Northumberland

BERWICK NEWSPAPERS, 1923

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BERWICK ADVERTISER, 11TH MAY 1923

BERWICK ( RAVENSDOWNE) BOWLING CLUB PAVILLION OPENED

There was a good gathering of members and ladies on Saturday afternoon on the Ravensdowne bowling green to see the Hon. President open the pavilion which has been put up out of the funds obtained at last year’s bazaar. Mr Carstairs, the Secretary, opened the proceedings by announcing apologies for absence from the Mayor, the Sheriff, Mr P. M. Henderson, County Alderman Thomas Darling, and Mr H. R. Smail. He was glad, however, to see such a good company on a unique occasion for the working men of Bewick, and he was particularly glad to see the ladies to whom they owed so much for their work at the bazaar. They had now a green which was second to none and a pavilion to be proud of: When their late President, Mr Alex. Darling, had suggested that the honours should go round, the members decided that there was only one man to follow him, and that was Mr Redpath. He was the best worker the club had had at its bazaar, and it was mainly though him that they were there that day.

Image showing Public Bowling Green

Mr R. Logan, acting President, in calling upon Mr Redpath to open the pavilion, said :- ladies and gentlemen, we are delighted to have such a splendid turn-out this afternoon, and more so by having the presence of the Mayoress, at the opening of our new pavilion. Our secretary has given you a full report of what has been done with the money which was raised at the bazaar held last year, and we as members of Ravensdowne Club must thank all those ladies and gentlemen who gave their valuable time and assistance. Had it not been for them I do not think we should have had this pavilion. We have met here to ask our Honorary president, who you all know is a lover of sport, and who gave his valuable time from business to accept the life membership of the club and this silver key with which to open our new pavilion. (Applause).

Mr Walker, ex-President, proposed a vote of thanks to Mr Redpath for the pleasant way he had spoken and also opened the door, and he thanked the ladies, who had worked well from the highest to the lowest, and without whom there would have been no bazaar.

Tea was then served in the large room of the pavilion to the ladies. Just before the last batch of players had finished their tea, Mr Jackson, the genial Secretary of Spittal Club for their kindly hospitality. He had (and he was sure they all had) spent a very pleasant afternoon, and he congratulated those in charge of the arrangements for the way everything had passed off.

ANOTHER PRESENTATION

Later on in the evening a very interesting little ceremony took place. This was a presentation to Mr James Mace on the occasion of his marriage. A keen bowler and a very useful member of the club (especially when there is anything to be done), he showed his worth during the alterations and extensions to the green. Mr R. Logan handed over the gifts – a silver cake dish, a cruet, and a butter dish- and in doing so extended to Mr Mace his own best wishes and the best wishes of the members. In a few words Mr Mace thanked the members for their very unexpected gifts – appreciated all the more on the account – and Mr Logan for his good wishes.

A little more play ended what might truthfully be termed “a perfect day.”

A FIGHT OVER A LADY

At Duns Sheriff Court of Friday before Sheriff Macaulay Smith,

John Wilson, Abbey Road, Coldstream, and Thomas J. White, Homebank, Eccles, were charged with having at Birgham Hall on the night of the 14th April committed a breach of the peace by fighting. Both pled guilty.

The Depute Procurator Fiscal stated that the accused, Wilson, was dancing with a partner when White pushed a lady. There was a heated conversation, and both accused went out and had a stand up fight. After the dance they had again been fighting.

Neither of the accused had anything to say and each was fined 10s.

HOOLIGANISM AT LADYKIRK

John Gibson, Richard Malcolm, William Smith, Alexander Robson, John B. Robson, and Frederick Anderson, all of Norham-on-Tweed, pled guilty to committing a breach of the peace at Fountain Cottage, Ladykirk.

It appeared from the statement of the Procurator that an old man named Smith and his wife resided at this cottage. They were considerably annoyed by these young men congregating about the door and throwing stones. Apparently, they had come over the Border from Norham. The old man was afraid of his wife’s health and had informed the police.

His lordship characterised the offence as sheer hooliganism and said these young men would have to realis that this sort of thing would not be put up with. He had difficulty in not sending them to prison. Fined 10s each. Fines paid.

THE CHILLINGHAM CASTLE ESTATE SALE

NEARLY £80,000 REALISED

MESSRS John D. Wood and Co., who conducted the recent sale of portions of the Chillingham Castle estate, announce that the total sum realised to date amounts to between £70,000 and £80,000. Negotiations are proceeding for the sale of several of the remaining lots, and it seems probable that the whole of the outlying portions of this historic estate will be disposed of.

