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^^U 5X3^^ \ 'ffO

©arbarfc College ILibrarg

FROM THE /GIFT OF

WILLIAM ENDICOTT, Jr.

(Class of 1887)
OF BOSTON

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siiti'. viiuiU

tlci&U/'l

Jftw&

(aiM/ut

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His tax n

OF THE

^parish nf Hjrtntt,

INCLUDING THE

PARISHES OF WINLATON, STELLA,
AND GREENSIDE.

WILLIAM BOURN,

AUTHOR OF THE "HISTORY OF THE PARISH
OF WHICKHAM," ETC.

Carlisle :
g. & t. coward, printers, the wordsworth press.

MDCCCXpVI.

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llARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY

NOV 6 1920
GIFT OF
WILLIAM ENDICOTT.JR.

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THIS WORK

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED

JOSEPH COWEN, ESQ.,

OF STELLA HALL,

By THE AUTHOR.

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ERR A TA.

Page 31, for Lambly read Lambley.
,. 50, for Wallace read Wallis.
„ 78, last line, for Potter read Porter.
„ 139, for 1888 read 1838.

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PREFACE.

Several of the chapters in this work were contributed to the
Newcastle Weekly Chronicle, while others formed parts of Lectures
delivered before local societies by the Author. Several of the
literary friends of the Author, whose opinions are highly esteemed,
recommended their re-publication in book form; hence the
present volume.

No apology need be offered for its appearance, as no account of
the Parish exists in a popular and convenient form.

The facts embodied in this work have been secured after no
inconsiderable labour on the part of the Author, who has drawn
from all sources available to him. Having visited every part of
the Parish about which he writes, he now offers all the facts
relating to its history, antiquities, traditions and folk-lore which
he collected, to the public, and hopes thereby to enable those
who live in the neighbourhood to appreciate the rich stores of
historical remains around them, and to find their way to such
places of interest as they may wish to inspect.

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Vlll.

The writer desires to express his thanks to the Editor of the
Newcastle Weekly Chronicle for nine of the illustrations; to Mr.
Robert Barrass, Rembrandt Studio, 180 Westgate Road, for
Photo of Sir Henry Augustus Oavering, Bart.; to Canon Baily,
Rector of Ryton, for the use of the Parish Register, and for
assisting him in other ways; to Mr. W. W. Thomlinson, and to
Mr. G. R. Ramsay.

In conclusion, the Author will gratefully receive any suggestions
that may tend to the improvement of the present work, and the
correction in a future edition of any errors that may perchance
have found their way into its pages.

WILLIAM BOURN.

Whickham,

March \*jth, 1896.

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CONTENTS.

Ryton

Page
1

The Church

The Rectory

The Churchyard

Bequests to the Poor ...

.... 30

Ryton Burnt by the Scots

The Scots again at Ryton

The Market Cross

Ryton in 1895

Bar (Bare) Moor

Crawcrook...

Pethhead ...

Greenside ...

Coalburns ...

Ryton Woodside

Stella

Stella Hall

Battle of Stella Haughs

Cromwell at Stella

Stella House

The Coal Trade

TheStaiths

The Catholic Chapel

The Cowen Family

Biaydon

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■**' Page

Blaydon Church ... ... ... ... ... 103

Blaydon and District Co-operative Literary Iuatitute ... 106

Blaydon Co-operative Society ... ... .. ... 106

Winlaton . . ... ... ... ... ... Ill

Freemasonry at Winlaton ... ... ... ... 127

Winlaton Subscription Library ... ... ... ... 128

Winlaton in 1895 ... ... ... ... ... 130

Church (St. Paul's) ... ... ... ... ... 138

Park Head Hall ... ... ... ... ... 143

Winlaton Mill ... ... ... ... ... 147

Blaydon Burn ... ... ... ... ... 152

Thornley ... ... ... ... ... ... 156

Barlow ... ... ... ... ... ... 159

Spen (High) ... ... ... ... ... 161

Spen (Low) .. ... ... ... ... 162

Chopwell Township ... ... ... ... ... 164

Blackhall Mill ... ... .. ... ... 168

Axwell Park ... ... ... ... ... 171

The Claverings ... ... ... ... ... 175

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

v Frontispiece — Ryton Green.

JRyton Church ... ... ... ... ... 4

V Ryton Ferry ... ... ... ... ... 41

/Stella Hall ... ... ... ... ... 72

/ Stella Chapel ... ... ... ... ... 86

j- Old House in Back Street, Winlaton ... ... ... 110

v A Bit of Winlaton .. ... ... ... 130

v Winlaton Mill ... ... ... ... ... 146

„ Axwell Park ... ... ... ... ... 170

Sir Henry A. Clavering ... ... ... ... 176

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Hiatnrj ai % |)arislj al ftjjtntt*

RYTON.

The village of Ryton gives name to this Parish and the township
in which it is situated. The village occupies a lofty and beautiful
situation on the south banks of the Tyne, seven miles west of
Newcastle. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway runs along the
foot of the hill on the north side of the village, where there is a
railway station. The name Ryton is probably derived from rye=
water, and fon = a. settlement hedged in and protected from
intruders.

The Parish of Ryton was anciently very extensive. It was
bounded on the north and north-east by the river Tyne, till its
junction with the Derwent at Derwenthaugh, which divided Ryton
from Whickham, and from the chapelries of Tanfield and Med-
omsley on the south, till the junction of the Milkwell Burn and
Derwent on the south-west ; the Milkwell Burn, a short imaginary
line, and the Stanley Burn, flowing northwards, and falling into the
Tyne near Bradley Mill, completed the western boundary. The
Parish, which formed almost a triangle, was originally subdivided
into six constableries, viz: i, Ryton; 2, Ryton Woodside; 3, Craw-
crook (including Bradley); 4, Stella; 5, Winlaton (including
Blaydon, Thornley, Spen, and Axwell); '6, Chopwell (which
includes Blackhall Mill, Milkwell Burn, Ravenside, Armondside,
Hugergate, and other tenements). Winlaton parish was formed
from Ryton on November 6th> 1832 ; Stella parish in August,

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1844; and Greenside parish on May 6th, 1886. Ryton Parish
now comprises the township of Ryton, with the villages of Ryton,
Addison, and Stargate.

Population of the township of Ryton: 1801, 432; 181 1, 462;
1821, 445; 1831, 590; 1841, 677; 1851, 739; 1861, 1140;
1871, 1939; 188 1, 3036; 1891, 3393.

Area, 1200 acres. Rateable value in 1821, ^1,882; and in
1894, ,£16,452. The principal proprietors of land are Sir
Alexander Kinlock; Joseph Cowen, Esq.; James Hindmarsh, Esq.;
William R. Lamb, Esq.; the Rector of Ryton ; Archibald M.
Dunn, Esq.; Townely Trustees ; Mrs. Thorp ; John B. Simpson,
Esq.; and the Stella Coal Company.

The manor of Ryton formerly belonged to the See of Durham,
under which the greater part of the lands were held by lease or
copy of court-roll. Under Boldon Book, 11 83, "the men of Ryton
held the vill on lease, with the demesne, the assize rent, the mill,
and the service due (from the villeins), with a stock of one draught
and two harrows, and twenty chalder of oats of the bishop's
measure, and the fisheries ; they pay fourteen pounds rent, make
ladings like the men of Whickham, and, jointly with Crawcrook,
provide the carriage of one ton of wine. The punder (keeper of
the pinfold) has five acres and the thraves like other punders, and
renders thirty hens and two hundred eggs. The villeins pay
twenty-four hens and two hundred eggs."

In a Roll of Bishop Bek, 1283 — 1310, there is an entry of 10s.
for "repairing mill" at Ryton.

Hatfield's Survey, 1345 — 1381, mentions three free tenements,
held by the Rector of Ryton, Thomas Gategang, and John Stepyng.
An inquisition was taken at Gateshead in 1344, stating that from
time beyond the memory of man there existed a fishery near
Ryton called the Blaklough, to the westward of Tyne bridge,
belonging to the Bishop of Durham.

The Common, belonging to the manor of Ryton, was extremely
extensive, and its boundaries towards Chopwell were the subject
of litigation as early as 1562. A division of Ryton Moor bears
date 1 6th September, 1638 ; the whole of the allotments are stated
to be held of the See by copy of court roll under fourpence an acre
rent ; the mines were reserved to the See, with the usual clauses
of compensation for damage to the tenant of the soil in working ;

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and twenty acres were allotted to the manor mill, to provide horses
for fetching the corn.

In 1699, the division of Ryton Broomfields and High Hedgefield
took place. The Broomfields contained 100 acres, and High
Hedgefields 6 1 a. 1 r. 5 p. Both were copyhold lands, were held
in common, and divided by twenty-one tenants. The acres allowed
to each varied from 25 acres assigned to William Jolly, down to
3 roods 25 perches to John Humble.

In 1690, Ryton West Field, West Crofts, East Field, and Low
Hedgefield, in all 400 acres, were divided. These lands were
held in common, and divided by thirty-six people whose names are
set down in the award, and who are all described as owners by
copy of Court Roll, according to the custom of the manor of
Ryton. 107 acres fell to Sir Thomas Tempest, and other portions
varying from 34 acres to an acre, to other owners.

The Church.

" Ye holy walls, that still sublime,
Resist the crumbling touch of time. "

Ryton Church (Holy Cross) stands at the western extremity of
the village, and its situation is extremely picturesque and attractive.
The edifice consists of chancel, nave with north and south aisles,
south porch, and a western tower surmounted by an octangular
spire, covered with lead. The chancel is forty-four feet long by
eighteen feet three inches wide, and is entered on the south side
by an old square-headed doorway, with curious carvings on the
angles. There is within the altar-rails, on the south side, a square-
headed piscina with a projecting basin. At the west end of the
chancel, on the south side, is a low side window, built up on the
outside. These windows are sometimes called "leper" windows,
it being the opinion of some authorities that they were used for
administering the holy sacrament to lepers. Between the door
and the low side window, there is a slab inserted in the wall with
the following inscription : —

BERNARD OBIITQVA

GILPINRE RTODIEM

CTORHV ARTIIAN

IVSECCLLLE DOM. 1583

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" Bernard Gilpin, rector of this (Houghton) Church, who died 4th
day of March, 1583." There is inscribed underneath the above: —
"From Bernard Gilpin's monument in Houghton-le-Spring Church,
dated A.D. 1583. Charles Thorp. 1828."

Within the altar rails, on the north side, there is a fine effigy in
Stanhope marble. The length of the figure is five feet nine inches.
The effigy is described by Surtees as that of a Benedictine monk ;
but Mr. J. R. Boyle, in describing it, says: — **He wears the alb,
and over this the dalmatic. The sleeves of the former (monk) are
close-fitting, whilst those of the latter (deacon) are loose. On the
right side, beneath the dalmatic, are the extremities of the stole.
From the left wrist hangs the maniple. The head, which rests on
a cushion, and is further supported by two small figures of angels,
is tonsured. The hands hold a book, on the back of which a bird,
possibly a dove, is carved. The feet rest on a lion. This effigy
is of especial interest from the extreme rarity of effigies of ecclesi-
astics who had not attained the order of the priesthood. The
effigy is probably of late thirteenth century date." There is an
aumbrey within the altar-rails, in the north wall. The handsome
altar table is of oak ; on the front of it is inscribed : — "The offering
of Charles Thorp, Rector, A.D. 1849." In tne nortn wal1 of the
chancel, opposite the priest's door, is the entrance to the vestry,
which formerly consisted of two apartments; but, in 1888 part of
the old vestry was converted into an organ chamber, and by
means of a pointed arch in the north wall, the organ faces the
chancel. The chancel is stalled with oak; on the end of one o
the stalls is carved a dolphin embowered inter three crosses repeated,
supposed to be the arms of the Rev. William James, rector of
Ryton from 16 17 till the usurpation. There is on the left side of
the vestry door a quaint carving of the Nativity, with the inscrip-
tion, "C. Thorp, 1826." A fine old chair stands within the altar
rails, on which is inscribed "T.T. 1662." The initials are probably
those of Sir Thomas Tempest, and the chair a gift to the church.
Previous to 1844 the east window was a square of five lights, but
in that year the old window was removed, and a pointed window
of three lights was inserted.

Underneath the window, and above the communion table, is
a handsome reredos, carved in oak. In the centre is represented
The Descent from the Cross ; on the left side, Christ bearing the

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Cross ; and on the right, Christ on Calvary. At the extreme right
is Moses, pointing to the Brazen Serpent in the Wilderness ; and at
the extreme left Abraham and Isaac, journeying to Mount Moriah.
Formerly there were in the south wall of the chancel six pointed
lights ; afterwards, the window at the east end was altered into
one of two lights, with central shaft, and round-headed. The
chancel arch, which rests on corbels, is pointed, and plain in
design. A screen of old oak, carved in open tracery, roses,
quatrefoils, and foliage, encloses the chancel. The nave is forty-
five feet by nineteen feet; the tower at the west end seventeen
feet by seventeen feet ; and the north and south aisles each eleven
feet wide, including the pillars, and extending the full length of
the nave and tower, viz., sixty-eight feet Each aisle is formed by
two pillars supporting pointed- arches, the groins of which are
ornamented with sculptured heads. The western pillars are plain
cylinders, those to the east octagonal. The walls of the aisles and
porch have been raised several feet, and a parapet added, probably
about the end of the fourteenth century. The body of the church
would then present a different appearance to what it does now,
as the high-pitched roof came down in one continuous slope over
the aisles, as may be seen by examining the east gable of the
nave.

Hutchinson states that the wall of the south aisle was rebuilt in
1627 ; but the historian is clearly mistaken, as the most casual
observer may see. The tower is engaged, and of three stages. In
the lowest stage there is a lancet twenty feet high, and two feet four
inches wide, which is the only window in the body of the church
which remains unaltered. In the second stage, which is twenty-
two feet square, is the clock. A brass plate on the clock bears
the inscription: — "Erected September, 1881, by Subscription by
Parishioners and Friends, in Memory of William Webb, Rector of
Ryton 1862 — 1878." This stage is lighted by a single lancet in
the north, west, and south sides. The third stage contains the
bells. In 1763 three new bells were ordered to replace three old
bells. Two of the bells bear the inscription : " Lester and Pack
of London, fecit 1763 ;" the third : "Recast by John Warner and
Son, 1868 ;" and a fourth : " In loving Memory of Charles Baring.
Cast by John Warner and Son, 1881." The entrance to the tower
is by a door in the second stage, which is reached by a spiral

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staircase of oak, erected in 1886. This staircase replaced one
probably erected in 1746, for on April 25th of that year, the "four-
and-twenty agreed with Ralph Hawdon and William Waddle, for
three pounds and ten shillings and the old ladder, to make a
staircase to the belfry."

The spire of the church is formed of a complicated framework
of oak timber, and is covered with sheets of lead, placed diagonally,
and carefully overlapped. The spire underwent extensive repairs
in 175 1, and in 1877 was again substantially repaired, and much
defective lead removed and renewed. The total height of the
tower and spire is one hundred and twenty feet six inches, and not
one hundred and eight feet, as stated by all the historians of
Durham. The weather-cock Dears the date 1835. The tower
terminates with a corbel table. Several of the corbels are carved
with conventional foliage of early character. On the east side of
the tower is a large piece of sculpture representing St. George
subduing the Dragon. The tower is open to the nave and aisles
by pointed arches, each of two chamfered orders. .All the arches
rest on moulded corbels, in five out of the six of which the nail-
head ornament appears. All the tower arches have hood mouldings.
The label of the arch which opens to the nave terminates in carved
heads, one of which has a barrel-shaped object in its mouth.
There are half-straining arches from the east wall of the tower to
the walls of the aisles. These are of two chamfered orders, and
rest on corbels in the aisle walls. In both these corbels are found
the nail-headed ornament.

The porch has a richly- moulded doorway ; formerly the roof
would slope down the same as the roof of the church. About the
middle of the last century the roof of the nave was thatched with
straw, which was burnt, and replaced by one of lower pitch, covered
with lead; this roof was covered with slates in 1816. The nave
and aisle roofs were restored and raised to their original pitch in
1877, and were covered with green Westmorland slates, except the
north aisle roof, which was covered with the old slates from the
nave roof. The roof of the chancel was restored to its original
pitch by Archdeacon Thorp, and the flat ceiling allowed to
remain. In 1886, the chancel was beautified by the present oak
ceiling.

Formerly, the south wall of the church contained lancets, which

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were replaced by sash windows; in 1812 these were removed, and
the present windows inserted.

About the year 1813, the nave and aisles were re-pewed ; and in
1 886, they were again filled with seats made of oak. On the south
side of the chancel is a buttress on which grotesque heads are
carved. Above the entrance of the porch is an old sun-dial,
mutilated, and without any date. Only the word Pereunt remains
on the stone. Originally the inscription was : "Pereunt et impu-
tantur." (The hours pass and are reckoned.)

The font is a large stone basin supported by a pedestal, and
is described by Surtees as ancient. In the church books there is
the following entry: •' 1662. Paid for the fonte and lading, and
for drink for the men that helped to set it, £2 3s. 6d." If Surtees
is correct as to the antiquity of the font — and we think he is — may
t it not be inferred from the above entry, that the font was removed
at the time when John Weld (intruder,) became rector, and taken
back to the church in the time of Ralph Blakiston, who became
rector in 1660.

The pulpit is of oak, octagonal in form, artistically designed,
and ornamented with carved tracery, and stands on a pedestal of
Caen stone, adorned with marble shafts. At each angle, under a
niche, is a sculptured figure, representing the Venerable Bede,
St. Cuthbert, St. Aidan, St. Helena, and the Emperor Constantine.
In design and execution the pulpit displays admirable workman-
ship.

In the year 1703, a gallery was erected at the west end of the
nave, by Sir Ambrose Crowley, for the use of his workmen who
attended Ryton church. There were other galleries — at the north-
east end of the nave, and over the aisles — all of which were
removed in 1846. Formerly a stall was enclosed on the south
side of the church for the owners of Chopwell, and another on the
north side for the house of Stella. At one time there was a door
eight feet six inches high and five feet wide, on the north side of
the church, which is now built up. The style of architecture is
of one period, Early English or Lancet, and the date of the erection
of the church may be ascribed to the early part of the thirteenth
century (1220).

In early times there was a chantry in the church dedicated to
the Virgin ; its foundation is unknown. Ralph Eure, the bishop's

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escheater in 1425, mentions five shillings, the tenth of a messuage,
and eighteen acres called St. Mary's Land, given by the Lord of
Crawcrook to St. Mary's Altar, in Ryton Church, in mortmain
without license.

On September 13th, 1498, John Saunders of Ryton granted a
cottage, three acres and a plot of ground, to William Clark and his
successors, chaplain of St. Mary's Altar, for the perpetual main-
tenance of a light before the image of the Virgin.

The church possesses several windows of stained glass. The
altar window contains in the centre light the figure of Christ on
the Cross ; and those on the right and left, scenes connected with
the Crucifixion. Underneath is the inscription: "Dedicated to
the Glory of God, in loving Memory of Emma Easton, by her
sister Emily." On the south side, at the east end of the chancel,
there are two windows ; one containing the figures of St. Luke and
St. Matthew, and the other the Baptism of our Lord. Underneath
is the inscription : " Mary Ann Thorp, died April 1st, 1839 ;
Robert Thorp, died April 7th, 1847." There are other three
memorial windows in the south side of the chancel to members of
the Thorp family. In the south aisle are two : one containing the
figures of St. Thomas and St. John ; the other St. Bartholomew
and St. Philip. Under the tower a high single light containing
the figure of St. Paul, bears the inscription : " Church Offering at
Christmas, Anno Domini, 1848."

In the north aisle there are two windows of stained glass, one
of which represents Christ Blessing little Children ; underneath is
inscribed : " In Memory of Margaret Isabella, the beloved wife of
Thomas Spencer of the Grove, Ryton, who died in Madeira,
December 20th, 1865, aged twenty-two years." The other is a
window of two lights, containing the figures of St. Mary and
St. John, underneath which is the following inscription : " To the
Glory of God, and in Memory of John Easton of Layton Manor,
Yorkshire, who died 14th August, 1880, aged seventy-seven years.
Erected by his sisters Emily and Matilda."

The walls of the church contain several mural tablets. In the
north wall of the chancel are : —

1. White marble on black marble slab.

Frances Wilkie Thorp,
Wife of Charles Thorp, m.a.,

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Rector of this Parish.

The only child of

Henry Collingwood Selby, Esq.,

Died a few months after marriage,

the 21st of April, 1811, aged Twenty years.

2. White marble on black slab.

In the vault beneath are placed

the remains of

Robert Thorp, d.d.,

Archdeacon of Northumberland,

And sometime rector of this Parish,

Who departed this life in the blessed

hope of immortality through Jesus Christ,

the xx. day April, i8r*2, in his 76 year.

Grace Thorp, wife of Robert Thorp,

Died 3 August, 1814, aged 70 years.

3. White marble.

Near to this place lies interred

the body oi the Rev. John Lloyd, a.m.,

late rector of this Parish. He departed

this life on the 15th day of September,

in the year of our Lord, 1765,

in the 56th year of his age.

Most justly lamented by his family and

friends, nor less by his parishioners,

whom he had endeared himself to,

by every act of affection and duty.

By his unlimited benevolence and charity,

and, by a constant attention to the duties

of his sacred function, through a course

of 27 years, during which he was their

Minister. He was the eldest son of the

Rev. William Lloyd, d.d.,

Sometime since Chancellor of the

Diocese of Worcester, and grandson

of William Lloyd, the Bishop

of that Diocese. Distinguished in the

age he lived, for his extensive learning,

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but more for his fervent zeal for the

Protestant Religion, and for the rights

and liberties of his Country, which he

supported with unshaken fidelity.

The deceased married Mary, the

daughter of the Rev. Robert Lightfoot, a.m.,

Rector of Deal, in the County of Kent,

by whom he left issue three daughters,

Elizabeth, Catherine, and Mary.

Near this place lies interred

Mr. John Simpson, of Bradley,

and Jane, his wife.

John died Dec. 31st, 1732, aged 52 ;

and by his will left to the poor

of Ryton ;£6o, with interest of which

to be distributed by the Rector every

23rd of December; as also ^50, to

All Saints Charity School, in

Newcastle. Jane, daughter of

Henry Anderson, Esq., died Nov. 23,

1748, aged 66 years.

He.left issue two sons, John, and Francis.

To the memory of

George Thorp, r.n.,

Fourth Son of Robert Thorp, d.d.,

Who being First Lieutenant of the

Terpsichore Frigate of the Squadron

of Com : Wilson, fell with Captain

Bowen, and many men, upon the

Mole Battery of Santa Cruz,

Teneriffe, the xxiv. day of June, a.d. mdccxcvii.

in his twentieth year, and was

buried in the deep.

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6. White marble on black slab.

In the family vault near

this place lie the remains of

John Simpson, Esq., of Bradley Hall,

who departed this life April 24th, 1786.

And Ann, his wife, who departed Aug. 4th, 1783.

She was the only child of Richard Clutterbuck,

Esq., Warworth, in Northumberland.

. By his second wife Eleanor Collyer,

they had issue twelve children.

This small tribute of filial affection

to the best of parents is erected by their

two surviving daughters, Eleanor, the

wife of John Ord, Esq., and Ann Simpson.

This Tablet and the Clock in the tower

of the Church, are erected by his friends

and parishioners in affectionate

Remembrance of Rev. William Webb, m.a.,

for sixteen years rector of this Parish,

who died April 15th, 1878, aged 74 years,

And was interred in a vault in the Churchyard.

" Blessed are the dead which die in

the Lord." — Rev. xix., ver. 10.

8. A brass plate.

A.M. D.G.

In the year of our Lord

MDCCCLXXXVI.

The following works were carried out

in this church. New vestries and organ

chamber built. New organ set up. New

hot heating apparatus. New staircase to

Belfry. New Inner Porch. New Oak Ceiling

to Chancel. New stained glass east window.

New gas fittings. New Reredos, Pulpit, Litany

Desk, and complete oak seating for the Nave

and Aisles. Such of the old seating as was

sound was worked up to form the inner

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Porch and the panelling round the walls.
The whole cost of these works was defrayed
by Thomas Spencer, Esquire, of the Grove, Ryton,
and Miss Emily M. Easton, of Nest House,
Gateshead, and Layton Manor, Yorkshire.
T. H. Chester, m.a., Rector.
C. E. Blackett Ord, m.a., Curate.
John Richardson, I

William Rutherford Lamb, I Churchwardens.
Robert J. Johnston, Architect

Within the altar rails, and fixed to the north wall, are five small
brass'plates. Three of them are inscribed as follows : —

FRANC' THE THIRD SONNE OF RICHARD BVNNV OF
NEWLAND NEERE WAKEFIELD ESQVIER, & OF BRIDGET
RESTWOVLD OF YE VACH IN BVCKINGHASHIRE OF VERY
WORLL PARENTAGE, WIFE TO THE SAIDE RICHARD BVNNY J
WAS INDVCTED INTO THIS PSONAGE OF RYTON AO 1578 SEPT.
13 AND HAD FIVE CHILDREN, ELIZABATH THE ELDEST BEING
MARIED TO WILLM FENAY OF FEN AY NEERE ALMONBVRY IN YORK-
SHIRE, DIED WTHOVT ISSVE & LYETH BVRIED IN YORK IN YE QVYER
OF ALLHALLOWES CHVRCH j IOHN THE ELDEST SONNE, HENRY
THE THIRD SONNE, MATHEW THE FOURTH SONNE, DIED VERY
YOVNG & WER ALL BVRIED IN THIS QVIER OF RYTON CHVRCH
WHER ALSO LYETH FRANCIS YE SECOND SONE OF FRANCIS
AFORESAID WHOSE MONVMENT THIS IS: HE MARRIED MARY
DAVGHTER A SOLE HEIRE OF IOHN WORTLEY SECOND BROTHER
OF S* RICHARD WORTLEY OF WORTLEY KNIGHT : HE DIED W™0VT
ISSVE FEB. 26 AO l6lO BEING MORE THEN 26 YEARES OLDE.
HE WAS BORNE AO 1584 NOVEM : 9.

I WAS SOMETIME BVT NOW I AM

AND SHALL LIVE THVS FOR AYE
I AM I SAY IN IOY THAT LASTS
AND NEVER SHALL DECAY.
I WAS; BVT THEN I DID BVT DREAM

MY PLEASVRES WERE BVT PAINE
MY IOYES WERE SHORT AND MIXT WITH GREIF
ADEW THEN LIFE SO VAINE.

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FRANCIS BVNNY BORNE MAY THE 8TH aO 1543
BEGAN TO PREACH GOD*S WORD NOVEMB& THE
FIRST ANO 1567, INDVCTED INTO A P'BEND
AT DVRHAM THE 9TH OF MAY ANNO 1572,
MADE ARCHDEACON OF NORTHVMBERLAND
AO 1573 OCTR Y* 20 AND THE XlTH OF SEPT: AO
1578 MADE RECTOR OF RYTON ; HAVING BVRIED
HERE HIS 4 SONES, AND HIS DAVGHTER AT YORKE
HASTENETH TO HEAVEN AFTER THEM AND TRIVM
PHING FOR HOPE OF IMMORTALITIE SAITH, THYS —
MY BARKE NOW HAVING WONNE YE HAVEN

I FEARE NO STORMY SEAS
GOD IS MY HOPE, MY HOME IS HEAVEN

MY LIFE IS HAPPY EASE
THIS HOPE THIS HOME THIS LIFE MOST SWEET

WHO SOE WILL SEEK TO WINNE
MVST BID ADIEWE TO ALL DELIGHTS
THE SOWER ROOTS OF SINNE

Obijt 16 Die Aprill 1617

(3)

Henry Iohn ye

ye sone of sonne of

Francis Bunny and
lane his wyfe

I we were and shal be |
Borne Ian : xj. Born IvL xj.

Ano 1585 died Ao 1582 died

Sept. 25 Ao 1588 Oct 14 158 .

The two remaining brasses bear escutcheons of arms painted
upon them. One bears the Bunny shield of nine quarters, impaling
the shield of Wortley. The other bears only the Bunny shield.
Inside of the communion rails are two brass plates : —

(1)

Robert Alder Thorp, b.d„

Fellow of Christ Church College, Oxford.

Died May 23rd, a.d. mdcccxxxii.

Aged xxxiv. years.

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Mary Ann Thorp,

Wife of

Robert Thorp, Esq.,

of Alnwick,.

Died April ist, a.d. mdcccxxxix.

Aged lxx. years.

Robert Thorp, Esq.,

of Alnwick and of Chop well Hall,

Died April vil, a.d. mdcccxliii.

Aged lxxi. years.

Robert Thorpe, d.d.,

Died April xx. a.d. mdcccxii.

Aged lxxvi. years.

Grace Thorp,

Widow of Robert Thorp

and

Daughter of William Alder, Esq.,

of Horncliff on Tweed,

Died August in., a.d. mdcccxiv.

Aged lxx. years.

(»>

Francis Wilkie Thorp,

Died April xxi., a.d. mdcccxi.

Aged xx. years.

Charles Thorp, d.d., f.r.s.,

Archdeacon of Durham,

55 years Rector of Ryton,

Died Oct. x, a.d. mdccclxii.

Aged lxxix. years.

In the floor of the chancel, opposite to the entrance, is the vault
of Robert Thorp.

Fixed in the wall of the north aisle is a monument of white
marble, which bears the arms of the Tempest and Lambton
families. Underneath is the following : —

Sepulturse consecratum Nicholai Tempest de Stella, militis
& baronetti (qui obijt Ano D'n mdcxxv setatis suae lxxiii) et
Isabellas uxoris suae charissimae, filiae Gulielmi Lambton de

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Lambton armigeri: quae quatuor filios, et totidem filias, illi
peperit, et obiit Ano D'n mdcxxiii aetatis suae lxxi. Ilia per tot
annos praemoriens, quot illi praenatus erat. E liberis eorum sunt
superstites Thomas, Henricus, Isabella, uxor Bertrami Bulmer de
Tyrlesden, militis. — Jana relicta Thomae Chaitor de Butrobee,
armigeri— Et Margareta uxor Gilberti Errington de Ponteland,
armiger. — Parentibus optimis et suavissimis Thomas Tempest
baronettus, eorum Alius, observantiae et amoris ergo, sibique et
suis mortalitatis memor, hoc posuit Filius extruxit tumulum,
pia sacra parentum. Lambton erat matris, Stella domusque patris.
Miles erat Ni'olas Tempest, pater et baronettus Isabella fuit mater;
amore pares. Octo illis liberi sexu aequo: Septuaginta, Ultro
viverunt, et cecidere pares.

Translation : —

Consecrated to the burial of Nicholas Tempest, of Stella,
Soldier and Baronett (who died in the year of our Lord 1625, at
the age of 73) ; and of Isabella, his very dear wife, the daughter
of William Lambton, of Lambton, Knight, who bore him four sons,
and just as many daughters, and died in the year of our Lord
1623, at the age of 71. In this way she died before him by as
many years as he had been born before her. Of their children
there survived Thomas, Henry, Isabella, wife of Bertram Bulmer,
of Tyrlesden, Soldier ; Jane, relict of Thomas Chaitor, of Butrobe,
Knight ; and Margaret, wife of Gilbert Errington, of Ponteland,
Knight. To the most upright and sweetest parents their son
Thomas Tempest, Baronett, out of respect and love, .and mindful
of mortality, placed this for himself and his. The son erected a
monument, a devout offering for his parents. Lambton was the
home of his mother, and Stella of his father. Nicholas Tempest
was a soldier, father, and baronett, Isabella was the mother; in
affection they are equal. They had eight children (four) of each
sex. They lived over 70 years, and both died.

A small tablet on the west side bears the arms of the Tempests.

On a tablet of white marble on black slab is the following : —

In a vault near this church

are deposited the remains of

Joseph Lamb, youngest son

of Joseph and Sarah Lamb, of

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Ryton House, County of Durham, Esq.,

born Dec. nth, 1781, died Oct 8th, 1859.

Upright, Affable, Benevolent,

esteemed alike in public and private life,

he died lamented by his family, and

regretted by all. His trust was in the mercy

of God, through the merits of his Redeemer,

that he might live for ever in the Kingdom

of Heaven.

This tablet was erected to his memory,

by his widow and family, to whom he

was greatly endeared

Against the west end of the south aisle is a marble slab, bearing
the arms of the Humble family. Arms : a stag trippant, a chief
indented. Crest: a stag's head erased. Underneath is the
inscription: —

Frances, the Wife

of John Humble,

Obt. 3 Octr., 1754, aged 58.

A brass fixed in the floor, at the west end of the nave, is a
memorial to the Lambs of Ryton House.

The achievement or hatchment at the east end of the south aisle
is that of Marie Susanah (Lady Ravensworth), who died Nov.
22nd, 1845, aged 73 years; and that at the west end, of
Simpson, and Anderson of Bradley, Arms : Gules, a fesse inter two
lions passamt Or, Simpson, impaling, Gules, three oak-trees Argent,
Anderson.

Ryton Rectory.

Patron : the Bishop of Durham. The Rectory is valued in the
King's Books at ^42 10s. iod.; Tenths, £4 5s. id; Episc.
pro. 18s.; Arichid. Proa, 3s.; Gross income, ^1049. The tithes
were commuted in 1823. The parish register commences in 1588.
Rectors: Magister William de Marghe, 1254; Alan de Esyngwald,
1300; John de Botheby, 131 2; Nich. Gategang, 1334; William
de Olby, 1342; P. M. Gategang; John de Wyndlynburgh, 1378;

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Thos. de Gretham, 1382 ; John de Burgh, 1402 ; Richard Moor,
1407 ; John de Nepotiis; John Wynname, 1497 ; Robert Davell,
ll.d.; Anthony Salvayne, s.t.b., 1555; Win. Garnet, a. b., 1558;
John Bold, 1577; F. Bunny, a.m., 1578; William James, a.m.,
1 61 7; John Weld (an intruder); Ralph Blakiston, 1660; William
Cave, S.T.B., 1676; Mailn Sorsby; Thos. Seeker, a.m., 1727;
Robert Stillingfleet, a.m., 1733; John Lloyd, a. m., 1738; John
Rotheram, A.M., 1766; Hon. Richard Byron, a.m., 1769; Robert
Thorp, 1795; Charles Thorp, 1807; William Webb, 1862;
William C. Streatfield, 1878; Edward Prest, 1880; Thomas H.
Chester, 1883 ; Johnson Baily, 1891.

In 1 3 14, Bishop Kellaw pronounced a decree betwixt the
Hospital of Kepyer and the rector of Ryton, viz., that Hugh de
Montalt, master of Kepyer, and his successors, should continue
to enjoy an annual composition of two marks, payable by the
rector, in lieu of one moiety of tithe of corn of the bishop's
demesne lands within the whole parish of Ryton, and should in
consideration of such annual payment and perception, celebrate
solemn mass with Placabo and Dirige for the soul of Bishop
Anthony.

