General

My name is Chris, and I’m a new archivist at Northumberland Archives. I was born in Ashington and grew up in Warkworth. When I was 18, I left the rural and sedate surroundings of Northumberland for the bright lights and glamour of, well, Leicester.  After graduating I moved to Sheffield, where I worked for the University of Sheffield library for 18 years in several varied roles. For eight years I was based in Special Collections where I was an archivist, Special Collections and Digital Preservation Coordinator, and Digital Preservation Manager.  

For many people who move away from home, the idea of one day returning is very often appealing but I would suggest that for those born and bred in Northumberland, or the Northeast in general, the pull of ‘hyem’ is even stronger. And so, despite being quite content in Sheffield, when the opportunity arose earlier this year to return to my native Northeast with family in tow, it was an easy decision to make. 

It’s no exaggeration to say that growing up in Northumberland played a huge part in my decision to become an archivist; it’s hard to not take at least a small interest in history and heritage when there’s an imposing sight of Warkworth castle on your doorstop; conjuring images of knights and medieval battles and then in later years, providing a more interesting site to hang around after school than the standard bus stops on offer to most teenagers. Whilst at university, I managed to keep this link to Northumberland’s castles and history by taking jobs at both Chillingham and Alnwick castles during the summer vacations. 

Over the years, like many people living away from home, I often found that returning for visits was a slightly strange experience, where things seemed both familiar but slightly alien at the same time. And in fact, that experience of old and new has in a way extended to my first month in post at the archive. I’ve been comforted by the recognizable; the place names of parish registers that I remember from summer holiday days out, the family names from the important estate papers in our collections that our school Houses were named after (from memory I think I was in Deleval house at Amble Middle School). Even spotting the cover of a Blyth Spartans program from a match I very likely attended with my Grandad in 1994 was a wonderful memory. But for all the familiar names and places in the archive there are far more completely new things to take on board; coming from an academic archive background means that many of the types of documents we hold at Woodhorn are relatively new to me, my palaeography (reading old handwriting) skills are somewhat rusty and in fact there is a huge amount of the county of which my knowledge is either out of date, long forgotten, or currently non-existent! So, while the place names are familiar and the archival practices and procedures are those I’m used to, I’m under no illusions as to how much there is to learn, or indeed re-learn. But this so far has been a welcome challenge and one I’m very much enjoying. One month in and I can say that thus far, the decision to ‘come hyem’ has certainly proven to be a good one.

How rare is it to find records of coal owners compensating a woman for loss of wages as a result of injury or compensating her family as a result of her death? Well…The Mines and Collieries Act 1842, prohibited women and girls of any age from working underground. So, why do we, in Northumberland Archives have records of three women who appear in the compensation books of the mine owners?

Well imagine the scene…you start digging a hole in the ground in search of coal, the soil is heavy and claggy, in fact you realise that it is clay that you are trudging through. Clay isn’t just a waste material it can be used to make bricks. Which is why many pits in Northumberland had brick works as part of their commercial enterprise. And this is how the first woman we will look at came to be working at Seghill pit in 1926¹.

The record we hold is the Northumberland Coal Owners Mutual Protection Association Minutes, it details the case of Eleanor Urwin Baxter, Brick setter (a worker who arranges raw bricks for firing in a kiln.)

Her case goes over three volumes and says that she;

“Received injuries to her right hand on June 26th 1926 through an explosion. The hand was subsequently amputated. Compensation was paid at the full rate up to November 8th 1926, when Baxter having been supplied with an artificial hand, undertook work at a wage equal to that at the date of accident.”

The record can seem very matter of fact when dealing with such a shocking and traumatic event. It goes on to tell of Eleanor, some three years later seeking the help of Messers. Sutton, Cheshire and Thompson solicitors, to seek further compensation as;

“she had occasionally been thrown off, [work] owing to her injury, without compensation.”

The mine owners association doctor was requested to give his findings so on July 5th 1929, Dr W E Hume reported as follows;

“This girl says that she has had a hard winter, and has apparently become gradually worn out. She seems to have worked steadily for 2 ½ years and is now in somewhat a depressed state. She says she has to lift heavy weights and carry them on the stump of her right forearm. I think that her present breakdown must be regarded as a sequel of the accident, and that she should be given another month’s rest. I think she will then be able to return to light work.”

The record states that;

“In view of this report, the management arranged for the payment of compensation at the full rate with arrears.”

Collieries had other side operations too, as we can see from the case of our next woman.

“Backworth Colliery- Evelyn P. Stewart, 23, farm girl. Received injuries to her left foot on 9th December 1943 through her foot becoming engaged in the “feeder” of the thrasher. The foot was subsequently amputated.”

