school

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 17TH MARCH 1922

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SALE OF CORPORATION ACADEMY

MR J.I.CAIRNS ACQUIRES THE PREMISES AT £3,150

In the Assembly Rooms of the King’s Arms Hotel on Thursday afternoon, Mr W. J. Bolam conducted a sale of property, chief among which was that part of the Corporation Estate known as the Corporation Academy, situated between High Street and Bankhill. There had numerous enquiries made regarding this property prior to the sale, and judging from the very large attendance present when the sale opened, there was great interest in the town in regard to its final destination.

BRO 0426-355 Hide Hill, showing the King’s Arms Hotel, Berwick-upon-Tweed

When bids were invited they came readily and the price mounted rapidly. Some of those present at the close of the sale were very much surprised to learn that Mr J. I. cairns had become the owner, as he was seen to leave after bidding up to £2,100, but he secured the lot at £3,150, Mr Hugh Percy, solicitor, having taken up the bidding on his behalf. Mr Cairns also became the owner of the condemned dwelling at 30 Golden Square, which abuts to the rear on the Academy premises, Mr Nelson, Berwick, bidding for it on his behalf.

The conditions of sale were read by the Town Clerk, Mr D. S. Twigg, after which Mr Bolam invited questions upon any point arising in the conditions.

Mr P. M. Henderson – Are we clearly to understand this property comes under Schedule 4?

The Town Clerk – We have the full consent of the various Government Departments who have approved the sale, and so far as I know that is all the consent that is necessary to sell.

Proceeding to sell the property, Mr Bolam said it was a somewhat sad occasion to be met to take part in the selling of the old Academy. The Academy had played an important part in the history of the town. Its pupils had gone to all parts of the world, and generally they had done well wherever they had gone. Circumstances however had arisen which had caused the school to be closed, and much though they might regret selling the old school they could not help it. Times had changed from those of the old days and they found they could not afford to run the school. That was the reason it was being offered. It was a beautiful site, probably the finest site ever offered in Berwick. There are no limitations to its development, and it would indeed make a splendid site for a hotel. A gentleman in the room, he knew, was going to bid for it for that purpose. The area of the site was over 2,000 square yards, and he specially drew the attention of prospective purchasers to the fact that the last plans prepared for the New Bridge showed the road being brought out only a little way below this property. A great many strangers had been making enquiries about the property and he hoped Berwickers would not forget their old fighting spirit, and by bidding keep the strangers out, and secure the site for some local industry. One point which he wished to make clear was that the windows of Bankhill Church Hall which overlooked the playground were only allowed to do so under agreement and they could be closed at the will of the owner.

BRO 1613-44, showing Bank Hill Church

The Bankhill entrance which the Corporation had been paying 1s per year for had now been redeemed, and the purchaser of the property would get uninterrupted passage to Bankhill free. The only thing the site needed was a side entrance, and the lot he would offer later in Golden square would afford an entrance of 30 feet in width. In regard to the reserve price the Corporation was in the hands of the Ministry of Health, who had fixed it. No doubt their reserve would be reached, but he wished to make it clear that they could not deal with anyone after the sale if the reserve was not reached. If they could not effect a sale they must go back to the Ministry for further consent to reduce the reserve price.

THE BIDDING

Offers being invited the lot was started at £1,000, and by bids of £100 it rose rapidly to £3,000, when the ardour of bidders began to cool. At £3,100 bids of £50 were taken, and at £3,150 the hammer fell to Mr Hugh Percy, solicitor, Alnwick, who was bidding for Mr J. I. Cairns.

The freehold premises at 30 Golden square, which were closed by the local Authority as unfit for habitation in 1914 and ordered to be demolished in 1915 ( the latter order however having never been enforced) were then offered. Starting at the modest sum of £5 the price rose to 350, when Mr Jas. Nelson, Berwick, bidding on behalf of Mr Cairns, got the fall of the hammer.