Bishop Fordham granted licence to Thomas de Gretham,
rector of Ryton, to carry an aqueduct from Southwell through the
bishop's ground to the rectory. Bishop Skirlaw confirmed the
grant to John Burgh, Gretham's successor, in 1405.

At a general array of the clergy in Gilesgate Moor, in 1400, the
rector, Thomas de Gretham, was charged with one lance and three
archers, being rated in the same proportion with the rectors of
Whickham and Gateshead.

Francis Bunny, third son of Richard Bunny, Esq., of Newland
Hall, near Wakefield, and of Bridget his wife, was born 8th May,
1543. He became a student of the University in the latter end of
the reign of Queen Mary, and Fellow of Magdalen College in 1562.
He was afterwards chaplain to the Earl of Bedford, and in 1578
became rector of Ryton. He is described by Surtees as a great
admirer of John Calvin, a constant preacher, charitable, and a stiff
enemy to Popery. Bunny was the author of four polemical
works, of "A Plain and Familiar Exposition of the Ten Command-
ments," and of an " Exposition on Joel," dedicated to Tobie,
Bishop of Durham, in which the author saith, " he had preached

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sermons at Berwick twenty years ago (1595), of which the book is
the summe ; which, if printed, would contain about three quire o
paper."

William Cave, born in 1637, became rector of Ryton in 1676.
He was a learned divine of the Church of England, and wrote
several works, relating chiefly to the early times of Christianity.
His best known and highly valued works are "Lives of the
Apostles," "Lives of the Fathers," and "Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum
Historia Literaria."

Thomas Seeker was born in 1693, and was educated for the
Dissenting ministry at the Dissenting College of Tewkesbury,
Butler, the future bishop of Durham, being his companion there.
Scruples prevented him from prosecuting the design of his youth,
and he was preparing for the medical profession when he was
induced to obtain ordination in the church from Bishop Talbot, of
Durham. Seeker was a very popular preacher, and was quickly
promoted. After being rector of Ryton, he became successively
Bishop of Bristol and of Oxford, and in 1758 he became
Archbishop of Canterbury.

John Rotheram was the son of the Rev. William Rotheram,
head-master of the Grammar School, Haydon Bridge. John was
born on June 22nd, 1725. After completing his education at
the Grammar School under his father, he became, in 1745, a
member of Queen's College, Oxford. He took his bachelor's
degree, and was ordained deacon and priest in the year 1749.
In the year 1751 he became assistant to his brother, Thomas
Rotheram, at Codrington College, in the island of Barbadoes.
Returning home he was, in 1760, unanimously elected Fellow of
University College. In 1766 he became rector of Ryton; and in
1769 he was presented to the rectory of Houghton-le-Spring. In
1779 he obtained the vicarage of Seaham, and was made chaplain
to the Bishop of Durham. Being on a visit to his friend Dr. Sharp,
at Bamborough, he died there on the 16th July, 1789, in the 64th
year of his age. The principal productions of his pen were " The
Force of Argument for the Truth of Christianity, drawn from a
Collective View of Prophecy;" "A Sketch of the One Great
Argument formed from the general Concurring Evidence for the
Truth of Christianity." In 1759, "An Apology for the Athanasian
Creed;" 1760, a sermon on "The Origin of Faith;" 1766, an

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essay on "Faith and its connection with Good Works;" 1767, an
essay on "Establishments of Religion, with Remarks on the
Confessional ;" and also three Sermons ; 1780, a Sermon against
Persecution; also an essay on "The Distinction between the Soul
and Body of Man."

The Hon. Richard Byron, rector of Ryton in 1769, was brother
to William, fifth Lord Byron, rector of Houghton-le-Skerne, who
died November 5 th, 181 1, aged 88.

The Parish Register dates from 1581, from which
the following extracts are taken.

1600, July 30 — Mr. Bartram Bulmer, Mrs. Jane Tempest (mar.).

1601, March 19 — Restwold, son of Mr. Wm. Bunny, gent,

soldier of Berwick (bur.).

1602, Dec. 2 — Anthony, son of Bertram Bulmer (bap.).
1603 — Payed to the infected of Gateside, xvus. vmd.

1605, Aug. 4 — George, sone of Alex. Swinburne, of Winlawton

(bap.).

1606, Aug. 26 —Mary, daughter to Sir Bartram Bulmer, Knight (bap.).
Oct. 13— Isab, daughter to Tho. Chaitor of Butterby, by

Durham, Esq. (bap.).
Nov. 3 — Mr. Tim Drap and MrisfFra Priestley (mar.).

1607, April 9 — George, sonne to John Surteise of Chopwellside

(bap.).
June 14 — Barbara, daughter to George Ogle of ye Whitehouse*
Aug. 23 — John Noble and Charitie Bulman (mar.).
Oct. 13 — Mark Errington of Holdenhead, and Katherine

Tempest (mar.).

1608, April 1 7 — Robert Gray, a workman that came from Whickham

(bur.).
„ 27 — Anne Silvertop, Widdow of Ryton towne (bur).
May 1 — Rafe, sonne of Rafe Gray of the Wrennes nest (bur.).

1609, March 27 — William Noble, of Chopwell quarter of the

Leadgate (bur.).

1610, Jan. 15 — Mr. Willm. Bellassis and Miss Margaret Selby(mar.).
161 2, Aug. 6 — Susanna, daughter of John Lions, gentleman, of

Bradley (bap.).

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1613, Dec 26 — Mary, daughter to Mr. Wm. Tempest, of Winlaw-

ton (bur.).

1614, Dec. 27 — Isabell, daughter of a stranger, borne at Bladon

(bap.).
a6i6, Aug. 21 — Thomas Coke and Elizabeth Selbie (mar.).

1617, April 10 — Mary, bastard daughter to George Tempest of

Winlinton (bap.).
July 23 — John, the sonne of Lynell Trotter of Winlington
(bap.).
1617-18, Jan. 23 — Henry, the sonn of Sr. Barthren Bulmer, Knight
Feb. 3 — Mr. William Tempest of Stillaye, gentill. (bur.)

1618, July 19 — William Selbye and Margaret Hollyday, will, (mar.)

1619, Sept. 19 — Jane, daughter to George Ogle of Winlawton (bap.).
July 2 — Guielmus Hancock, Elizabeth Anderson (mar.).
Nov. 28 — John Selby and Elizabeth Laborne, married at

Whittonstall.

1620, March 27 — John Selby, a child of Leadgate (bur).

.1621, Julye — Charles, sone of George Tempest of Winlawton

(bap.).
1624-5, Jan. 16 — William, son of Mark Horsley of Bladon.
1625-6, Jan. 13 — Henry, son of Mr. William James, Parson of

Ryton (bur.).
1625, March 28 — Sr. Nicholas Tempest of Stella, Knyght, Baronett.
Aug. 21 — A poore wedoe at thornellay called Alles Adams

(bur.).
Sept. 20 — George, the sonn of Georg Affengton of Ryton,

being slaine in a colepytt
Nov. 14 — Robert Demster of Winlington, being slaine in a

Cole pyt.
Oct. 20— Raynold Ogill and Margaret Ridlaye (mar.).

1627, Sep. 18 — William Foster of Winlinton, kilde in a Cole pyt
Dec — A poore lame youth of Winlington (bur.).

1628, July 10 — Dorothy, daughter of Sir Thomas Tempest of

Stellay, Baronett (bap.).
Oct. 20 — Robt, the son of Robert Babbington, gentl. (bur.).
1628 9, June 24 — Mr. Ambrose Dudlay, Esquire.
1629 — Dorothy, daughter of Sir Thomas Tempest, Baronet (bur.)*
Aug. 12 — John Taller of Colebornes, one of the poore of the
pishe.

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1630, May — Thomas, sonn of Sr. Thomas Tempest, Baronet (bap).
June 6 — Willm. Ogill of Winlinton, kyld in Cole pyt, and

Robert Allan of Winlinton, kyld in a Cole pyt, being

boys (bur.).
May 10 — Jane, baise daughter of William Rychard and

Elizabeth Durham, boethe of Winlinton; William Robson

of the said Towne bounde for to kepe the parish harmles

of the said childe (bap.).
May 24 — Kathren, daughter of Sr. Thomas Tempest, of

Stellay.
1632, June 1 — A stranger woh was smored in a Cole pyt (bur.).
1649, April 3 — Sir William Selby, Knt. (bur.)

April 27 — A child of Sir William Davy, Knt. (bur.)
1652, July 2 — Ann Rotherforth of Crawcrook, 96 years ould (bur.).
1681-2, Jan. 23 — Mr. William Bulmer of Stella (bur.).
1682 — William Silvertop, and Pickering, of Bladon; Thomas

Atkinson, Winlaton; and 15 women drowned.
1757, Jan. 6 — Charles Halliday, of riper years, aged 41, of

Woodside (bap.).
181 1, Aug. 28 — John Anderson of Barlow, near Ryton, died, aged

108. (He expired in the act of soling a pair of shoes. .

He enjoyed good health, and never wore spectacles.)

Churchwardens' Books.

The books are well kept, except during the later years of the
Commonwealth.

1606, April 25 — Paid for my dinner and the minister's, vid. (at the

Archdeacon's Visitation.) F. Bunny.
161 7, April 22 — An inventory of the ornaments of the church

made : — One bible, three communion bookes, one other

old communion booke, the book of Canons, and Jewell

and Harden.
1623 — For ringing at the return of our nobil prince from Spain, is.
In 1627, the wages of labouring men are set down at 4d. a day.
1645 — P a ^ f° r parchment for recording the Covenant, 6d.
1646 — Paid 8d. for a book called the Directtorye. (This book

was intended to replace the Book of Common Prayer.)

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1664 — Paid for book called King Charles his workes, £1 is. ocj.
For a Common prayer book, 10s.
For a book of homilies, 6s.
For a surplisse, £1 8s. od.
For a book of articles, is.
1665 — Paid for candells and drink and making fires on the gun-
powder treason day, 2s.
1666 — It is this day ordered that there be a sesse of 2s. per plough,
and 8& a cottage, laid on for repairs about the church.
It is likewise ordered that there be 3d. per plough, and
id. per cottage, laid on to pay for foxe heads.

Sgn. John Clavering, Robt Clavering,
and 10 others.

1667 — Ryton. 1 fox head.

Winlington. 4 do.

Chopwell. 36 do. and one brocke (badger) head.

Ralph Swalwell is paid for 17 fox heads.

1669 — Paid for 14 fox heads o 14 00

2 Catt heads

2 Foumart heads

1 689 — Paid for a faste book

1695 — Paid for a coat cloth for Newby's child
1696 — Paid for a pole-cat head ...

Paid for a table of degrees with a frame
1706 — Paid for two Martin heads

Paid for securing the woman that did penance 004

o 02 00
o 00 04
026
050
004
021

004

Paid for a winding sheet for a cripple
John Harrison to be paid is. 6d. per week for keeping the
child found on Barlow Fell.

1715, Dec. 2 — Robert Brown of Ryton Mill, slaine by the Mill.

1 7 16, July 16 — Cuthbert Selby drowned in Tyne.

172 1, Aug. 9 — Eleanor, — of Mr. James Mem,* late chaplain to ye

factory at Winlaton, buried.

1722, April 27 — Jane, daughter to William Gilbert, roller and

turner, Winlaton Mill, a spurious child, buried.
June 22 — Ralph Pearson of Winlaton Mill, killed with a
waggon.

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i722 9 Dec 21 — Barbara Smith, alias Nichols, a spurious child,
baptised.
Dec. 29 — Ben Nicholson drowned in a pit at Barlow.
1723, March 26— Affable Battell, chaplain to Mr. Crowley, buried
June 25 — John Wilson, a Romish Priest, Stella, buried.
Sep. 14 — Nicholas Story, a dissenting teacher, buried.
Oct 28 — William Walker, derk to Mr. Crowley, Winlaton
Mill, buried
1716, Feb. 6— Barns, a poor vagrant from High Spen, buried.

1727, May 30 — Joseph, son to Thomas Andrew of Winlaton, and

Elizabeth, daughter, in one coffin.

1728, Oct. 22 — John Wild of Low Spen, and his horse, fell down

a pit
Dec 5 — Isabel, wife to Stephen Coulsin, sen., of Chopwell,

aged 103.
Dec. 5 — John Scott of Burnhill died by a fall in a coalpit
Dec 17 — John Ramshaw killed by the waggons.

1729, May 15 — James Jagues, a Presbyterian teacher, buried.
1730 — A Communion Cloth was purchased at the cost of 24s.
1730 — Chopwell. For exchange of 2 old flagons for basin and

chambr. pot, 3s. 5d.
1741, March 31 — Received from the gentlemen of the four and

twenty, the contributions gathered in, rewards for taking

up felons, &c, ^7 3s. iojd., by me, J. Lloyd.
1744, July 1— Isabell Moffit did penance by order of the Court,

but did not bring the order afterwards for absolution.

Excommunicated a second time for the like offence,
j 744 — To the dark at Winlaton for giving notice to keep the

Sabbath holey, 4d
1745 — To the constable of Winlaton for giving notice to people

not to keep late hours, 4d.
March 29 — Rachael Farrow, Blaydon Workhouse.
1749, May 3 — John Fletcher, a stranger begging from Gateshead,

died at Runhead.
1753, Feb. 19 — William Johnson, South Biddick, died in the Lane

going to Woodside, suddenly.
Aug. 29 — Mr. Thomas Greenwell, a Romish Priest, Bladen

Church.

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i753> Sep*- 19 — Thomas, son to Jane Baulk and Joseph Blackett,

excommunicated persons, Crawcrook.
1788, July 2 — Number of families in the parish of Ryton, taken
by J. Mirehouse, Curate : —

Winlaton Qr. - - 617 families.

Ryton do. - - 340 do.

Crawcrook do. - - 129 do.

Chopwell do. - - 124 do.

Totus 1 2 10

Protestant Dissenters, 63, viz.: —
56 Church of Scotland.

3 Anabaptists.

2 Seceders.

2 Independants.
63 Totus.

The number of Papists in the Parish of Ryton taken 12 September,
1780 (viz.) 324 Totus. Number taken 2nd July, 1788,
350. Jonathon Mirehouse, Curate.

July 2nd, 1788 — One hundred Methodists ; they do not assemble

in any ltcened place.
One Sunday School at Winlaton, Sixty boys and Fifty girls

attend it

The Rector's house stands on the south side of the churchyard ;
it faces the east, and the front of the house is rendered charming
by the well kept lawns and ornamental flower beds. Over the
front entrance — as at Whickham — are the arms of Bishop Crewe,
with the date 1709, and a motto "non nobis." On a small plate
on the left side of the door is the date 161 2. The arms, crest,
and monogram of the Rev. James Finney, are seen at the top of
the entrance hall windows. One of the spouts bears the inscription
"R T., 1795." O n ^ e west s ^ e °f l ^ e house there are two old
windows which look into the kitchen garden ; they are about 4 feet
6 inches high, and probably of fifteenth century date. On one of
the chimneys is inscribed "C. T., 1839." There is on a terrace at
the front of the hall, a small conservatory to which is attached a
sun-dial, bearing the motto " Pereunt et imputantur," which is the
same as that above the entrance to the church. At the beginning

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of the present century the rectory possessed several Roman altars,
found at Benwell and Jarrow, but they were afterwards removed
to the old castle.

The Churchyard.
"The village churchyard : let me lightly tread among its quiet sleepers."

R. J. MlLLIGAN.

The Churchyard, which is about two-and-a-half acres in extent, is
enclosed by a wall, with an entrance on the east side. Formerly
there was a mound on the south side of the church, from which
the beadle announced to the people leaving the service, any
events of importance that were arranged to take place during the
week, as a sale of furniture, a funeral, the celebration of a village
festival, etc. Near to the door leading from the rectory are the
remains of the village stocks, which stood at one time near the
Cross.

Anyone who has spent much of his time in rural localities will
have noticed the bareness of the churchyard northward of the
sacred edifice. Suicides, persons of evil character, strangers, and
the unbaptised were laid there : —

"On the north side were buried
The dead of a hapless fame ;
A cross, and a prayer for mercy,
But never a date or a name."

This custom prevailed at Ryton until the middle of the eighteenth
century. In medieval times the north was regarded as the seat of
the Evil One ; hence the celebrant at mass turned towards that
quarter while chanting the Gospel, because Christ came to destroy
the power of the devil. Frequently, too, the garth-cross was placed
to the north-east of the church as a sort of advance guard in that
direction.

Lying near to the entrance of the church is a flat stone bearing
the inscription : —

John Newton of

Rickless was buried

heare the 4th of November, 1684.

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The Newton family occupied Rickless-farm for nearly two-
centuries.

There is a flat stone lying on the south side of the chancel
which possesses some antiquarian interest Engraved on the stone
are three mill-picks and a mill-rind, and around the sides is the
inscription : — Heare lyeth the bodye of Jane Smith, was wife to-
William Smith, miller. She departed to the mercye of God the
29th of December, 1623. Near to this memorial is a stone erected

In Memory of Anthony Belt

of Winlaton,

54 years Agent to Mr. Crowley

Millington and Comp.

Died Oct. 12 th, 1804, aged 68 years.

A flat stone near the footpath bears the inscription : —

Here lyeth y e body of Barbara

Surteys, daughter was to Robert

and Katheran Surteys, of Ryton.

She departed this life

Jan. 25th, 1682.

As also of the said Robert and Katheran

Surtees, and of Margaret and Mary,

two other daughters of them. Robert

died Oct 4th, 17 10, in the 86th year of his age.

Here lyeth also interred y e body of
Isabel Bowry, who departed this life
the 10th day of June, 1723.

The above Robert Surtees was the great-great-grandfather of
Robert Surtees, the historian of the County of Durham ; and the
arms of Surtees prefixed to the notice of Robert Surtees in " The
Local Historian's Table Book," are copied from the tombstone in
Ryton churchyard.

Nearly opposite to the church door is a stone to the memory of

Robert Laws of Horse-Gate,

died Sept. 26th, 1746, aged

108 years and 10 months.

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Another stone bears the following curious inscription ;—
So long the mason wrought on other walls,
That his own house of clay to ruin falls ;
No wonder spiteful death brought his annoy,
He buried to build, and death to destroy.
William Wallmason.

The stone has sunk so far into the ground, that the year of Wall-
mason's death cannot be seen.

On a grave-cover, overhung with trees, near the south wall, is
the following : —

Thomas Chancer,

son of Nicholas Chancer,

died the 25th of September, 1819,

aged 58 years.

Thomas Chancer was a well-known stonemason at Ryton one
hundred years ago; he erected the Village Cross in 1795.

There is inscribed on a flat stone near the footpath, on the north
side of the church : —

Pray for the Soul of the

Rev. William Hull,

who discharged the duties

of Catholic Priest in this

Parish for a period of

xlii. years. He died at

Stella Hall, the xxm. July,

mdcccxl. Aged lxxxiii.

On a granite tombstone is the following inscription : —

William Stowell, b.a. Lon.,

Born at North Shields

Oct 30th, 1825 ;

Died at the Manse, Ryton,

Feb. 1st, 1878.

Minister of the Gospel,

Author, Journalist.

"A man greatly beloved.*' Daniel x. xi.

The burden of whose life and

teaching was this :

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" Herein is love, not that we

loved God, but that He loved us,

and gave his Son." I. John iv. 10.

Along the side of the footpath are several tombstones erected to
the memory of the Belts and the Lambs of Ryton.

On the north side of the path is a tumulus or barrow. The
base of this mound is about three hundred feet in circumference,
and its sloping sides twenty feet in height It is now partly
covered with trees. Undoubtedly this barrow is the burial place of
one of the early inhabitants of the district. The Britons burnt their
dead, and interred the charred bones in badly-baked earthen pots
beneath a large mound. The Romans also incinerated some of
their dead, and others they interred entire ; but their cremation
pottery is of better shape and texture than that used by the Britons.
The Saxons, who followed the Romans, after a similar fashion
practised cremation and inhumation, and used both tumuli and
cemeteries. Their barrows, as in the case of those of the Britons,
usually stand on elevated places, either solitary or in groups.
Sometimes a large solitary Saxon barrow is found to contain the
bones of a chief buried with all his personal ornaments and military
trappings. A barrow similar to that at Ryton was opened near
Bradley Hall, about 1792, which was found to contain a kistvaen,
in which a human body had been interred. In the year 1818, a
tumulus at Fiodden Hill was broken into, when a large urn was
found. This urn was surrounded by a number of cells formed of
flat stones in the shape of graves, but too small to hold the body
in its natural state. And if ever the barrow at Ryton is examined,
it will probably be found to be the burial place of some British or
Roman chieftain. The church was built much later than the
erection of the mound ; but it is thought that the early preachers
of the Gospel took advantage of the reverence which was paid to
these ancient tombs, and chose to build Iheir churches near them.

On the east side of the church there is a stone coffin with the
date 1 6 10 inscribed on one end. Probably one of the early rectors
was buried in it, and 16 10 the date when it was disinterred.

Thirty-seven men and boys killed by the expflosion at Stargate
colliery, May 30th, 1830, were interred at the east side of the
churchyard.

The Churchyard was enlarged in 1820, and again in 1853.

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Bequests to the Poor.

By will dated 26 May, 1687, and proved 1699, Ralph Harrison
of Briansleap, Gent, left ;£ioo to the poor of the Parish of Ryton.

Sir John Clavering, of Axwell, who died , left ^50 to the

poor of Ryton Parish.

By will proved in 1708, Jane Grey left ^20.

By will dated 14 Dec, 1705, and proved in 17 10, Robert
Surtees of Ryton, Gent,, gave ^20 to the poor of Ryton Quarter;
the interest to be distributed by his executor during life, and after-
wards by the minister and churchwardens.

By will dated 31 December, 17 18, proved 4 May, 17 19, Thomas
Humble of Ryton Woodside, gave ^20 to the poor of Ryton
Parish ; the interest to be distributed by the twenty-four of the
Parish.

By will dated 13th July, 17 17, Andrew Surtees of the Holling,
in Northumberland, gave ^50, to be placed at interest by the
minister and twenty-four of the Parish of Ryton ; and the interest
to be disposed of at Christmas and Midsummer amongst poor,
aged, and impotent men and women, and fatherless children, of the
Chopwell Quarter of the Parish of Ryton [He also bequeathed
^CS° t0 tne Parish of Ovingham, to be placed out, and the interest
distributed in the same manner], proved by Anthony Surtees, son
and executor, 18 May, 1725.

John Simpson of Bradley, Esq., who died 1733, left ^50;
the interest is distributed on the 23rd December; the principal is
in the hands of Mr. Simpson's heirs.

In 1786, John Simpson, also of Bradley, Esq., bequeathed £$
per annum to the poor of Ryton Parish.

In 1795, Jane Foster bequeathed ;£ioo to the poor of the
-vicinity of Ryton Woodside.

Walker Lawson, of Ryton, Esq., left ;£ioo, 3 per cents., to the
poor of Ryton and Ryton Woodside ; also ^60 for the benefit of
the parochial school. — Surtees.

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Ryton Burnt by the Scots.

After the battle of Stirling Bridge, in the year 1297, in which the
English army suffered an ignominious defeat, the Scots under Sir
William Wallace determined to invade England. Wallace, after
making himself master of the town of Berwick, crossed the Tweed
into Northumberland, where the Scots burned and plundered at
their pleasure, except when in the neighbourhood of such places
as Alnwick, Warkworth, Harbottle, Prudhoe, and other strongholds
of the English. After having marched away westward towards
Carlisle, they advanced to Hexham, where the monastery and
chapel dedicated to St. Andrew, were plundered.

Retiring from Carlisle, and marching through the middle of the
forest of Inglewood, Wallace carried his ravages through Cumberland
and Allendale, as far as Derwentwater and Cockermouth. He was
now about to enter the county of Durham, but his march was
arrested by a tremendous storm. The minds of the Scots were
impressed with the serious belief that the anger of St Cuthbert
was aroused by their conduct, and the idea of invading his
territory was abandoned. Marching eastward, on the north side
of the Tyne, the Scots destroyed a small house of Benedictine
Nuns at Lambly, near Haltwhistle, and burnt the town of Corbridge.
According to Henry of KnightorCs Chronicle^ " when the raiders
were passing Heddon-on-the-Wall, a foraging party belonging to
Wallace was seen by the inhabitants of Ryton, and no doubt
considering themselves perfectly safe by the depth of the river,
provoked the Scots with such opprobrious language, that they
forded the stream, and burnt and plundered the town."

The inhabitants of Ryton who escaped from the vengeance of
the Scots, probably fled to the woods surrounding the village
when their wooden huts were burnt, and their recently erected
church plundered and destroyed. We have no means of ascer-
taining what the population of the village was at that time. In
the year 1292, the Prior and Convent of Tynemouth opened out
collieries in the neighbouring Manor of Wylam; and the probability
is, that coal mining also then commenced at Ryton; yet any
statement in regard to the topography, or the number of the
inhabitants of the village, would be mere speculation, so that we

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are left in a state of uncertainty as to the number of inhabitants
slain by the soldiers of Wallace,

Hemingford, who was an eye-witness, gives us a striking account
of the visitation of the Scots to Northumberland. * He says, " At
this time the Scots took up their quarters in the forest of Rothbury;
nor was there anyone to make them afraid, whilst the praise of
God, and the services of religion, were not heard in any church
or monastery throughout the country, from Newcastle-upon-Tyne
to the gates of Carlisle. All the monks, canons regular, and
ministers of religion, along with the whole body of the people, had
fled from the face of the Scots, who were permitted to pass their
whole time in one continued scene of slaughter, burning, and rapine,
from the Feast of St. Luke to St. Martin's day ; nor was any one
found to oppose them, except the soldiers of the garrison of
Berwick, and of other castles hard by, who had ventured from
their walls, and cut off a few stragglers in the rear."

The Scots again at Ryton.

In the year 1346, David, King of Scotland, invaded England a
second time. According to Froissart, his army consisted of from
40,000 to 50,000 men. The campaign commenced with the
capture of the tower of Liddell, which was resolutely held for a
time by Walter Selby, who was put to death after the tower was
taken. After burning the Abbey of Lanercost, the Scots pursued
their march through Cumberland and Tynedale. They plundered
the priory of Hexham, but spared the town. Moving down to
Corbridge, they assaulted Aydon Castle, which was given up on
condition that the inmates were allowed to depart with their lives.
Thence they proceeded in the direction of Newcastle, and crossing
the Tyne at Ryton, entered the county of Durham. There is a
legend that St Cuthbert appeared to King David at Ryton, and
admonished him that he should forbear to spoil or otherwise
destroy his territory, otherwise his expedition should have a
miserable end. The king, it seems, treated this warning with
indifference, and, after probably plundering the church of any
valuables it might possess, advanced westward, ancf crossing the
Derwent, rested at Ebchester on the night of 15th of October,

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Next morning his army passed through the village to Beaurepaire
(Bearpark), was defeated at Neville's Cross, on Oct 17th, by the
army of Queen Phillipa, the consort of Edward III., after a three
hours fight, and David made a prisoner.

The Market Cross.

The cross stands on the village green, a short distance east of the
rectory. The column, which is composed of four shafts, with the
pedestal is about eighteen feet high, surmounted with a cross. It
bears the date 1795. Thomas Chancer, a well-known mason in
Ryton one hundred years ago, was the sculptor.

In olden times the village fair was held in the churchyard, on
the anniversary of the founding or dedication of the parish church,
and thus became at the same time a church festival and a general
holiday, which brought together the parishioners and people from
the surrounding locality, who availed themselves of the opportunity
of buying and selling, or bartering and exchanging, or otherwise
disposing of things that were marketable. Afterwards, the scene
of the fair was changed from the churchyard to the open space in
the town, or to a convenient place near the churchyard.

At the hirings for farm servants, which took place at Ryton
annually, on the Fridays before May 12th and November 22nd,
the scene was gay, lively, and interesting. Multitudes of people of
both sexes from all parts of the neighbouring country, flocked to
the fair to witness the sports and other attractions provided for the
visitors. The public-houses were whitewashed; the doors and
windows of cottages were painted ; in fact, everything was done
by the villagers to render the hirings attractive and successful.
The servants who offered their services stood around the Cross,
each sex forming a distinct company ; and in order to distinguish
themselves from the ordinary visitors, the young men fixed a green
sprig in their hats, and the young women held a similar sprig in
their hands, or had it fixed on the breast At the time of hiring
the servants received their "arles" (to bind the contract), which
usually amounted to 2s. 6d., and occasionally to 5s., after which
they either repaired to the public-house, or enjoyed themselves in
other ways.

The stalls containing articles for sale lined both sides of the

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street, while the caravans, with their usual accompaniments, stood
opposite to the rectory cottages. The scene was often enlivened
by itinerant minstrels, who endeavoured to "make a penny" by
offering their songs for sale; and a juggler would astonish the
servant lads by his feats of legerdemain. It is needless to mention
that extraordinary sights were sometimes witnessed at the fair or
hirings. On one occasion a well-known Ryton "character," named
Ben Renwick, drove into the village on the back of a bull, and
galloped several times around the Cross, making the sight-seers
run in all directions. Dancings were held at night in the public-
houses, which were frequented by the youth of both sexes, and
which were carried on until the following morning.

Ryton Hirings and Swalwell Hopping were times when many a
hard fought pugilistic encounter took place between those who had
old scores to pay off, or old disputes to settle ; the village constable
being powerless to maintain law and order.

Mr. Housman, who gives us so lively and "accurate a description
of the fairs in Cumberland at the beginning of the present century,
thus describes their dancings, which were similar to those held at
Ryton Hirings. He says : — " In their dances, which are jigs and
reels, they attend to exertion and agility, more than ease and
grace; minuets and country dances constitute no part of the
amusements of these rural assemblies. Indeed, these dancing
parties often exhibit scenes very indelicate and unpleasant to the
peaceful spectator. No order is observed, and the anxiety for
dancing is great ; one couple can only dance their jig at the same
time ; and perhaps half-a-dozen couples stand on the floor waiting
for their turns : the young men busied in paying addresses to their
partners, and probably half-intoxicated, forget who ought to dance
next ; a dispute arises ; the fiddler offers his mediation in vain ;
nay, the interference of an angel would have been spurned at :
blood and fury ! it must be decided by a fight, which immediately
ensues. During these combats the whole assembly is in an uproar;
the weaker part of the company, as well as the minstrels, get upon
the benches, or stand up in corners, while the rest support the
combatants, and deal blows freely among each other ; even the
ladies will not unfrequently fight like Amazons in support of their
brothers, sweethearts, or friends. At length the fight is over, and
the bloody-nosed pugilists, and unfeathered nymphs, retire to wash,

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and readjust their tattered garments ; fresh company comes in —
all is again quiet, and the dance goes on as before; while the
former guests disperse into different public-houses, and the en-
counter — which generally commences without any previous malice
— is rarely again remembered." After 1866, Ryton Hirings
became an institution of the past

RYTON IN 1895.

The winding lane, the mossy well,

And name-carved oaken tree,
Weave round my heart a potent spell —

Old Ryton' s banks for me.

After leaving Ryton Station, you pass the house on your right
hand belonging to the Ryton Golf Club, and another on your left
used by the Curling Club. Scores of golfers play on the Willows
whenever the weather will permit A few minutes' walk up the
steep hill, formed into an avenue by overhanging trees, and you
enter the village. At the top of the lane stands the Parish Hall,
which is a neat building in the Domestic Gothic style. It consists of
large hall or assembly room, and other rooms intended to contain
library, reading apartments, and to be used for meetings, lectures,
etc. The cost of the building, which was opened December 14th,
1893, was ;£i6oo, raised by voluntary subscription.

Proceeding eastward past the Post Office and Elvaston Cottages,
you reach the entrance to The Grove, the residence of Thomas
Spencer, Esq. The house is a brick building, two storeys high,
and facing the south. From the north side of the house there is a
commanding view of the Tyne for several miles. Opposite to The
Grove stands Elvaston Hall, a large modern stone mansion. A
high wall encloses the grounds and gardens, which are tastefully
laid out

At the east side of Elvaston Hall is Whitewell Lane, which runs
to the Hexham turnpike ; and which received its name from a well
on the west side, which was usually whitewashed on the outside.

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The well is now closed. At the foot of the lane, on the east side,
there is an old mansion, which is now divided into tenements, the
lower part being a butcher's shop, and that adjoining, the residence
of Miss Hindhaugh. The mansion was occupied by Robert
Surtees more than two hundred years ago. Like a great many of
the houses built at that time, the rooms are low, and panelled with
oak ; the stairs are also of oak, having the balusters beautifully
carved. There is inscribed on a mantel in one of the rooms
R. S K. 1682 (Robert and Katherine Surtees), and on a stone in
the front wall of the house R. S K. 1669. The following is
scratched on a pane in one of the windows : — " Peggy Weatherly,
1772, aged 5 years 16 weeks & 5 days." The principal entrance
seems at one time to have been at the east side of the house, as
the pillars of the old gateway are still standing.

Robert Surtees of Ryton was the second son of Edward Surties
or Surtees of Broad Oak, in the parish of Ovingham (who died in
1 655), by Margaret Coulsin, niece and heiress of Robert Surtees,
alderman of Durham. Robert Surtees of Ryton, who married
Catherine, daughter of John Hauxley of Crawcrook, died October
4th, 1 7 10. He left several daughters and two sons. Hauxley
Surtees married Ann Watson of Silksworth, and died 17 19, without
issue. Edward Surtees of Mainsworth died 1744, aged eighty-four
years. Robert Surtees of Redworth, eldest son of Edward, by
Jane Crozier, married Dorothy, daughter and co-heir of Thomas
Lambton, Esq., of Hardwicke, and had two daughters, one of
whom, Jane, married her cousin, Crozier Surtees of Redworth.
George Surtees of Mainsworth, second son of Edward, died un-
married, 1769. Crozier Surtees of Merrysheels, in the county of
Northumberland, married Jane, daughter of Ralph Hodgson, Esq.,
of Alwent, and was father of Crozier Surtees, Esq., who married
his cousin, Jane Surtees of Redworth. Hauxley Surtees of New-
castle married Elizabeth Steele, and was father of Robert Surtees,
who had Mainsforth by gift of his uncle, George Surtees, Esq.
James Surtees was the youngest son of Edward Surtees.

Robert Surtees of Ryton was the great great-grandfather of
Robert Surtees of Mainsforth, the historian of Durham, born 1st
April, 1779, at Durham, in the parish of St. Mary, in the South
Bailey. In his will, dated 10th June, 1700, Robert Surtees devised
to his nephew, Ralph Ord, the house at Ryton Loaning Head.

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Robert Surtees was an extensive landowner in Ryton, Crawcrook,
Hedgefield, and Whickham.