In a communication dated 31st December 1943 the management wrote as follows;

“The thrashing of a stack had just been completed and cleaning down was in progress when Stewart put her foot on a revolving drum and her foot was drawn into the machine. It should be mentioned that the feeding in operation had not ceased as the machine was being cleaned down of all grain and unthrashed corn. The wooden lid covering the drum has to be put down after feeding in, operations cease and the machine has been cleaned down. The thrashing machine is a Marshall owned by us and the name of the person in charge was Mathew Ridley of East Farm, Shiremoor. When the machine is thrashing it is necessary for the drum to be exposed otherwise the corn would not get through.”

Dr RJ Willan reported on the 11th January 1944 as follows;

“As a result of the accident she has lost the left foot and half of the left leg. She cannot work. It will be some time before an artificial limb can be fitted.”

Messers Sebag Cohen and Co Solicitors on behalf of Evelyn claimed damages at Common Law or alternatively compensation under the Workmen’s Compensation Acts 1925 to 1943

The decision on her compensation claim reads- “Claim for damages at common law to be resisted.”

The record ends there and does not explain why the claim was to be resisted, however looking on the British Newspaper Archive website (which is free for all visitors to use in our search room) we found two newspaper reports, first the Blyth News and Ashington Post, dated 24th February 1944.

“Unfenced Thresher Charges Dismissed”

It reports that Evelyn was carried into court by a police officer where Backworth Collieries Ltd were summonsed for allowing the use of an unfenced threshing machine. The paper states that Evelyn was using the machine for the first time and was blind in her left eye. Enquiries were made and witnesses were called, but the court found that Backworth Collieries Ltd were “not liable in any way”

Her case was also reported in the Evening Chronicle where they reported that the accident occurred in her first hour’s duty on the machine. Representing Backworth Collieries Ltd Mr J.W. Jackson said that “the girl was inexperienced and whilst the accident was regrettable it was due to her own negligence.”

Obviously, we would question the result of this hearing now and it is notable that Evelyn appears to have been unrepresented. If she had been represented her solicitors may have questioned whether it was reasonable to expect someone with partial vision to carry out such a dangerous task. They may have asked whether any training was given and queried the nature of any warnings that were issued of the dangers of using such machinery.

We hold all manner of things in the archive including diagrams of now obsolete farm machinery, such as the rather beautiful one below of a threshing machine c. 1800.

Our third and final woman is Mary Ann Kelly who worked at Ashington farm, which was then owned by Ashington Coal Company Ltd.

“Mary Ann Kelly, 22, Byre Woman at farm” (A byre woman is a woman who looks after cows)

“Died September 28th 1915 of heart failure due to injuries received whilst cycling in Ashington Dene”

We hold copies of many Ordnance Survey maps in the archive and the 3rd Edition (1924) shows Ashington farm, but there is no record of Ashington dene. There are several other denes, namely Whitefield Dene, Blackclose Dene and the charmingly named Climbing Tree Dene. The closest to her place of work however is Well Head Dene. Ashington was originally called ‘Aescen-denu’ which is an Anglo-Saxon name that means ‘valley overgrown with ash trees’. Well Head Dene may well have been ‘aescen-denu’ from which Ashington takes its name.

As part of the investigation by the mine owners they sought details of the earnings of the deceased and her family, it reads;

Mary Ann’s father, working as a hewer would have been aware of the compensation scheme and put in the claim for compensation. The table shows how badly needed Mary Ann’s wages were and it perhaps explains her father’s rather hopeful attempt at getting some money for the family?

The record shows “the claim was to be resisted.”

No further information is given in the compensation record.

Using the British Newspaper Archive website again, however, gives more information. The Newcastle Daily Journal dated 29 September 1915 tells us that Mary Ann lived at Stakeford Lane, Choppington. She had left the farm to cycle home and had been “run into by a motorcyclist and knocked off her machine…she was found in the Dene which is ten foot below the level of the road”.

The motorcyclist was never found.

The stone buildings of Ashington farm, the farm where Mary Ann worked still stand today on Wansbeck Road, just past the junction with Shire Farm Grove. There is a blue plaque on the wall installed by Wansbeck District Council and Belway Homes (North East) which reads “Ashington farm restored and converted 1999-2000 the original settlement of Ashington began here.”

So Eleanor the brick setter at Seghill Colliery claimed compensation successfully but needed to employ the help of a firm of solicitors. She was severely injured and we have evidence that it affected her mental health as well as her physical health.

Evelyn the farm woman at Backworth Colliery’s Shiremoor East Farm claimed compensation but was unfortunately unsuccessful, she too was severely injured and may have found it very difficult to obtain work as a result of her injuries.

Mary Ann, byre woman at Ashington farm sadly lost her life, albeit away from her place of work, her father claimed compensation but was unsuccessful.

According to the Health and Safety Executive 142 workers in Great Britain were killed at work in 2020/21. The number of non-fatal accidents for the same period was 0.4 million.