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 28 MAY 1920

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TWEEDMOUTH

GIRLS’ NATIONAL SCHOOL

Empire Day was celebrated at Tweedmouth Girls’ National School on Tuesday forenoon. Early in the morning the girls, under the direction of their class mistresses, decorated the schoolroom with flags, bunting and flowers, transforming the whole appearance of the room. Daisy-chains were made by eager hands, and formed a part of the scheme of decoration. Ropes of daisies were also worn by the girls, who were in pretty frocks for the occasion. A programme of songs and recitations was gone through, two special items being the reciting of poems specially written by Mr T. Grey, Church Road, Tweedmouth, for the occasion. The programme was:- Unison song, “Land of Hope and Glory”; duet, Daisy Shiels and Edith Todd; recitation (by T. Grey), Andrina Davidson; Unison  song, “Ye Mariners of England”; duet, E. Todd and M. Gray; recitation (Grey), Mary Newies; piano solo, E. Robertson; unison song , Standards I. and II.; duet, “Fairy Barque,” M. Douglas and E. Oxley; recitation, I. and A. Crossthwaite; unison song, “The Roast Beef of England.”

HENRY FIELDING 1670-1758
“The Roast Beef of Old England” is an English patriotic ballad written by Henry Fielding, and was first performed in 1731. Today, 
the Royal Navy always goes in to dine at Mess Dinners to the tune, which is also played at United States Marine Corps 
formal mess dinners during the presentation of the beef. Officers of the Royal Artillery are also played in to dinner by this tune. 

After the programme was gone through the girls adjourned to the playground, where in the bright sunny weather, Miss May Todd, clad in white, took the salute to the Union Jack. The pupils then went through the grand march, each girl carrying a flag and wearing a daisy-chain wreath. The Rev. P. G. Peacocke addressed the girls on the meaning of Empire Day. During the morning’s proceedings Miss Helyer, Headmistress of the school, was presented with a bouquet of roses, and one of lilies and tulips. Hearty votes of thanks were accorded to the teachers for their share in the day’s celebrations and a special vote of thanks was also accorded to Mr T. Grey for his kindness in writing the poems recited by the girls. In the afternoon the programme was repeated, the parents being present.

LOCAL NEWS

On Thursday last, Thomas Tait, jun., and Richard Disslington, both of Berwick, were convicted of angling in the river Tweed, on the 13th day of May instant, for the purpose of killing or taking the spawn, fry, or young brood of salmon, and were severally fined in the mitigated penalty of ten pounds. A rather stiff penalty, but smolt catchers need have no fear of a like penalty now-a-days. This happened 100 years ago.

In view of the fact that certain meat traders in North Northumberland are considering a co-operative scheme for dealing with meat after decontrol on July 4th, by the proposed formation of a Control Board, farmers would be well advised to strengthen their Co-Operative Slaughterhouse Societies. Unless agriculturists are more enthusiastic in the Northumbrian Farmers’ Co-Operative Slaughterhouse Society, thinks the Newcastle Journal, there is a probability that its operations will be suspended by July 4th.

The Whitsuntide holidays brought a large influx of visitors to the town at the week-end and on Monday. Several large motor char-a bancs were to be seen drawn up in High Street, while others went on through the town to destinations further afield. Several of the shopkeepers in the town did remarkably well, the visitors seeming to be anxious to take some memento of their Berwick trip home with them. A number of the visitors hailed from the Widdrington district, and a cricket team having travelled north from that centre, played and beat the Berwick eleven on the Pier Field. A number of the visitors made their way to the seaside, the conditions there being ideal. The catering establishments in the town did a brisk trade, and Mr J. Walker, Castlegate, was compelled to use the Red Lion Assembly Room to seat his customers.

The placing of boys and girls in suitable employment when they leave school is engaging the attention of the Education Committee, and in response to a request by the Ministry of Labour, schoolmasters and teachers are being instructed to send in the names of all boys and girls leaving school at the end of the term, to Mr Topping, at the Labour Exchange. This new method of placing children leaving school in suitable employment will fill a much felt want. There are undoubtedly many cases where boys and girls leave school without any fixed idea of what trade they will follow, and the result has been that after many weeks of idleness they drift into some occupation not entirely suitable.

PARK’S COMMITTEE

The Clerk read the report of the Parks Committee of the 18th inst., recommending the Authority to have the guns on the Walls replaced on their former position, and the carriages for the same repaired at an estimated cost of £40. The estimate, it was stated, would cover the cost of repairing the carriages and re-painting.

Councillor Morrison moved the adoption of the report and Councillor Peter Cowe seconded.