Wallace Terrace, which comprises a number of substantial
houses, with gardens back and front, runs up the east side of
Whitewell Lane. At the top of the terrace is the residence of Dr.
Smith. The Tower, built about thirty years ago by Mr. Gustav
Schmalz, stands in well-sheltered grounds on the east side of
Whitewell Lane. The grounds are laid out with great taste, and
are attractive in appearance. The house is occupied by John
Mclntyre, Esq. At the top of the lane, on the west side, is the
residence of James Hindmarsh, Esq., after leaving which the lane
meets the Hexham turnpike. On the north side of the turnpike
stands the Ryton Hotel, and on the south side the Wesleyan
Chapel, which is the cathedral of Methodism in the villages on the
south side of the Tyne.

Charles Wesley preached at Ryton in 1742, his subject being
"The Great Supper," which maide a powerful impression on the
minds of his hearers. Tradition has not handed down to us the
exact spot on which Wesley preached, but it was probably on the
village green, where the Cross now stands. In the religious census
of the parish of Ryton, taken in 1788, by Jonathan Mirehouse,
curate, it is stated that there are "one hundred Methodists : they
do not assemble in any licensed place." John Wesley preached
several times in Mr. Newton's house in Dene Head; and for
several years prior to 1835, the Wesleyans conducted their services
in this house; but from 1835 till 1881 they were without a place
in which to worship. The present chapel is a structure of attractive
appearance, in the Early English style, consisting of nave, aisles,
north and south transepts, and a handsome square tower, containing
a clock with two dials at the north-west angle of the building.
The interior contains a gallery, and there are sittings for three
hundred and twenty persons. The basement is used as a lecture
hall, the Sunday school being placed at the east end, and can be
used when required as a transept. The Chapel was opened in
1881, the cost being ^4,107, half of which was contributed by
Mr. I. O. Game, who also presented the organ, which is a powerful
and fine instrument, at a further cost of ^474.

A road on the east side of the chapel leads southward to Star-
gate and Stephen's Hall ; and a few minutes' walk from the chapel

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brings the visitor to Ryton Cemetery, five acres in extent It has
a neat mortuary chapel, and was opened in 1884.

Dene Terrace, which runs along the south side of the Hexham
road, on the east side of the chapel, is formed by a row of substan-
tial and attractive-looking houses with small flower gardens in
front Following the Hexham road eastward for a quarter of a
mile, the Runhead farm is reached. This spot receives its name
from its being the site of one of the old coal-ways down which
the waggons ran on their way to Stella. At the Runhead a road
branches from the Hexham turnpike, and leads to the old part of
Ryton. The road is extremely pleasant, especially when you
approach Holburn Dene, where there is a deep ravine which
terminates on the north side of the hill. Tradition says that a
flour mill formerly stood on the side of the ravine, driven by the
water which ran down the dene. At present all traces of the mill
have disappeared. On the east side of Holburn Dene is Ryton
Park, until recently the residence of the late Richard Morce
Weeks, who fifty years ago kept a private school for gentlemen's
sons. It will undoubtedly interest visitors to Ryton to know that
it was in Mr. Weeks' house that Mr. Joseph Cowen, late M.P. for
Newcastle, was educated before he went to Edinburgh University.
At the bottom of the dene, the road makes a bend westward to.
the Cross. At the north side of the road are a number of the
oldest houses in Ryton, one of which bears the date 1672. In a
house near to Mr. Josh. Tate's blacksmith's shop, lived Mr. Robert L.
Galloway, at the time he wrote his admirable book, "A History qf
Coal Mining in Great Britain," published in 1852. He was also
author of "The Steam Engine,"and its Inventors." Mr. Galloway
was mining engineer at the Stargate Colliery, and only lived a
short time at Ryton. At Jhe_ opposite side of the road is Ryton
Lawn, the residence of C. M. Ormston, Esq.

Passing the north end 6f "Whitewell Lane, a few minutes' walk
brings the visitor to " The White House," standing on the south
side of the Cross. Eighty years ago, this interesting building was
the Savings Bank. Soon after the Rev. Charles Thorp became
rector of Ryton (1807), he founded the bank to encourage thrift
among his parishioners ; it was open on Saturdays from six o'clock
till eight, to receive deposits. During its existence it was of great
benefit to the numerous body of smiths, colliers, and other indus-

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Mftir/VW.

trious workmen of the neighbourhood. This Savings Bank was
the first established in England. The Independents afterwards
li. conducted religious services in the White House, having for their

minister the Rev. D. Wilson.

Ryton House, the residence of Joseph Lamb, Esq., stands on
the west side of the White House. It is a large modern brick
building, well sheltered, and adorned with well-kept lawns.
The " Court Room," in which Petty Sessions were formerly held
at Ryton on the first Monday in every month, was in Ryton House,
at that time the residence of Humble Lamb, Esq. The following
were the acting magistrates: — C. J. Clavering, Esq.; Humble
Lamb, Esq.; and the Rev. Charles Thorp ; to whom Mr. John
Dobson of Gateshead, officiated as clerk. The Lambs belong to
one of the old Ryton families.. Joseph Lamb, who died December
21st, 1800, married Ann, daughter of Ralph Humble of Ryton
House. Humble, the son of Joseph Lamb, was widely known
and highly respected. He was a magistrate for Durham and
Northumberland. He died suddenly on April 13th, 1844, and
was succeeded by Joseph Chatto Lamb, Esq., who died November
6th, 1884, aged eighty-one. He was the father of the present
owner of Ryton House.

Opposite to Ryton House is Dene Head, where stands the fine
residence of Mrs, Thorp, with its handsome doors and windows,
after the Norman and Decorated styles. % The stones of which
they are built were brought from the Market-House, Durham, by
the Rev. Charles Thorp. Near to Mrs. Thorp's house once stood
the Subscription School, built in 1791, and endowed with five
pounds per annum by Lord Crewe's trustees. On the erection of
the present school at Barmoor, the old school was demolished.
At the top of the Dene is the old Pinfold, in which stray cattle
were formerly impounded till claimed by the owners ; the bailiff
exacting a sum of money for their liberation.

In a house at the west end of Dene Head, was born, on the 5th
August, 1858, Mr. Herbert Schmalz, a distinguished living artfst
His father, the late Gustav Schmalz, was for many years German
Consul at Newcastle, and lived for the greater part of that time at
Ryton. After the birth of Herbert, his father built the mansion
known as The Tower, in White well Lane, into which he removed
and lived for about ten years. Herbert's mother was the daughter

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of the late J. W. Carmichael, the marine painter. When seventeen
years of age, Herbert was considered to have completed his general
education, and was sent to London to study at the Kensington Art
Schools, and a year later became a student at the Royal Academy
Schools. Subsequently he spent some months at Antwerp. His
first picture, " I cannot Mind my Wheel, Mother," was hung in
the Academy of 1879. In that year Mr. Schmalz removed from
Newman Street to Holland Park Road, afterwards making Addison
Road his residence. Among the productions of this clever artist
are "Christianae ad Leones," "Zenobia's Last Look on Palmyra,"
"The King's Daughter," "The Daughters of Judah in Babylon,"
"The Return from Calvary," and "The Resurrection Morn."

Turning to the right, a short walk through the Dene brings you
to Ryton Ferry, which is one of the fairest spots around the old
village. The place is remarkable for its stillness, which is only
broken by the shriek of the whistle of a passing train, or the
chiming of the hour by the church clock. The scenery is exception-
ally picturesque. On the south side of the river are the banks of
Ryton, richly wooded, and teeming with bird life ; on the north
side is the old-fashioned house of the boatman, protected from the
north winds by a belt of trees running east and west along the
bank of the stream. Rising gracefully from the low lying ground,
the southern hills, with their hamlets and woods, and pretty
cottages, form a splendid background. Half a mile westward the
river makes a graceful bend to the north, and eastward in the same
direction till it reaches Newburn. Altogether the Ryton Ferry is
one of the most delightful pieces of scenery on the Tyne.
Although the boatman's house is at the north side of the river, it
is in the parish of Ryton, the boundary line being immediately
behind the house. The river has evidently changed its course at
a time not very remote. Old inhabitants of the villages in the neigh-
bourhood affirm that sixty years ago traces of the former course of
the stream were plainly discernible. Sykes informs us that formerly
tremendous floods frequently caused the river to overflow its banks,
the waters bearing destruction to the low lying grounds adjoining
the river. In the great flood of 177 1, Jos. Foster, the ferryman at
Ryton, had to escape from a window in the second storey of the
old house, to a boat sent to his rescue. Sir John Lubbock tells
us how easy it is for a river to change its course under the

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conditions already mentioned. He says : — "If the country is flat,
a river gradually raises the level on each side ; the water which
overflows during floods being retarded by trees, bushes, sedges,
and a thousand other obstacles, gradually deposits the solid matter
which it contains, and, then raising the surface, becomes at length
suspended, as it were, above the central level. When this elevation
has reached a certain point, the river, during some flood, overflows
and cuts through its banks, and deserting its old bed, takes a new
course along the lowest accessible level." The object of the ferry
in olden times would be to put the Cistercians of Newminster,
near Morpeth, in direct communication with their land in Chopwell.
At that time the ferry would be higher up the river, near to
Wylam. The following interesting reference to Ryton Island, and
Haughs, appeared in the Newcastle J 'ournal, March 2nd, 9th, 1766
— "To let, a parcel of land on Ryton Haugh, Fog-gates for four
Beasts ; a Horse-gate once in five years in Ryton Island ; and a
Fishing-Side." Fog is the second crop, that follows a hay crop.
Gate is a stint, or right of pasture.

In 1872 the owners of stints on Ryton Willows were : Owners of
Townley Estate, 17 \\ Joseph Cowen, Esq., 5 ; G. Silvertop, Esq.,
4| ; Mr. R. M. Weeks, 4 ; Mr. Joseph Lamb, 3 ; Lady Kinlock,
2 \ ; Messrs. Tweedy and Hind march, 3 ; Mrs. Matthewson, 2 ;
Rev. C. Thorp, 2 ; Rector of Ryton, 1$ ; The Greve, 1 ; Mr.
Bates, 1. The stints are still held by the representatives of the
above families.

Returned to the top of the Dene, and advancing to the Bar
Moor, the attention of the visitor is arrested by what appears to be
the remains of two drinking fountains, built into the wall, which
possess some curiously carved heads of stone. These stones were
brought from the Market-House, Durham, by the Rev. C. Thorp,
and erected in their present shape as ornaments to the village.
Passing the East Grange Farm, and St. Mary's Terrace, you reach
the Bar Moor. Before arriving at the Hexham turnpike, a lane
branches from the Ryton road to the Grange farm. This farm
belongs to Mr. Jos. Cowen ; it was purchased by the late Sir Joseph
Cowen from the Saunders of Ryton, at that time the representative of
the oldest family in the parish. Mr. Jos. Cowen has in his possession
several relics of the Saunders, amongst them a curious wood sugar
basin, bearing the inscription, "G. and I. Saunders, Ryton Grange,

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I79 2 -" This George Saunders was a direct descendant of John
Saunders, who, in 1498, granted lands in Ryton "to William Clark,
and his successors, Chaplain of St. Mary's Altar, for the perpetual
maintenance of a light before the image of the Virgin."

In 1863, Ryton was formed into a Local Board district of nine
members, comprising the townships of Crawcrook, Ryton, and
Ryton Woodside. It contained an area of 5149 acres, and had a
population of 5553, in 1891. Its rateable vajue at that time was
^27,474. In 1894, an Urban District Council of nine members
was formed.

Bar (Bare) Moor.

At the beginning of the present century, the Bar Moor was a tract
of waste ground, which in 1825, was enclosed by Act of Parliament

At the juncture of the road from Ryton with the Hexham turnpike,,
stand the Thorp Memorial Schools, which are fine stone buildings,
erected to the memory of the Ven. Archdeacon Thorp in 1861, by
public subscription. In 1886, they were enlarged and improved,
consisting now of mixed and infants' schools, with accommodation
in the former for 130, and in the latter for 90.

A little farther westward, on the same side of the Hexham
turnpike, is the Congregational Church. Before the erection of
this church, the members of this body in the neighbourhood travelled
to Horsley to worship, where there had been a " meeting house "
for two hundred years. It was started by the Rev. Thomas
Trewren, or Trurant, who was ejected from his church at Ovingham,
upon the passing of the celebrated Act of Uniformity in 1662.

The Church at Barmoor is a neat stone building in the Early
English Style, erected in 1861, at a cost of ^400, and was after-
wards enlarged at a further cost of ^500. It consists of a well
fitted nave, with seatings for 260. A Sunday School was built at
a cost of ^200, which was enlarged in 1878, the extra cost being
^700. Adjoining is the Manse, the residence of the minister, the
Rev. Hugh Rose Rae. The Rev. William Stowell, b.a., was the
minister of the church till his death in 1878. There is a tradition
in the neighbourhood, that a great number of the keelmen, and the
drivers of horses on the old waggon ways, came from the borders,
and were Presbyterians. They held religious services in a house

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at Woodside, early in the eighteenth century. The following
entries are in the Ryton Register: — " 1723, Sept. 14th, Nicholas
Story, a dissenting teacher (bur.). 1729, May 15th, James Jagues,
a Presbyterian teacher, buried" The society at Woodside seems
to have been for a short time without a house to hold their services
in, when they attended different churches in Newcastle. In 1732
they again secured a dwelling house at Woodside, and were placed
under the care of the Rev. John Crossland. In 1750, the society
was removed to Swalwell, where a chapel was built, in which
services have been conducted for one hundred and forty-five years.
When the "religious census" was taken, in 1788, there were fifty-
six members of the Church of Scotland.

On the south side of the Hexham turnpike is the Emma Pit,
belonging to the Stella Coal Company, sunk in 1845. It has two
shafts ; the Emma being eighty-three fathoms deep. The houses
of the workmen are built in rows at the north side of the pit.

The Blaydon Co-operative Society have a large branch store on
the north side of the turnpike, built in 1893; which comprises
grocery, drapery, butchering, hardware, and boot and shoe depart-
ments.

On the same side of the road is Moor House, which was
purchased from Lord Ravensworth by Messrs. Potter, Hall, Budle,
and Dunn, for the use of the engineer at the Emma Pit.

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CRAWCROOK,

Crawrok, Craucrue, Crawcrok, Crowcrok.

Crawcrook — from crau> the crow, and cruik, a corner. This
village may be said to be a continuation of Ryton Barmoor, and
consists of houses built on the north and south side of the Hexham
turnpike. With the exception of a few old-fashioned thatched
cottages, the houses are mostly modern. Population : 1801, 325 y
181 1, 268; 1821, 308; 1831, 340; 1841, 290; 1851, 320; 1861,
319; 1871, 346; 1881, 450; 1891, 1054. Rateable value in
1821, ,£1,614 ; and in 1894, ^7»3 6 5-

Crawcrook, according to Boldon Buke (1183), was on lease with
the villein service ; but before Hatfield's Survey it had become a
free manor, and it is stated, " Robert Horsley holds half the vill. of
Crawcrook, by Knight service and ten shillings (and a toft and
forty acres, called Bradley, by one penny rent, on St. Cuthbert's
Day, in September)." In 1544, Margery, sister and heir of Roger
Horsley, married Cuthbert Carnaby, of Haydon Bridge, Co. of
Northumberland. After the lapse of a few generations, the
Carnabys sold this estate in small parcels.

The other moiety of Crawcrook was the property of the Hospital
of St. Giles of Kepyer, and after the dissolution, was distinguished
by the name of Little Kepyer, which John Watson of Newcastle,
acquired in 1587 by purchase, of John Heath, Esq. It consisted
of four messuages, a water mill, four gardens, two hundred acres of
arable, as many of pasture, a hundred and forty of meadow, forty
acres of woodland, two hundred of furze and heath, three hundred
of moor, thirty of marsh, a free fishery in the Tyne, and 27s. rent
in Little Kepyeare, near Crawcrook. This John Watson, and his
son Thomas, granted parcels of land in Crawcrook to Delaval,
Sander, Jollie, Hauxley, and French. Catherine Hauxley inter-
married with Robert Surtees, of Ryton, whose descendants

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continued for some time to occupy lands in Crawcrook. At the
present time the principal owners are Messrs. Thornton and Croft,
Joseph Cowen, Esq., J. B. Simpson, Esq., A. M. Dunn, Esq., and
the Stella Coal Company.

Crawcrook, at the present time, may be said to be an entirely
modern village. The houses which compose the principal
thoroughfare, especially on the north side, are chiefly built of
stone, and respectable in appearance.

At the entrance of the village, and on the south side, are the
school connected with the Colliery, and the Wesleyan Methodist
Chapel. The latter is a handsome building of stone, erected in
1875, as a memorial to Robert Young, missionary and preacher.

This distinguished man was born at Crawcrook, Nov. 14th, 1796.
His parents were devout Methodists; his mother having been
converted under the ministry of the Rev. John Wesley. From his
childhood he was a subject of deep religious influence, and his
religious life may be said to have commenced in 18 14, when only
eighteen years of age. Early in the year 1820, under a strong
conviction of duty, he offered himself as a missionary, and having
been 'accepted, was ordained on Nov. 9th, 1820, and immediately
sailed for the West Indies. His labours were eminently successful;
and in 1830 he returned to England, where his labours in all the
circuits to which he was appointed were rewarded with success.
As a pulpit orator his powers were of a high order. Some of the
best gifts of a public speaker were found in him in happy combina-
tion, and these were diligently cultivated. His labours and
counsels in connection with the formation of the Australasian
Conference were highly valued, both in the colony and at home.
Two years after his return from this mission, his brethren shewed
their appreciation of his character, by electing him to the office of
President of the Conference. After a life of unintermitting but
joyous labour, he was obliged, in consequence of paralysis, to
become a Supernumerary at the Conference of i860. Full of
peace and hope he died at Truro, on November 16th, 1865, in the
seventieth year of his age.

The Primitive Methodists have a small chapel on the same side
of the turnpike, a little farther westward, which was erected in 1848.

Crawcrook farm lies on the south side of the village.

A lane known as Kepyer Chare branches off the Hexham turn-

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pike, past the Fox and Hounds public-house, to the farm. Kepyer,
in Crawcrook, obtained its name from Kepyer Hospital, on the
banks of the Wear, to which certain lands in Crawcrook belonged
at the time of the Reformation. The name is derived from
Kep = to catch (the fish), and yare = a dam thrown across a
river, to impede the free run of salmon, and to force them through
the lock or trap, in which they were taken. Chare means a narrow
lane, but the word is seldom found on the south banks of the
Tyne. Having passed the " Fox and Hounds," a road branches
from the north side of the Hexham turnpike, to Claraville colliery
and Castle Hill.

Where the road leaves the turnpike, there is a neat school-chapel.
Mr. Archibald Dunn of Castle Hill, gave the site, and built the
school, which was opened in February, 1886; in 1889, an infant
school was added. In 1892, Mr. Dunn added a sanctuary to the
little school. The chapel is dedicated to St Agnes, virgin and
martyr. In the same year a priest was appointed, the Rev. Philip
Fitzgerald. He was succeeded by the Rev. Edward Beech, who
had been curate at New Tunstall. The Claraville Pit belongs to
the Stella Coal Company, and was opened in 1893. The seams
worked are the Five Quarter and the Towneley, the latter seam at
a depth of seventy fathoms. About one hundred and forty men
and boys are employed, and excellent houses have been built for
the workmen.

On the west side of Claraville stands Castle Hill. A large and
handsome mansion has been built on the hill at the north side of
Castle Hill farm, by Archibald Dunn, Esq. There is a charming
drive from the main road to the house, through the beautiful
grounds on the south side of the park. The scenery which the
residence commands on every side, is wild and romantic in the
highest degree. Mrs. Sarah H. Dunn, the wife of Mr. Dunn, is
the writer of an interesting book, "The World's Highway, with
some First Impressions while Journeying along it," which contains
an account of her travels in the east. It was published in 1894.

Returned to Crawcrook by the road which leads to Castle Hill,
the Hexham turnpike forms a bend southward, towards the "Lamb
Arms" public-house. This modern house is erected on the site of
an old house which had stood for two centuries alongside of one
of the old waggon-ways. A road here branches to Greenside, and

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on the hill-side there is an old-fashioned public-house, the " Rising
Sun," which also existed for the convenience of the men employed
in the early coal trade of the district. After passing the "Lamb
Arms," the road strikes westward towards Bradley. About fifty
yards west of the "Lamb Arms," two houses occupy the site of
Crawcrook school, at which the most of the gentlemen's sons in
the neighbourhood were educated. It was endowed at the
beginning of the present century with ^25 a year, by Miss
Simpson of Bradley Hall ; and Lady Ravensworth, for a number
of years, contributed ^20 a year for the education of poor girls.
The school was conducted by two well-known schoolmasters, Mr.
John Craiggy, and afterwards his son, Mr. John Alexander Craiggy.
Some of the boys who attended "Craiggy's school," including
George (afterwards Sir George) Elliot, Nicholas Wood, Thomas Y.
Hall, and J. B. Simpson, Esq., the present owner of Bradley, have
attained to a foremost rank as mining engineers. Other gentlemen
who fill high positions as mining engineers on the continent of
Europe, and in America, attended the Crawcrook school ; and it
is a question whether any other village school in England has
turned out so many distinguished men who have been connected
with the coal trade. The endowment to the school was withdrawn
soon after the Bradley estate was sold by Lord Ravensworth, and
this well-known seminary was abandoned. At the west end of
Crawcrook may be seen, on the hill-side, a long line of one of the
old waggon-ways, which extended from Hedley Fell to Ryton,
after which it passed down Holburn Dene, and across Ryton
Haughs to the Tyne, near to the old Alnwick House — standing on
the south side of the river — nearly opposite to Newburn church,
where the coals were emptied into keels and conveyed down the
river to their destination.

At the extreme west point of Crawcrook, there is a road known
as the Sledd Lane, which leads to Wylam Station. On the west
side of the lane is the Daniel farm, which is one of the oldest in
the old Ryton parish. About three-quarters of a mile west of
Crawcrook, are the delightful woods of Bradley.

Bradley Hall is a modern mansion, after the design of Payne,
built of stone, and two storeys high. It is sheltered by fine woods,
which extend to the Tyne, and impart a rich and warm aspect to
the place. The gardens and pleasure grounds, which lie on the

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north side of the hall, are laid out with great skill and good taste.
The estate surrounding the hall — which comprises about 1140
acres — is entered by two carriage roads : one from the Hexham
turnpike on the south side, the other from the road which leads to
Wylam Station. The latter road passes through some most
charming scenery.

Bradley Corn Mill, with its water-wheel driven by the Stanley
Burn, is one of those old-fashioned places seldom seen in our
generation. It is pleasantly situated at the north side of the
Bradley estate, near to where the burn empties itself into the Tyne.
Mr. Robert Marshall has been the miller for thirty years.

According to Mackenzie, the Horsleys held Bradley with Craw-
crook. Before the year 16 10, it was held by John Lyon; and
Bradley Hall, and lands in Crawcrook, seem to have been in
possession of his son in 1626. Shortly after, the Andersons of
Newcastle acquired the whole of Bradley.

The Andersons of Newcastle and Jesmond were a wealthy
mercantile family. Francis Anderson was sheriff of Newcastle in
1595, and mayor in 1601 and 161 2. He married Barbara Nichol-
son in 1 581 ; and his eldest son, Roger Anderson of Jesmond, was
sheriff of Newcastle in 161 2; in which year he married Anne,
daughter of William Jackson of Newcastle. His only son, Sir
Francis Anderson of Jesmond and Bradley, Knight, married Jane,
daughter and heir of John Dent. He was a devoted loyalist, and,
on the ruin of the royal cause, became an object of peculiar perse-
cution to the successful party. He was fined ^1200, sequestered,
imprisoned, and stripped of his title of knighthood, which fell
within the list of proscribed honours, conferred after the 4th of
January, 1641, when Charles separated himself from his parliament.
He was sheriff of Newcastle in 1641, mayor in 1662 and 1675,
and M.P. for the town in 1660-61, and 1678-9, in which last year
he died. His son and successor, Henry Anderson of Bradley,
Esq., in 1681 married Dorcas Matfen. Their daughter Jane,
married John Simpson of Newcastle, and in their right of Bradley,
John Simpson, their second son, married Anne, daughter of
Richard Clutterbuck of Warkworth. He was succeeded by his
only son, John Simpson of Bradley, Esq., who married 12th July,
1768, Anne, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Strathmore. John
Simpson was a benefactor to the Keelmen's Hospital, Newcastle-

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upon-Tyne, and on the south front of the Hospital is the following
inscription : —

In the year 1786,

The interest of 100^ at 5 per cent, for ever,

to be annually distributed

on the twenty-third of December,

among the ten oldest Keelmen

resident in the Hospital,

was left by

John Simpson, Esq., of Bradley,

Alderman of the town,

and forty years Governor of the Hoastmen's Company.

The grateful objects of his remembrance

have caused this stone to be erected,

that posterity may know

the donor's worth,

and be stimulated to follow

an example so benevolent.

This John Simpson left three daughters — Anne, Marie Susannah,
and Frances Eleanor. Marie Susannah became the wife of Thomas
Henry, Lord Ravensworth, who inherited through her the Bradley,
Tanfield, and Sleekburn estates. In 185 1, Bradley was purchased
from Lord Ravensworth, by John Walker, Esq., for ^40,000.

The estate was afterwards purchased by Owen Wallace, Esq.,
who in 1894 sold it to John Bell Simpson, Esq., who makes it his
residence.

After leaving Bradley Hall, and advancing westward for half a
mile, a road on the north side of the Hexham turnpike leads to
Sourmires, where there is a splendid old mansion, with farm
buildings attached, and known as Bradley Hall Farm.

It was in this house, on April 24th, 1795, tnat Nicholas Wood,
the celebrated mining engineer, was born. At the time of his birth
his father was mining engineer for Crawcrook Colliery, and at a
famous old school at Crawcrook, Nicholas Wood received his
education. He was afterwards sent to Killingworth Colliery to
learn the profession of mining engineer, and subsequently became
viewer of the colliety. It was at Killingworth that he formed the

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friendship of George Stephenson, and the active genius of the
young engineer was of the highest service to the inventor of the
"Geordy" Lamp. It was Nicholas Wood who executed the drawings
of the lamp according to the inventor's explanation ; and on the
aist of October, 1815, accompanied by Nicholas Wood and John
Moodie, George Stephenson descended .the shaft of Killingworth
pit, to test the lamp in a part of the mine that was highly explosive.
Having been urged to bring his invention under the notice of
the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
Stephenson consented, but on the understanding that Nicholas
Wood was to act in the capacity of spokesman upon the occasion ;
and on the 5th of December, 1815, at a meeting of upwards of
eighty gentlemen, the interesting lecture was delivered. When
Edward Pease wished to consult George Stephenson in reference to
the formation of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, Mr. Nicholas
Wood accompanied Stephenson on the occasion. This interview,
which took place on the 19th of April, 182 1, had the effect of
Stephenson being ultimately appointed engineer to the Stockton
and Darlington Railway. In 1825, Mr. Wood published a treatise
on Railroads, to remove some of the objections to them advanced
by civil engineers at the time. When we consider that at this date
Mr. Wood was only thirty years of age, his attainments must have
been of a high order, In the year 1838, he read a paper before
the Geological Section of the British Association, at Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, on "The Geology of the County of Northumberland."
In 1862 the Association of Mining Engineers was established,
when Mr. Wood was appointed President; and the handsome
building in Newcastle, belonging to the Northern Institute of
Mining Engineers, possesses an apartment known as " The Wood
Memorial Hall/ Robert Stephenson, the famous son of a famous
father, was apprenticed to Mr. Wood, to learn the duties of a viewer.
Nicholas Wood died in London on the 19th of December, 1865.

From Sourmires there is a pleasant footpath, leading through
fields and plantations to Wylam Railway Station.

Following the Hexham turnpike, on the south side you pass
West Wood Farm ; the rising ground between this farm and Kyo
Hall is known as Hagg Hill.

Half a mile west of West Wood farmhouse are Stanley Burn
Cottages. At this spot the burn passes through a bridge fifty feet

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high, and takes a north-easterly direction to the Tyne. The burn is
the western boundary of the parish of Ryton.

PETH-HEAD.

Returned to Stella, after leaving Stella House, and proceeding in
a south-westerly direction for about half a mile, you reach Peth or
Path-head, which is a delightful hamlet lying mostly on the west
side of the turnpike. Several of the houses are old, thatched, and
picturesque; and for centuries have been connected with the
Nunnery and the Hall at Stella. Tradition states that there has
been a village here since the times of the Saxons, and that a peth
or path led through the forest in olden times to Hexham — hence
Peth-head.

On the west side of the cottages are the pretty and well-trimmed
gardens of the workmen. A small burn, fed by the neighbouring
hills, runs past the gardens, and drives a flour-mill. As you walk
to Stella there are cool and pleasant retreats in the wood, and
lately, Mr. Joseph Cowen, by repairing the roads and planting trees,
has done much to beautify the place and make it attractive.

A road from Peth-head, past the old Bog Pit, leads to Stargate
Colliery, opened in 1800. A serious explosion occurred at this pit
on May 30th, 1830, when thirty-seven men and boys were killed.
Messrs. Dunn were at that time owners, but in 1833 the lease
expired, and the colliery having been laid in soon after the accident, .
was not used until 1840, when it was attached to the Rector's
Glebe and Stella Freehold Collieries, by the present firm. The
workmen live in houses near the colliery. At the end of one of
the rows is a neat Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, erected in 1877, at
a cost of ^500.

Returned to Peth-head, and advancing westward by the turnpike,
you have a commanding view of the Bues Hills range, the practice
ground of the Tyne and Derwent Rifle Club.

About a mile from Peth-head, and before you reach Greenside,
there is a house standing on the north side of the road, which is
known as Stephen's Hall. The front of the house has been
altered ; but the old chimney, which is very wide, is against the
west gable. On the north side interesting portions of the old Hall

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remain. There is an arch thirteen feet at the base, and nine feet
high. On a stone over the arch is the inscription : —

DUM SPIRO SPERO,

Whilst I breathe I hope.

On two stones at the top of a low wall, resting on the arch, are the
words — laus • deo. There is under the arch a square-headed
doorway, six feet high and three feet wide. On the head is the
inscription : —

NON NOBIS DOMINE S.C. SED NOMINITVO
NON NOBIS 1635. DA GLORIAM.

Translation — Not to us, O Lord, but to thy name ; not to us,
give glory.

This door leads into a small yard, on the left of which is another
doorway, now built up. The door-head bears the inscription : —

OMNIA BONA DOMIN — .

The letters S.C, in the centre of the inscription over the arch,
are the initals of Stephen Coulsin, who lived in the Hall in 1635.
The Coulsin family were closely related to the Surtees family of
Ryton ; in fact, Robert Surtees was the son of Edward Surtees of
Broad Oak, in the parish of Ovingham, by Margaret Coulsin, niece
and heiress of Robert Surtees, Alderman of Durham. Edward
_ Surtees died in 1655, so that he would be living about the same
time as Stephen Coulsin. Stephen Coulsin had a son named
Stephen, whose wife lived to an extraordinary age. There is in
the Ryton parish registers the following entry: — "1728, Dec. 5th,
Isabel, wife to Stephen Coulsin, of Chopwell, aged 103." The
old Hall is one of the most interesting houses in the old parish of
Ryton, and no visitor to the neighbourhood should leave without
seeing it.

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GREENSIDE.

Greenside became a separate parish by an order in council, dated
May 6th, 1886, and comprises the townships of Crawcrook and
Ryton Woodside, with a small portion of Ryton. It embraces the
villages of Greenside, Crawcrook, Emma Colliery, and (Ryton)
Woodside, having a population of 3000.

The village of Greenside is two miles from Stella, and one mile
and a half south of Ryton. It is chiefly composed of houses built
on the north side of the turnpike. Several of the cottages at the
west end of the village are thatched, and picturesque in appearance.

Greenside was included in the forfeiture of John Swinburne,
Esq., of Chopwell, in 1570; and was granted by Bishop Barnes to
Cuthbert Carnaby, Esq., by copy of Court-roll. The same bishop
granted other lands between Rickley-forde and^ Abbotford, near
Rickley Hill, to Robert Dodd. Formerly, coals were extensively
worked in the neighbourhood, and several of the old waggon-ways
are still to be seen.

The site of one — of the "Folly Pit," — may be seen at the east end
of the village ; and another at the south side, near to the " big "
pond. With this pit were connected several eminent mining
engineers. John Buddie, senr., served in the capacity of manager
at this colliery during the closing years of the last century, and
was succeeded by James Hall, Esq. Mr. Hall was for about half
a century mining engineer under Messrs. G. Dunn and Sons,
G. Silvertop, Esq., &c; and for many years during the latter
portion of that period mining agent for Capt. Blackett, M.P.,
W. P. Wrightson, Esq., M.P., P. E. Townley, Esq., and other
gentlemen. He served as engineer under John Buddie, at Walls-
end Colliery ; and acquired his position as mining engineer by
going down the A Pit, Greenside, and bringing to bank the bodies of
several men who had been killed by an explosion, after Mr. Newton,

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viewer, had declined to do so. The father of John Buddie, then
chief manager for J. Silvertop, Esq., resigned in favour of Mr. Hall,
who continued to reside in the house of his predecessor until his
death, which took place in 184 1.

Mr. Thomas Young Hall, son of James Hall, was born at
Greenside, October 25th, 1802. Mr. Hall, after being a pit boy,
served an apprenticeship under his father and the eminent John
Buddie, at the Townley, Whitefield, and Crawcrook collieries. He
then acted as mining engineer, under an agreement for four years,
at North Hetton Colliery ; afterwards for a similar period as
engineer and manager of Black Boy, or Tees Wallsend Colliery,
belonging to Jonathan Backhouse, and which, in 1852, was sold to
Nicholas Wood* Esq., of Hefcton Hall; and next in the same+" HfcTlV 'V
capacity at South Hetton Colliery. Subsequently he became a
coal-owner, by entering into partnership with his former employer,
Mr. Buddie, and Alderman Potter of Heaton Hall, as lessees of
the rector of Ryton's Glebe, and of Stella Freehold Collieries, to
which was afterwards added (after a cessation of six years' working)
Stella Grand Lease, comprising Townley Main and Whitefield
Collieries, and in conjunction with Mr. Buddie and others, of the
royalties in Crawcrook, thus including the whole extent of Ryton
Parish.

In 1839, upon the recommendation of Robert Stephenson, the
celebrated engineer, Mr. Hall was induced to go out to Virginia, in
the United States, to look after the collieries belonging to the Black-
heath Company, which on account of the prevalence of gas, were
considered too dangerous to work. All the difficulties connected
with the mines were surmounted by Mr. Hall, and the collieries
were afterwards purchased by a wealthy English company, known
as "The Chesterfield Coal and Iron Mining Company." Mr. Hall
became one of the principal partners, and his services were retained
at a salary of ^2000 a year, as resident superintendent and manager.