BRO 2788/2/2 Outlying Portions of The Chillingham Castle Estate

The auctioneers state that the following lots have now been sold :- Lot 1 – Chillingham Newton Mill farm, over 43 acres, near Ilderton. Lot 2- Chillingham Newton Farm, over 700 acres, near Ilderton. Lot 3 – Fowberry Park Farm, over 875 acres, near Wooler. Lot 5 – Accommodation grass, over 2 acres, Wooler. Lot 6 – Accommodation land, over 3 acres, Wooler. Lot 7 – Freehold ground rent, Wooler. Lot 12 – Thornington Farm, over 652 acres, near Mindrum Station. Lot 13 – Elwick Farm, over 845 acres, near Belford. Lot 14 – Ross Farm, over 1,738 acres, near Belford.

CHATTON FARMER SENT TO PRISON

Claude Herbert Hedley, farmer, Henlaw, Chatton, was charged at Alnwick Petty Sessions on Saturday with three simultaneous offences, first, with being drunk and disorderly while in charge of a motor car; secondly, with driving the car to the danger of the public; and third, driving a car without having a driver’s license between Newton-on-the-Moor and Felton on April 30. The offences proved by P.C. Nelson.

BRO 515/50 View of Chatton. nd.

Hedley, who had had his driving license suspended for five years at Alnwick Court some months ago, was committed to prison for one month in the second division. At Belford Petty Sessions in November, his license was suspended for six months, and he was fines the maximum penalty of £2.

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 16 FEBRUARY 1923

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BELFORD HALL ESTATE SALE

REALISES BETWEEN £70,00 AND £80,000

Belford has never in all its long history had such exciting days as last Thursday and Friday, when the Belford Hall Estate, divided into 177 lots, was put up for auction by Messrs John D. Wood & Co., London, and practically the whole of the village changed hands. The sale was the one absorbing topic of conversation. The Memorial Hall, west Street, where the sale took place, was crowded both days, even standing room being occupied on the Thursday afternoon. Some were in their seats long before the sale opened and, bringing lunch with them, sat the whole day through, intensely interested in the bidding and the fate of the various lots put up. The auctioneer’s remark that he knew of no district in the whole of England where land had been more tightly tied for generations than in Northumberland was certainly applicable to Belford, where for generations the Squire has held sway and freehold was unknown. For over 200 years the estate has been in the hands of the Atkinson-Clark family, and it is only within the last ten years that any portion of it has been parted with. Some months ago the estate changed hands, being bought by Mr Place, timber merchant, Northallerton, from the Atkinson-Clark family. Almost immediately tenants were acquainted with the change and given an opportunity to purchase their houses, shops, farms, etc. Many did so, and in the weeks prior to the sale negotiations for various parts of the estate were completed, tenants generally being satisfied with the new owner’s reasonable demands. Others preferred to await the sale and did so with no little anxiety as to what the future held in store. There is no doubt Belford was anxious. Shopkeepers and businessmen realised that their living was in the village. If they did not buy, other people would, and they might be turned out. Elderly people living in houses were afraid they would have to turn out and leave the village where they wished to end their days. This anxiety was common to the whole village, and one of the most human touched at the sale was the sympathetic applause from the audience when the fall of the auctioneer’s hammer decided the bidding in favour of a tenant.

High Street, Belford c.1900. Ref: BRO 515/40

Mr Place accompanied by his agent, Mr J. Cleghorn, Wooler, was present throughout the sale on the platform with the auctioneer and took a keen interest in the business. An army of solicitors and clerks from Berwick, Newcastle and Alnwick were present ready to tackle the initial stages in the enormous amount of conveyancing work the sale of so many lots involved. There was a great run on the handsomely got up particulars of the sale, the whole of the 650 copies printed being distributed, and will no doubt be treasured as a reminder of the memorable sale.

The sale included nine farms, varying in size from 50 to 845 acres. Chesters farm, 217 acres, was purchased prior to the sale by Mr G. Scott, whose family have held it for over sixty years. Sionside farm, 333 acres, was also purchased privately by the tenants, Messrs Bowmer, Westhall, 175 acres, and Craggyhall farm, 196 acres, and Belford Moor farm, 845 acres-the largest on the estate-and Westroad farm, 50 acres, and Bricksheds farm, 70 acres, went to buyers from further south in the county. In addition to the farms, the lots included some 112 houses or cottages of varying sizes, 22 shops, two licensed premises, the post Office, Belford Quarry and Maltings, and numerous gardens and acres of accommodation land- in all about 3100 acres, producing an income of about £5000 per annum.

