BERWICK ADVERTISER, 18TH MARCH 1921

19/03/2021 by Northumberland Archives

BELFORD RURAL DISTRICT COUNCIL

Housing Scheme Held up for Want of Money

At a meeting of Belford Rural District Council last Wednesday.

Colonel Leather enquired how the Council were going to get the money to carry out the housing scheme.

The Clerk explained that endeavour had been made to obtain the money locally, but so far he had had no replies from an advertisement asking for loans. If they failed to raise the money they could apply to the Ministry of Health, who would supply the money.

Colonel Leather – The Ministry will probably not give us the money. I propose we postpone the whole scheme for three months till we see whether we can get the money. Everything is cut and dried, but we are not committed to anything and the time has come for us to mark time. No businessman would go on with the scheme, why should the Council do so?

Mr Davidson seconded Colonel Leather’s proposal.

Dr Macaskie explained that all that was necessary if they could not raise the money locally was to apply to the Ministry of Health who would lend the money.

The Clerk – There is no fear of not getting the money.

Colonel Leather – Look how the Government tried to wriggle out of the agreement with the farmers about the price of corn. I move we delay matters till, we get a definite and satisfactory answer about the money.

On being put to the meeting the motion was caried unanimously.

Mr Hunter – Will the plans be laid before the Council to be passed?

The Clerk – The plans have been been passed.

Mr Hunter – The original plans have, been cut down to get cheaper houses. Things have been taken out of our hands. The Surveyor ought to see these new plans before approved.

Mr Clark – We are not providing the money and can’t grumble.

Mr Hunter – We will ultimately have to provide the money from the rates. It is not right for the houses to be built and the Surveyor not to see the plans.

Mr Davidson moved and Colonel Leather seconded that copies of specifications be submitted to the Council before any tenders were accepted. Agreed.

Sir E. C. Haggerston – If the tenders were accepted the firm could carry on, but Colonel Leather’s motion stops this.

Colonel Leather – It does not stop us going on with the details

WORKERS’ UNION MEETING AT NORHAM

How Changes in The Minimum rate will affect the Worker

At the branch meeting of Friday night, Mr. Borrell attended at the last moment, in the place of Councillor Buchan, who was unable to keep his appointment.

Asked as to the position of the wages in case of a change in the wages Board rates during the year, Mr. Borrell explained that if a man hired for say 51s or 52s per week, he would receive that wage throughout the year, even if the Agricultural wages Board rate fell.

An early 20th century photograph of a Haywain. © Richard Mark Johnson. Creative Commons License (CC-BY-SA 2.0).

If the Agricultural wages Board rate went up, the total difference between the rate he hired for and what was due to him under the Wages Board increases would have to be paid to him in a lump sum on May 12^th, 1922, if it had not been paid previously. If, however, a man hired at the wages Board rate without specifying any figure his wage would naturally go up and down with that rate. He did not think there was any likelihood of a reduction in the wages Board rates. They had to find a subsistence basis, and they still stood much below other industries. There was only a slight reduction in the cost of living. The railways were 21 millions to the bad, and they would have higher transport charges. Coal was going up, and it was an important item in the farm workers’ budget. His house required a deal of warming, and his cooking arrangements were wasteful and extravagant of fuel. There was often a quantity of wet clothing to dry, which entailed the fire being kept up after the household had retired. He could see little prospect of any material lowering of their household expenses, and he urged them to put aside all thoughts of a reduction of wages as impractical at present.

BERWICK PETTY SESSIONS

THURSDAY

EXTENSION OF HOURS FOR DANCING OVERDONE.

Mr W. B. Dickinson applied for an extension of hours to 2.30 for the Good Templar Hall, on the occasion of a whist drive and dance on Thursday 17^th, to be held by Berwick Cycling Club.

Sup. Halliday considered that the extension of hours for dances was overdone. If they got to 1a.m. that was quite long enough. Most of the people who went to the dances had to be up early in the morning for work. These applications were too frequent. In other districts the Magistrates were not granting extension after 12 p.m.

The Mayor — The dancing season is nearly over now. Mr Dickinson pointed out that formerly dancing used to be allowed to 3 and 4 a.m., without need for applying for extensions of licence. The Mayor — The Bench grant the licence on this occasion but will consider future applications.

SHOWMAN’S OFFENCE

James Ratcliffe, showman, was charged with failing to employ a third person to give assistance to drivers of horses if required while in Berwick on 2^nd March, and with not having the weight of his wagon affixed.