Previous to Mr. HalPs engagement in America, and whilst
sojourning there, he sent various plans and documents to eminent
Russian engineers on mining matters, and, in 1840, addressed a
letter to the editor of the New York Herald, in which he pointed
out the advantages that would result to Russia by the formation of
a line of railway between St. Petersburg and Moscow. Mr. John
S. Carr, the Russian Consul at Newcastle, forwarded a copy of the

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paper, and some other of Mr. Hall's documents, to Russia; and the
subject having afterwards attracted the attention of the Czar ; and
the Russian nobility, General TchefFkine and other engineers were
sent to England to obtain the best information respecting the
formation of a line of railroads, and the working of coal and iron
mines. General TchefFkine afterwards visited Stella, and spent
several days with Mr. HalL Mr. Hall was afterwards presented
with several valuable medals, and a letter of thanks from the
Emperor of Russia.

Several improvements in colliery engineering were introduced by
Mr. Hall. Formerly the men and boys were drawn up the pit by
being slung to a loop at the end of a rope or chain ; and the coals
were sent up in baskets, or corves. Mr. Hall originated the improved
method of drawing coals at great speed by means of guards and
cages in the pit shaft, and introduced tub carriages with bogey and
edge-rails, into the pit workings underground. Mr. Hall was also the
inventor of a patent Safety Lamp. The closing years of his life
were spent in cultivating the Wylam Hill Farm. He died on the
3rd February, 1870.

The house in which Mr. Buddie and Mr. James Hall lived, and
in which Mr. Thomas Young Hall was born, is still standing, and
although old — with its pretty flower garden, and waving trees in
front, is one of the pleasantest in Greenside.

At the west end of the village is the School, built by subscription
in 181 3. It has lately been enlarged, to accommodate an increasing
population.

John Wesley visited Greenside in 175 1, where he had the largest
congregation he ever saw in the north. In 1781 a large house was
converted into a place of worship for the Methodists. Formerly
the chapel possessed a gallery, but it has now been removed. A
chapel-keeper's house has been erected at the north end of the
building. The chapel, although old, has a substantial appearance ;
and its services are well attended! It has been for many years in
the hands of the Free Methodists.

A Mechanics' Institute was erected in 1848, at the expense of
Alderman Potter, John Buddie, M, W. Dunn, and T. Y. Hall,
lessees of the Townley, Whitefield, and Stella Freehold Collieries.
The site was presented by G. Siivertop, Esq., Minsteracres.

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The Church (St. John the Evangelist)

Is pleasantly situated on the north side of the village, and is
approached by the road which leads to Ryton Woodside. It was
designed by Mr. John Henry, of Bamborough. It is in the
Decorated style ; and consists of nave and chancel, a south porch,
and western turret. The east window is in three compartments,
and filled with stained glass ; it bears the inscription : — " Grace
Aider, of blessed memory, wife of Robert Thorp, d.d., died August
and, 1814. The tribute of her surviving children, Jane and
Charles Thorp, a.d. 1857."

The west window is in four compartments, and filled with stained
glass ; it is also a memorial to a member of the Thorp family.
There are two bells in the turret at the west end of the church.
The larger one was formerly the workmen's bell, at Crowley's
ironworks, at Swalwell; it was afterwards taken to Ryton church, and
was used in connection with the clock, to strike the hours ; sub-
sequently it was placed in the turret at Greenside church. A
graveyard surrounds the church. At the entrance of the church-
yard, on the east side, there is a lich-gate, or corpse-gate, where
the body may rest while the funeral procession is formed. Lych
is the Saxon word for a dead body.

The vicar's house, which stands at the south side of the church,
is a neat and substantial residence.

The church was consecrated September 18th, 1857, by the
Bishop of Durham. The Rev. R. M. Nason is vicar.

A road at the south side of the village leads to the Sper>.

A pleasant road westward for a mile and a half conducts the
pedestrian to

COALBURNS.

This little hamlet, which contains about a dozen houses, including
Coalburns Hall, and a public house ("Fox and Hounds ''J, is
pleasantly situated in a valley, and surrounded with rich and varied
scenery. It is a favourite "meet" for "the Braes of Dement"
foxhounds. A road which passes Coalburns Hall leads to Kyo,
Bucks Nook, and French's Close.

Kyo has been extensively worked for coal ; and a number of old

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pits, and the remains of several old waggon-ways, may still be seen
in the neighbourhood.

Bucks Nook Farm is an old-fashioned residence standing on a
hill, facing the south. Ralph Lambton, Esq., of Murton House,
so celebrated as a huntsman in the neighbourhood, and who kept
a pack of hounds at his own expense, was in the habit of visiting
Bucks Nook on the last day of the season, for the purpose of
killing his May fox.

Leaving Coalburns by the Leadgate road, and advancing west-
ward, a branch road is reached which leads to Coalburns Farm,
the birth-place of Christopher Hopper.

Christopher Hopper was born on the 25th December, 1722.
When five years old he was sent to a school kept by one Mr.
Alderson, who taught not only the branches of learning he professed,
but the fear of God, and the first principles of religion. When
about eight years of age his father died, and young Hopper was
placed in a shop under one Mr. Armstrong, with whom he was
afterwards bound by indenture for seven years. Tiring of the
drudgery of standing behind the counter, he returned home. His
father being dead, his eldest brother occupied the farm, and kept
waggon horses. Christopher was engaged at the age of sixteen to
go with horses on the waggon ways, at which employment he
remained until he was twenty-one. About the year 1742, he heard
Charles Wesley preach at Tanfield Cross; and in 1743, John
Brown, a farmer, who had been converted under a sermon of John
Wesley's at Tanfield, removed to the Low Spen, and opened hishouse
for preaching. It was at this time, and in John Brown's house, that
the religious life of Christopher Hopper commenced. He after-
wards became a class leader and a local preacher. When preaching
in the neighbouring villages he sometimes was roughly treated.
Once in particular, when preaching at Whickham, the constable
came with his attendants to apprehend him ; they guarded the
door, and waited until the conclusion of the service to seize him.
When he had finished, he escaped through a window, after which an
encounter took place between the constable and his men, and some
of those who had formed the congregation, which ended in "hard
blows and bloody faces." In the year 1744, he taught a school
at Barlow, and while there married Jane Richardson, a farmer's
daughter, at Ryton, on May 28th, 1745. In 1746 he removed

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from Barlow to the preaching-house at Sheephill ; and in the year
1748 he removed to Hindley Hill, in Allendale, where he began his
arduous and faithful work among the people in the dales. He
went about " from town to town, and from house to house, singing,
praying, and preaching the word." In the year 1749 he was
wholly separated to the work of the ministry. On March 20th,
1750, he visited Ireland along with John Wesley; returning on
July 22nd of the same year. In 1756 he paid a second visit to
Ireland, and returned in 1758. In 1760 he visited Scotland for
the second time, remaining until 1765. In 1776 he again visited
.Ireland, returning 1777. After being stationed at Bradford, Colne,
Leeds, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Liverpool, and other places, he went
to his rest on Friday, March 5th, 1802, in his eightieth year.
Thus passed away the Apostle of the Dales ; the companion of
Wesley, and the friend of George Whitfield.

Returning to the Leadgate road, in a few minutes you reach
Penny Hill, where an old pit is to be seen. At the close of the
last century, this pit and the Stella Grand Lease A Pit, were worked
by steam engines put up by Mr. T. Y. Hall, which pumped water
from large ponds constructed for the purpose, and which water
being conveyed into a cistern fifty-two feet high, was made to turn
a wheel, constructed with a brake, whereby the men and boys, as
well as the coal, were drawn up the shaft. These two engines — the
last employed in this manner in the north of England — were
abandoned in 1800 and 1808.

Mr. Robert Edington, in writing of the coal trade in the north
of England in 181 3, says : — " Before I quit the Parish of Ryton,
I must not omit the colliery of Chopwell (Penny Hill), belonging
to Lord Cowper, and which had been wrought by Mr. Silvertop.
This was called the famous White Field Colliery, which was so
highly esteemed at all foreign markets, but not working at
present.

Leadgate is one mile and a half west of Penny Hill. It consists
of a farmhouse, a cottage, and an old-fashioned public-house
("Three Horse Shoes"). A few years ago, a woman, Mrs. Hunter,
ninety-three years old, lived in the public-house with an unmarried
daughter about seventy years of age. When asking for the daughter,
the mother invariably called her the " bairn." From this circum-
stance, the public-house is frequently called " The Bairns." The

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west side of the " Three Horse Shoes " is the western boundary of
the old Parish of Ryton.

RYTON WOODSIDE TOWNSHIP.

This straggling hamlet, which is in the parish of Greenside, lies on
the south side of Ryton. The population in 1801, was 885 ; 181 1,
338; 1821,1057; 1831,951; 1841,1059; 1851,1133; 1861,
1051 ; 1871, 1066; 1881, 1082; 1891, 1106. Area, 2813 acres.
Rateable Value in 1821, .£3169; 1895, ^5775.

In 1592 Robert Hedworth died, seized of his messuage of Ryton
Woodside; but in 1691 it passed to Henry Jenison of Newcastle,
Esq., and in 1697 became the property of Robert Surtees, Esq., of
Ryton.

In 1825, in pursuance of Act of Parliament, a tract of waste
ground in Ryton Woodside was enclosed ; and four acres, two
roods, ten perches of Woodside Green was allotted to the
churchwardens and overseers of the township of Ryton Woodside,
to be by them employed and cultivated for the use of the poor
of the said township, and in relief of the inhabitants rateable for
their support.

Ryton Woodside is reached by a road which branches from the
Hexham turnpike on the south side of Ryton. A pleasant walk of
half a mile brings you to the Glebe Farm on your right hand.
Running along the south side of the farm is a road which leads to
what remains of the old Glebe Pit, with which Mr. John Buddie and
Mr. T. Y. Hall were connected. Stretching away in the distance
westward are the Kyo, Rockwood Hill, and Westwood Farms.
In a field on the north side of the Glebe Farm, may be seen about
one hundred yards of the old waggon-way, by which the coals were
led from Glebe Pit. At a short distance from the Glebe is the
Maiden Hill Farm. From this part of Woodside there is a pleasant
walk — having the church on the right hand — to the village of Green-
side. On the south side of Greenside are the Rickless, Realy-Mires,
and Burn Hill Farms. In the year 1 7 1 3, a Mr. Henry Marmion held
a copyhold estate, part lying in the lordship of Winlington, near
Ryton Woodside, known by the name of Realy-Mires, alias Benson's
Farm. This farm, comprising one hundred and seventy acres, was

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purchased on the 2nd July, 1895, by Mr. Joseph Cowen of Stella
Hall.

Returned to Ryton, after leaving the Runhead Farm, and passing
"River View" — a row of neat modern houses on the south side of
the Hexham turnpike — a few minutes' walk brings the visitor to
High Hedgefield.

In the year 1828, High Hedgefield House was the residence of
Mr. Edward Martinson, parish clerk, schoolmaster, and overseer for
the parish of Stella. In the year 1880, the Right Rev. Monsignor
Canon Thompson removed from Esh to High Hedgefield, and
occupied the house till his death in 1893. At the time of his
death, Canon Thompson was the patriarch of the Hexham Clergy*
He was born at Stella, on the 17th May, 181 1. His early youth
was spent at Darlington. He was sent to a junior school at
Scorton, in Yorkshire. At the age of fourteen he went to Ample-
worth College, where he completed his classical education.
Subsequently he went to Rome, where he lived until 1841. In the
year 1839 he was ordained priest. While at college, a life-long
intimacy sprung up between him and the distinguished Dr. Wiseman.
After his ordination, the young priest became the colleague of
Monsignor Witham, incumbent of Esh ; and after Mr. Witham's
removal to Berwick, Mr. Thompson was placed in charge of the
mission, remaining there without change for forty years; it was his
first and his last mission. On the 23rd Nov., 1880, he sent his
resignation to the Bishop. From this time until his death he
resided at High Hedgefield, where he died on the 17th August,
1893. Tradition states that a public-house once stood on the site
of the present residence, and that the road to the ford at Newburn
passed through the grounds attached to the house.

A little eastward, on the south side of the road, is Hedgefield
Church (St. Hilda), which is a chapel of ease to Ryton. It is a
stone edifice of somewhat quaint appearance, in the Perpendicular
Gothic style, consisting of nave, south aisle, north transept, and a
short embattled tower with strong buttresses. At the east end is a
fine Perpendicular window ; and in the west wall of the tower is
the principal entrance doorway. The nave and aisle are divided by
an arcade of pointed arches, springing from cylindrical pillars. It
contains three hundred sittings. The church was opened in 1892,
at a cost of ^2800.

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At the north side of the Hexham turnpike is the Addison
Colliery, the property of the Stella Coal Company. It was sunk
in 1864, and the depth is sixty-four fathoms. This pit, as well as
the "Emma" and "Stargate" pits, is drained by a pumping engine
at the Addison, of one hundred horse power. About eight thousand
tons of water are drawn daily, and taking the year through, about
twelve tons of water are drawn to one ton of coal. The ventilation
of the shafts is accomplished by two Guibal ventilating fans, one
sixteen feet in diameter, the other thirty feet in diameter, and
producing together a ventilation equal to a hundred thousand cubic
feet of air per minute. The Addison pit is situated oh the line of
railways to which all the coal from the other pits, except that sent
to the Stella Staith, is conveyed by means of a three mile line of
private railway belonging to the company. There are one hundred
and eighty coke ovens.

The miners live in rows of well-built houses, many of them with
gardens in front, and altogether the little village has a thriving and
prosperous appearance.

There is a Primitive Methodist Chapel at the end of one of the
rows of houses, provided by the colliery proprietors, and fitted by
the members, with accommodation for two hundred people.

Hedgefield House, which stands on rising ground on the south
side of the turnpike, is a handsome villa, possessing a commanding
view of the Tyne. On a plan of Stella, dated 1767, the site of the
villa is occupied by " Ralph Shipley's House and Stack Garth."
About- the beginning of the present century the old house was
removed, and the present house built by William Matthias Dunn,
Esq., who made it his residence. Until his removal to Bradley
Hall, in 1894, the villa was occupied for many years by John B.
Simpson, Esq.

On the east side of Hedgefield House is the burn which divides
the modern parish of Stella from the old parish of Ryton.

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tbtj catise which has for its object the be 1
elevation of mankind generally, Dr Sin
rendered a service to the north of quite
mon value, variety, and generosity.

oaking more 'tea* fifteen years ago "of tb^^^S^^f^^X^^^^^M
iplary life and beneficent work of the lawcal experience of the mining in4ustry with the
irt Simpson, Sir Benjamin Browne observed Stella Coal Company, the magnitude of whose
." he was one of those to whom the rule or<>peration& will'lxy best gathered by stating that

A1 _ i r j 4.1. l jthe annual output of the various pits under its

was the rule of conscience and the rule o$ uuv *," . \j ^"* J" " » „k«,,+ +i,«»i^,,<.^ra

■ . ."control yields an average of about tnree-quarrers

We ? cannot select a more appropriate^ a million tons of coal. For many years Dr
rse to apply to Robert Simpson's son, for th€Si m pgo n na8 been the managing owner, and under
?ct of our sketch this week, Aid Dr John Bel! his expert advice and guidance the collieries have
>son, is in every sense of the term a worthy developed and prospered,
of a worthy sire. For many years his nam* ENGINEERING SKILL,

been held in: high honour by those who kno^ For many years he has been extensively asso-
e honour is due. As a pioneer in scientific ciated with the chief enterprises in the northern

ation, which he has furthered both by a> ^i* eld ^ ** A mi ™& ^*2S + * ' JSt?^ ™

, , , J Northumberland and other royalty owners*. as an

uent and persuasive pen and a generoui expert valuer and arbitrator, and in many other

e ; as an economist whose essays on the sub directions his eervices have been frequently in

of capital nad labour have aroused widespread request, *$ule wl^afc* ni^y be ^-termed - the more

ition; as a mining engineer whose knowledge practical and active side of his busy life has been

be subject is at once profound and extensive marked ^by many feat* of engineeriug skill and

,t , . l , . .. J foresight. For many years, the Wallsend and

capable and experienced public, servant ; as a Hebb S Tn Collieries were directly under his charge

mthropist whose benefactions have ^been oi and he was responsible for the erection of extensive

utmost service to all sections of the com- pumpinff machinery. The drainage of Hebburn

ity— in .Aort ^ as the tried .and trusted fnerd g^:^ * after ^lug i nun d a ted for a lengthy

rerv catise which has for its obiect the be*-,*. 1 ^j.^ was one f ^{ s most successful undertakings,

1 But his business activities are not exclusively
' confined to the coalfield ; he is a director of several
* well-known public companies, while many of th<j
highest honours in the mining engineers' world
have been bestowed upon him. A, member of th«
Institutions of Civil Engineers, an ex-President oj
the North of England Institute of Mining En,
gineers, and a Fellow of the Geological Society, ii^
these and other capacities he has rendered eminent
service along lines of research to the profession o|
which he is so distinguished a member.
BENEFACTOR TO ARMSTRONG COLLEGE.
The affars of local administration, too, hav<
claimed a large share of his talents and attention!
To the Durham County Council, the Local Boar<j
at Ryton, as a churchwarden, overseer of the pool
and member of the Board of Guardians, and last}
but not least, as a member of the council of Arm
strong College, he has rendered conspicuous serj
vice. By reason of his lengthy association witj
the latter institution, not. less than by his muni
fioemt donation of ,£10.000 towards the cost of th
handsome School of Art which has been opener
during the past year. Eis name will ever b
identified with this Newcastle College. Indeed, i
might not be too m'r-ch to claim that the Collegi
itseif was founded chiefly through the instru
mentality of Dr Simpson. At all events, more thai
half a century ago he gave a course of lectures i:
Newcastle on* geology, and it was from these am
others which followed them that the movemeu
was inaugurated which culminated in the establish
ment of Armstrong College. And he has been on
of its staunchest and most generous friends eve
since.

.- THE FRIEND OF ALL CLASSES.

* * x ji n ^ * * -;< - ' — B^rt Armstrong College is only one of man;

educated first at the village school of Craw- northern institutions which owes a deep debt c
:> and afterwards under the celebrated Dr gratitude to Dr Simpson. To the movement fo
o in Newcastle. Adopting the mining pro- the establishment of homes for aged miners h
>n, he served his articles af apprenticeship j^ ajgo t^en a warm friend and g*
r. his father, and also with the late Mr T. po r ter as th3 groups of cottages at
ter and the late Mr G C. Green well, and ; Ttt r ckley tangibly testify; while y<
rithe tnitaon of these ekffled engineers was' stanoe f the generous sentiments b;

tOL

Dr Z. BELL SIMPSON.

Bacon.

hn Bell Simpson was born in 1837 at the
iresque rural spot of Ryton Woodside, and

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.63

STELLA.

Stelungley, Stelley, Stella — from Stell = a patronymi
name, ley = uncultivated land. The parish of Stella \
in August, 1844, and comprises the township of Stella, i
Ryton parish, and the town of Blaydon, and the
Derwenthaugh, formerly part of Winlaton parish.

Stella township comprises an area of two hundred and eighty-six
acres, which forms part of the Townley estate. Population: 1801,
314; 1811,385; 1821,421; 1831,482; 1841,563; 1851,565;
1861,542; 1871,592; 1881,743; 1891,788. Its rateable value
in 1821 was ^1031, and in 1894, ^2955.

Stella village stands on the south side of the Tyne, and west of
Blaydon burn. It is straggling in appearance, and several of the
houses are old and thatched. Nearly the whole of the land is in
the possession of the Townley family.

About the year 1149 William de St. Barbara, Bishop of Durham,
granted Stellingley, "with all its appurtenances in woodland,
champian, roads, ways, metes, boundaries, mills, and meadows,
Waters, fish-dams, and fisheries, free of forest-right and pasturage
of the Bishop's hogs, to St Bartholomew and the Nuns of
Newcastle." According to Boldon Buke (1183), "The son of
William the Moneyer holds Stellingleye by the correct boundaries
which the bishop caused to be perambulated for him, and pays one
mark."

"There can be little doubt," says Surtees, "that this Monetaims,
whose fame was so permanent, that his son needed no other
description than to be of such a son the child, was the master
worker of Bishop Pudsey's mint. It is not easy to understand how,
only forty years after Stella was granted to the nuns, it was held
by the Bishop's moneyer. It is conjectured," says Surtees, " that
Pudsey had merely taken, by virtue of his power and dignity, a
life interest of his office out of a portion of an estate which did not

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belong to him, as he subsequently confirmed the former grant of
Stellinglei to the nuns, giving them by the same charter, in pure
and perpetual alms 'Twille,' in exchange for ' Olworthe.' "

According to a manuscript in the Bodleian library, this Nunnery
owed its origin to an ancient baron of the name of Hilton.
Numerous and valuable donations and grants poured into this
receptacle of fair devotees. Notwithstanding these advantages,
the convent fell into a state of miserable poverty, accompanied by
a relaxation of discipline ; for in 1363 Bishop Hatfield appointed a
commission to visit the convent, in order to punish crimes and
reform abuses. In 15 13 the Mayor and Corporation of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne obtained a lease of the Nun's Moor for one hundred
years, at the annual rent of 3s. 4d. This was one of the religious
houses which Henry VIII. re-founded and preserved from the
general dissolution in 1537 ; but it was suppressed on the 3rd
January, 1540, at which time the establishment consisted of a
prioress and nine nuns. The house was granted to William
Barantyne Kenelme Throgmorton and Henry Annetson; it
became afterwards the property of Lady Gavecre, from whom it
passed by purchase to Robert Anderson, who levelled the fabric
with the ground. Stella seems to have been one of their wealthiest
possessions, and just as Benwell Tower was the summer residence
of the Priors of Tynemouth, Stella probably would be a similar
residence for the Nuns of Newcastle. At the time of the Dissolu-
tion, among the estates of the Nunnery within the Bishopric of
Duresme, occurs Stellingley, by yer £$ 13s. 4d.

Shortly after the Suppression, Stella became the property and
residence of the Tempests of Newcastle, a mercantile branch of
the ancient house of Holmeside. Nicholas Tempest of Stella,
born 1553, was created a baronet the 23rd December, 1622. He
married Isabel, daughter of Robert Lampton of Lampton, Esq.
Sir Nicholas is described on the monument to his memory
in Ry ton Church, as " Soldier and Baronet." He died March
28th, 1625. Stella seems to have been the home of other mem-
bers of the family, for the following entry occurs in the parish
register: — "1617-18, Feb. 3rd, Mr. William Tempest of Stillaye,
gentilV [bur.]. As Sir Nicholas had no son of that name, probably
William was his brother.

Sir Nicholas Tempest was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir

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Thomas Tempest of Stella, Bart, who married Troth, daughter of
Sir Richard Tempest of Bracewell, Co. York, Knt He was
succeeded in 1641 by his son, Sir Richard Tempest, Baronet,
colonel of a regiment of foot in the service of Charles L, styled
of Stanley. He married Sarah, daughter of Sir Thomas Campbell,
Lord Mayor of London, and dying in 1662, was succeeded by his
only surviving son, Sir Thomas Tempest, Bart, who was baptised
6th September, 1642. He married Alice, daughter and co-heir of
William Hodgson, of Hebburn and Winlaton. By this marriage
the Tempests became owners of three-eighths of the manor of
Winlaton. Sir Thomas Tempest died in 1692, leaving Jane, an
only surviving daughter and heir to her brother Sir Francis Tempest,
who married, in 1700, William, the fourth Lord Widdrington.
This lady died in 17 14, up to which period, and during the reign
of the four Stuart kings, the Tempest family had resided at Stella
" in Catholic splendour and loyalty." The Tempests were largely
interested in coal-mining at Stella and the neighbourhood.

The Widdringtons received their surname from a fine old castle
at Widdrington, which stood in a large beautiful park of six
hundred acres, eight miles north-east of Morpeth. Widdrington
was long the seat of a family of that name, who had often signalised
themselves by their valour in the wars against the Scots. Sir
William Widdrington was expelled from the House of Commons
in 1642, for refusing to attend it, and for raising forces for the
defence of Charles L, who created him Baron Widdrington of
Blankney in 1643. After the Battle of Marston Moor, he fled
beyond the seas, and his estates were sequestered by Parliament.
Lord Widdrington returned to Britain along with Prince Charles
in 1650, and accompanied him on his march from Edinburgh to
Carlisle, where he was proclaimed King of England. At Wigan,
in Lancashire, he was left behind with the Earl of Derby and
several other gentlemen, with about two hundred horse. But
Lord Derby was surprised next day by a superior force under
Major General Lilbourne, and after a short encounter, they were
all either slain or taken prisoners. Among the killed was Lord
Widdrington, who had so loyally and gallantly fought for the two
Stuart kings. Lord Widdrington was succeeded by William, Lord
Widdrington, who was one of the Council of State entrusted with
the executive power by the " Rump Parliament," previous to its

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dissolution by General Monk in 1660. This nobleman was
succeeded by bis son William, Lord Widdrington, who, as we
have seen, married in 1700 Jane, the daughter of Sir Thomas
Tempest of Stella, at which place he resided for sixteen years.

In the year 1715, Lord Widdrington joined the Earl of Derwent-
water and Mr. Forster in the first Jacobite Rebellion, which had
for its object the restoration of the family of Stuart to the throne.
Those who favoured the rising were principally old families of
rank in the north and west of England, and in Scotland. It was
only in the north of England that the English Jacobites presented
in any degree a formidable appearance. Attended by a number
of retainers, the Earl of Derwentwater met Mr. Forster, with a few
followers, at a place called Green Rig, on the top of a hill in the
parish of Birtley, North Tyne. Next morning they proceeded to
Warkworth, where they were joined by Lord Widdrington. Forster
was now made commander-in-chief, not for any military skill that
he possessed, but because he was a Protestant, it being considered
unwise to select a Catholic to fill that position. From Warkworth
the insurgents marched to Alnwick, where they proclaimed James
III. Proceeding to Morpeth, they were joined at Felton Bridge
by seventy horse from the Scottish border, so that they now
amounted to three hundred, the highest number which they ever
attained. At this critical juncture the Corporation of Newcastle
evinced their loyalty and attachment to the House of Hanover by
embodying the militia and train bands, and placing the town in *a
state of defence. This action on the part of the Corporation was
a severe disappointment to the insurgents. Sir William Blackett
at that time represented Newcastle in Parliament ; he was extens-
ively engaged in the coal trade, was a large employer of labour,
and one of the best known men in the north of England. The
Jacobites regarded Sir William as being favourable to their project,
and on this account expected an easy capture of the town. And
to add to the disappointment of the insurgents, the Earl of Scar-
borough, lord lieutenant of the county of Northumberland, entered
Newcastle, accompanied by his friends and the neighbouring
gentry, with their tenantry, all mounted and well armed. A body
of seven hundred volunteers were raised for the immediate pro-
tection of the town ; and the keelmen, who, with the rest of the
loyal inhabitants, had signed an article of association for mutual

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defence, offered an additional guard of seven hundred men, to be
ready at half an hour's notice. A battalion of foot, and part of a
regiment of dragoons who arrived during these military prepar-
ations, completed the garrison. Not only were the inhabitants of
Newcastle loyal to the House of Hanover, but the owners of
Ravensworth, Gibside and Axwell espoused the same cause, which
compelled the insurgents to retire to Hexham, where they proclaimed
King James, nailing the proclamation to the market-cross, where
it was allowed to remain several days after they had left the town.

In the meantime the Jacobites in the south-west of Scotland
had also risen in insurrection, and placing Viscount Kenmure, a
Protestant nobleman, at their head, proposed by a sudden effort
to possess themselves of the town of Dumfries ; but finding that
he could not with a handful of cavalry obtain possession of the
town, he resolved to unite his forces with those of his Northumber-
land allies, and with that object he proceeded through Hawick and
Jedburgh, over the border to Rothbury, where the junction was
effected.

Intelligence of this rising in the south of Scotland and in the
north of England, having reached the Earl of Mar, he was urged
to quit Perth, for the purpose of effecting a junction with the
forces of the south ; it being considered essential to the success of
the insurrection, that considerable detachments of Mar's army
should be sent to strengthen the cause in the south ; and it was
arranged that two thousand five hundred men under Brigadier
Mackintosh of Borlum, should attempt the exploit of eluding the
English squadron of observation in the Forth, and march south-
ward.

The main body of the insurgents entered England on the ist of
November, and passed the night at the small town of Brampton,
about nine miles east of Carlisle, where they proclaimed the
Chevalier with the usual ceremonies. Here also Mr. Forster
opened his commission as their general, which had been sent to
him by the Earl of Mar. The force under Mr. Forster at this
period consisted of only nine hundred Highlanders, and about six
hundred Northumbrian and Dumfriesshire horsemen. Mr. Forster
pushed through Appleby and Kendal, to Kirkby Lonsdale, and
afterwards to Lancaster and Preston. • Here he was joined by

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several Roman Catholic gentlemen, who brought with them their
servants and tenantry, to the number of twelve hundred men.

In the meantime, General Willis had collected the royal forces
which were quartered at Manchester and Wigan, and advanced to
Preston, to give the insurgents battle. For some reason, which it
is impossible to reconcile either with common sense or military
experience, Forster had neglected to defend a most important post,
the bridge over the Ribble, by which road alone the enemy could
have reached him ; and drawing his men into the centre of the
town, contented himself with causing barricades to be formed in
the principal streets. General Willis attacked the insurgents at
two different points of their temporary defences. The attack is
described as a highly spirited one; but they were received with at
least equal gallantry ; and night shortly afterwards setting in, the
royalists were compelled to withdraw, after having suffered con-
siderable loss. The slight success, however, obtained by the
insurgents, proved but of little service to them. Early the following
morning General Carpenter, who had followed them by forced
marches from the south of Scotland, made his appearance with a
reinforcement of three regiments of dragoons : immediately the
town was invested on all sides ; and it became evident to the
besieged that further opposition was out of the question. The
Highlanders expressed their determination to sally out, sword in
hand, and cut their way through the King's troops ; but with some
difficulty they were prevailed upon to listen to the arguments of
their leaders ; and accordingly, the whole of the insurgent force
laid down their arms and surrendered themselves at discretion.
Among the persons of note who fell into the hands of the govern-
ment, in consequence of the surrender at Preston, were Lords
Derwentwater, Widdrington, Nithisdale, Wintoun, Carnwath,
Kenmure, and Nairn, besides several members of the first families
in the north of England. The noblemen and principal leaders of
the insurrection were sent prisoners to London, and after having
been led through the streets pinioned as malefactors, were com-
mitted either to the Tower or to Newgate. The common men
were imprisoned chiefly in the gaols of Liverpool or Manchester.
About a month after their arrival, they were severally impeached of
high treason.

On Lord Widdrington. being asked what he had to say, why

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judgment should not be passed upon him according to law, he
replied : — " My lords, I have abandoned all manner of defence
ever since I first surrendered myself to his Majesty's royal clemency,
and only now beg leave to repeat to your lordships some circum-
stances of my unhappy case. You see before you an unfortunate
man, who after leading a private and retired life for many years,
has by one rash and inconsiderate action, exposed himself and his
family to the greatest calamity and misery, and is now upon the
point of receiving the severest sentence directed by any of our
English laws. I do protest to your lordships that I was never
privy to any concerted measures against his Majesty's royal
person or the established government. As to the insurrection in
Northumberland, I only heard of it accidentally the night before
it happened ; and being soon after informed that all my neighbours
and acquaintances had met in arms, a crowd of confused and
mistaken notions hurried me at once into a precipitate resolution
of joining them — a resolution which I must own, I could never
since calmly reflect upon, without part of that confusion I find
myself under in the public acknowledgment of so much rashness
and folly. After thus plunging out of my depth, as unprepared for
such an enterprise as the action was unpremeditated, I cannot for
my own particular, upon the strictest recollection, charge myself
with any violation of the principles of my fellow-subjects ; but on
the contrary, I always endeavoured to encourage humanity and
moderation during the whole course of our miserable expedition ;
and in order to make the best atonement in my power for the
great fault I have been guilty of, I can justly say that I was in no
small degree instrumental in procuring a general submission to his
Majesty I have only to add my most solemn assur-
ance before this august assembly, that no future time will ever find
me wanting in the most inviolable duty and gratitude to that
merciful prince who gives me my life, and restores a father to five
miserable and distressed orphans ; and I shall always retain the
highest esteem and veneration for your lordships and the honourable
House of Commons."

Lord Widdrington was correct when in his statement of defence
he declared that he was "in no small degree instrumental in
procuring a general submission to his Majesty," for it was at the

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instigation of Lord Widdrington and a few others, that Colonel
Oxburgh went to the English general to ask terms of surrender.

On the 9th February, 17 16, Earl Cowper sentenced the prisoners
in the old fashion, namely : — " That you, James, Earl of Derwent-
water ; William, Lord Widdrington ; William, Earl of Nithisdale ;
Robert, Earl of Carnwath; William, Viscount Kenmure; William,
Lord Nairn ; and every one of you, return to the prison of the
Tower from which you came ; thence you must be drawn to the
place of execution, when there you must be hanged by the neck —
not till you be dead ; for you must be cut down alive, then your
bowels taken out and burned before your faces. Your heads
must be severed from your bodies, and your bodies divided
into four quarters, to be at the king's disposal. And God Almighty
be merciful to your souls." After the sentence was passed, the
prisoners were removed to the Tower. Lord Derwentwater and
Lord Kenmure were executed on the 24th of February, 17 16.
Lord Nithisdale and Lord Wintoun escaped, and Lord Widdrington
was reprieved. The estates of Lord Widdrington, worth about
;£i 2,000 per annum, were confiscated; but the estates of Stella
and Stanley were restored to him in the year 1733. After living
many years in retirement, he died at Bath in 1745. According to
ail accounts, Lord Derwentwater held Lord Widdrington in high
esteem, declaring "my Lord Widdrington was a man of greater
experience than himself, and thought a wise man by most people,
therefore could serve his king and country better than he (Lord
Derwentwater) could." Patten, the historian of the Rebellion, says
of Widdrington, " I never could discover anything like boldness
or bravery in him ; " but the writer of the Jacobite melody, " Lord
Derwentwater's Good Night," describes Derwentwater as saying : —

"Then fare thee well, brave Widdrington."

Unlike his great grand-father — Lord Widdrington, who gallantly
fell in the cause of Charles I. at Wigan Lane — the owner of Stella
was no soldier ; but the little that is known of him marks him as
pious, charitable, and honourable.