Among premises not offered for sale, having been purchased at various times during the past ten years, were:- The Blue Bell Inn, the Salmon Inn, the Bank, Mr Pringle’s shop in market Place, Mr Tully house in West Street, which he recently enlarged and improved; Mr Bolton the watchmaker’s shop, High Street, which he has occupied for over 30 years, and which, along with house next door and his own shop

Market Place, Belford c.1900. Ref: BRO 426/944

premises, has been bought by Mr Young, baker, High Street; the Police Station, the Primitive Methodist Church in West Street, bought by Mr Young, baker, whose family for generations has been prominently identified with Primitive Methodism in the district. The gas and water supplies, which belonged the estate, were originally included in Belford Hall lot, but were taken out of this, having been purchased by the District Council. The auctioneer said he knew of no better way to protect the interests of the users of water and gas than for the Local Authority to purchase them.

This is only a snippet of the full article in the Berwick Advertiser.

BELFORD IN THE OLDEN DAYS

In the old days Belford was often mentioned in history as a stage in the journey between England and Scotland. Queen Margaret stopped there. Raids from the Borders often reached the village and houses were destroyed. In the reign of Charles I. it is described as “the most miserable beggarly town of sods that ever was made in an afternoon of loam and sticks. In all the town not a loaf of bread, nor a quart of beer, nor a lock of hay, nor a peck of oats and little shelter for horse or man.” In the 18th century Belford, like many another village, was visited by the plague, the dead being shovelled hastily out of sight in their clothes on Belford Moor. Before the union of 1603, Belford was still a collection of clay-daubed hovels.

High Street, Belford c.1900. Ref; BRO 515/39

The earl of Hertford, in one of his retaliatory expeditions against the Scottish Borders – the one in which he burned the nunnery at Coldstream- was nearly captured at he lay at Belford, but the Scots managed to carry off his chaplain. Whether he was ransomed or died on the spears of jeering Scots is not recorded. At Cockenheugh Crag, about two miles west of Belford is Cuddie’s Cove, a traditional resting place of St. Cuthbert. Along the High Street of Belford, in more recent years, stone residences and shops were built; and a fine old cross, largely, is not wholly, post-mediaeval, stands in the Market Place. The Church of St. Mary, which stands behind the Market Place, dominates High Street. The sacred edifice was rebuilt in 1827. This church was an ancient chapelry in the parish of Bamburgh. The chancel arch (though not its jambs) is original 12th century work, with zig-zag ornament; and there is said to be some old masonry in the chancel. An old Gazetter of 1823 printed in Berwick states that the church is a neat edifice, near which are vestiges of a chapel and of a Danish camp. The population of Belford in 1823-100 years ago-was 931.

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 10TH NOVEMBER 1922

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BERWICK BOARD OF GUARDIANS

The monthly meeting of the Berwick Board of Guardians was held in the Board Room of the Workhouse on Monday afternoon. Miss C. H. Greet presided, others present being Miss J. E. B. Miller, Messrs J. H. Armstrong, bell, T. Bolus, T. Aird, E. Waugh, J. R. Wood, R. Rea, P. G. Peacocke, J. R. Mountjoy, and T. A. Summerfield. Mr H R. Peters, Clerk, Messers Short and Kennedy, Relieving Officers, and Mr A. H. Banks, Workhouse master, were also present.

The receipt of fruit and vegetables was intimated from Miss Greet and Mrs Sitwell, and from St. Mary’s Church, books and periodicals from the King’s Arms Hotel, Mrs Purves, and Mrs Aitken, fruit from Scremerston Parish Church, and magazines from Mrs R. R. Riddell. The thanks of the Board were directed to be conveyed to these donors.

DECREASE IN NUMBER OF INMATES AND TRAMPS

The inmates for the four weeks ending 21st October were as follows:- In the sick ward 12 men, 9 women, 1 child, and 2 infants, and in other parts of the House 11 men, 4 women, a total of 23 men as against 24 for the corresponding month last year, 13 women as against 19, 1 child as against 1, and 2 infants as against 1, a total of inmates of all classes of 39 as against 45 last year, a decrease of 6. The casuals numbered 13 as against 19 last year, also a decrease of 6.

Mr Wood commented on the decrease in the number of inmates. In view of the extra ordinary amount of unemployment and depression all round, the decrease was extra ordinary. The number of tramps was also reduced.

FIREWOOD TO BE CHEAPER

On recommendation of the Workhouse Committee, it was agreed to reduce the price of firewood sold at the Workhouse from 4s 6d per cwt. to 4s as from 1st November. Mr Bolus, in moving the adoption of this, stated that they had made a reasonable profit by the sale of firewood in the last 12 months, but the Master reported the sales were going down on account of competition. They thought it wise to reduce the price, which would also give them a good reasonable profit if the sales continued.