Serg. Middlemass gave evidence, proving the charges. Superintendent Halliday said it was very important these regulations under the Locomotive and Highways Act should be carried out. He did not look upon the offence as serious but wished to bring to the notice of users of the road the fact that these regulations could not be broken with impunity. He would not press for a heavy penalty, only wishing to draw the attention of users of the road to the regulations. The defendant was a showman and had called at the Office stating he had to go to Kelso to secure his stance and could not appear. Fined 10s for each charge.

DRUNK IN CHARGE OF A MOTOR CYCLE

Robert G. Waugh, commercial traveller, 20 Fenkle Street, Alnwick, was charged with being drunk in charge of a motor cycle on the Old Bridge, Tweedmouth, on 4^th March. Defendant did not appear, but wrote expressing regret, and stating he had had trouble with his clutch and had not had time for lunch.

The Berwick Bridge, Berwick-upon-Tweed, locally known as the Old Bridge.© Kenneth Blackett, Berwick-upon-Tweed.

The Mayor said the bench considered this a very serious case. A motor cycle was dangerous at any time, more so when in charge of a drunkman. In addition, the Old Bridge was a dangerous place. Fined the maximum penalty of £2 or 18 days.

Building Berwick Old Bridge (Twixt Thistle and Rose)

03/04/201918/02/2019 by Northumberland Archives

Old Berwick Bridge has recently re-opened after essential repairs and a further £250,000 has been allocated for maintenance during 2019/2020. It is a well-used crossing of the Tweed, popular with visitors and locals alike and it has a very well documented history – including a record of all the names of the people who built it and what it cost.

The old bridge has linked both sides of the Tweed at Berwick for about 380 years. According to Fuller’s History of Berwick work ended on the 24 October 1634 having taken “twenty-four years four months and four days”. The construction was a major feat of engineering – working around tides and the powerful surges of the river. Although at times convoluted, both the King and the Guild saw the building of permanent crossing of the Tweed at Berwick as a crucial investment and symbolic too.

Supplies of building materials for Berwick Bridge, 1613

The building of a stone bridge over the Tweed at Berwick marked the end of hostilities with Scotland on the accession of James VI of Scotland to the English throne in 1603. Berwick had been, for centuries, a town at war. From 1482 to 1601 it had a Governor appointed by the Crown and was occupied by a large garrison. The crown paid for repairs to the castle, the fortifications and the old wooden bridge (which was often washed away in floods) as it was a strategic military base.

Summary bridge accounts 1612-1613 (H1/1)

The Earl of Dunbar – George Home – who held a series of royal appointments in Scotland and England under James I/VI had been granted the fortifications of Berwick when the garrison was disbanded. He was instrumental in making the case for the building of a stone bridge, proposing how it should be funded and appointing, for life, the bridge surveyor and designer, James Burrell. Home’s funding scheme gave way to other arrangements but Burrell stayed the course.

Particular payments for work beginning the 11 May 1622

The “particular accounts” for the building of the bridge from 1611-1635 (H1/1-4) survive in the borough archives – volumes that Fuller cites extensively in his History of Berwick. The other side to the story is found in records held at The National Archives (such as The Exchequer Pipe Rolls – declared accounts for the building of Berwick Bridge ref: E 351/3585) as this was a crown enterprise. Indeed, the bridge building accounts held in the Berwick Archives might not be so”particular” had they – and the works – not been routinely audited by royal inspectors. These included the Bishop of Durham and the poet Fulke Greville in his role as Chancellor of the Exchequer (Source: The History of the Kings Works Vol IV (part II), Colvin et al pp.774-775, HMSO 1982).

Payment to Foulke Reynards Master of the good ship the “Boweringe of Stavering” for freight of oak trees, coal, oakum, holly wood, rope and steel from Newcastle to Berwick, to John Wylde the pilot from Newcastle to Berwick and to Henry Scott and his “fellowes for their pains and their bote” in helping the ship up Berwick River, 1614

The accounts describe materials used at different points in the construction, the use of oak from the royal estate at Chopwell near Blaydon, the freight of coal, oyster shells and stone by sea, and the people – men, women and boys (all named) – who built the bridge.

The accounts for subsequent repairs by Guild and the Town Council are also held by the Berwick Records Office to 1835 as Bridge Account volumes, later as part of the annual reporting of accounts.

Today the bridge is the smallest of the three that span the Tweed at Berwick but in it’s day it would have made a significant impact on the landscape. It was clearly a source of civic pride as funds were routinely levied on the burgesses for it’s upkeep – in addition to the Crown costs of around £13,000 which is the equivalent of about £1.5 million today.