The eldest son of the attainted Lord Widdrington, Henry Francis
Widdrington, succeeded to the estates of Stella and Stanley, which
were his mother's inheritance. Deprived of his paternal estate and
his hereditary honours, but commonly known as Lord Widdrington,

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he led a long life of peace in obscurity, and dying at Turnham
Green in the year 1772, was buried in St, Pancras, London. By
his will he left the Stella estate first to Thomas Eyre, of Hassop,
Esq., and his heirs male. Thomas Eyre died without heirs male
on March 26th, 1792, and the estate became the property of
Edward T. S. Standish of Standish, Esq., who also died without
heirs, on March 27th, 1807, when Stella fell to John Towneley of
Towneley, who died on May 14th, 181 3, and was succeeded by
his son, Peregrine Towneley, who died on December 31st, 1846.
Charles Towneley, the eldest son of Peregrine, held the estate till
his death on November 14th, 1876, leaving three daughters.
Charles was succeeded by his brother John Towneley, who died
on February 2 1st, 1878. John Towneley had a son Richard, who
did not live to enjoy the estates, and for some time they were held
by the widow of John Towneley. Afterwards a private Act of
Parliament, called the "Towneley Estate Act," was passed, which
apportioned the Lancashire estates to the daughters of Charles
Towneley ; and those in Yorkshire and Durham to the daughters
of John Towneley.

Theresa Harriet Mary, daughter of John Towneley, is the wife of
John Delacour, of Thorneyholme, county of York ; Lucy Evelyn,
the wife of Lieut. -Colonel John Murray of Polmaise, in the county
of Stirling ; Mary Elizabeth Towneley, of Namur, in the kingdom
of Belgium, unmarried ; and Mabel Anne, the wife of the right
honourable Lewis Henry Hugh, Baron Clifford, of Chudleigh, in
the county of Devon.

Stella Hall.

This fine old mansion, the residence of Joseph Cowen, Esq.,
is pleasantly situated at the east end of Stella village. It
occupies the site of the old Nunnery, which fell into disuse at
the Suppression of the Monasteries. Erected by the Tempests of
Newcastle — a mercantile branch of the ancient house of Holmeside
— the Hall is built in that style of architecture which prevailed in
the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It is in the form'of a cross, and
consists of centre, east and west wings, and a range of rooms on
the north side. The house was considerably altered at the
end of the last century, the alterations including the removal

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of several of the Elizabethan windows, and the insertion of the
present ones. Payne, who designed Axwell Hall, Bradley Hall,
and Gibside Chapel, superintended the alteration of the structure
Other alterations were made in 1840, under the direction of Mr.
John Dobson, architect. Over the principal entrance, on the
south side, are the arms of the Tempests. Argent : a bend engrailed
between six martlets, sable ; Crest : on a wreath, a martlet, sable.
Under the arms is the following Latin inscription : conivigio

INSIGNI MANIBVS, COGNOMINE, CORDE, VT LAPIDI LAPIS, EST

femina ivncta viro. Translation : By a noteworthy union — a
union of hand, name, and heart — a woman is as closely united to
her husband as is a stone set to a stone.

The Entrance Hall extends the whole length of the building
between the east and west wings. It was in this spacious apart-
ment that Lord Widrington entertained his friends and servants to
breakfast on the morning of their departure to join the Earl of
Derwentwater and General Forster, in the ill-fated Rebellion of
1 7 15. The Library is on the ground-floor of the east wing, and
contains many rare and costly volumes. The walls are adorned
with portraits of a number of remarkable men, including Cromwell
and Milton, Mazzini, Orsini, Garibaldi, and Lincoln. There is in
one of the windows of the Library, a portrait in stained glass, of
the late Dr. Rutherford. The west wing contains a handsome
Drawing Room, from the windows of which a beautiful view of the
Park may be obtained.

One of the original features of the Hall is the old domestic
chapel, which was used for public worship until the erection of the
present Catholic chapel at Stella, in 1831.

The Dining Room contains several fine portraits of the Cowen
family, including a painting of the late Sir Joseph Cowen by
Mr. H. H. Emmerson, presented to Sir Joseph by the inhabit-
ants ot Blaydon, and portraits of the late Mrs. Cowen, Mr.
Joseph Cowen, Mr. Joseph Cowen, junr., and Miss Jane Cowen.
An old painting of Lord Widdrington, as well as a great
number of valuable and interesting pictures, adorn the walls of the
Hall. There are on the Stair-walls pieces of old tapestry; one
of which represents " Hero and Leander," and another, " The
Voyage of the Argosy in search of the Golden Fleece." The latter
is considered to be one of the finest pieces of tapestry in England.

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The Hall fronts a park comprising about twenty-one acres, which
is pleasantly diversified with rising grounds and clumps of trees.

Formerly the park wall enclosed Image Hill, five acres ; and
Summer-house Hill, thirty-three acres. The principal entrance
was at Peth-head. Two images, representing Apollo and -dEscu-
lapius, once stood on Image Hill ; these interesting relics of a
bygone time are now preserved near the hall. The old summer-
house of the Widdringtons still stands on the hill which bears its
name ; but for many years it has ceased to answer its original
purpose. A figure of Garibaldi, placed there by the late Mr.
Robert Eadie of Blaydon, stands on the north side of the summer-
house. Part of Summer-house Hill has, for a number of years,
been used by the people of Blaydon and Stella, as a recreation
ground.

The gardens connected with Stella Hall, which are large and
well sheltered, are on the west side ; and the stables are on the
north side of the house.

There is in the park an old oak, said to be a remnant of the
forest which formerly extended from Newcastle to Hexham.

The Battle of Stella Haughs.

In 1637, King Charles I. and Archbishop Laud endeavoured to
force on Scotland the religious service of the Church of England.
A riot took place in St. Giles's Church, Edinburgh, when the
minister began to read the printed service, and all Scotland was
in a state of excitement.

In 1638, Scottish nobles, gentry, ministers and citizens joined
in signing the Covenant, in which they agreed to help each other
in preventing religious changes in Scotland. At the end of the
same year, a General Assembly at Glasgow declared that there
must be no bishops in Scotland, no High Commission Court, and
no liturgy, or printed form of service.

War then arose between England and Scotland, and Charles
went to Berwick ; but want of money soon forced him to disband
his army. At last, in April, 1640, Charles was obliged to call a
new Parliament. The Commons would grant him no money in
taxes, until his evil rule was amended. Thereupon the King
dissolved the Parliament in anger ; and a riot arose in London,

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the people attacking Laud's palace at Lambeth. Soon after this,
a mob forced its way into St Paul's Cathedral, and drove off in
terror the High Commission Court, which never sat again.

On the 21st August, 1640, the Scots crossed the river Tweed,
in order, as they said, "to lay their most humble and loving
petition, for the redress of grievances, at the royal feet of their
most sacred sovereign," Charles I. Upon the arrival of the Scbts
on the English border, the soldiers were commended by their
ministers in prayer to the care of the Lord of Hosts ; and then —
for the purpose of obtaining forage for their horses, and the droves
of cattle and sheep which they carried along with them out of
Scotland — they divided the army into three bodies, one under the
command of L. Almond, the Lieutenant-General ; another was led
by Major-General Baillie; and General Leslie brought up the
rear. They kept all within sight, or ten miles from one another ;
and, after a slow march through Northumberland, they met by
appointment on Newcastle Moor, on the 26th of August. From
thence the committee wrote two letters, one to the commander-in-
chief of the army at Newcastle, and another to the mayor and
aldermen. These letters they sent by the drum-major of Lord
Montgomery's brigade, but they were sent back unopened.
Whereupon the army turned to the right, and encamped beside
Newburn, on the north side of the Tyne, on August 27th. Rush-
worth, in his "Historical Collections," states that, "On the 27th
of August (1640), in the forenoon, his majesty received intelligence
from the Lord Conway, that the Scots would that night be near
Newcastle with their army, craving his majesty's pleasure and
directions about the disposing of his army to the interruption of
the march of the Scots.

" The king immediately called the gentry of Yorkshire, then at
York, together, to wait upon his majesty, to whom the Earl of
Strafford made a speech ; presently after he prepared a packet to
be sent post to the Lord Conway, then understanding the Scots
were come near Newcastle ; and the author of these 'Collections'
being newly come post from London to York, and hearing a
packet was about to be sent to Newcastle, took the opportunity to
bear the messenger company therewith ; but when the author and
the messenger with the packet came to Newcastle, upon the 28th
of August, in the morning, they were informed that the Lord

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Conway was gone to the main array, near Newburn, whither we
went immediately, and found the Lord Conway and the field-
officers at a council of war at Stella, half a mile distant from the
army, and delivered the Lord Conway the packet, which, being
opened, it contained special orders to prepare the army for an
engagement with the Scots."

The council of war would probably be held in Stella Hall.
A few years ago, a thatched cottage stood nearly opposite to the
Catholic chapel, in which tradition states that the officers of the
royalist army under Conway stopped the night before the battle.
The dwelling was a public house, containing three rooms — one
large room and two smaller ones. It would be in the large room
that the gallant cavaliers spent the night in riot and drinking.
The estimated, number of the Scots army was 20,000 foot and
2,500 horse. According to Rushworth, the number of the English
was 3,000 foot, and 1,500 horse. Baillie fixes the number of the
English at 4,000 or 5,000 foot, and 2,500 horse.

Stella Haughs, the scene of the battle, is about a mile long from
east to west, and four hundred yards from the river to the hill-side
at Hedgefield, where the English cannon were placed. Formerly
the Haughs, on account of the Tyne frequently overflowing its
banks, consisted almost entirely of marshy or boggy land. In a
plan of Stella, dated 1779, about ten acres at the east eriti of
the Haughs are named "The Hassocks," from the ground pro-
ducing nothing but rushes. The river was crossed by four fords :
the Cromwell, at the northern bend of the river, at the east end of
the Haughs, received its name from the Protector crossing the
river at this point when marching to Dunbar in 1650. About four
hundred yards west of the Cromwell ford was the Kelso ford,
which was seldom used, on account of the depth of the river even
at low tide.

There were two other fords at the west end of Stella Haughs,
one about forty yards on the west of the old "Alnwick House" —
which is still standing ; and the other where the Newburn Bridge
crosses the river. These were undoubtedly the two fords by which
the Scots crossed the river to attack the English. In the field on
the south side of the " Alnwick House," are the remains of an old
waggon way, which have been regarded by some people as erections
to protect the English soldiers from the Scots cannon. In the

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plan of Stella (1779), the rising ground at Hedgefield, on the west
side of Addison colliery, is named "The Forts," where in all proba-
bility the English placed their cannon. The "Forts" are directly
opposite to the two fords at the west end of the Haughs, and at a
distance of four hundred yards from the river. Here the English
raised two batteries, one opposite to each ford, and set about five
hundred musketeers, with four pieces of cannon, to defend each
battery, and thereby stop the passage of the Scots, if they should
attempt to cross the river ; and the rest of their forces were drawn
up in a meadow, at the foot of a hill, nearly a mile behind them,
probably on the rising ground behind Hedgefield church. On the
north side of the river lay the Scots army, and the ground on that
side being higher than on the south, they had the advantage of
seeing the exact position of the English trenches, and by the help
of the houses in Newburn, and of the trees and shrubs, to plant
their cannon directly opposite to them without being discovered.
While the two parties were thus stationed, the Earl of Strafford
sent an express to Lord Conway, acquainting him of his near
approach with the rear of the king's army, and ordering him to
gather the rest of the army together, and to prepare for an engage-
ment. But before this order could be put in execution, a change
of affairs was occasioned by a slight incident. A Scottish officer
watering his horse in the river, an English soldier seeing him fix
his eyes on their trenches, shot him ; and he falling from his horse,
the Scots musketeers fired upon the English, and their cannon —
especially some which they had placed upon the steeple of New-
burn church, fired with so much success upon the English trenches,
that, immediately, the soldiers placed in them* were greatly dis-
ordered : about twenty of them were killed, and notwithstanding
. the bravery of Colonel Lunsford, who commanded there, the rest
could hardly be restrained from flying. Burnett says that the
cannon were made of bar-iron, hooped like a barrel with cords
and wet raw hides. They were carried on horse-back, and bore
several discharges. Several cannon balls have been found at
Newburn ; one found about two years ago, imbedded in a beam
of timber, is three inches in diameter, and weighs three pounds.
By this time it was low water, and Sir Thomas Hope the younger,
of Craighill, having the van of the horse, was ordered to march
through the river with his troop, consisting all of gentlemen,

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members of the College of Justice, commonly called "the General's
life-guards;" and, to support these, passed also Colonel David
Leslie, with four troops of his own and a troop of Sir Patrick
McGhie's, who pursued the English with great success, and made
every man prisoner who had the courage to abide by the batteries.
The rest fled towards their main body, till they came to a narrow
pass, where they rallied. The narrow pass was probably the bridle
path which at that time led from Ryton to Blaydon, and which
afterwards became the present Hexham turnpike. Sir Thomas
Hope's troop being still in the van, encountered the English with
great bravery, and, being well supported by Colonel Leslie, bore
down all before them; but, pursuing their advantage too far,
they were in hazard of being cut off: for no less than twelve
troops of the best horse the English had, were by this time come
up to support their foot, and the rest of the forces were fast
advancing (probably by the old Blaydon road), which, General
Leslie perceiving, he sent up Colonels Ramsay and Blair with
six troops of horse and one thousand musketeers to their
relief, with orders to retire, if forced to it, under the protection
of the Scots cannon, till a sufficient number of foot were got
up to support them. The English horse, not attending suffi-
ciently to the Scots cannon, ventured too far, and received
two or three smart fires, which threw them into great disorder,
and obliged them to retire in the utmost confusion, for the assist-
ance of the main body. The whole of the Scots army now marched
to the scene of the battle ; but by the time the brigades com-
manded by Lords Lowdoun, Lindsay, Queensberry and Mont-
gomery, who were in the van of the foot, had joined the horse, the
battle was ended, and the English had thrown down their arms
and retired in great disorder. The foot retreated up Ryton and
Stella banks, to a wood not far off, and their horse, covering the
retreat, were considerably worsted, a number of them being killed,
and many taken prisoners. The wood was probably near to
Stargate. Tradition states that when the Scots reached this place,
that on account of the steepness of the hill which they had to climb
in pursuing the English, they were "staw'd" of the engagement;
hence " Stawgate," staw in the north country signifying more
than enough of anything.

" In this engagement, " says Rushworth, " Cornet Potter, son of

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Endymion Potter of the bed-chamber, was slain, and during the
whole fight about sixty men more, as the Scots told us after the
cessation ofjarms was agreed unto, for the Scots buried the dead;
and afterwards they further told us that most of them that were killed
lay about the works; how many of the Scots were slain we know not."
After the retreat of the English, Lord Conway called a council
of war at Newcastle, and it was there resolved at twelve at night,
that the whole army should retreat to Durham, horse, and foot,
and train of artillery, and to quit Newcastle. Tradition has
it that part of the English army rested in the church lands at
Whickham, and in the fields adjoining, and that before leaving they
fired their tents; this fire communicated with a small seam of coal,
which burned for several years, and at night flames issued from
different parts of the village and grounds adjoining. This tradition
is supported by the fact that a stratum of calcined stones and earth
extends from the east end of Whickham to the west end, and for
about one hundred yards on the north side of the village.

The day after the English army left Newcastle, the Scots
entered the town by the bridge, where the General with his life-
guards, the Lieutenant-General, and a considerable number of the
committee, and several other nobles and barons, with Sir William
Douglas and his troop were heartily received by the mayor and
aldermen, after which they went to St. Nicholas' church and heard
a sermon by Mr. Alexander Henderson.

This defeat of the English army produced the greatest conster-
nation on the south side of the Tyne. "The parsons of Rye
(Ryton) and of Whickham, first rifled their own houses and then
fled, leaving nothing but a few play books and pamphlets, and one
old cloake, with an old woman, being the only living Christian in
the towne ; the rest being fled."

The Bishopric was ordered to pay a fine of ^350 a day so long
as the Scots remained. Before this heavy exaction the people fled
in dismay, so that not one house in ten was occupied. The
county suffered equally from the ravages of the troops, and from
the attempts of the Royalists to prevent them from obtaining food.
An order was made that the upper millstones were to be taken
away and buried, so that the Scots might not be able to grind their
corn. When the Scots withdrew their forces, the Bishopric was
saddled with a payment of ^25,000.

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Blaydon Races, which commenced in 1861, and which were
held for a few years on the Island, have, since 1864, been held on
Stella Haughs.

Cromwell at Stella.

On June 29th, 1650, Oliver Cromwell left London to march
into Scotland, where he was to meet General Leslie, who defeated
the English under Lord Conway on Stella Haughs, in 1640.

On July 15th, the main army of Cromwell was at Newcastle.
For two days the army had rested at Whickham. The cannon
and heavy baggage had been sent round by Clockburn Lane, and
after fording the Derwent at Winlaton Mill, and advancing by the
Birk Gate to Winlaton and Stella, crossed the Tyne at the bend of
the river at the east end of Stella Haughs, and met the Protector
with his main army on the north side of the Tyne. The ford by
which part of the army crossed the river is still called "the
Cromwell." On July 22nd, Cromwell crossed the Tweed, and on
September 3rd he met the veteran Leslie at Dunbar, where the
Scotch were defeated, 4,000 being killed, and above 10,000 taken
prisoners.

Meldon old water corn-mill stood at the foot of the Temple
Bank, a little within the west wall of the park, and about one
hundred yards below the dam or weir-head of the present mill.
Here, according to the statement of Mr. Ralph Nixon, a respect-
able and intelligent man, whose ancestors for several generations
resided in the vicinity of Meldon, Oliver Cromwell tarried and fed
his troops of horse, on his return from Scotland in 165 1. If we
suppose the tradition to be founded on truth, this occurrence must
have taken place on the nth of August, the day on which the
lord-general left the manor house of Netherwitton ; for on the 12th
he crossed the Tyne at Newburn, and proceeded forthwith to
encamp his forces on the haugh below Ryton, himself withdrawing
to Stella Hall, where he resided previous to his departure south-
ward for Worcester. — Richardson. Among the accounts of the
Corporation of Newcastle there is the following entry: — " 165 1>
Paid for a present to the Lord-General Cromwell when he was at
Stella, ;£ S o."

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Stella House.

This house stands at the east end of Stella, and at the bottom
of what is known as the old Leadgate. It is two storeys high, with
projecting attic windows. It was built about the beginning
of the eighteenth century, and was evidently smaller at one
time than it is now, as the ends of the house appear to be of
a more modern date than the centre. It was probably erected
for the accommodation of one of the managers at the staiths.
At one time it was the residence of the Siivertop family. Robert
Edington, who wrote in 1813, "A Treatise on the Coal Trade,
with Strictures on its Abuses, and Hints for Amelioration/' says : —
" On the east side of Stella, close adjoining to the river, facing the
rising sun, is the seat of the late George Siivertop, Esq. From
its beautiful situation the keelmen call it by the name of the * Rising
Sun.' He was one of the leading coal owners of his day, was of
extensive knowledge and of strict honour and integrity ; he had
travelled and had been introduced to all the foreign courts of
Europe, was so much respected that his famous Whitefleld coals
had the preference of all other collieries on the continent. By his
industry he had accumulated an ample fortune honourably got."
The Silvertops lived at Ryton in the sixteenth century. There is the
following entry in the parish register :— ''1608, April 17th. Anne
Siivertop, widdow, of Ryton towne [bur.]." The family seems to
have left the village of Ryton about that time, and removed to
Stella.

William Siivertop of Stella, married Ann Galley. They had a
son, Albert Siivertop, born February 16th, 1667. The Ryton
parish register contains the following entry : — " William Siivertop
of Bladen, and 17 more, buried 28th May, 1682. These 18 were
drowned 28th May, 1682." This William Siivertop, who may
have removed to Blaydon after his marriage, was probably the
father of Albert. Albert Siivertop married Mary, the daughter of
Joseph Dunn of Blaydon. He died in 1738, and left a son,
George Siivertop, born 22nd February, 1705, who married Bridget,
daughter of Henry Whittingham of Whittingham Hall, Lancashire.
He purchased the estate of Minsteracres, built the Hall, and
founded a mission on the estate in 1766, for the use of the family.
He was succeeded by his only son, John Siivertop, who married

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in 1777, Catherine, second daughter of Sir Henry Lawson of
Brough Hall, Yorkshire, by whom he had issue — first, George
Silvertop, born January 6th, 1775; second, John, who died young;
third, Henry, born 28th May, 1779, married Elizabeth, daughter of
Thomas Witham, Esq., niece and heiress of William Witham of
Cliffe, Ebor, Esq., on which he assumed the name of Witham, and
had a numerous offspring; fourth, Charles, born 16th January,
1 781, colonel in the Spanish service; fifth, Mary, died young.

George Silvertop visited Napoleon at Elba, and it was partly on
account of a conversation that Silvertop had with Napoleon that
the latter was induced to quit the place of his imprisonment.
O'Meara, in his " Voice from St. Helena," says, " He (Silvertop)
visited Napoleon at Elba, and in the course of conversation
related that he had dined a few weeks before with the Duke de
Fleury, with whom he had a conversation relative to the sum of
money to be allowed the exile annually by France, according to
the agreement that had been signed by the ministers of the allied
powers. The Duke laughed at him for supposing for a moment
that it would be complied with, and said they were not such fools.
'This,' said that extraordinary man, Napoleon, 'was one of the
reasons which induced me to quit Elba/" George Silvertop thus
was an indirect factor in bringing about the Battle of Waterloo,
for had Napoleon not been induced to quit Elba, the famous
struggle at Waterloo would not have taken place. It was George
Silvertop who invited John Graham Lough to his beautiful mansion
at Minsteracres, and showed him several works of art by Michael
Angelo and Canova. Those art treasures were probably the first
that Lough saw, and no doubt would produce a powerful impres-
sion on the mind of the young sculptor. George Silvertop died
on the 20th February, 1849, and was buried at Ryton. No member
of the Silvertop family resides at present in the township of Ryton.

Stella House, in the year 1828, was the residence of Edward
Emerson, iron founder. Afterwards it was occupied by Thomas
Young Hall, mining engineer, and subsequently by Mr. Joseph
Cowen, late M.P. for Newcastle-on-Tyne. At present it is the
residence of Mr. Joseph Roberts.

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The Coal Trade.

Coals were extensively worked at Stella and the neighbourhood,
at an early period in the history of coal-mining. Stella, lying
alongside of the river, was suitable for the erection of staiths,
to which the coals were carried from Winlaton, Ryton, Kyo,
Crawcrook, &c, which has made the village for centuries an active
hive of industry. Taylor, in his "Archaeology of the Coal Trade/
says : — "Among the documents in my possession, on the subject of
the coal trade, I find a lease from (2 Eliz.) to Nicholas Tempest,
of coal mines in Stella, which is called Stelley of Stellington. In
this deed, sufficient way-leave and stay-leave are granted, with
power to lead away the coals by all kinds of carriages. In the
year 1622, the four principal coal owners have the following out-
put: — Sir Nicholas Tempest, 600 tens; Mr. Charles Tempest, 140
tens ; Mr. Thomas Tempest, 900 tens ; Sir George Selby, 750 tens."
To ascertain the value of a ten, we will again have recourse to
Taylor. He says: — "I find in a lease, Tempest to Emerson, 1684,
a ten specified to be * forty fathers,' each father a wainload
containing seven bolls and one bushel of coals, at the pit, Newcastle
usual coal measure." A ten was equivalent to about twenty-two
chaldrons. The price of a chaldron in 1622 was seven shillings,
so that the price received by Sir Nicholas Tempest of Stella Hall,
for his 600 tens, was ^4,620. We find from the "Compleat
Collier," a clear account of the state of coal-mining in the latter
part of the 1 7th century. There were then no underground railways
or horses, the coals being dragged to the bottom of the pit by one
or two persons, in corves placed on sledges. The coals were
drawn up the pits by horses in a whin-gin, and in a pit of forty
fathoms deep, eight horses were required every day to draw twenty-
one scores of coal (about ninety tons), in corves made of hazel-
rods with wooden bolts, carrying fourteen or fifteen pecks each.
From a pay-bill in the possession of the writer, the wages received
by the workmen at Stella Grand Lease Colliery, in the year 1740,
are stated.

Sir Henry Liddell, Bart, and Partners.
Charge of Working, August, 1740.

Hewing 30 scores at 6d. per score ... ... £0 15 o

Putting ditto at 6d. per ditto ... ... 0150

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Bearing 30 scores at i2d. per hund
Drawing ditto at iod. per ditto
Horsedriver at 4d. per day

Shoveller per week

Smith per day

Under Overman per ditto

Corver, for making 3 corfs and mending
To burning 6 sacks cinders at i£d.
To J lb. soap for Ginn

• £0

o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

Paid G. Russell for bringing 10,000 corf rods from
Teasbank and getting them out of y e wood, last
year

£2 9 8

o 13

£s 2 8

In 1582, Queen Elizabeth obtained a ninety-nine years' lease of
the manors and royalties of Gateshead, Whickham, Winlaton, Ryton,
and Stella, at the yearly rent of ninety pounds, from the Bishop
of Durham. The Queen, however, soon after, transferred it
to the Earl of Leicester, who afterwards assigned it to his secretary,
Thomas Sutton, the founder of the Charter House. Sutton again,
in consideration of ;£i2,oco, transferred it to Henry Anderson
and William Selby. This lease, known as the Grand Lease, was
apportioned among the Society of Hostmen, for the benefit of the
town, and was the fruitful source of contention in after years.
While Sutton held it, the price of coal in London was six shillings
a chaldron; on its assignment to the Corporation, they ran the
price to eight shillings. In 1590, the current price in London was
advanced to nine shillings, upon which the Lord Mayor complained
to the treasurer, Burleigh, against the town of Newcastle ; setting
forth that the Society of Free Hosts consisted of about sixty persons,
who had consigned their right of the Grand Lease to about eighteen
or twenty, who engrossed the collieries at Stella, Ravensworth,
Newburn, &c, and therefore requested that the whole of these
might be opened and the price fixed at a maximum of seven
shillings a chaldron. Such is the early history of the Grand Lease.
The name is still retained by the Stella Coal Company, and is now

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applied to about five thousand acres of royalty, which they hold
from the sub-lessees of the Bishop of Durham and the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners. There are now five collieries belonging to the
Stella Coal Company: the Emma Pit, sunk in 1845 ; the Stargate
Pit, sunk in 1800 ; the Addison, sunk in 1864; the Blaydon Main,
purchased in 1884; and the Clara Ville, sunk in 1893. The seams
at present worked are the Towneley, Stone Coal, Five Quarter,
and Brockwell. The Stella Coal Company became proprietors of
the Stella and Towneley Collieries in 1837, when they succeeded
the previous proprietors, Messrs. Dunn, John Buddie, and T. Y.
Hall, A14erman Addison Potter, Humble Lamb, R. T. Atkinson,
and others.

Staiths.

In the account of the purchase of coals at Winlaton by the
King, in 1367, the coals were conveyed in keels and boats from
Winlaton to Newcastle. The coals would, in all probability, be
carried in wains, or in panniers, over the backs of horses to Stella,
and there transferred to the "boats and keels," which had to
convey them to Newcastle.

John Buddie, Esq., the father of the late John Buddie, had in
his possession a manuscript containing the following passage : —
" It also appears that from the year 1409, demises by copy of
Court Roll remaining in the Exchequer of Durham, have been,
from time to time, made by the Bishop of Durham, as lord of the
Manor of Chester, to different persons, of the coal mines and coal
pits in Ryton and Kyo Field, which is part of Ryton, for the
working of sea-coal, or coal to be vended and exported by sea,
with sufficient way leading from the pit to a staith granted to be
made upon the River Tyne, within the lord's forest, by the view
of the forester." This document does not mention the situation
of the staith, but there is every reason for believing it would be at
Stella. We may infer from this interesting document, that in the
early part of the 15th century, the south side of the higher reaches
of the Tyne was chiefly forest.

In a poem, "News from Newcastle," printed in 1 651, celebrating
the coal mines of Northumberland and Durham, there is the
following couplet : —

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" Our staiths their mortgaged streets will soon divide
Blathon own Cornewall, Stella share Cheapside."

Blaydon own Cornhill is probably intended by the writer. During
the 17th and 18th centuries, several staiths were erected at Blaydon,
but in the coal trade it never possessed the commercial importance
that Stella did, and at the beginning of the present century the
staiths at Blaydon fell into disuse. In the year 1749, there stood
between Stella Burn mouth and the "Bogle Hole," a distance of only
three hundred and thirty yards, the staiths belonging to Lord Wid-
drington, Mr. Morton and partners, Sir T. Clavering, Mrs. Newton,
Sir W. Blackett, Mr. Jennison, Lionel Vane, Esq., Mr. Davison,
Mr. Rodger, Mr. Snow, Mr. Emerson, and Miss Jenny Hunter. In
the year 1784, a number of the staiths had disappeared. On the
west side of the southern bend of the river, near to the present
saw mills, was the Grand Moor staith, and eastward was the
Whitefield staith. The west staiths have not only been abandoned,
but even the water-course by which the keels were taken for coals,
has been filled up. An old warehouse still marks the situation of
the west staiths. There were three principal waggon ways by
which the coals were taken to Stella. The Coalburns way brought
the coals from Hedley Fell, Chopwell, and Coalburns. The
Grand Lease, or Moor way, brought them from Ryton, Woodside,
and the Bare (Bar) Moor. The Cowclose way brought them
from the Strothers, Greenside and Cowclose. Another waggon
way carried the coals from French's Close, Kyo, Bradley Moor,
and Crawcrook, to the staiths on the side of the river opposite to
Newburn. Another waggon way was that afterwards used in
carrying the coals from the A, B, and C Pits to the Towneley
staith. These coals bore the Whitefield " brand." All the coals
of the Stella Coal Company are now sent by a private line of
railway to the Addison Colliery, except those sent to the Stella
staith. At the beginning of the present century, the river side
from Dunston to Stella was lined with staiths, all of which have
been abandoned, except one at Derwenthaugh and one at Stella.

Roman Catholic Chapel.

At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540, the nunnery at
Stella passed into the hands of the Tempests, who, however,
appropriated a portion of Stella Hall to a Catholic church, and

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worship was uninterruptedly conducted there until the year 1831.
A religious census of the inhabitants of Ryton parish was taken by
the Rev. Jonathon Mirehouse, curate, on the 12th of September,
1780, when the number of " Papists " was 324. At another census,
taken on the 2nd of July, 1788, the number had increased to 350.

In the year 1794, a number of the members of the English
Catholic Secular College at Douay, who had been taken and
imprisoned by the Republican army in the citadel of Dourlens, in
Picardy, managed to effect their escape to England. Some of
them took up their residence at Crook Hall, and others at Stella.
They subsequently settled and founded a college at Crook Hall ;
Dr. Lingard, the historian, being the first professor of divinity,
and vice-president. Crook Hall, in the course of a few years, was
found too restricted for the increased establishment, ancl on the
19th July, 1808, Ushaw College, one of the most important of the
Roman Catholic collegiate establishments in the county, was
opened for their use.

The Rev. John Wilson was priest at Stella in the year 17 15 —
the year of the first Rebellion ; he was, along with many others,
thrust into prison for being a Roman Catholic priest ; but he was
afterwards set at liberty, and returned to Stella, where he died.
There is the following entry in the Ryton register : — "1725, June
25th. John Wilson, a Romish priest, Stella [bur.]." The Rev. N.
Witham was the next priest, but in 1726 he resigned, and his place
was filled by the Rev. N. Rogers, who also resigned in 1730.
The Rev. N. Hutton was the next priest, but he remained only a
few months.

For about two years the chapel at Stella was supplied by neigh-
bouring pastors, when the Rev. Luke Wilson was appointed to this
station in 1732. After staying a few years at Stella, he removed;
and in 1737 the Rev. Thomas Greenwell, from the College of
SS. Peter and Paul, Lisbon, took the superintendence of the
worshippers at Stella; but in 1750 the Rev. J. Turner was invited
by Lord Widdrington to Stella. At this time Mr, Greenwell seems
to have formed a church at Blaydon, where he remained until his
death. There is the following entry in the Ryton register: —
"*753> August 26th. Mr, Thomas Greenwell, a Romish priest,

Blaydon Church [bur.]." Whoever inserted the entries in

the registers at Ryton, seems to have looked upon the word

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" Catholic " with horror, for we never at this time find it entered
in the books. We find the words u Romish " and " Papist," but
never the word " Catholic "

The Rev. J. Turner remained at Stella for about twenty-five
years, when he was succeeded in 1775 by the Rev. Thomas Eyre,
who remained at Stella until 1792. The Right Rev. Dr. Matthew
Gibson, Bishop of Comana, and Vicar Apostolic of the Northern
District, also officiated at Stella about this time. The local papers
of the time report his death as taking place on the 17th May, 1790.

George Silvertop, Esq., died at Stella Hall, on March nth, 1789,
aged eighty-five years; and Edward Horsley Widdrington Riddell,
on the 26th June, 1793.

The Rev. Thomas Eyre was succeeded, in 1793, by tne ^ ev *
William Hull, who continued missionary here till 1830, when being
incapacitated to do the duty, was succeeded by the Rev. Thomas
S. Witham, January nth, 1830.

The Rev. Thomas Eyre, D.D.,]when chaplain at Stella, began to
make arrangements for building a chapel, for which purpose he
obtained a grant of ^500 from Lady Mary Eyre, fifth daughter of
Charlotte, Countess of Newborough, who died at Warkworth
Castle, county of Northumberland, 27th August, 1798. The
interest of this sum subsequently swelled the amount to ^900.
George Silvertop of Minsteracres, also subscribed ;£ioo towards
the building of the chapel ; George Dunn of Newcastle, Esq., and
his family, ^230; Mrs. Dunn of Stella Hall, ;£ioo; Mr. William
Dunn of Hedgefield House, Esq., ^50, and Mrs. Dunn, ;£io;
the Rev. William Hull, j£$o; besides a number of smaller
subscriptions from Protestant gentlemen in the neighbourhood.

The chapel, which is dedicated to St. Mary and St. Thomas
Aquinas, was opened on the 12th day of October, 183 1, by Bishop
Penswick. The chapel is built of stone, in the Early English and
Later Gothic styles, consisting of nave, chancel, and a lady chapel.
The chancel opens to the nave by a handsome decorated pointed
arch, and is lighted above the altar by three lancets filled with
stained glass ; and the nave by single lancets, four of which on the
west side, and two on the east side, are filled with stained glass.
There is a gallery at the north end. Sittings are provided for
about four hundred and fifty people. The entrance to the chapel
is by a Decorated doorway on the west side. The Presbytery,

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which is at the north end, is fifty feet high, and embattled ; it is
lighted by a handsome window, mullioned and transomed, and
forms a pleasant and convenient residence for the chaplain.

The old burial ground is on the east side of the chapel. A
cross at the east end bears the date 1836. The present graveyard
is on the west side, in the centre of which stands a handsome
carved stone cross. On the south side of the church grounds is
the school, which accommodates about one hundred and twenty.

