymous with maternity care. 

If you were born in the Mona Taylor Maternity Home in Stannington did you ever wonder who Mona Taylor was?  

The story begins in Anglesey where Maria Mona Waldie Griffith was born in 1852. She was the second child of Sir George Richard Waldie Griffith, the second Baron Munster Grillagh and his wife, Eliza Leader.  

 The title was created for Mona’s grandfather and became extinct when her brother died in 1933. Her brother, Richard studied at Cambridge with a certain Thomas Taylor and it’s likely that he introduced Mona and Thomas to each other.  Thomas Taylor was a mine owner whose business interests were in County Durham. Mona and Thomas were married in 1880 in  St George’s church in Hanover Square in London.  In 1881 they are living in Hexham, Northumberland and were the proud parents of a son, Hugh, born on Christmas Eve 1880.  They went on to have three more children Margery, Violet and Thomas George.  Both daughters inherited their mother’s interest in politics and were active in local politics in Newcastle. Thomas George joined the family business and was a director of The Ryhope Coal Company. The older son, Hugh joined the army and was a Captain in the Scots Guards.  

In 1900 Thomas inherited Chipchase Castle in Northumberland where their descendants still live.  

Mona was much more than a wife and mother. She went on to become a champion of Women’s Suffrage.  She attended her first suffrage meeting in London in 1872 aged 20 and joined the National Society for Women’s Suffrage. By 1890 Mona was active in the suffrage movement in Newcastle. She put her considerable organisational skills to good use organising a conference in Newcastle to appeal to MPs for women’s rights. At the end of the same year, also in Newcastle, she organised a conference for workers.  When Millicent Fawcett toured the region on behalf of The National Society for Women’s Suffrage Mona chaired the meetings.  In 1891 she was elected Vice President of the C.N.S.W.S. and around the same time she wrote a pamphlet “Why do Women want Suffrage?” Forty five thousand copies of the pamphlet were printed and distributed. In the pamphlet Mona summed up twenty- five years of agitation. 

“ And what chance, I ask you , have we of getting women’s suffrage or having numbers of women at elections pressing M.P.s for suffrage when all that we have is many unconvinced or unconcerned? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? This is our problem today.” 

Mona soon found some influential supporters who were tired of being treated as second class citizens. Among them were Lisbeth Simm who was married to an I.L.P. organiser, Florence Bell a school mistress, and two doctors, Ethel Bentham and Ethel Williams. Ethel Bentham went on to become a Labour M.P.  

The group met in the Drawing Room Cafe on Northumberland Street in Newcastle. Many groups of suffragettes across the country met in tea rooms as they were the only places respectable women could meet outside their  homes without their husbands. One such meeting at The Drawing Room was advertised in the Women’s Franchise on Thursday 21st January 1909. 

The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Society was originally dominated by Liberal women who didn’t want to embarrass the Liberal government in the early 20th century.  Liberalism in the North East could not afford to alienate the working class as there many miners who supported the Liberals in the years leading up to World War One. Post war the Labour Party came to dominate North East politics. When In  1909 Winston Churchill, then a minister in the Liberal government, was invited to Newcastle he received a telegram  from the Women’s Social Political Union saying  “Lest we forget.  Votes for women must be in the King’s Speech” 

Jane Addams an American activist, reformer, Social Worker and Socialist was in London  to speak at a conference of the International Women’s Suffrage Alliance on May 11th 1915.  Addams was advocating a Women’s Peace Crusade. Mona wrote to Addams saying that she believed that due to the current political situation and mood in England it was the wrong time to launch a peace crusade. She felt it should be a crusade against war.  Mona wrote “ There are over 50 Peace Societies in England, all run by Quackers  and Cranks, who have never made themselves felt.” Perhaps the death of her son Hugh in France in 1914 understandably jaundiced Mona’s  view of peace campaigns. 

She went on to tell Addams that, after 30 years at the fore- front of women’s suffrage, she knew every suffragist of any persuasion or value. She also knew the leaders of most of the large women’s organisations – Women’s Liberal Federation, Women’s Co-operative Guild and The Women’s Temperance Society and she had  got them all to work together for a Suffrage  Appeal in 1893. They had got a quarter of a million signatures in three months and she had been doing the same thing for the last three months to abolish war.  

In 1918 The Representation of the People Act allowed women over the age of thirty who met a property qualification to vote. This allowed 8.5 million women to vote  but this was only two thirds of the female population of the UK at that time. The act also gave the vote to all men over 21 to vote and serving soldiers could vote at 19 years old so there were still huge inequalities between men and women. 

It wasn’t until the Equal Franchise Act in 1928 that all women over the age of 21 were given the vote. This increased the the number of women eligible to vote to fifteen million. 

When Mona died in 1936 she had lived long enough to see universal suffrage for women and the fulfilment of a life of campaigning for Women’s Rights.  

Mona’s husband Thomas died in 1938 and in 1942 Aldermen Paton proposed that the Woodhouse Homes be renamed in recognition of the work Alderman Taylor had done in the service of the people of Northumberland.