Illustration depicting the bridge about 1799 from Fuller’s History of Berwick

This Week in World War One, 13 August 1915

08/03/201814/08/2015 by Northumberland Archives

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 13 AUGUST 1915

DEAD HERO’S LETTER

Life in the Trenches.

The following is a copy of a letter by Lance-Corporal J. Frater, 4^th K.O.S.B., Ayton, who was killed at the Dardanelles on 12^th July. It was written on the 28^th June:-

Dear Father, – We have just got back to the rest camp after being five days in the firing line. Everything in the firing line is different from what I expected it to be. In the first place I always thought the trenches would be at least eighty yards apart, and that half of that distance would be covered with wire entanglement, but the trench that we were in was originally a Turkish fire trench, and when they retired they just moved into the communication trench, therefore their trench actually ran into ours. The end was blocked up with sandbags, but still they creep up and throw in hand grenades. Of course, our boys can deal with them the same way. Well, to give you an idea of life in the trenches, I will give you an ordinary day in the first line. Whenever it gets dark every man stands to and fixes his bayonet, and after a while if nothing brisk is going on every second man can rest (nobody is allowed to rest), but, of course, they take turn about, one hour on and one off. If anything is noticed they send up a star shell. It lights up the whole place, but it shows your position to the enemy just the same as you see their’s, (sic) so everybody has to keep out of sight.

WW1 trench in Gommecourt, France - Source UBC Library — WW1 trench in Gommecourt, France – Source UBC Library

Of course, some of the sentries can have a shot if there is anything to be seen. Well, just after dawn everybody has to be on the look out, and after it is daylight bayonets are unfixed and one man in six is on sentry. The rest can sleep, but there is food, water and ammunition to be brought in, and as you have all your cooking to do, you don’t get much rest. Of course, that is on a quiet day. You might have to be firing both day and night. The second night we were in our tanks advanced a little, and thinking we were going to do the same the Turks kept up a rapid fire the whole night. We went into the trenches as if it was an everyday occurrence. Nobody was excited when we were fired on for the first time. You would have thought that everybody wanted to fire, but still I never saw anybody fire unless he had something to fire at. The enemy’s snipers were a bit troublesome at times, and got some of our chaps, but a good many snipers were sent to the happy hunting grounds. The casualties in our Platoon, No. 3, Bob Wilson of Coldingham was wounded, and Lance-Corporal Ford (Sergt. Ford’s brother was killed. John Mack was wounded by a shell the second day we were here. All the Ayton chaps are all right so far. I will have to close now. When replying, enclose a sheet of writing paper and an envelope, and please write soon.

I remain,

Your loving son,

J. FRATER.

LOCAL NEWS

Saved by Motor Boat – On Monday evening a small boy, four years old, named Warnach, and residing in Palace Street, Berwick, while playing near the edge of the Quay fell into the Tweed.

Spowart ferry landing and Spittal - Berwick Record Office BRO 1887-2-4 — Spowart ferry landing and Spittal – Berwick Record Office BRO 1887-2-4

After being in the water for some time he was observed by Mr Phillip Spowart, owner of the Berwick and Spittal motor boat ferry service who, with one of his boats, immediately went to the boy’s assistance and pulled him out of the river in an exhausted condition. After receiving treatment the boy proceeded to his home little the worse for his immersion.

Suspicion as to Lady Spy –

On Wednesday an English lady, presently on holiday at Wooler, aroused the suspicions of the authorities by taking sketches of the old bridge from the Tweedmouth side of the river. It is understood that at the same time she stupidly indulged in making some enquiries as to the military dispositions of the troops and this had the effect of strengthening the suspicions of the police. On being taken to the police station the lady was able to give a satisfactory explanation of her movements, as well as regarding her personality, and she was not detained for any lengthened period. The incident however, should not be without its warning to others to be careful, and not attempt to take drawings in prohibited areas, especially in the vicinity of harbours close to the east coast.

FOULDEN

The inhabitants of Foulden were very pleased to have a visit of two Belgian soldiers straight from the front, a few days ago, one of them having spent some time in Foulden House hospital, and this being the other’s first trip to bonnie Scotland. He has had nine months in the trenches without receiving a scratch. The other one, since leaving Foulden, had got a bayonet wound in the wrist but is now quite better. They are both in perfect health, and in no way cast down. It is very gratifying to think any little kindness shown them while in hospital has been fully appreciated in their hurried trip to see old friends again. They got a most hearty welcome, and what with motor trips and cycle runs, tea and dinner parties, they more than enjoyed it, and will carry back with them sweet memories of their recent visit. They came on the 27th July and left on the 31st, with the promise of coming back again at some future date.