The priests since 1840 have been the Rev. Vincent Joseph
Eyre; 1845, ^ ev - Thomas Parker.; 1847, Rev. Ralph Piatt;
1857, Rev. Aisenius Watson ; 1865, Rev. H. Wrenall.

The Cowens.

The Cowens came from Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, to Stella.
At what time they removed to the "Catholic" village on the Tyne,
is uncertain, but it is supposed it was after the dissolution of the
Monasteries that they took shelter under the wing of the Tempests
at Stella Hall, where they were employed about the brewery
connected with the house. Some time after Sir Ambrose Crowley
established his ironworks at Winlaton, members of the Cowen family
became workmen under the famous firm. John Cowen, born in
1774, and Mary, his wife, born in 1777, may be said to have lived
for the greater part of their lives at Winlaton.

Joseph Cowen, afterwards Sir Joseph, was the son of John and
Mary Cowen, and was born at Greenside, on the 10th of February,
1800. He served his apprenticeship to the trade of a chain maker,
at Winlaton, where he continued to work until the period of middle
life. He married Mary, the daughter of Anthony Newton of
Winlaton, who was connected with one of the oldest families in
the neighbourhood. While still a young man, Mr. Cowen took an
active interest in all movements for the social improvement of his
fellow workmen. On the formation of the Blacksmith's Friendly
Society, in 1826, he was chosen secretary, a position which he
held for many years, discharging its duties gratuitously. On
January 1st, 1834, he was elected president of the society. The
library established at Winlaton in 18 19, also received Mr. Cowen's
warm support. The books kept by Mr. Cowen while secretary of
the Blacksmith's Friendly Society, are still preserved by the members.

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Mr. Cowen was one of those stalwart reformers known in the
North of England as "Crowley's Crew." At the great meeting
held on the Newcastle Town Moor on October nth, 1819, to
condemn the Manchester Massacre, " Crowley's Crew " were there
in strong force.

As with hop, step, and jump,

Through the town they did troop,

led on by the Winlaton Female Reformers. On that occasion
the contingent from Winlaton was led by Mr. Joseph Cowen and
Mr. Thomas Hodgson, the latter being one of the speakers at the
meeting. In 1828, we find Mr. Cowen, along with his brother-in-
law Mr. Anthony Forster, a manufacturer of fire bricks at Blaydon
Burn, under the firm of Mr. Joseph Cowen and Company. He
soon developed the resources of his business, while the superior
quality of his clay secured for him an increased patronage. Gas
retorts also became a speciality in the business, and at the Inter-
national Exhibitions of 185 1 and 1862, he was awarded prizes for
the superiority of his bricks and other fire-clay goods. Gasworks
were erected by the firm, who originally intended them for lighting
their own manufactory alone, but at the request of the inhabitants
of Blaydon, the firm extended their establishment, and on November
26th, 1853, the village was lighted with gas. Mr. Cowen was held
in such high esteem by the people of Blaydon, that they
presented him with a large portrait of himself, which now adorns
the Dining Room at Stella Hall. In the year 1853, he was
elected to the Municipal Council of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and
was afterwards invested with the civic honour of an alderman.
In 1836, he was elected a Guardian for Winlaton, and for thirteen
years he was Chairman of the Gateshead Board of Guardians.
He was also a Justice of the Peace for the County of Durham.
On the formation of the River Tyne Improvement Commission, in
1850, Mr. Cowen was appointed one of its life members, and for a
period of twenty years, the Chairman of the Commission. The
Commissioners have made the river the wonder and admiration of
all beholders rom all quarters of the globe. They have straightened,
widened, and deepened the river from Tynemouth to Hedwin
Streams, a distance of nineteen miles, and the unsightly old bridges
they have replaced by the present handsome structures. For the
willing and valuable services rendered by Mr. Cowen in promoting

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the interests and developing the resources of Tyneside, he received
the honour of knighthood, on March 14th, 1872. The following
is a copy of the official notification of Her Majesty's intention : —

"10 Downing Street,

"Whitehall, Nov. 21st, 187 1.
" Dear Mr. Cowen, — Allow me to tender you, with Her Majesty's
approval, the honour of knighthood, in acknowledgment of the
public service you have rendered, for so long a time, and with so
much ability, as Chairman of the River Tyne Improvement
Commission.

" If it be agreeable to you to accept this proposal, it will be very
gratifying to me to have tendered it. — I remain, with sincere
respect, faithfully yours,

"W. E. Gladstone.
"Jos. Cowen, Esq., M.P."

In the year 1865, Sir Joseph, then Mr. Cowen, at the request of
above two thousand of the Burgesses of Newcastle, came forward
as a candidate for Parliamentary honour and usefulness. At the
poll, Mr. Cowen stood first, with 2941 votes recorded in his favour;
Mr. Headlam was second, with 2477; the Whig candidate, Mr.
S. A. Beaumont, being defeated. Sir Joseph Cowen was by birth
and education a Radical. During his Parliamentary career he
seldom addressed the House of Commons, yet he seldom, if
ever, absented himself from his Parliamentary duties. This close
atteniion to duty in itself is sometimes more effective for good
than the most closely studied and eloquently delivered speeches.
Sir Joseph remained M.P. for Newcastle until his death, which
took place at Stella Hall, December 19th, 1873.

Sir Joseph was succeeded by his eldest son, Joseph, who was
born at Blaydon Burn, July 9th, 1831. He attended a private
school at Winlaton, first under the Rev. Mr. Kitchen, and after-
wards under Mr. Lee. Mr. Kitchen was a man of great and
varied ability, and his school was attended by nearly all the
gentlemen's sons in the neighbourhood. Mr. Cowen subsequently
attended Mr. Richard M. Weeks' private school at Ryton Park.
The school at Winlaton having been given up, the Ryton school
became the centre of a large district, from which young gentlemen*

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came to receive their education. Mr. Weeks died at Ryton, on
February 14th, 1894. After attending Mr. Weeks' school for a
few years, Mr. Cowen proceeded to the University of Edinburgh,
which then, by reason of the renown of its professors, enjoyed
something like European fame. Russlell, Palmerston, Landsdowne,
had been there before him. His chief extramural instructor was
the Rev. Dr. John Ritchie, who, although a Scottish preacher, was
a fearless Radical, and a popular platform speaker. After his
return to Blaydon Burn, Mr. Cowen engaged actively in his father's
business of fire-proof brick and retort manufacturer. The time he
could spare from business was devoted to improving the social
condition and elevating the moral tone of all classes of workmen
in the neighbourhood. The Mechanics' Institute of Winlaton and
Blaydon received no small share of his attention, and for a number
of years he personally discharged the duties of a teacher at the
latter institute. But his labours extended far beyond the neigh-
bourhood of his birth.

In January, 1854, we find Mr. Cowen, along with Mr. Ingham,
M.R, Mr. J. C. Grant, and the Rev. James Carr, addressing the
members of the South Shitlds Working Men's Institute ; and in
the same month, along with Lord Seaham and Lord Adolphus
Vane, speaking at the Stockton Mechanics' Institution. During
this year, Dr. John Ritchie, Mr. Cowen's former instructor at
Edinburgh, was in the North assisting his former pupil in promoting
the social welfare of the workmen on Tyneside. In 1854 appeared
the first number of the " Northern Tribune," with Mr. Cowen as
editor. The interesting sketches of the villages of Winlaton,
Stella, and Blaydon, are from the pen of the editor. In the
account of "Crowley's Crew," which he gives in his sketch of
Winlaton, Mr. Cowen rescued the history of that remarkable colony
of workmen from oblivion. Mr. Cowen about that time wrote a
pamphlet on Education, which provoked a reply from the then Earl
of Ravensworth. The correspondence ultimately found its way
into the " Times " newspaper, and produced no small amount of
excitement at the time. As a friend of temperance, Mr. Cowen
always found time — forty years ago — to address the working men,
usually at open-air meetings in the villages on Tyneside, at which
meetings he was generally associated with George Charlton, George
Dodds, and W. Peel, names well known in the North of England

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at that time. Id 1858, Mr. Cowen formed the Northern Reform
League, and in company with Mr. R. B. Reed, its secretary, he is
said to have visited every colliery village in Northumberland and
Durham, teaching the principles of " Christian Democracy." In
the Reform Demonstration of 1857, the League played an
important part, bringing out to a a Demonstration " in Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, an army of supporters which London itself could
scarcely equal. On the formation of the Northumbrian Education
League, Mr. Cowen was appointed chairman, and secured for
Board Schools the votes of the Northern Counties.

By this time Mr. Cowen possessed a European reputation. In
1854, on Garibaldi visiting Tyneside, he formed one of a deputation
who waited on the General at Shields, to present to him a sword
and telescope, purchased by a penny subscription. Mr. Cowen,
in presenting the sword and telescope, made one of those appropriate
speeches for the delivery of which he has become so famous.
Garibaldi afterwards visited Tyneside, and was the guest of Mr.
Cowen. In 1856, the illustrious exile, Louis Kossuth, visited
Newcastle, and delivered a number of lectures and speeches. Mr.
Cowen was closely associated with Kossuth during his stay on
Tyneside. At the first lecture, held in the Music Hall, Mr. Cowen
was on the platform ; at the second lecture he was chairman ; and
•during Kossuth's stay at Blaydon, he delivered an address in the
Mechanics' Institute, when Mr. Cowen again took the chair. The
great Hungarian paid other visits to Tyneside, and on each occasion
he was the guest of Mr. Cowen. Louis Blanc also, was often
^nder Mr. Cowen's roof. Mr. Cowen was an intimate friend of
Mazzini, whom he declares to be the greatest man he has known.
Mr. Cowen was also a close friend of Orsini, and of Ledru
Rollin ; and of the Polish revolutionary leaders, Worcell, Darasz,
Mieroslawski, Dombrowski, and Langiewiez. For years his house
had been an asylum for the victims of Russian tyranny, and a
considerable part of an ample income had been spent by him in
keeping alive the patriotism of the Polish insurgents and other
enemies of Russia. On the 22nd September, 1862, Mr. Cowen
was elected a member of the Newcastle Town Council, and on the
9th of November, 1877, he was invested with the honour of an
alderman. On the nth August, 1886, he resigned, after having
^sat in the Council for twenty-four years. In 1859, Mr. Cowen

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became proprietor of the " Newcastle Daily Chronicle," and in a
short time largely increased its circulation. During the agitation
in the North of England, in 1873, known as the "Nine Hours'
Movement," Mr. Cowen, both by his purse and his paper, rendered
invaluable service to the workmen, which resulted in the concession
of the u Nine Hours' " day to workmen in all parts of the country.

On January 14th, 1874, Mr. Cowen was elected to fill the
Parliamentary seat vacant by the death of his father At the poll
the numbers were: — Cowen, 7,356; Hammond, 6,353. Mr. Glad-
stone, however, dissolved Parliament before Mr. Cowen had taken
his seat, and in the following month another election took place,
when he was again returned. He entered Parliament with a
brilliant reputation. A Radical by birth, education, and tradition,
he had been for years the champion of the weak against the
strong ; in social, educational, and philanthrophic matters, and in
the extension and broadening of christian effort, he had become
an acknowledged authority. He was in 1874, what Charles
Attwood of Whickham had been in 1831 — the political guide and
adviser of the working classes on Tyneside. His platform training,
which was of the most complete description, had been received in
the open fields and on village greens, while addressing multitudes
of his fellow men. With these considerations in view, it is not
surprising that great things were expected of Mr. Cowen in Parlia-
ment ; and his parliamentary achievements in no way belied the
high hopes that his friends reposed in his great abilities and
immense experience. His speeches on the Friendly Societies' Bill,
on the County Suffrage Bill, on Mr. Plimsoll's Bill, on the County
Courts Bill, and the Licensing Boards Bill, which were made early
in his parliamentary career, gave proof of a varied capacity for
legislative work of a very high order; but it was his speech
delivered in opposition to the bill introduced by Mr. Disraeli, then
prime minister, conferring the title of Empress of India on the
Queen of England, which stamped him an orator ranking with
Gladstone and Bright.

Mr. Cowen was returned for Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1880, and
in 1885. At the end of the last mentioned Parliament, which
lasted till 1886, he retired from political life. Since that time
Mr. Cowen has only appeared on two occasions before Newcastle
audiences, namely, on October 5th, 1892, when he laid the founda-

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tion stone of the Rutherford College; and on September 12th,
1894, when he delivered an address at the unveiling ceremony of
the Memorial Fountain to the late Dr. Rutherford.

The following speeches delivered by Mr. Cowen deserve careful
reading and attentive study : —

" America and England ; " speech at a banquet given by the
Corporation of Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Ex-President Grant, Sept
22nd, 1877. *'The Spirit of our Time;" address delivered at the
opening of the Winter Session of the College of Physical Science,
October 1st, 1877. "Art in Trade;" delivered at the presentation
by Mrs. Lough of the models executed by her husband, the late
Mr. Lough, to the town of Newcastle, October 24th, 1877. "Art
and Education ;" delivered on the occasion of laying the foundation
stone of the Science and Art School, Newcastle, November 21st,
1877. "Eulogy on a Local Orator;" delivered on the occasion
of unveiling a memorial to the late Mr. Charles Larkin at
Newcasile-upon-Tyne, September 30th, 1880. "Art: its History
and Future ; " delivered at the annual distribution of prizes in
connection with the Bath Lane Science and Art School, October
1 2th, 1880. "Mechanics' Institutions and Oratory;" delivered
to the members of the Working Men's Club, September 18th, 1882.
" Modern Preaching and Preachers ; " delivered at a public break-
fast given in honour of the jubilee of the Rev. George Bell, May
26th, 1884. "Religious Liberty and Tolerance ;" delivered when
presiding at a lecture by the Rev. Mr. Macrae, in the Congregational
Church, Gateshead, October 13th, 1884. "Education;" delivered
on the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of the
Rutherford College, October 5th, 1892. "Dr. Rutherford ; "
delivered at the unveiling ceremony of the Memorial Fountain to
the late Dr. Rutherford, at Newcastle-on-Tyne, September 12th,
1894.

Although Mr. Cowen has retired from active public life, he still
takes a keen interest in political and social questions. Privately
he is sociable and pleasant, and when conversing on topics in which
he is interested, talks with all the animation and eloquence of
former days.

Miss Jane Cowen, Mr. Cowen's only daughter, is the authoress of
"Tales of Revolution and of Patriotism," published in 1884. She

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has' also contributed to the "Weekly Chronicle," "Colburn's
Monthly," and other magazines.

One hundred years ago, there stood at the west end of Stella, on
the south side of the present Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, a
forge belonging to Peter Hutchinson of Ryton, which afterwards
passed to his son, James Hutchinson. The forge was driven by a
water-wheel, and stood in a secluded spot, excellently adapted for
the purpose. This establishment was afterwards enlarged by the
addition of an iron foundry, which, in 1828, belonged to Mr.
Edward Emerson. It- subsequently passed into the hands of
Messrs. R. J. and R. Laycock, who manufactured waggons for
railways, and under whose direction the little factory flourished for
many years. At present, not a vestige remains to apprise the
visitor to Stella of this industry.

On the south side of the Hexham turnpike, there is a lane
which winds past a number of pretty cottages, and which at one
time terminated at the old turnpike at the top of the hill. This
lane was formerly "The Lover's Walk," but unfortunately for
the young men and maidens of the neighbourhood, the road was
closed a number of years since, and has not been re-opened. At
the east side of the road, which leads on to Stella Haughs, is
"High Stella House." This old house, which has a pleasant
outlook on the north side, has evidently seen better days. On a
plan of Stella (1767), it is marked the residence of Thos. Foster.
In 1828, it was the residence of Mr. Thomas Emerson, ironfounder.
At present it is occupied by Mr. William Douglas.

About the middle of the village is the old Stella brewery. The
brewery is not marked on the above mentioned plan of Stella, and
was probably erected at the date inscribed on the weather-cock,
"I. H. & Com. 1778." I. H. are the initials of James Hutchinson,
the owner of the forge. The brewery subsequently passed into the
hands of Mr. J. C. Thompson. In 1854 it belonged to Messrs.
Parker & Co., and was last used for manufacturing purposes by
Mr. John P. Dalton.

Considering the number of keelmen that lived at Stella and
Blaydon, it is not surprising that some of them should be first-class
oarsmen. William Galley of Stella, in the early years of the present
century, was champion oarsman of the Tyne. At the celebration
of the coronation of His Majesty George IV., July 19th, 1821, a

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great boat race took place from Walker Quay to the Tyne Bridge.
Thirteen boats started, including the "Laurel Leaf" (William
Galley), Stella. The "Laurel Leaf" arrived seventh in order, but
a dispute having arisen, the race was deferred till August ist (the
anniversary of the Battle of the Nile), when the competitors pulled
from Hebburn Quay to the Tyne Bridge, in the following order :
ist, "Laurel Leaf " (William Galley), 6 sovs.; 2nd, "The Swallow''
3 sovs. ; 3rd, " Lord Ravensworth, ,, 2 sovs. ; six boats competed.
William Galley belonged to one of the old Stella families, William
Silvertop having married a Galley of Stella in the 18th century.
There were also a four-oared and a six-oared crew, formed by the
keelmen of Stella and Blaydon. The village has remained stationary
for many years; the only industries at present are the staiths, and
the brick manufactory belonging to Messrs. Joseph Cowen & Co.

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BLAYDON.

This village, in the township of Winlaton, lies immediately on the
south side of the Tyne, and east of Blaydon Burn, The name is
probably derived from Mac = bleak, and dun = a hill. The population
in 1891 was : males, 2570; females, 2291 ; total, 4861.

Blaydon has no historical record of any importance. It belongs
exclusively to the modern days of material development. Few
villages on Tyneside have risen so rapidly in commercial importance
during the last fifty years ; and with a growing population, and a
yearly increasing trade, it will undoubtedly play an important part
in the great volume of Tyneside industry. In a plan of Blaydon
dated 1775, the village was composed of a number of houses
bordering the Hexham turnpike, on the east side of the Blaydon
Burn. The present road from Winlaton to Blaydon was Sir Edward
Blackett's "lead-way," by which the lead was carried from the
mines at Allenheads to the smelt mill at Blaydon. At the east
end of the village, where the bridge crosses the railway near to
Blaydon Haughs, there was a windmill. On the site of the present
railway station was the smelt mill belonging to Sir Edward
Blackett. Between the smelt mill and the west end of Tyne-
street was the village Green, extending southward to the present
turnpike. Alongside of the Green, at the river side, was Lord
Strathmore's quay. On the south side of the turnpike was the
Dockendale estate, the property of George Silvertop, Esq.; and
on the north side of Dockendale stands the house at present
occupied by Mr. Michael Hawdon, which, prior to 1775, was tn ^
residence of the Silvertop family before their removal to Stella
House. Mr. Hawdon's house is still designated the Manor
House. On the west side of Mr. Silvertop's mansion were the
Horse-crofts, and on the north side of the turnpike, and opposite
Mr. Silvertop's house, was a number of small houses, probably the
residence of keelmen. Such is the picture of Blaydon one hundred

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100

and twenty years ago. The old houses on the east side of the
Horse-crofts, which form Fountain-lane, are among the oldest in
Blaydon. The word "croft" is Saxon, and signifies a little close or
piece of ground adjoining a house for pasture, probably used for
the horses working at that time on the lead-gate.

By following a road commencing at Fountain-lane, for about half
a mile southward, the site of Dockendale Hall may be seen in a field
on the east side of Blaydon Burn. As already stated, Dockendale
formed part of the estate of G. Silvertop, Esq. The Hall was
probably only a large farm house, as many of such houses are still
called halls. In the year 1810, the house was made into tenements
and occupied by Mr. Dunn's keelmen. Sixty years ago, only a
few out-houses were standing, and to-day only the foundations
indicate its former existence. It may interest the people of
Winlaton and Blaydon to know that the following curious history,
taken from " Richardson's Table Book," is connected with Docken-
dale. At a sale in the beginning of 1760, a woman bought a very,
old bureau for 4s. 6d., being considered nothing better than lumber.
After the sale, she with difficulty prevailed on a nailer, a neighbour,
to assist her in removing it ; he, in forcing it open by the middle,
discovered some papers and loose gold, told her about it, and made
it fast again ; got more help, and took it away whole. In getting it
out, one of the papers fell, and the gold jingling was taken notice
of by one of the assistants, but the nailer saying it was only a bag
with a few nails he had put out of his pocket, he was believed.
After getting it home and dismissing the assistants, the purchaser
and her friend, the nailer, went to work and took it to pieces, and
were paid for their trouble with several purses and papers of gold
to a considerable amount. She gave the nailer five papers untold,
which enabled him to pay his debts and purchase a house and
shop to work in, which amounted to upwards of ^200 ; and was
told by the woman to apply to her if he wanted more ; but he was
satisfied, and looked upon it as a particular case of Providence,
being deep in debt and out of work, with a sick wife and a small
family. It was remarkable that this old piece of furniture was
recollected to have passed through several sales during the
preceding forty years ; that none of the gold was of a later coinage
than James II.; and that it was in the possession of an opulent
family in the neighbourhood of Newcastle in the year 17 15. This

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101

piece of furniture was bought by a woman living at Dockendale
Hall (1760), the sale being at the "Blacksmiths' Arms/' Winlaton.

Hutchinson says : — *' The wharfs at Stella and Blaydon receive
the greatest part of the lead which comes down the Tyne. The
proprietors are the London Company, the heirs of Sir Thomas
Blackett, Bart., and Henry Errington, Esq., and Company. The
smelt mills are chiefly on the Derwent river, at Whitefield, Jeffreys,
and Acton, belonging to the London Company; Dukesfield,
Allenheads, and Rookhope, belonging to the heirs of Sir Thomas
Blackett; and Feldon, near Edmundbyers, belonging to Mr.
Errington. Sir Thomas's heirs have a refinery at Blaydon. The
yearly receipt of lead at the above wharfs is 60,000 pieces of
twelve stone each. There are ninety-three carriages constantly
employed to bring down the lead, each carrying ten pieces at a
time. The average number of pieces of lead sent to Blaydon
from the western mines, in the county of Durham, is about
.100,000."

Before the introduction of carriages or wains, the lead was
conveyed from the mines by small Scotch galloways. A wood
frame was fixed over the backs of the galloways, containing a piece
of lead on each side. The leading pony had a bell attached to
his head, in order to guide those behind. It would be an inter-
esting sight to see forty or fifty galloways coming across the
fells and moors all under the direction of two men — from Allen-
heads in Cumberland, to Blaydon. It was after the roads were
improved that wains were used,

The London Lead Company's wharf was at Stella, and the road
by which the lead was conveyed to the wharf was called Lead
Gate. The route from the mines was over Hedley Fell to Lead
Gate, where the ponies were changed ; they then proceeded by
the road past Coalburns, Greenside, and Path-head to Stella.
The lead belonging to the heirs of Sir Thomas Blackett, was
refined at Blaydon, and afterwards shipped to its destination.
Every ton of lead-ore produced nine or ten ounces of silver, and
from this fact, the road from Blaydon church to Winlaton was
called " Silver Hill." The lead mines in Allendale afterwards
became the property of Colonel and Mrs. Beaumont, who also
came into possession of the refinery at Blaydon. It was while
Hugh L. Pattinson, Esq., was manager of the establishment, that

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102

he made many of those discoveries which raised "him to a high
place in his profession. Since the construction of the Newcastle
and Carlisle Railway, in 1835, both the staiths and the smelt mills
have disappeared.

In the year 1828, Blaydon was still one of the smallest villages
on Tyneside, although a few manufactories had commenced,
William G. Hawdon had an iron foundry ; Emerson and Milner,
iron and steel foundries, and a fire-brick manufactory ; and the
Beaumonts, the lead-yard. Blaydon House had been built, and
was occupied by Mr. John Mulcaster, agent to Thomas Richard
Beaumont, Esq. The village possessed eight public-houses. The
dwellings of the keelmen, who comprised the most numerous class
of workmen in Blaydon and Stella, occupied nearly the whole of
the houses in the village. In the year 1850, the village possessed
a thriving and important trade, and manufactories lined the side
of the river. Industries of nearly every description were com-
menced. The following works were in active operation : — North
Durham Bottle Works ; W. C. Carr, clay-retort manufacturer ; W.
Harriman, fire-brick manufacturer; A. Thatcher, glass manu-
facturer ; R. Hall & Co., chain manufacturers ; Blaydon Chemical
Company ; W. G. Hawdon, engine builder and founder ; R. Lynn,
lamp-black manufacturer ; and B. Stokoe, fell-monger.

It was not until the opening of the Blaydon Main Colliery, in
1853, that the village assumed its present shape. At that time
Cuthbert-street and Robinson-street were built for the workmen at
the colliery ; and since that time Blaydon has greatly enlarged in
size and in population.

Upon the 5th November, 1865, Mr. John Nicholson, timber
merchant, died. He built three or four small vessels; but this
industry has not been pursued.

The opening of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, in 1835,
gave a great impetus to the trade of Blaydon, but it also sounded
the death-knell to the vocation of the keelman. On the 9th
March of that year two trains, drawn by the "Rapid" and the
"' Comet," started from Blaydon for Hexham amidst tremendous
cheering and the booming of cannon. The trains brought back
the passengers to Blaydon in an hour and a quarter — quite a
marvellous feat in those days. On March 1st, 1837, the line between
Redheugh and Blaydon was opened ; on May 31st, 1839, the line

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103

from Newcastle to Blaydon for minerals, and on October 21st,
Newcastle to Blaydon for passengers.

The keelmen were not the only class of men whose trade
suffered by the introduction of the railroad system : the " British
Queen" coach, which started from Hexham, and called at "The
Beehive," Blaydon, at half-past ten in the morning and at half-past
four in the afternoon, to take up passengers, was compelled by the
cheapness of railway travelling to retire from the road, and the
jolly coachman of sixty years ago has disappeared for ever.

On November 26th, 1853, Blaydon was first lighted with gas,
the supply being obtained from the works of Messrs. Joseph
Co wen & Co., who originally intended them for lighting their own
manufactory alone; but who, at the request of the inhabitants,
extended their establishment, so as to light not only Blaydon, but
the other villages in the neighbourhood as well The gas was
made from cannel coal, and gave every satisfaction, both as regards
its purity and brilliancy. On December 6th a large and influential
meeting of the inhabitants was held in the lecture hall of the
Mechanics' Institution, with Dr. Brown in the chair, at which
resolutions were passed thanking Messrs. Cowen for having offered
their gas to the public, and for agreeing to light the streets ; the
meeting pledging themselves to raise the requisite funds to pay
for the same.

The Church.

The Church, dedicated to St. Cuthbert, occupies a commanding
position at the head of the street to which it gives name, and faces
the Hexham turnpike. The site was given by T. W. Beaumont,
Esq. It is a stone structure in the Early English style, comprising
nave, chancel, north aisle, and handsome pinnacled tower. The
aisle is under a separate roof, and divided from the nave by four
pointed arches springing from round pillars. The nave and south
porch were erected in 1844, at a cost of about ^800, and the
aisle, chancel, and tower were afterwards added.

In 1876 a peal of six bells and a clock of three dials were placed
in the tower by subscription, at a cost of about £600 ; the tenor
being given by the late Sir Henry A. Clavering, Bart., and the
clock by John B. Simpson, Esq. In 1882 the church was partially

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104

restored, when the south porch was removed, the nave re-pewed,
the organ removed from the gallery into a chamber in the chancel,
and the chancel and choir screens were erected. The cost of the
restoration was about ^£500. The present number of sittings is
six hundred and fifty, all of which are free.

The east window is in four compartments, and filled with stained
glass. In each of the lights there is represented a scene in the
life of our Saviour.

Against the north wall of the chancel there is a tablet with the
inscription : —

In loving memory of

The Rev. William Brown, m.a.,

Rector and first Incumbent of

this parish for 32 years,

who died November 15th, 1877, aged 59 years.

Thanks be to God, which giveth us the

victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye

steadfast, unmoveable, always

abounding in the work of the Lord,

forasmuch as ye know that your

labour is not in vain. 1. Cor. xv. 57-58.

In the nave, at the east end, there is a window of two lights,
filled with stained glass, representing — first, Job ; second, St. Paul.
On a brass plate underneath the window is the inscription : —

The above window, erected by his widow and

children in affectionate remembrance of

Charles Armstrong, Esq., of Newcastle-on-Tyne,

who died Oct. 22nd, 1868, aged 69 years. Also James Armstrong,

son of the above, who died January 19th, 1858, aged 19.

Also Ann Elizabeth Armstrong, daughter of the above,

who died January 27th, 1864, aged 26.

A window at the east end of the north aisle bears the following: —

In affectionate Memory of Henry Poole,

first warden of this Church. By A. A. and J.B. A., of

London, 186 — .

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105

In the west wall of the north aisle another window has the
inscription : —

Erected in Memory of James Mitford, who died

Nov. 14th, 1865, aged 74 years ; and left ^100 towards

the completion of this church, by his executors,

P. Brown, M.D., and J. Parker.

The handsome cover on the altar-table was the gift of Mrs.
Greene, wife of the rector. The brass reading desk, chastely
designed, and surmounted by an eagle, took the first prize at the
Newcastle Exhibition.

The living is valued at ^300, and the patronage is vested in
the Crown and the Bishop of Durham. The tithes were commuted
in 1855 f° r £> 2 1- The Rev. Matthew Greene is rector.

The rector's house stands at the east side of the church. There
is a small graveyard at the north side of the church.

Prior to the erection of the church, religious services were
conducted in a chapel of ease at the west end of Blaydon, near
to the Burn Side ; the building is now used as a joiner's shop,
and has the following inscription above the door : — " Cura Caroli
Thorp, a.d. 1832."

The Wesleyan Methodists have a handsome chapel, which is
situated on the north side of the Shibdon-road, at the east end of
the village. The Methodists had a preaching house at an early
period of their history. The house in which services were first
conducted belonged to William Hawdon. Mr. Michael Hawdon
has in his possession a mantel bearing the inscription, " w. H - m.
(William and Mary Hawdon), 1737 ;" this stone belonged to the
house in which the early Methodists worshipped, and which stood
on the site of a house now in Bridge Street (No. 11). The house
comprised a kitchen and a room above. The upper room was
entered from the kitchen by a trap-door. Mr. Hawdon also possesses
a stool on which the preacher stood to address the congregation.
The stool was placed immediately under the trap door. It some-
times happened that the congregation was too large for the kitchen,
on which the upper room was also used ; the preacher by standing on
the stool, and raising his head above the door, could then see the
congregations in both rooms. The Methodists afterwards removed
to a more commodious room in the "Horse-crofts," in which they

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106

worshipped until 1856, when they took possession of their new
chapel in Wesley-place. After conducting services there for nearly
forty years, they built their present chapel, which was opened in
1893. It is built in the Early English style, and serves at present
as a school-chapel. The seating at present provided is for four
hundred ; and the cost was ^2,600.

The Blaydon and District Co-operative Literary
Institute.

Since 1847 there has been a Mechanics' Institution in the
village. In the year 1852, a large and handsome building was
erected by subscription. The foundation stone was laid in May
of that year, by Mr. Blackett, M.P., and it was opened in Sep-
tember. The cost of the erection was £600. In the early days
of the Institution, the late Mr. Thomas Vallance, keelman, was
president, and Mr. James Eadie, secretary. In 1875 lt became
the property of the Blaydon and District Co-operative Society, at
a cost of about ^1300, and the Institute became free to all mem-
bers of the society, at present numbering 41 14. It is a commodious
structure, comprising library, reading-room, and lecture-hall. The
news-room is well supplied with the various metropolitan and
provincial journals and magazines, and the library contains upwards
of 2200 volumes. There are also science and art classes, which
are fairly well attended during the winter months.

Blaydon District Co-operative Society.

The Blaydon Society is one of the oldest in the Co-operative
Union. Mr. Holyoake, in his " History of Co-operation," declares
that, next to Rochdale, it is the most remarkable store in England.
It has grown from a house to a street. Perhaps no man had more
to do with the formation of the store than Mr. Joseph Cowen. A
number of shrewd and intelligent men met weekly in the Mechanics'
Institute of the village, when Mr. Cowen read portions of Mr.
Holyoake's " History of the Rochdale Pioneers," and impressed
them with the wisdom of the Co-operative movement, and the
utility of the "store." The Blaydon Society was commenced in
the year 1858, in a cottage situated in Cuthbert-street. Thirty-

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eight members were enrolled at the first public meeting. In a
short time the rooms in Cuthbert-street were too small for the
amount of business to be transacted by the members, and the
present large and handsome premises in Church-street were com-
menced. Additions have several times been made to the original
building. At present the Society's business is carried on in
grocery, butchering, tailoring, drapery, shoemaking, green-grocery,
and hardware departments. In 1894, there were one hundred
and thirty-five employees in the service of the society.

The following figures will show the doings of the Society since
its commencement: — Sates, £3,338,027; capital subscribed by
members, ,£120,646; capital withdrawn, ,£469,996; members*
dividends, ,£382,845 ; interest on members' capital, ,£57,994 ;
depreciation of property, fixed and rolling stock, ,£27,497 ; capital
invested in other societies, £" 10,445 > investments withdrawn,
£"14,748; present amount of investments, £"19,486; present
members' claims, ,£80,054 ; present nominal value of fixed and
rolling stock, £"24,430; present number of members, 4,000;
sales for the year 1893, £"130,450. The Blaydon Society has also
branch stores at Prudhoe, Lemington, Spen, Winlaton, West wood,
and Barmoor. The Burnopfield and Throckley stores were
formerly branches of Blaydon, but are now independent societies.

The Blaydon society has built at Blaydon sixty-seven houses ;
at Lemington, twenty-seven; at Prudhoe, twenty; at Spen, sixteen;
and at Barmoor, eighteen — which are occupied by members of the
stores.

In 1875 tne Blaydon Society commenced to apportion i\ per
cent, of the profits per annum towards education : and up to the
present time ^£8,000 has been devoted to that purpose.

The Catholic School (St. Joseph's) stands on the south side of
the Hexham turnpike, and opposite to the church (St. Cuthbert's).
It was opened in 1870, to accommodate 230 children.

A little west of St. Cuthbert's Church is the Primitive Methodist
Chapel. It is a good stone building, and was erected in 1854,
with sittings for 300 persons. The Primitive Methodists have a
smaller chapel at Blaydon Haughs, erected in 1881, to seat
about 200.

The United Free Methodists have a small chapel in Tyne-street, t
built in 1859, at a cost of ,£300, having seats for 150.