These are shocking figures and show that work is still a place of risk for so many people.

¹ 1926 was of course the year of the general strike, it started on the 4^th May that year and whilst the “general” part of the strike did not last very long the miners held out after other trades had returned to work. Unfortunately, the strike did not bring the very much needed increase in wages and in fact the miners returned to work for less money and longer working days. Perhaps Eleanor was given work at the brick works because of the strike? 

In 2020, I wrote a blog about children in the County Lunatic Asylum which focused upon the cases of some of the young boys who became patients. These boys were aged 8-14 but some of the girls admitted were even younger. One of the youngest was only four years old and ended up being in the institution for 22 years.

The most interesting information has been extracted from the Case Books. Often, if there is no real change or any progress being made then very little may be written for months apart from ‘mentally unimproved’ or ‘no change to note’.

Case Book: NRO 3680/244 Mary   Age 4    This child was admitted on 15 April 1903. She has the inability to speak and is very restless with a vacant look. She labours under idiocy and is almost completely wanting in intelligence.     17 June 1903  Bodily health continues much improved. Mentally she does not make much progress.    17 December 1903  This child has now learned to say the words “ta-ta” and “go away”.    11 February 1904   This little patient is in excellent bodily health. She walks better than she did and makes more attempts to speak but her vocabulary is limited to “ta-ta ladies”, “hello ladies” and “go away”.    21 July 1905  Patient is growing up into a well-behaved little girl but remains quite an imbecile.     14 April 1910  This cheerful little idiot shows no signs of intelligence.    14 March 1913  This child is growing rapidly and is in good health but not able to look after herself in any way and is treated like a baby. Eats and sleeps well.    20 June 1914  In excellent health, now works in the laundry daily.    20 January 1917  Is learning a few little useful things in the laundry and is improving under the kind patient care of the head Laundress.    20 August 1922  This patient is still engaged in the laundry where she assists with folding clothes but she has very little intelligence.     1 October 1923  Enjoys watching the weekly dances. She seizes her neighbour’s hand and beats time to the music and smiles broadly.     4 April 1925  Discharged to Hexham Union Poor Law Institution.

Case Book : NRO 3680/245 Rona  Age 5    Rona was admitted on 14 March 1904. She is inarticulate, does not understand questions and can’t be reasoned with. She is terribly restless, darting about in an alarming manner to her own danger. She requires constant care and precautions against injury from accidents. Her mother states that she has been an idiot from birth and can’t be left alone. She set fire to a bed and almost drowned a baby in a tub so requires constant supervision.     This patient labours under idiocy with epilepsy. On being spoken to the patient yells, kicks and screams and tries to hit her questioner. Vocabulary consists of two words, Da and Ma. When she gets into a passion, which is a frequent occurrence, she screams these words repeatedly.    18 March 1904  Patient plays quietly and happily unless thwarted, has outbursts of temper – general health is excellent.     7 April 1904  Yesterday the patient had an epileptic fit.    11 April 1904  She does not speak much. She is now having ten grains of potassium bromide three times a day for her fits.    11 February 1905  This little girl has had no fits for the last four months.    13 February 1905  She still labours under idiocy with epilepsy. She can’t speak and is unmanageable and sometimes very bad tempered.     23 February 1905  Patient was transferred today to Sedgefield Asylum. Improved.

Case Book: NRO 3680/242 Mary Age 6 Mary was admitted on 7 June 1902. She has uncontrolled fits of temper and will destroy anything she can get hold of. The patient does not answer to her own name and appears to be deaf and dumb. She took no notice of the ticking of a watch at her ear until she saw it. She then held out her hand for it. She does not appear to take notice of her surroundings. She labours under idiocy.  23 June 1902  Patients mental condition is unchanged. Her appetite is improved, and she is clean and tidy in her habits.     15 July 1902  This child shows no mental improvement. She sits for hours playing with her fingers and smiling in a vacuous manner. Her appetite is good, but she has to be fed.     29 December 1902  Her habits are becoming dirtier, and she needs constant attention.  1 April 1903  Patient has been shifted to the infirmary day room. She has tuberculous dactylitis of the left thumb and tuberculous disease of the left elbow joint. She looks thin and white.    6 April 1903  Still thin and white, is not losing weight however. Has been at 44lbs for the last three months.    20 April 1903  Patient was today discharged from the infirmary at the earnest request of her friends.  She has been in bed for the last few days in the infirmary. On examination today, the lungs were found to be markedly affected. She has also apparently got tuberculous peritonitis, abdomen being distended, and some glands felt in the left iliac fossa. She has a tuberculous swelling on the front of the [?] shin. She also has impetigo on her nose.     21 April 1903  Patient was received home today. Mentally unimproved.