Councillor Compbell said he could not well see where the economy came in when the Authority were not dealing with the matter of the footpath at Castle Hills, which would be to the advantage of the town, and were yet willing to spend £40 in putting the guns back in their former positions, which would not benefit the inhabitants in the least. He could not see the logic of the procedure, and moved as an amendment that the guns be not put back.

Councillor Dudgeon seconded, and said the guns at the top of Coxon’s Lane were a source of danger to children, who climbed on them, and through falling off sustained nasty accidents. Why, he asked, should they spend money on a matter like this and grudge it for a footpath, which would be a decided benefit.

Looking towards the Brass Bastion from the Cumberland Bastion on the Elizabethan Walls at Berwick-upon-Tweed.  In 1920, the guns which were situated next to the Cumberland Bastion (not in their original positions) on the town’s walls, were the source of much debate by local councillors on the viability of restoring and placing them back in their original positions. © Richard Law – cc-by-sa/2.0- © Richard Law – geograph.org.uk/p/911095.

Councillor Dixon said he considered it would be a great pity if these guns were not put into position. Berwick was a fortified town, and the old guns gave a tone to the Walls. They were always a source of interest to visitors who went round the Walls. Had they been new guns they were mounting it would have been quite different.

Councillor Morrison – Councillor Campbell inferred the guns were no use. They are one of the attractions the Borough possesses.

Councillor Campbell said if anyone had sentimental feelings about the old guns it should be Councillor Cowe and himself, who had worked on them night after night in the old days, but if he allowed himself to consider that, he would be stretching his personal feelings too far, when other matters in the town, more essential, were required.

Councillor Wilson remarked that the question of the footpath at Castle Hills had not been turned down, but was going back to the Committee.

On the question being put to the vote, there voted for the resurrection of the guns and their repair and replacement 20, and for the amendment.

BERWICK ADVERTISER, 23 JANUARY 1920

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THE CLOSING OF THE SCHOOLS

Berwick Elementary Schools have been closed as follows during the last fifteen months:-

October 22nd, 1918 to January 6th, 1919 – Closed for influenza

Mid – February, 1919 to 17th March – Closed for influenza. Bell Tower Infant School closed for another fortnight.

April 14th to May 12th – Tweedmouth Infants’ School closed for measles.

September, 1919 – Extra week’s holiday for the conclusion of the war.

December 10th, onwards – Closed for scarlet fever.

We don’t wish to suggest that anyone is to blame for this, but when to these periods are added the regular holidays and the absences from school due to individual cases of illness, it will be seen that – to put it at its lowest – the town is paying away a great deal of money for nothing. We suggest that the public and the teachers should consider whether some means cannot be found of avoiding this serious loss.

HOLY ISLAND

WHERE ST. CUTHBERT LIVED- ON FAR LINDISFARNE

The “Sphere” of December 20th contains the following interesting article:- “Lindisfarne Castle, on Holy Island,  is one of the many historic places in the market to be sold, with all its furniture and pictures. It was thoroughly restored a few years ago, after a long period of neglect and is now a most attractive and interesting property. It is situated on a basaltic stone forming the promontory of the little harbour of Holy Island where the small fishing boats gather for their trade in crabs, lobsters and periwinkles. The island has a romantic history, having been the seat of earliest Christianity in the north of England. In 635 A.D., Aidan, the Irish monk from Iona, came to Holy Island at the request of King Oswald to teach the heathen Northerners the precepts of Christianity. He established himself on Holy Island, probably appreciating its similarity to his old home of Iona, and also its nearness to Bamburgh, the Royal seat of King Oswald. Men flocked to hear him preach and his success was tremendous, 15,000 being baptized in seven days. The most famous of his successors was the austere St. Cuthbert, who retired after two years of holding the Bishopric, to his hermit’s cell on one of the Farne Islands. When he died, shortly afterwards, from the severity of his self-inflicted penance, he was buried beside the altar on Holy Island. But his body was not permitted to remain in peace, and was constantly shifted during troubled period of the Middlle Ages, till it now rests in Durham Cathedral. His body was hurriedly removed from Lindisfarne when the marauding Danes attacked the Island in the ninth century, and the Monks had to flee, carrying the body of their revered saint in a wooden coffin.