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There are on the river side the following industries, which give
employment to several hundreds of workmen: — Blaydon Iron
Works; Blaydon Manure and Alkali Company; Blaydon Bottle
Works; Messrs. Douglass Brothers, Engineers; Messrs. Smith,
Patterson & Co., Ironfounders and Sanitary Engineers ; Messrs.
William Harriman & Co., Brick Manufacturers; Messrs. Hoyle,
Robson, Barnett & Co., Paint, Colour, and Varnish Manufac-
turers ; Cinder Ovens (Stella Coal Company).

At a short distance from the Wesleyan Chapel, at the east end
of Blaydon, is the Cemetery (St. Cuthbert's, Stella), which occupies
an elevated position on the south side of the Hexham turnpike.
It was opened in March 1873, the first interment taking place on
the 17 th of that month. It covers an area of three and a quarter
acres, and contains two mortuary chapels, in the Early English
style, which are divided by an archway in the usual manner, as
also a house for the curator. The total cost was ^2,600.

In the Cemetery, on a handsome granite vault cover, which
marks the resting place of the last of the long line of Claverings,
there is the following inscription : —

Sir Henry Augustus Clavering,

Of Axwell Park, Tenth and last Baronet,

Born 30th August, 1824,

Died 9th November, 1893;

Aged 69 Years.

There is also in the Cemetery a neat monument erected to the
memory of James Ramsay. The base of the structure supports
the figure of that well-known and highly-respected man, holding in
his hand a "rattle," used in calling the pitmen to their work. On
the base of the monument is inscribed : —

Sacred

To the Memory of

James Ramsay,

Aged 61 Years.

Erected by the Miners of Durham,

As a Tribute to his long and Self-sacrificing

Labours in the Cause of Human Progress.

« He was a Zealous Worker, a Faithful Friend,

a Christian Patriot

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A little further eastward, and at the foot of Winlaton Bank, is
the Board School, built in 1889 for the accommodation of the
children living at Blaydon. It is a magnificent structure, occu-
pying a commanding position on the south side of the turnpike.
It was built from a design by Thomas C. Nicholson, Esq., of
Blaydon, and comprises departments for boys, girls, and infants,
with a total accommodation for over 700 children. The cost of
the building was ^8,700.

On the north side of the Hexham turnpike is situated the
Blaydon Main Colliery, worked by the Stella Coal Company.
This colliery was opened in 1 85 3, and at present the Brockwell
seam, 2 feet 10 inches at a distance of 46 fathoms, is being
worked. There are about four hundred men and boys employed,
including the coke-ovens at Derwenthaugh. The miners live at
Winlaton and Blaydon.

Returned to Blaydon, a road opposite to the church, known as
Blaydon Bank, leads to Winlaton. At the bottom of the road,
and on the west side, is Blaydon House — already mentioned — the
residence of Dr. Brown ; whose father Dr. Blown, is well-known
and highly respected in the neighbourhood. For many years he
has been identified with all movements for the elevation of the
working classes.

It was nearly at the top of Blaydon Bank, on October 5th,
i860, that John Baty was murdered by Thomas Smith, who was
afterwards hanged at Durham.

The Blaydon Local Board was first formed in 1 861, at which
time it comprised Blaydon village only. The district was twice
extended : in 1875 Winlaton and Stella townships were taken in,
and in 1877 Chopwell township was added — which altogether
embraced an area of 9,348 acres.

In December 1894, the Blaydon Urban District Council was
formed. The district is divided into two wards, Blaydon with
twelve, and Chopwell with three members.

A Burial Board, numbering six members, was formed in 1873.

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WINLATON.

The parish of Winlaton was constituted November 6th, 1832,
and includes the whole of the townships of Winlaton and
Chop well previously forming the eastern, southern, and western
boundaries of the parish of Ryton. It is bounded on the north
by the Tyne, from Blaydon Burn foot to the confluence of the
Tyne and Derwent, a distance of about a mile. The boundary
on the east is still the Derwent, extending for about two miles
between Axwell Park and Swalwell, to Gibside Hall, where it
takes a westerly direction past Rowlands Gill, the western part of
the Crown Lands in Chopwell, and Milkwell Burn, and divides
Winlaton from Northumberland. The line proceeds in a northerly
direction past Hedley Fell — dividing that place from the townships
of Ryton and Chopwell — to Bucks Nook. On the south this is
the boundary line which separates the parish of Winlaton from
that t of Ryton. On the formation of the Chapelry of Stella,
August 8th, 1845, tne northern portion of the township of
Winlaton was added to it (Stella).

The village of Winlaton, which is about two miles south-east of
Ryton, stands on a high exposed ridge, sloping on the south and
the east to the Derwent, and on the north to the Hexham turnpike.
The houses are generally irregularly built, and apparently without
any plan.

Winloctun, Winlaghton, Winlauton, Winlawton, Wynlaton,
Winlaton is probably derived from Win or Whin — formerly many
parts of the township were covered with whins, and bore the name
of Whiney Close, Whiney Common, &c; law, from the Anglo-
Saxon word hleaw = rising ground ; and ton = town or village.

Population of the township, 1801, 3021; 1811, 3063; 1821,
3532: 1831,3951; 1841,5006; 1851,5627; 1861,6809; l8 7 J i
7494; 1881, 8330; 1891, 10,390. Rateable Value in 1821,
,£5,576 ; in 1894, £34,7i3- Area, 5,217 acres-

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There are strong grounds for supposing that a branch of the
Roman highway (Watling-Street) passed through the vicinity of
Winlaton. At a small distance from Binchester, a military way
has been observed to leave the Watling-Street, supposed to go to
Chester-le-Street. Again, the remains of such a way have been
found on Gateshead Fell, pointing to Newcastle. Having passed
the Derwent at Ebchester, this old road proceeds towards
Corbridge. About half a mile north of Whittonstall there is a
remarkable turn in it, and at this turn an exploratory fort of about
thirty yards square. There was most likely an easterly continu-
ation of the (Maiden) way through Hedley, Coalburns, Winlaton,
etc., connecting it with the Reken Dyke, which ran to Jarrow and
South Shields. Several querns have been found in the neighbour-
hood. In taking down some old houses at Swalwell, a few years
since, four querns were discovered in the foundations; and in
1889, a quern was found in the old foundation of the National
School at Whickham.

In Boldon Book, 1183, Wynlaton and Berley are on lease with
the demesne and the villein service, and with the farm stock,
under ^15 rent. Besides, the tenants in villenage mow the lord's
meadows (each two days' work with one man), and then receive
their corrody — whence our northern word "crowdy;" and win
and lead the hay, one day's work. The marsh, the meadow, and
the wood (nemus) are reserved to the lord. The mill pays five
marks and a half.

Coals were obtained at Winlaton at an early period of the
history of this industry. From the Pipe Rolls, 40 Ed. Ill-, 1367,
we have the particulars of the account of Henry de Strother,
sheriff of Northumberland, of monies by him paid for the provision
and purchase of sea-coals, for the use of " our lord ye king," the
same being purchased by virtue of the letters of our lord the king
under his privy seal, addressed to the said sheriff under date 19th
day of February, in the 40th year of our said lord, the King of
of England. " Purchase of Coals — The same accounteth for 676
chaldrons of coals, counting by the long hundred of sea coals,
purchased at Wynlaton at 17 pence per chaldron, ^47 17s. 8d.;
and for 33 keels and one boat, with men labouring in the same,
namely in each keel five men, and in the boat four men, each of
the said keels containing 20 chaldrons, and the aforesaid boat

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containing 1 6 chaldrons; conveying and carrying the said coals
from Wynlaton to the port of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and there
putting the same on board ship ; each of the said men having for
his wages 6 pence, and for the hire of each keel and boat 1 2 pence,
1 1 8s. 6d.; and for the wages of one John Tavener, superintending
the loading and conveyance of the said coals, and the procuring
and freighting of divers ships for taking the said coals on board,
and bringing the same to London, namely, from the 14th day of
April, in the 40th year (of our lord the king) to the 6th day of
June next following, being 54 days, reckoning each day, he
receiving 1 2d. per day by agreement, 54 shillings; and to one
Hugh Hankyn, for his labour and expenses in travelling to London
and there abiding to receive the said coals from the masters of
the ships, and delivering the said coals by indenture to Adam de
Hertyngdone, clerk of our lord the King, and thence returning to
his own home, viz: 74 days, he receiving 18 pence per day by
agreement.

" And to the divers masters of the ships for the freight of 5 89 J
chaldrons of coals from the aforesaid port to London, and there
delivered as appears by the indentures of delivery of the said
coals, indentured between the said Henry Strother and the
aforesaid masters testifying of the said delivery, namely for every
chaldron 3s. 6d. — ^103 4s. Total sum, ^165 5s. 2d." — T.J.
Taylor, "Archaeology of the Coal Trade."

From this account we can ascertain the price of coals at
Winlaton in the 14th century. It is rather uncertain what the
chaldron was rated at in 1367. In the year 1530, the Priory of
Tynemouth let a colliery called Heygrove, at Elswick ; another in *
the East-field there ; besides one in the West-field, and one near
Gallow-flat, for ^20 a year, on condition that more than twenty
chaldrons, of six bolls each, should not be drawn in a day. Six
bolls were equal to about 1600 lbs., or 14^ cwts. "i7d." was paid
for a chaldron equal to about 14^ cwts.; so that the price paid at
the Winlaton pits for the king's coals was a fraction more than
one penny per cwt. The carrying capacity of the keels was twenty
chaldrons, and the sum paid to the keelmen for carrying the coals,
probably from Stella to Newcastle, was sixpence per man. Since
that time (14th century), every available part of Winlaton and its
vicinity has been worked for coal. One part of the village — The

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Groves — has taken its name from the coal-mining carried on at
the north side.

In 1368, Ralph Nevill, Chivaler, died seized of the manor,
held by twenty marks exchequer rent. "Hatfield's Survey," 1345 —
1 38 j, states only that Lord Nevill held the village of Winlaton by
knight's service and ^20 rent ; and in Lord Nevill's family the
manor continued till the reign of Elizabeth, when just before the
forfeiture, Charles, Earl of Westmorland, 19th July, 1569, conveyed
his manor of East and West Winlaton — which included Blaydon,
Bates Houses, Thornley, Spen, Smailes, Sherburn, Lintz-ford, and
Berley, and free fishery in the Tyne — for ^2000, to Richard
Hodgson and William Selby, in equal moieties. In 16 13 William
Selby died seized of half the manor, leaving George Selby his son
and heir; which Sir George Selby died in 1625, an( * left six
daughters, married to Belasyse, Delaval, Curwen, Conyers, Fenwick,
and Delaval. The estate seems to have descended to Sir W r illiam
Selby (brother and heir-male of Sir George), sometimes styled
of Shortflat, county of Northumberland; and in 1633, John
Hodgson, Esq., and William Fenwick, Gent, had pardon for
purchasing without licence the same moiety from Sir William
Selby, Knt., and William Selby, Esq. The alienation was
probably on trust, for Sir George Selby of Whitehouse is sometimes
styled of Winlaton. As to Hodgson's share, 8th August, 1631,
George Hodgson, Esq., acquired three-eights of the manor of Sir
Robert Hodgson, Knt. William Hodgson, Esq. (brother and
heir-male of Sir Robert), is described of Winlaton, in 1661;
his daughter and co-heir Alice, became the wife of Sir Thomas
Tempest of Stella, whose representatives held a portion of the
manor. The Andersons also retained some share of the purchase ;
for 14th April, 1600, Robert Anderson, merchant, acquired one-
fourth of the manor from his father, Robert Anderson, alderman
of Newcastle. According to a plan of the lordship of Winlaton
(1632), Sir William Hodgson's share is 1,601 acres, 2 roods, and
36 perches; Sir William Selby's, 2,121 acres, 3 roods, and 28
perches ; and Robert Anderson's, 509 acres and 36 perches. In
the Newcastle Journal of February 10th, 1753, Winlaton Hall is
described as the house in which Sir Robert Hodgson formerly
lived. Probably Sir Robert only made the Hall his summer
residence, as he is usually described of Hebburn. A few years

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ago, during alterations at Hebburn Hall, the arms of Sir Robert
Hodgson and his wife were found on one of the panels. He died
13th September, 1624, and was buried at Jarrow. William
Hodgson, brother and heir-male of Sir Robert, is described of
Winlaton, and seems to have been a parishioner of Ryton, for at
his death, which took place on the 14th January, 166 1-2, he
is not buried in the family vault at Jarrow, but at Ryton. This is
the only member of the family buried at Ryton. Probably on Sir
Ambrose Crowley founding his colony at Winlaton in 1690, the
Hall would be deserted by the Hodgsons; although Surtees
records the interesting circumstance of Mary Hodgson, daughter
of Philip Hodgson, who resided in Lincolnshire, being married
privately at Winlaton chapel to Shaftoe. Surtees does not
mention to which family of Shaftoe the husband of Mary Hodgson
belonged, neither does he give the date of the marriage. Philip
Hodgson, Mary's father, was buried at St. Nicholas, on nth of
March, 1730, and as the chapel at Winlaton was not erected till
1705, the marriage must have taken place about the first quarter
of the eighteenth century.

In the month of April, 1638, there is a petition to the king
from Sir William Selby. He was disposing of property in Winlaton,
and most of his money (said he) being to arise out of the sale of
coal mines. No man could make any gain of them but a free
Hostman of Newcastle, and there being very few of that Company
that could dispend so much money, he was like to receive no
fruit, and the debts must remain unpaid, and his friends who
stood engaged for the same be undone. Sir William therefore
prayed that such persons as should buy the coal mines should be
admitted to trade as Free Hostmen of Newcastle, as he himself
was : by this means he would soon find chapmen for his mines.
Sir William Selby afterwards sold his unprofitable lands and coal
mines in Winlaton to Sir William Blackett, who was a member of
the Incorporated Company of Hostmen.

Lord Keeper Guilford who visited the North of England in
1676, relates the story that Sir William Blackett "cut into a hill
in order to drain the water, and conquered all difficulties of such
and the like until he came to clay, and that was too hard for him ;
for no means of timber and walls would resist, and all was crowded
together ; and this was by the weight of the hill bearing upon clay

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that yielded. In this work he lost ^20,000." It is a pity the
Lord Keeper does not mention the name of the hill ; but in all
probability it was Winlaton. At the time of Sir William Blackett's
death, in 1680, he held the manor of Winlaton and the coal mines
there.

In the year 1604, Winlaton was visited by the plague. The
following entry appears in the Ryton register : — "1604. 35 persons
died of ye plague between June and November out of the town-
ship of Winlington. ,, It was not uncommon at that time for the
people to leave the infected villages and erect huts for themselves
on the fells, where they lived until the plague disappeared. The
author of "England in the Fifteenth Century" states that "the
disease was mostly of a typhoid character. The undrained, neg-
lected soil ; the shallow stagnant waters which lay on the surface
of the ground ; the narrow, unhealthy homes of all classes of the
people; the filthy, neglected streets of the towns ; the insufficient and
unwholesome food ; the abundance of stale fish which was eaten ;
the scant variety of vegetables which were consumed ; the miser-
able wages of labourers and artisans, predisposed the agricultural
and town populations alike to typhoid diseases, and left them
little chance of recovery when stricken down with pestilence."

In the year 1690, Sir Ambrose Crowley removed his ironworks
from Sunderland to Winlaton, which, says Surtees, "consisted of a
few deserted cottages." It is said that the people of Sunderland
regarded the ironworks of Crowley with disfavour ; but probably a
stronger reason for the removal of the factory to Winlaton was
that the coal found in the neighbourhood was peculiarly adapted
for smith work.

The following advertisement from the "Post Boy," No. 510
(published about 1697 or 1699), gives a detailed account of the
iron-work Mr. Crowley dealt in at that time : — " Mr. Crowley, at
the Doublet in Thames-street, London, Ironmonger, doth hereby
give Notice, that at his works at Winlaton, near Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, any good Workmen that can make the following Goods, shall
have constant employment, and their wages every week punctually
paid, viz : — Augers, Bed-screws, Box and Sad-irons, Chains, Edge-
Tools, Files, Hammers, Hinges, Hows for the Plantations, Locks,
especially Ho-locks, Nails, Patten-rings, and almost all other sorts
of Smiths' Work."

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The ironworks, or factory as it was usually called, was extended
in 1 69 1 to Winiaton Mill, and afterwards to Swalwell, Dunston,
and the Teams. The smaller ware was made at Winiaton, and
the larger, including the hows for the plantations, harpoons for the
Greenland whale-fisheries, artillery for the Government, as well as
the larger chains and anchors, were made at Swalwell and Winiaton
Mill.

A great number of workmen were brought from Liege, considered
at that time the best place in Europe for smiths, who taught the
Englishmen to make nails for sheathing ships. In the best days
of the factory, 1,500 men are said to have been employed, using
7,000 bolls of coal per annum. Winiaton, which "consisted of a
few deserted cottages" before the advent of Crowley, afterwards
became a village of great dimensions and considerable social
importance. Shops in which nail-makers, smiths, chain-makers,
f hinge-makers, and patten-ring makers made their respective wares,

were erected in every part of the village; and at a census of the
parish of Ryton, taken in 1788, by Jonathan Mirehouse, curate,
Winiaton consisted of 617 families. The iron-work made at Win-
iaton was sent to Blaydon, where it was conveyed to the New
Quay at Newcastle. The tolls of the Newcastle Corporation seem
to have been considered by Crowley as exorbitant, which he
refused to pay; for in July, 1694, arrears for three years, viz.,
from 5th March, 1691, to 25th March, 1694, were outstanding
against him; and on October 12th, 1702, a complaint was made
by Mr. Francis Johnson, the quay master, that Crowley, notwith-
standing his agreement, paid no duty to the town, and loaded and
unloaded his goods at Shields, and Blaydon, and other places,
without licence of the Corporation.

From the year 1690 till 18 15-16, nearly all the work for the
Government was made by Crowley. The orders for iron-work
were received at Winiaton every ten weeks ; sometimes the orders
were inadequate to keep the workmen employed for more than
two or three weeks out of the ten, when they were obliged to seek
work elsewhere.

The working hours of the establishment were from five in the
morning till eight at night; and during the early years of the
community little time seems to have been allowed for recreation
and mental improvement ; for the factory bell, which was a kind

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of cuifew, rung every night at nine o'clock, when the workmen
were expected to retire to rest. The curfew seems to have been
occasionally disregarded, for the following entry appears in the
Ryton church books: — "1745. Paid to the constable of Winlaton
for giving notice to people not to keep late hours. 4&"

Sir Ambrose Crowley paid great attention to the religious
welfare of his workmen. Winlaton Hall, which belonged to Sir
William Blackett, was licenced for preaching in 1703. On April
17th, 1705, a subscription was commenced for building a chapel,
which was finished and regularly pewed in the following January.
It had a gallery at the west end, with a turret and a clock, and
afforded accommodation for three hundred persons. The work-
men chose a minister of their own, and contributed to his support
from their wages, one half-farthing in the shilling. To the sum
so raised the proprietors added an annual gift of ^10. Afterwards
a fixed stipend of ^50 per annum was settled on the minister,
and the workmen's contributions amounting to more than that,
the surplus was devoted to the maintenance of a public school.
The chapel was built on the foundation of St. Anne's Chapel,
destroyed in the Rebellion of the Earls in 1569. An account of
the re-building of Winlaton Chapel was printed in London in
171 1, to which is prefixed a letter of Lord Crewe's (September
23rd, 1 7 10), stating that Mr. Jonathan Story had been very instru-
mental in the good work. Hutchinson says that human bones
have been frequently dug up, when there was occasion to break
up the soil to any depth. In recent years excavations have several
times been made in the grounds adjoining the chapel, under the
direction of Mr. T. C. Nicholson, architect, of Blaydon, but no
human bones have been found.

Among the chaplains appointed to Winlaton chapel were —
Edmund Lodge, 1705 (Master of Haydon Bridge) ; Watson James
Mear, 1706.

The following entry appears in the Ryton parish register: —

"1721, Aug. 9th. Eleanor, of Mr. James Meier, late

chaplain to ye factory at Winlaton (bur.)." "Affabel Battel (buried

26th March, 1723). Ions Robert Wright, died 1768;

Thomas Spooner, T. Carr."

Daily service was performed in the chapel. In 1703 Sir

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Ambrose also provided a gallery in Ryton church, for the accom-
modation of his workmen.

Winlaton chapel having been abandoned by the Company, it
fell into decay. In 1816 a large school-room was erected upon
the same site, by subscription, aided by gifts from the National
and the Diocesan School Societies, and from Lord Crewe's
trustees. On a stone inserted in the west end was inscribed: —
Cur a Caroli Thorp, m.a., Ryton, 1816, but the hand of time
has erased the inscription.

Sir Ambrose Crowley was knighted January 1st, 1706; served
as sheriff of London in 1707 ; and died in 1713, being then one
of the aldermen of that city, and M.P. for Andover. The sign of
the Doublet, both at the Company's wharfs at Greenwich, and the
warehouses in Lower Thames-street, is said to have been a picture
of the identical leather jerkin in which he worked when a common
smith. Surtees says: — "By Mary, daughter and co-heir of Charles
Owen of London, gentleman, he had one son and five daughters.
Mary, the eldest, was married before 1707, to James Hallet, citizen
and goldsmith, of London ; and Lettice, Sarah, Anne, and Elizabeth
were under age at the time of his decease. Lettice married after-
wards Sir John Hinde Cotton, Bart.; Sarah became the wife of
Humphry Parsons, Esq. (Lord Mayor of London 1707) ; and
Elizabeth married John, 10th Lord St. John. John Crowley, Esq.,
only son of Sir Ambrose, born in 1689, married Theodosia,
daughter of the Rev. Joseph Gascoigne, st.p., vicar of Enfield,
Co. Middlesex, and by her had John and Ambrose, who died
without issue, and four daughters: Mary, second wife to Sir
William Stanhope, K.B.; Elizabeth, married to John, 2nd Earl of
Ashburnham; Theodosia, married to Charles Boone, Esq., M.P.
for Castle Rising ; and a posthumous daughter who died under
age. Theodosia, the widow of John Crowley, Esq., died in 1782,
and devised the bulk of her property to the Earl of Ashburnham,
her son-in-law, and to George, Viscount St. Asaph, his only son,
and the ladies Henrietta, Jemima, Elizabeth, and Theodosia, his
daughters, then her only surviving grand-children."

The firm was afterwards known as " Crowley, Millington & Co."
In the year 181 6 the establishment was removed from Winlaton,
after which the greater part of Crowley's iron-work was made at
Swalwell and Winlaton Mill.

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The workmen employed by Crowley were governed by a code
of laws instituted by the worthy founder, and put in execution by
a Court of Arbitrators, held in Winlaton every ten weeks, for
hearing and determining cases among the workmen, by which
their differences or claims to justice were settled in an easy and
expeditious manner, and they were secured from the expense ot
law-suits, the fees being fixed at a moderate rate. The compulsory
power consisted in expulsion, which included a forfeiture of the
claim on the fund to which they had been contributing while in
the society. One regulation particularly merits notice : no
publican could sue in the courts for debts contracted for drink.
"Crowley's Court" was the chief tribunal of the factory, and from
which there was no appeal. At the "Court" a tradesman might
sue a workman at the factory for debt ; and if he sustained his
claim, the debtor had no other choice than to submit to a regular
deduction from his wages. If he questioned the ruling of the
"Court," and rebelled against its authority, he sacrificed his
employment. The "Court" was held in the office at Winlaton.

The social arrangements of this community deserve the highest
commendation, especially their scheme of old-age pensions.
When any workman was ill, he sent a note to the Court, and,
after being considered by the Arbitrators, and found to be a
deserving case for assistance, a sum of money was lent to him
until he recovered. When disabled, or unable to work through
old age, the workmen received from the Court the sum of five
shillings — and in some cases seven shillings — weekly. The super-
annuated were known as "Crowley's Poor," and wore a badge
with "Crowley's Poor" on the left shoulder. On the death of a
workman, the widow either received a weekly allowance of 2s. 6d.
from the Court, or was provided with employment in the factory,
usually to make nail bags.

From the following entry in one of the books of the Court, we
ascertain how the money for the use of the "Poor" was provided: —
"17th January, 1810. Ordered — That all workmen in the service
may be allowed the privilege of the Court. All workmen employed
in the service as non-domestics, but paying 5d. per pound, are
allowed the benefit of the Court and school for their children. All
workmen employed in the service paying 8d. per pound, after a
year's service, are considered as domestics in every sense of the

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word." A surgeon was appointed to attend the whole body of
workmen.

From the following entries in the books of the Court, it will be
seen that all complaints, disputes, and misdemeanours of the
workmen were dealt with by that Tribunal. "March nth, 1807.
John Ayre, being 63 yeare old, a report being prevalent that he is
going to marry a foreigner, it is ordered that in the event of his
superannuation, this committee consider nothing for his wife, or in
the event of his death, the widow so left will not be entitled to relief
from the poor box." "April 22nd, 1807. Jos. Smith's note requests
to have his son bound apprentice." "John Whitfield requests to
make the poors' clothes." " Deer. 7th, 1807. Stephen Hobbner's
note to have his grand-daughter educated at the Fife School."
"June 8th, 1808. Jos. Greenfield not being able to work any longer,
humbly requests the full allowance." "August 15th, 1810. Jos.
Greenfield to be allowed a coffin." "October 3rd, 1810. Thos.
Moralee requests a superannuation allowance for himself and wife
(7s.), granted." "March 4th, 1812. Margaret Ayre having been
put into the Court for scandal, it was agreed to by the Arbitrators
that in all such cases, provided a mulct be awarded the plaintiff,
the defendant, although a widow, must pay the Court charges."
This Margaret Ayre was probably the foreigner married to the
John Ayre mentioned above. "March 3rd, 1^3. William Rippith
requests the following pay for Edward Co wen, viz., repairs his
shoes, is. ; also a piece of cloth to make him a waistcoat breest,
and an allowance of 6d. to pay for buttons and thread for the
same." "John Lee requests a loan of 4s. (granted)." "August
nth, 1813. John Passmore requests a coat." "April 6th, 1814.
The workmen who attend the poor's funerals kindly request an
allowance of one pennyworth of bread each man. This #nay be
allowed to twelve men only." "September 29th, 181 3. Thos.
Biggins, Robt. Parker, information being made against these
persons by Jacob Bolt, for trespassing in the Company's turnip
field, and taking from thence sundry turnips. We have examined
the parties and find it to be fact, we therefore mulct them 2s. 6d.,
one half to the informer and the other to Winlaton Poor."
"January 15th, 1814. John Smart's salary to be stopped till he
appears to Arbitrator's Court for going a begging." "July 6th,
18 1 4. Thomas Biggins, Thomas Jobling. These persons having

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been detected in borrowing and lending iron, contrary to law 51
and verse 1 and 2, they are therefore mulcted 8s. each, to be
collected at 6d. per week, for the benefit of Winlaton Poor."
Bastardy cases were also settled at the Court

In the factory the most rigid system of registration was carried
out. When a workman secured employment, his name, place of
birth, place of residence, height, religion, and complexion were
tabulated.

On the 17th October, 1704, Mr. Crowley, who was in London,
received information from Mr. Jonathan Story of Winlaton, that
" many of his (Mr. Crowley's) nailors and patten-ring makers had
left his service at Winlaton and gone to work for Mr. Edward
Harrison, ^Lt Swalwell, after their passage money had been paid."

Afterwards every workman in the service of Mr. Crowley had to
sign an agreement similar to the following: — "2nd May, 1720.
Articles of Agreement between John Crowley, Esq., London,
Merchant, and the workmen engaged in his service at Winlaton,
Winlaton Mill, Swalwell, and other places, in the Parish of Ryton,
in the County of Durham. I agree to give six month's notice
before leaving my employment, and also agree not to work at any
other place within forty miles of Newcastle. Penalty ^50."

It was probably to secure his runaway workmen that so minute
a description of them was registered by Mr. Crowley, at Winlaton,

The business of the firm was transacted by the head agent and
two surveyors, called the u Committee of Survey." In the year
1704, Mr. Jonathan Story was the head agent, and William Wright
and Henry Stafford were the surveyors.

In all communications relating to business between the firm and
their customers, the number of weeks that had elapsed since the
beginning of the firm was specified, as the following memorandum
will show : — " Coales led from North Banks Pitts to Winlaton
Mill, for use of the Executors of the late Alderman Crowley,
defunct, in the following weeks. Week 2230, ending Thursday
August ye 8th, 1728. 130 fothers."

Crowley's workmen were known far and wide as " Crowley's
Crew," and formed a compact and independent body. Sometimes,
when trade was depressed, or the price of provisions high, they
were not particular about the rights of property.

From the following interesting letter to the Magistrates at

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Gateshead, we learn that the people of Winlaton, in 1767, were on
the verge of revolution, on account of the high price demanded for
provisions.

u To the Worshipful the Justices of the Peace for the County of
Durham, assembled at Gateshead.

"We, the inhabitants and workmen of Winlaton, in the Parish
of Ryton, humbly beg leave to represent to your Worships that
formerly we used to have butter, eggs, poultry, potatoes, and many
other articles of life brought into town by ye farmers and country
people adjacent and exposed to open sale and sold to the highest
bidder, but that now we are come to that unhappy situation that
we are forced to buy all our butter, &c, of hucksters, at the price
they please to impose, who make a practice of meeting the country
people at a distance from the town and buying up what they bring
for sale, if they be not such people as they have already engaged
to bring all they have to sell to their own houses, which is ye case
of many farmers. But what we principally beg your Worships'
advice about is concerning a very necessary article of life at this
time when bread-corn is so dear that it is even beyond the ability
of ye poorer sort to purchase a sufficiency of it, and that is the
potatoes, which, throughout the whole parish (we believe) are
already engrossed into a few hands as they are now growing, and
some of these bargains transferred twice over at ye monstrous
profits of five pounds each time. Now, as this is the case, and as
there are many hundreds of ye inferior class of people here who are
all murmuring at these impositions, and the cries of the poor are
so intolerable that we are very apprehensive that if these grievances
are not remedied, they will in a short time make a riot, in which
some innocent person may suffer. Therefore we humbly beg your
Worships will take the affair into your own hands, or else point out
to us a method how these grievances may be redressed at the
easiest expense, which will greatly oblige, gentlemen, your most
obedient and very humble servants.

" Winlaton, September ye 4th, 1767."

In the above letter reference is made to the market which was
held weekly at Winlaton, when articles of food were exposed for
sale on the Sandhill. But what we wish to point out is, that after
the magistrates had refused to interfere with the way in which the

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-farmers sold their produce, self-preservation on the part of "Crow-
ley's Crew," compelled them to set the '• rights of property" at
defiance, by stopping the carts of the farmers on the way to New-
castle market, and selling their produce at prices which the
Winlaton people considered reasonable. This conduct would
naturally evoke protests and grumbling from the farmers, but any
active opposition on their part to the course adopted by "Crowley's
Crew," would have been both useless and dangerous.

On August 1 8th, 1790, John Brown of Winlaton, and two ot
his companions, were executed at Morpeth for horse-stealing.
The execution of three criminals at one time drew an immense
concourse of spectators.

Some of the amusements and pastimes of "Crowley's Crew"
were cruel and demoralising. Poaching was carried on to an
alarming extent. Sometimes a gang of poachers would number
twenty or thirty men, who naturally produced terror wherever they
went. A desperate affair took place at Alston Moor on August
13th, 1839, between a number of men from Winlaton and the
neighbourhood, and the gamekeepers connected with an estate at
Alston. Among the poachers was Will Renwick, a well-known
Winlaton man, and an ardent sportsman. The poachers having
secured their booty, retired to a public-house for refreshment,
when the house was surrounded by the keepers, who satisfied
themselves with watching till the poachers made their appearance.
The Winlaton men understanding the state of affairs, on leaving
the house made a tremendous rush, Renwick taking the lead and
felling several of the keepers with his gun, thus enabling his com-
panions to reach the outside, where a long and terrible conflict
took place, in which one of the keepers was so badly injured that
he afterwards died. All the poachers escaped.

Cock-fighting did not prevail to the same extent at Winlaton as
it did at Swalwell and Whickham, on account of the sport in the
last-named villages receiving support from men of wealth and
social influence ; yet Barlow Fell, which was the usual resort of
the sporting fraternity in the neighbourhood, has been the scene
of many a hard-contested main.

Bull-baiting was a form of sport highly relished by crowds of
people who assembled to witness it. Bulldogs were kept in great
numbers by the iron-workers and pitmen. The bulls were generally

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brought from Newcastle or Sunderland. A shilling was paid by
the owner of a dog for a run at the bull, which was fastened to a
ring fixed in a heavy stone in the ground. If the dog seized the
bull by the nose, and pinned it, as the act was termed, the owner
of the dog was complimented on its strength and courage ; but if
the bull was attacked in any other part than the nose, the dog was
considered cowardly and ill-bred. Frequently the dogs were
tossed into the air, and sometimess killed by the bull, when the
excited multitude cheered vociferously. Bulls were baited on a
piece of ground called the bull-ring, on which Winlaton church
now stands, and which at that day formed part of the common
lands of Winlaton. The last bull baited on that spot was in the
year 1826 or 1827. Bulls were also baited on Barlow Fell. An
old man named James Massey, of Winlaton Mill, and another
named Robert Brooks of Winlaton, both eighty-five years of age,
have seen bulls baited on "the fell" about the year 1828.

The men of Winlaton were ardent and active politicians. Under
the old regime, the iron-workers were noted for their strong high-tory
principles, and any meeting held in the village calling for reform
in Church or State, would have been for the promoters a dangerous
proceeding. But about the beginning of the present century a
change seems to have taken place in the political sentiments of the
iron-workers of Winlaton ; for at the first public meeting held in the
open air at Newcastle, on the Parade Ground in Percy-street, October
nth, 1819, "Crowley's Crew" were present in great numbers, and
Mr. Thomas Hodgson of Winlaton was one of the speakers.
"Crowley's Crew" on that occasion seems to have spread terror
through the town ; for in a letter from the Mayor of Newcastle to
the then Home Secretary, he states that "seven hundred men who
came from a village about three miles distant were prepared with
arms to resist the civil power." It matters little whether the village
referred to by the Mayor was Winlaton or Swalwell, for at both
of these villages arms were manufactured by the workmen, to
protect themselves against what they considered to be the actions
of a despotic government

In the year 1839, Winlaton was the head quarters of Chartism
in the North of England. Almost all the leaders of the movement,
including George Julian Harney, Dr. Taylor, Dr. (afterwards Sir)

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John Fife, Samuel Kydd, and John Emerson, visited Winlaton,
and addressed public meetings on the Sandhill.

The authorities were made acquainted with all the proceedings
of the Winlaton Chartists, for Colonel Campbell — afterwards Lord
Clyde — who commanded a regiment of dragoons at Newcastle,
frequently visited Mr. G. H. Ramsay, J. P., at his residence at
Winlaton, for that purpose ; so that when he had to disperse the
Chartists at the Battle of the Forth, July 30th, 1839, tne ^ r numbers
and their peculiar method of warfare were well known to him.