BA-U10-2 SHEET , 1852 cropped. Pictured above the layout of the Berwick Workhouse,
Board Room (centre of image).

WATER FOR BULL CLOSE HOUSES

The Committee also reported on having been obliged to connect a water supply to the Board’s property in Bull Close at a cost of £14. Mr Bolus explained that there had not been water laid on to the property, the tenants getting their water from a pipe in a yard near St. Mary’s Church. There had been a leakage which had flooded the stokehole of the heating apparatus at St. Mary’s Church and when this insisted on them putting in their own water supply. They had got an estimate from Mr Lamb, plumber, to connect the water outside on the roadway with the property and this had been completed. The Committee took expert advice on the question before accepting the estimates.

Mr J. R. Wood supported the action of the Committee. He was surprised to hear that water had not been connected up with property when it was purchased. If it had been done at the time the cost would have come as a capital charge on the premises and they would have heard no more about it. They must just pay the money and look pleasant.

BOILER UNSATISFACTORY

A report as to the condition of the boiler at the Workhouse was submitted from the Insurance Inspector, who drew attention to a bulge on the side of the boiler and also pointed out that they were only insured up to a pressure of 10lbs. with a blowout at 25lbs. and had been working the boiler up to 25lbs. He suggested that the repairs should be carried out within 12 months and that the safety valves should be readjusted.

Mr Bolus pointed out that a certain amount of responsibility rested with the board in view of the Inspector’s report as to the boiler. They had only a premium up to 10 lbs. and had been working the boiler from 15 to 25 lbs. This was important as the disinfector would not work under a pressure of 15 lbs., and in addition the heating apparatus and the laundry had to be worked, which would require not less than a 20 lbs. pressure, and if they were only allowed a pressure of 9 or 10 lbs., the boiler was no use for the work it was wanted to do in the Workhouse. He moved that the matter go to the Workhouse Committee for them to deal with it. He wondered as to why a boiler had been put in that did not to the work required to carry on the work of the Institution.

The Workhouse master thought the Inspector’s report was misleading, as it inferred that the boiler had been worked regularly to 25 lbs. that was not so. It was worked to anything between 10 and 25 lbs. and only occasionally up to 25. He thought it was peculiar that they were only allowed a pressure up to 10 lbs. but a blow out up to 25 lbs. The disinfector was not efficient till a 15 lbs. pressure. They might be able to carry on as at present but in a very unsatisfactory way. On account of the low pressure of the boiler the disinfector was not sufficient to kill vermin, and he had to rig up a cupboard in the tramps’ ward to fumigate the tramps’ clothing when necessary.

After further discussion the motion was agreed to the Committee being empowered to get expert advice on the matter, but to report to the Board before going further.

TWEED ROW, HORNCLIFFE

Dr McWhir reported as follows: Three cases of scarlet fever have been notified- one at Horncliffe, a second at South Ord, and a third at Shoreswood. Removal to hospital of the patients at Horncliffe and Shoreswood was deemed advisable. A case of scarlet fever in one of the cottages at Tweed Row, Horncliffe, had a fatal termination. The house, which has only one apartment with a capacity of 1798 cubic feet, accommodated five inmates- the father, the mother, and three young children. The floor is badly broken and the window is a fixture. The walls, roof and chimney of the dwelling all call for repairs, and the soil which is heaped up behind it ought to be removed.

The state of housing in the area in the early part of the 20th century is exemplified in this picture of Golden Square, Berwick, similar problems being experienced in the Norham and Islandshire District.

There is no privy for the household. Opportunity was taken to visit other cottages in the same row. One, also consisting of a single apartment with capacity of 1848 cubic feet, is tenanted by a family of five- the father, two daughters both over 20, a son aged 25, and a child of 4 years. The window of the apartment is a fixture, and there is no privy accommodation. The masonry is in much need of repair, and soil ought to be removed from the back. A third single-apartment house furnishes a home for five inmates- a mother, two girls aged 14 and 9 respectively, and two boys of 12 and 10 respectively. Here, again, there is no privy accommodation. A fourth house boasts two apartments with capacities of 1550 and 1300 cubic feet respectively, and shelters three inmates. The kitchen floor, framed of broken paving flags and concrete, is in need of repair. Both apartments are insufficiently lit. A down-spout is unprovided with a trap; there is no sink, and the chimney has a twist, which, to the mind of our Surveyor, rivals that of the leaning tower of Pisa. The wood of the back door, which is only 5ft. in height, is defective.

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