A photograph of Holy Island Castle taken from the ruins of the Priory, in the early-mid 20th century.
Ref: BRO 1865-12

“The Danes robbed and destroyed the Church and Monastery, leaving the place in utter desolation. It was not till 200 years later that a new Priory was erected, whose remains are to be seen today. The foundations were laid in 1093, the architect being a monk from Durham, who designed a beautiful cruciform Norman church, built of a warm red sandstone. The church remained almost unaltered till the Dissolution of the Monastries brought the inevitable destruction, but the ruins of today are eloquent of the dignity of the 12th century Benedictine Church. The centre tower stood till the middle of the 18th century, only a delicate slender arch over the transept crossing remaining to remind us of what had once stood there. The western end, with its 2 towers and fine Norman doorway, is in course of careful restoration. The cylindrical columns of the nave are of the sturdy Norman type, signalised by sunken zigzag mouldings cut across the piers. The ground plan of the monastic buildings remain in a very complete form, so that it is possible to trace out the whole structure of a Benedictine priory with its cloistered garth, chapter house, dormitory, parlour, prior’s hall, kitchen, bakehouse, and their offices.

  1. The article has 5 illustrations:-Central Holy Island Castle-now for sale. The castle occupied a rocky buff and is here seen from the ruins of the domestic part of the Priory.

2. Repairing the West doorway. (The Abbey doorway is now under repair by the Office of Works) – scaffolding erected to do the work is shown.

3. A fine Norman pillar, with zig-zag ornaments which connect it with Durham, which has similar columns.

4. In the ruined Nave- showing the stout Norman pillars and north aisle, now open to the winds.

5. The flying Arch over the tower crossing of the Priory Church, which still defies the gales from the North sea.

OLD SPITTAL

A correspondent writes:- Mr Borthwick’s lecture on “Old Spittal,” brought together an audience which completely filled St Paul’s Hall- a testimony not only to the ability of the lecturer, but of the esteem in which he is held by the inhabitants of Spittal.

OLD SPITTAL- THE LECTURE

Mr Borthwick said perhaps a more suitable title for his lecture would have been “How Spittal Began.” A brief revisal of the general history of England led up to the first authentic mention of Spittal. When the Tweed first became the boundary between England and Scotland in 1018 or 1020, the salmon fishery at Hallowstell belonged to the monks of Coldingham. King Edgar of Scotland, in 1097, granted a charter to Hallowstell, and presented it to the Bishop of Durham, who gifted it to the monks of Holy Island. The word “stell” means a fixed place. When the monks came into possession of the fishery they hallowed it, hence the name Hallowstell. Both words are Anglo-Saxon, and the fishery was probably known long before we have any recorded mention of it.

About the time the charter was granted to Hallowstell, leprosy was common, and a hospital for lepers was built at Spittal, and dedicated to St. Bartholomew. It stood on the ground now occupied by Messrs Boston’s herring curing yard and the boat-building yard.

An early 20th century photograph of the Sandstell area at Spittal.  Bostons Yard where the hospital for lepers once stood can be seen behind the five fishing boats on the beach. Ref: BRO 1887-2-2

It extended across the street and up the north side of Princes Street to the Well Road. It must have been fairly rich and of considerable dimensions, because in 1226 the revenues for the up keep of the hospital were derived from lands at Tweedmouth, Orde, Scremerstone, Fenwick, and other parishes. In 1234 the Bishop of Durham, when on a visit to Fenwick, confirmed all the gifts made to Spittal hospital. In 1362 the master of the hospital was John de Lowick, and in 1369 his successor Bather, owing to an increase of lawlessness, built peel tower for its protection. This tower was still standing as late as 1612, and was known as Bather Tower. Just before the dissolution of the monasteries, owing perhaps to slender revenues or defenceless situation, with Border thieves on both sides, the revenues of the hospital were transferred to Kepier, near Durham. On the dissolution of the monasteries, Spittal became the property of the King.

During one of the Border raids in 1547, a Scotsman named John Cockburn, Lord of Ormeston, guided a party of English raiders through the passes of the lowland hills, and was rewarded by Edward V1 with the lands of Spittal.

No trace of the old hospital remains. It was probably reduced to ruins about 1555, when the Border Abbeys of Melrose and Kelso were destroyed. In conclusion, the lecturer  described the religious life of the Spittal people from the destruction of the old hospital till 1745, when the first Presbyterian Meeting House was built, on the site where now stands St. Paul’s Church.

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