The Winlaton Chartists, more active and daring than their
brethren, were active in preparing for ulterior measures, and occupied
every leisure moment in the manufacture of thousands of "caltrops,"
an iron-pronged instrument for the annoyance of cavalry. The
"caltrop" was better known among the workmen as the "craa-foot"
Pike-heads were made in great numbers, and sold to the Chartists
in other places for is. 6d. a piece. On the 15th of July, 1839, a
man named Jacob Robinson, belonging to Winlaton, was brought
up at the police-office, Newcastle, and charged with being disorderly,
and on being searched, two pike-heads, each eighteen inches in
length, were found on him ; he was immediately imprisoned. On
the 2nd of August, 1839, a considerable number of special
constables were sworn in, in the neighbourhood of Winlaton.
During that year (1839) great excitement prevailed in the north ot
England, it being feared that the Chartists would come into
collision with the forces of the Government. So bitter was the
feeling of the Chartists against the reigning powers, that many of
them began to smoke herbs instead of tobacco to reduce the
revenue, and thus " bring the Government to its senses." The
"sacred month" (August, 1839) was perhaps better "observed by
the Chartists of Winlaton than by those of any other village in
England. At the " Battle of the Forth," " Crowley's Crew,"
attended by the Winlaton Brass Band, was there in strong force;
and whatever may be said about the humiliating part played by some
of Crowley's workmen who lived at other villages, in the memor-
able "battle" — perhaps "rout" would be the better word to use —
during the same month (August) an event occurred at Winlaton
which shows that the preparations made by the Chartists to oppose
any hostile force were both extensive and dangerous. A report
reached Winlaton that a number of dragoons intended visiting the

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village to search for arms. Previous to this startling announcement,
large quantities of hand-grenades, pikes, spears, and caltrops had
been made. Hand-grenades were bottles filled with gunpowder,
in which a fuse was inserted, and the bottles placed in bags
containing pieces of iron. After the report was made to the
Chartist leaders, a number of men— -one with a gun — were placed
at every available entrance to the village ; as soon as the soldiers
were seen, the gun had to be fired, to apprise the villagers of their
approach. Two men, one named John McPherson, better known
as Jackey the Glazier, with a fife, and George Burrell with a drum,
had to make known to the people the expected visit of the
dragoons.

Fourteen cannons were placed on the Sandhill, opposite the
principal entrance to the village. Scores of men were ready to
scatter caltrops on the principal thoroughfare, while several with
hand-grenades were secreted in a yard on the south side of the
Sandhill, ready to throw them among the soldiers on their arrival.
All superfluous pikes and spears were concealed, and the arrival
of the soldiers was expected in breathless excitement. Fortunately
the report was false, and the soldiers never appeared. We will not
anticipate what the consequences would have been had the soldiers
arrived, but the courage and daring of the Winlaton Chartists at
that time is beyond dispute.

Few men are living now who can really claim to have belonged
to " Crowley's Crjew " in their palmy days, but episodes of the
Chartist movement are still related by the old people with
enthusiasm.

Freemasonry at Winlaton.

Freemasonry in the north of England probably owes its existence
to Crowley's workmen. A tradition existed among the older work-
men, that a Lodge was founded by the operative masons brought
from London by Sir Ambrose Crowley. From the records of the
Lodge of Industry, No 48, we know that the Lodge was held at
Winlaton in 1725. There is another tradition, that on the intro-
duction of Freemasonry into the village the meetings were held in
a field, and the entrance guarded by armed men. In 1735 tne
Lodge was removed to Swalwell, where it was held until 1845,
when it was removed to Gateshead.

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The iron-work made at Winlaton and Swalwell was carried from
Shields to London by two vessels belonging to Crowley, viz.,
the Crowley and the Theodosia, and by means of these vessels
communication was kept up between the Lodge at Winlaton and
the Grand Lodge. Mr. Joseph Laycock was Provincial Grand
Master in 1734. Among the Worshipful Masters of the Lodge
are found the names of William Dalton, 1737 ; William Hawdon,
1740; and John Rayne, 1747; who lived at Winlaton and
Blaydon.

Winlaton Subscription Library.

On July 19th, 1 819, a Subscription Library was established at
Winlaton. In 1828, it consisted of 340 volumes, and 55 members;
in 1895, it consists of 2,549 volumes, and only 17 members. The
library was originally held in a room on the west side of the Sand-
hill ; and from the stairs which led from the street to the library
the Chartist lecturers addressed the people. The library is now
held in a room on the east side of St. Paul's School.

A Mechanics' Institution was established in 1847, but it was
abandoned a few years ago. After the removal of Crowley's
establishment from Winlaton to Swalwell in 1816, a great number
of the workmen left Winlaton for other places.

We cannot do better than sum up the history of this remarkable
colony of workmen than by quoting from Mr. Joseph Cowen's
interesting address to the Blaydon Burn Lodge of the Durham
Miners' Union, on the 7th October, 1883. Mr. Cowen says : —
" When many busy centres of industry in Durham were moorland
and forest, Winlaton was the seat of a vigorous industry. The
semi-socialistic experiment of Crowley was interesting both politic-
ally and industrially. It got together a body of workmen who
gave a distinctive character to the village, who afterwards acted as
pioneers in the special trades in other districts. They lived largely
in community ; they began their work with prayer ; they ate to-
gether ; they adjusted their differences by voluntary courts ; they
had a church and a school, a cock-pit and a bull-ring. They were
stout church and king men, rough, but loyal."

Although the establishment of Crowley was removed from
Winlaton to Swalwell, still the Winlaton smiths maintained their
ancient fame, and for the description of articles they manufactured,

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were unequalled by any in the kingdom. A number of men who
had worked under Crowley, now began business on their own
account, and nails, hinges, patten-rings, chains, etc, were manu-
factured the same as under the old firm.

Early in the 18th century, Mr. Joseph Laycock came from
Wetherby, in Yorkshire, to manage the factory at Winlaton.
Afterwards the factory passed into the hands of the family, in
which it remained till the beginning of the present century. In
1828, John Cowen, Charles Dixon, James Hurst, Robert Laycock
and Sons, Richard Parker, Robert Ramsay, William Renwick,
and George, Cuthbert, and Andrew Thompson, are described as
manufacturers at Winlaton. These firms were all offshoots from
Crowley, Millington and Company, the members of which repre-
sented the oldest families in the village. Afterwards a great many
of the Winlaton smiths and nailors obtained shops of their own,
and worked for other manufacturers. They received from their
employers iron, and orders as to the kind of ware required. After
being made, the goods were conveyed in panniers over the backs
of donkeys, to their destination.

Many of the nailmakers, with donkeys and carts, travelled
through Durham and Northumberland, and hawked their ware.
The nailmakers and patten-ring makers, in their best days, could
earn no more than 3s. a day ; bed-screw makers and ladle makers,
4s. ; makers of small chain, 4s. ; and large chain, 5s. When we
consider that the day's work commenced at five in the morning
and lasted till eight o'clock at night, there was little chance of the
workmen becoming millionaires. Females were employed in nail-
making; the last two girls worked in a shop near to Amen Corner,
in 1835. It is worthy of remark that one of the girls afterwards
was married to one of the most successful manufacturers on the
south side of the Tyne.

Winlaton, as a manufacturing place, has seen its best days. At
present there is not a man engaged in nailmaking or in making
patten-rings. Smithwork and chains are still manufactured at the
engineering establishment of Messrs. Thompson, at the east end
of the village; chains by Messrs. Bagnall; and at the west end are
the shops belonging to the " Nut and Bolt Company, Limited,"
but these establishments only remind us of the world-famed factoiy
of Sir Ambrose Crowley.

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WINLATON IN 1895.

Winlaton Bank commences at Shibdon, and leads to Winlaton.
The route is both long and steep. At the foot of the bank, on the
right hand side, are the Biaydon Board Schools, opened in 1889.
They are built after the design of Mr. T. C. Nicholson, of Biaydon ;
they are large, commodious, and handsome, and occupy a com-
manding view northward. Half-a-mile away from the Schools,
towards Winlaton, on the right hand, is the Bleach Green, or
Lady well Bleachery. In the year 1830, the place was used as a
bleachery by Mr. Robert Belt of Winlaton, whose mills were
situate at the foot of Pandon Dene, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Mr.
Belt's garden was at the high side of the Green, in which there
was a fish-pond, supplied with water from the Ladies' well, or
Ladywell, at the south side. The Bleachgreen now consists of
about twenty old-fashioned houses huddled together, surrounded

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by a number of neat and well-kept gardens. A quarter of a mile
further, on the left hand, stands Winlaton Cottage, formerly the
residence of Mr. Robert Belt, a gentleman once well known and
highly respected in the neighbourhood. On the south side of the
road, and nearly opposite to this cottage, there are a number of
allotments, comprising about three acres of land, purchased from
W. B. Beaumont, Esq., M.P., in 1851. On the right hand there
is a road called Litchfield Lane, which leads to Biaydon.

The Wesleyan Methodists have a handsome chapel on the
east side of the lane. In the year 1836 they commenced to
worship in the -chapel in Front-street. In the year 1828,
services were held in the long room of the "Oak Tree''
public-house. Hodgson Casson frequently visited Winlaton, and
preached in the "Oak Tree." On one occasion, when preaching
from the words, " It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye
of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven,"
he exclaimed : " It would be easier for a pig to flee up an apple-
tree and whistle like a blackbird, than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of heaven !" This kind of language used to-day in a
Methodist chapel, would be a glaring violation of good taste, and
preaching in the long room of a public-house would not be allowed,
W* yet the result of Casson's preaching in the long room was the

opening of a chapel in 1836, which was used until the erection of
the present building in Litchfield Lane in 1868. The chapel is
built of stone, and will seat one hundred and eighty. The chapel
was destroyed by fire on February 24th, and re-opened November
13th, 1895.

Striking to the left after reaching Litchfield Lane, and passing
the Commercial Hotel, you reach Corner Houses and Commercial-
street, chiefly occupied by miners. Southward there is a pleasant*
footpath through the gardens and fields to Park Gate, one of the
entrances to Ax well Park.

Returning to the main street of the village, you have on your
right hand "The Square/' consisting of a number of very old
shops, which were probably the first built by Ambrose Crowley in
1690. On the north side of the Square is Old well Lane. For-
merly there was a well in the lane for public use, but it is now
covered up. A stone inserted in the well bears the inscription :
A. C. D. 1 747, the letter C being the initial of Crowley.

■ft

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Oldwell House, formerly the residence of the Laycock family,
stands at the foot of Oldwell Lane. Early in the eighteenth
century Mr. Joseph Laycock came from Wetherby, in Yorkshire,
to Winlaton to take the management of the factory. He was
succeeded by Robert Laycock, born in 1763. This gentleman
had three sons — Joseph, Richard, and Robert Laycock. Joseph
was born November 24th, 1798. About the year 1835 ne built
the present Winlaton Hall, the residence of H. W. Grace, Esq.
Mr. Laycock was engaged in the iron trade at Winlaton, and in
the manufacture of railway waggons at Stella, by which he became
a wealthy man. He was Mayor of Newcastle in 1858, and was a
Justice of the Peace for Durham and Northumberland, and for
many years Chairman of the Blyth and Tyne Railway. Mr.
Laycock bought the Low Gosforth estate, and built Low Gosforth Jjj^\Liof
House, where he resided until his death on August 2nd, 1881. *
fclis only son, Robert Laycock, Esq., born in 1833, married Anne,
daughter of Christine Allhusen, Esq. He was M.R for North
Lincolnshire. His principal seat was Wiseton Hall, Nottingham-
shire. He died August 14th, 1881.

Returned by Oldwell Lane to the main street, Winlaton Hall is
seen on the west side of The Square. As already stated, the Hall
was the seat of the Hodgsons, and in 1753 was tenanted by
Ambrose and John Crowley, Esquires. Part of the old mansion is
supported at the east side by strong buttresses. On a stone in the
gable is inscribed — "Crowley and Belt's Castle, 1864." Sixty
years ago, two sisters of Mr. Robert Belt sold provisions in a part
of the building, which is the only claim the Belts have to be
noticed in connection with it. The Primitive Methodists, previous
to the year 1850, conducted religious services in part of the
' building, but in the above year a chapel was built on the east side,
to seat one hundred and ten persons. On the west side of the
Hall is the school, and behind the school is a lane leading to
Golden Hill, where the shop stood in which Blythe Hurst worked
before he became a clergyman.

This remarkable man was born on the 6th July, 1806. The
Hursts came originally from the neighbourhood of Manchester,
and settled at Winlaton about the closing years of the seventeenth
century. Robert, the father of Blythe Hurst, married Susannah
Gibson, who belonged to one of the old families of Swalwell.

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Blythe was sent to school when four years of age, where he learned
to read the New Testament ; and at seven he was sent to work in
one of the smiths' shops at Winlaton. Until he was fifteen, he
attended the Sabbath-school established by the Venerable Arch-
deacon Thorp. When about eighteen he was seriously afflicted,
which led him to think seriously about religion, and to surrender
his heart to God. He soon after joined the Wesleyan Methodist
body, and became an acceptable local preacher. He says : " On
particular occasions I have addressed upwards of eight hundred
people at once." When about nineteen, he began the pursuit of
knowledge under difficulties of the most arduous character. In his
daily labour he was employed from six o'clock in the morning till eight
in the evening, with only an interval of two-and-a-half hours for rest
and refreshment His -wages were small, and few books were at his
command. Having determined to master the Greek language,
and being possessed of one shilling and sixpence, he set off to
Newcastle, and purchased a Greek Grammar at a second-hand
book-stall. Having little time to spare, he wrote the declensions
of nouns, and the conjugations of the verbs, upon the flame-stone
which hung before the smith's fire to preserve his face from the
heat ; and by this means he got them off by heart He afterwards
purchased a Greek Testament, and, at the age of twenty-one being
in possession of a pound-note, he secured "Parkhurst's Greek
Lexicon" at E. Charnley's shop in Newcastle. Mr. Hurst subse-
quently became an adept in Latin, Hebrew, and Syriac. When about
thirty years of age he left the Wesleyan Methodist body, and joined
the Methodist New Connexion, still labouring as a local preacher.
In the latter end of 1839 and the beginning of 1840, Alexander
Campbell, one of Robert Owen's socialist missionaries, visited
Winlaton, and lectured in the village. Mr. Hurst wrote a pamphlet
entitled, '* Christianity No Priestcraft," in reply to Mr. Campbell's
lectures. Unfortunately for the writer, he was unable to sell his
pamphlet, which brought to his assistance the Rev. H. Wardell,
rector of Winlaton, who took all the remaining copies off his
hands. Mr. Wardell sent a copy of the pamphlet to the Rev. Dr.
Maltby, Bishop of Durham, who, after reading it, requested Mr.
Wardell to supply him with particulars ot the author's life. The
bishop wrote next to Mr. Douglas, rector of Whickham, to ascertain
Mr. Hurst's ability to make ready application of his acquirements.

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Mr. Hurst had previously severed himself from the New Connexion
body, and on the suggestion of Dr. Maltby, he determined to enter
the Church of England. The bishop had an interview with him
in Newcastle, and made arrangements for his ordination. On the
9th of July, 1842, the Winlaton blacksmith proceeded to Auckland,
where, after passing the necessary examination, he was in due
course ordained a clergyman of the Church of England. In a short
time he was appointed curate of Garrigill, near Alston. On leaving
Winlaton, Mr. Hurst was presented with a purse of gold as a mark
of the esteem and respect in which he was held in the village. He
was afterwards appointed to the living of Slaley, near Hexham ;
and in the year 1854 he was promoted to the vicarage of Collierly.
After Mr. Hurst became a clergyman, and had at his command
time for study, he became a linguist of the highest order. In
addition to his complete acquaintance with the modern European
languages, he was master of the Hebrew, Syriac, Sanscrit, Chaldaic,
Persian, Arabic, and other languages of antiquity. Mr. Hurst
delivered several lectures in the Church of England Institute, and
in the Blaydon Literary Institute, on Semitic Inscriptions, and on
Egyptian Hieroglyphics, displaying great information on those
abstruse and difficult questions. In recognition of his scholarly
attainments, the degree of Ph.D. (Doctor in Philosophy) was con-
ferred on him by the University of Rostock, in Germany. After
a long life of usefulness, the Rev. Blythe Hurst, one of the most
distinguished men of his day, died on June 24th, 1882. His
remains rest in the cemetery at Winlaton, where a handsome
granite tombstone is erected to his memory, bearing the inscrip-
tion —

Affectionate Remembrance

of the

Rev. Blythe Hurst, M.A., Ph.D.,

Vicar of Collierly,

In the County of Durham,

Who died June 24th, 1882,

Aged 76 Years.

A little westward is Jobling's Garth, in which stand the

Congregational Chapel and Hall. In the year 1732, a number

of people belonging to different churches in Newcastle, but unable

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to attend them regularly, owing to the distance, united and met in
a dwelling house at Woodside, near Ryton. They were soon
formed into a congregation, and placed under the care of the Rev.
J. Crossland. In 1750, the society removed to Swalwell, and,
after many changes, during a period of nearly eighty years, the
church became connected with the Secession body on the 1st of
April, 1827. At that time the preacher sent by the Presbytery
divided his services between Winlaton and Swalwell, preaching at
the latter place in the forenoon, and at the former place in the
afternoon. For some reason or other, the Presbytery came to the
resolution of discouraging the services at Winlaton, and confining
them exclusively to Swalwell. The members from Winlaton,
fourteen in number, applied to the Presbytery to be separated from
the Swalwell congregation, and to have a distinct supply of sermons
for themselves. The Presbytery granted their request, and the
consequence was the withdrawal of many of their members, and
the formation of an Independent congregation at Winlaton. The
Congregational Chapel was built in 1829, and accommodates
about 200 people. A little westward, and on the south side of the
village, is Parliament Corner and Street. The " Corner," at one
time, was the resort of the village politicians. Parliament-street
contains a number of old smiths' shops, and the street leads to
California, which comprises about three acres of land, purchased
by a number of working men from the Hon. H. T. Liddell, in
1848, and laid out for gardens, which have been very successful.
A number of excellent houses were afterwards built, and altogether
California is one of the prettiest and healthiest parts of W r inlaton.
On the north side of Front-street is the Sandhill, which has always
been a convenient place for holding public meetings, and where
the Hopping is annually held. Formerly the Sandhill used to be
illuminated by a large bonfire on Royal Oak Day (29th May).
Previous to the illumination, a great number of the villagers
repaired to the woods and returned with branches of the oak tree.
Twigs were displayed in the button-holes of their coats, which were
known as "bate wood," and if any unfortunate man was seen without
the " sprig," or *' bate wood," he was immediately " bated," which
often meant rather severe treatment.

Behind Church-street is the Salt Market, which contains several
very old houses, in one of which William (Will) Ren wick was born,

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and in which he died. William Renwick was well-known in the
North of England as a crack shot with the gun, and as a pugilist.
Strong, active, and daring, he was a terrible antagonist in the usual
pugilistic encounters at hoppings, hirings, and pigeon matches;
and woe to the unfortunate gladiator who opposed Renwick without
measuring his man. On October 31st, 1837, a pugilistic encounter
between a negro, known as "Young Molyneux," and William
Renwick, took place at Middleton, near Cambo, for ^25 a-side.
The battle, after lasting for an hour and a half, during which eighty-
seven rounds were fought (forty in the dark), was won by Molyneux,
who butted his antagonist with his head so severely and continuously
as at length to render Renwick incapable of further resistance.
Another battle between Molyneux and Renwick was fought on
Shap Fell, Cumberland, in June, 1839, for ;£ico a-side, when
Molyneux was again the victor. William Renwick was also
defeated by John Oliver (Coffee Johnney), a well-known Winlaton
character, in a pitched battle on Hedley Fell, 20th May, 1850.

North-street is a continuation of Church street, which leads via
Blaydon Bank to Blaydon. On the west side of North-street is
Cromwell Place, from which a field path leads to Blaydon.

The field in which the Hall Farm stands, and known as the
Hall-Garth, was formerly the Winlaton Race-course. In 1839, on
May 20th and 21st (Whit-Monday and Tuesday), a Sweepstakes
of 3 sovs. each p.p., with 20 added by the Town, free for all
horses, was won by Mr. R. F. Johnson's ** Nancy Banks."

The Hack Stakes of £1 each, with jQio added from the Racing
Fund, for horses not thorough -bred, 2 miles, was won by Mr.
Humble's "Black Heddon."

The Town's Plate, for Ponies not exceeding 14 hands high,
given by the Racing Fund, was won by Mr. Ogle's " Lady Mary."

A Sweepstakes of £2 each, p.p., with jQio added by the Town,
for horses that never won in Plate or Stake before the day of
running, was won by Mr. Hudson's b g by •' Waverley."

A Handicap of £1 each, with ;£io added from the Racing
Fund, was won by Mr. M. Robson's " Ingo."
. Mr. William N. Cowen was Clerk of the Course. The Races
shortly after that date were discontinued at the Hall Garth.
They were subsequently held on Barlow Fell, and the last races
were run on May 23rd, 1854.

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Returned to Church Street, you have on your right hand the
old disused Pinfold and the Drill Hall. The Drill Hall is used by
the " Tyne and Derwent Volunteers." This popular Volunteer
Corps was formed in i860. The Volunteers appointed their
officers in the Winlaton School, on March 5th, and on March
31st, the Volunteers received their rifles. Mr. (afterwards Sir
Joseph) Cowen, was the first captain. The first inspection of the
corps was held in Stella Park, on July 22nd, 186 1.

These Volunteers are now known" as the "Fifth Volunteer
Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry." There are two companies
at Winlaton, the I and K, 142 strong, under Captains T. W.
Bagnall and J. W. Thompson. There is also a detachment ajt
Blaydon, the H Company, 112 strong, under the command of
Hon. Major William J. Douglas. The late John Anthony Cowen,
Esq., of Blaydon Burn, became Colonel of the Volunteers on July
5th, 1875, a position which he retained until his death. Winlaton
Brass Band, which usually accompanies the Volunteers, is one of
the oldest, if not the oldest country band in England. It was
formed about the year 1801, and attended the Gibside Cavalry
until the troop was disbanded. It always accompanied "Crowley's
Crew " to political demonstrations at Newcastle and other places
of meeting. Mr. Henry Mc.Pherson, who was buried May 2nd,
i860, was connected with the band for 59 years, and for the greater
part of the time was bandmaster. Altogether the Winlaton Band
has an interesting history.

Before arriving at the Church, "Amen Corner " is seen on the
east side of Church-street. A lane leads from this spot to Park
Gate; and just at the commencement of the road, on the east side,
there is a blacksmith's shop, which was formerly a dwelling house
and the residence of Thomas Hodgson, weaver, who was one of
the speakers at the great political meeting, held on the Parade
Ground, Newcastle, on October nth, 1819. Mr. Hodgson, shortly
after this meeting, settled in Newcastle. He afterwards removed
to Gateshead, where he died on the 2nd of November, 1827, aged
48 years.

At the east side of the Church is the house which the Rev.
Mr. Kitchen used as a private school fifty years ago, and at which
Mr. Joseph Cowen, Mr. John Anthony Cowen, Mr. William
Cowen, Mr. Robert Laycock, Mr. Thomas Thompson, and other

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gentlemen of the neighbourhood, received a share of their
education.

St. Paul's Church.

The Church was consecrated on September 9th, 1828, by the
Bishop of Durham. The building is in the Gothic style, by L
Bonomi, Esq., and cost ,£2,500. It consists of nave, side aisles,
chancel, and square western tower. The latter is embattled, and
adorned with corner spires. The side aisles are each formed by
three octagonal pillars, supporting obtusely- pointed arches, and a
similar arch is over the chancel. There is a gallery at the west
end of the church which contains the organ. The font is hand-
somely sculptured. A fine painting of Christ taken down from
the Cross, presented by Charles James Clavering, Esq., is placed
against the north wall. The east window, which is large and
handsome, is in five compartments, and filled with stained glass,
representing our Saviour, the Evangelists, and other saints. In the
south aisle, at the east end, there is a window of three lights,
dedicated to St. Paul, and containing passages from his life, which
bears the following inscription : — " To the honour and glory of
God, in memory of Robert Belt, Esq., of Winlaton Cottage, who
died December 3rd, 1855, aged 70 years. Jane, his wife, died
8th February, 1840, aged 31 years. Sarah Belt, his sister, died
February 28th, 1841, aged 66 years. Barbara Whitfield, his sister,
died nth March, 1862, aged 89 years."

A second window, dedicated to St. Mary, contains the following
inscription : — "To the Glory of God and memory of Mary Wardeli,
at rest on St. Andrew's Day, 1868."

At the west end of the aisle is another, dedicated to John the
Baptist, with the inscription: — "To the honour of God and
memory of Philip Smith, O.B.; May 24th, 1837. Judith, his
widow, O.B. ; April 23rd, 1840. Henry, their son, June 19th,
1833. Also of Jane, wife of Philip Smith, jun., O.B. ; December
10th, 1846. Philip, their son, O.B. ; September 19th, 1853; and
of Philip, Judith, and Thomas Smith, grandchildren of the above
Philip and Judith Smith, who died in childhood."

In the north aisle, at the west end, is a window of three lights,
with only one-half of the middle light stained. It is dedicated ta

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St. Philip, and bears the inscription : — " Dedicated to the honour
of God and the beautifying of His Church, by certain poor Brethren
and Sisters in Christ. Blessed be ye poor."

The second window represents Mary sitting at the feet of the
Saviour, and bears the following : — " In affectionate remembrance
of Mary, wife of George Heppel Ramsay, of Derwent Villa, Parish
of Winlaton, County of Durham; died February ist, 1869, aged 73.
Also of George Heppel, their youngest son, who died September
14th, i860, aged 31."

At the east end of the aisle, the window is dedicated to St.
Barnabas, with the inscription : — "In memory of John Nixon, died
August 22nd, 1839. In affectionate remembrance of Mary, relict
of the late John Nixon of Barlow, died June 20th, 1869, aged 90
years. Interred at Ryton. Also of Mary Louisa Bell, died June
22nd, 1855, aged 32 ; and Jane Grey, who died March 30th,
1863, a g e d 50 years ; daughters of the aforesaid John and Mary
Nixon."

The Church contains several tablets. One of white marble, on
the south side of the chancel, bears the inscription : — " In a vault
beneath are deposited the remains of Charles John Clavering,
Esq., of the County of Northumberland. He successively and
honourably sustained the important offices of High Sheriff of the
Town of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and of the Counties of Northumber-
land and Durham, and constable of the Castle of Durham. An
affectionate husband, an indulgent master, a warm and steady
friend, an upright and independent magistrate. Liberal, but
unostentatious in his charities. His loss was deeply felt, and
universally lamented. He died on the 20th day of June, 1888,
aged 77, in the faith and hope of a true christian. This tablet
was erected to his memory by his sorrowing widow, Diana
Clavering."

There is in the south aisle a marble tablet : — " To the memory
of Robert Laycock, of Winlaton, who died August 18th, 1828,
aged 65 years. Also Mary, his wife, who died January 21st,
1854, aged 92 years."

Another tablet bears the inscription : — " In loving memory of
John Foster, of Winlaton, who died January 28th, 1873, aged 50
years. Isabella Barbara, his wife, who died November 18th
187 7, aged 40."

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On a tablet near the entrance is the following information : —
"This Chapel was erected in the year 1828. It contains sittings
for 800 persons. And in consequence of a grant from the Society
for Promoting the Enlargement and Building of Churches and
Chapels, 400 of that number are hereby declared to be free and
unappropriated for ever.

Charles Thorp, Rector,

Henry Sanderson, I churchwardens> ..

John Fenwick, I

The tower contains six bells ; on the tenor is inscribed : — " This
peal of five bells was presented to the Church of St. Paul by
Robert Belt, Esq., Winiaton, Anno Dom., 1828;" and on the
reverse : — " Charles Thorp, b.d., rector of Ryton ; Henry Wardell,
m.a., John Reed, b.a., curates ; Robert Watson, Newcastle-on-
Tyne, founder."

At the time of the foundation of the parish, November 6th,
1832, the Rev. John Reed, a.b., officiated as curate; the presenta-
tion to the living was vested in the Bishop of Durham. The Rev.
Henry Wardell was appointed in 1833, and remained rector of the
parish until his death in 1884.

The living is a rectory valued at ^275, and the Bishop of
Chester is the patron. The gross annual value of the living was
stated in 1835 at ^356, subject to permanent payments amounting
to £9.

The parsonage adjoins the churchyard on the south side, and is
pleasantly situated.

The Churchyard.

The churchyard wall encloses an area of an acre and a half of
ground, lying mostly on the north side. Alongside of the walk on
the south side are the burial places of several of the old families of
Winiaton.

A granite tombstone marks the resting place of the Rev. Henry
Wardell, bearing the inscription : —

Mary, wife of the Rev. Henry Wardell, M.A.,

First Rector of this Parish,

At Rest,

St. Andrew's Day, 1868,

Aged 64 years.

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The above-named Henry Wardell,

At Rest,

October 3rd, 1884,

Aged 84 years.

Jesu Mercy.

On the left of the late rector's stone, is the burial place of the

Ramsay's of Derwent Villa. A vault-stone bears the following : —

The family vault of George Heppel,

and Mary Ramsay of Derwent Villa,

Parish of Winlaton, County of Durham.

In Memory of George Heppel Ramsay,

Their youngest and beloved Son ;

Who died September 14th, i860, aged 31 years.

Mary, the beloved Wife of

George Heppel Ramsay,

Died February 1st, 1869, aged 73 years.

The above George Heppel Ramsay, J. P.

Departed this life, November 27th, 1879, aged 88 years.

On a stone at the east end of the church is the following : —

The family Vault

Joseph Cowen,

Blaydon Burn House.

Mary, Wife of Joseph Cowen,

Born June 8th, 1795; died July 30th, 1851.

Elizabeth, daughter of the above,

Born 27th October, 1823; died 21st May, 1853,

Edward, youngest son of the above,

Died in Octago, New Zealand, 3rd June, 1867,

Aged 31 Years.

The above Joseph Cowen, Knight, M.R,

Died at Stella Hall, 19th December, 1873,

Aged 73 Years.

William, Third Son of the above,

Died at Capheaton, 14th March, 1875,

Aged 42 Years.

Mary Carr, Daughter of the above,

Who died 4th December, 1891,

Aged 69 Years.

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A Cemetery on the west side of the church was consecrated by
the Bishop of Durham, June 16th, 1879.

Charles Clavering Wardell, better known in the dramatic pro- jjif
fession as Charles Kelly, was born at Winlaton on January 4th, y
1839, and was the son of the Rev, Henry Wardell, M.A., rector of •J*
Winlaton, He became an officer in the English army, but quitted
it for the theatrical profession. He made his first appearance at
the Theatre Royal, Hull, in 1868, in the character of Montano in
"Othello." In London he played at the Surrey, Holborn, Globe,
Queen's, Royal, Court, St. James's, Adelphi, and Haymarket
theatres in many parts. In October, 1873, at the Globe Theatre,
Mr. Kelly sustained his " original " part of Richard Arkwright, in
the drama of " Arkwright's Wife," by the late Tom Taylor, first
performed at the Leeds Theatre Royal, his acting on this occasion
being highly praised. Having previously appeared in Charles
Reade's plays of "Rachel the Reaper" and "Griffith Gaunt" at -
the Queen's Theatre in Long Acre in 1875, Mr. Kelly accepted
an engagement at the Court Theatre under the management of
Mr. Hare. On Saturday, March 13th of that year, Mr. Kelly
appeared there as Lord Melton in an original comedy by Charles
F. Coghlan, entitled "Lady Flora," in which he won high honours.
In January, 1876, at the same theatre, in the first performance of
"A Quiet Rubber" (C. F. Coghlan) adapted from the French
"La Partie de Piquet," Mr. Kelly played Mr. Sullivan. In
December of the same year, at the same theatre, in a revival of
u New Men and Old Acres" (Tom Taylor and A. Dubourg), the
part of Mr. Samuel Brown was sustained by Mr. Kelly. The
revival of this play was very successful, and remained on the
"bills" of the Court Theatre for 250 consecutive nights. At the
same house Mr. Kelly appeared as Darnley in "The House of
Darnley." At St. James's Theatre, in "Such is the Law," he
gained further reputation by his careful acting of Tom Goacher.
At the Adelphi Theatre, in 1878, he played for a time the part
of Pierre Lorance, in "Proof." The same year, on Monday,
December 2nd, at the Haymarket Theatre, in the first performance
of ''The Crisis" (James Alberry), adapted from M. Emile Augier's
"Les Fourchambault," Mr. Kelly presented in a remarkably able
and finished way the character of John Goring. On April 14th,
1879, at the same theatre, in an original comedy-drama in five acts,

i l

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itf

// by W. G. Wills, entitled "Ellen; or Love's Cunning/' he played
,/ the part of Thomas Pye with admirable earnestness. This

character and that of Lady Breezy, (sustained by Miss Blanche
Henri), and the excellent acting that was displayed in their
presentation, probably suggested to Mr. Wills to reconstruct his
play, and reproduce his "comedy " scenes under the title of
"Boag," Mr. Kelly playing his "original" character. Mr. Kelly
married Miss Ellen Terry, the celebrated actress. Miss Terry has
visited Winlaton several times, on one occasion placing a wreath
on the grave of the Rev. Henry Wardell, M.A., the father of her
husband. Mr. Charles C. Wardell died on April 17 th, 1885.

i L

•J*
J!

... ff-

Park Head Hall.

This fine modern mansion, which is the seat of John^Ramsay,

Esq., was built in 1836, by the late George Heppel Ramsay, Esq.,

J. P. The house stands on the north side of the Derwent, and the

w- 1 v j ew f rom th e front is one of striking beauty, possessing the charm

J* - * of breadth and distance, a soft sweep of undulating country, with an

.** occasional glimpse of the Derwent gleaming here and there out of

its covert of crags and trees. The Hall is surrounded by a small

Jf park, and the farm connected with the Hall comprises about 200

acres of land.

Mr. George Heppel Ramsay was the son of Thomas Ramsay

and Mary Heppel. Mary Heppel was the daughter of George

Heppel of Swalwell, who was connected with the ironworks of

* Messrs. Crowley, Millington & Co. The Heppels came originally

from Saxony, about the beginning of the 17th century, and were

• ' • ? steel makers on the banks of the Derwent. On a plan of Winlaton,

dated 1632, there is a forge on the east side of the present station

-C 1 at Rowland's Gill. Tradition states that at this forge the Heppels

manufactured their steel. They afterwards removed to Derwent

^'^KDote, higher up the Derwent, with which forge the father of Mr.

G. H. Ramsay was connected. Mr. G. H. Ramsay was born at

Park Gate Farm, in the year 1790. In his tenth year he was sent

♦to Tanfield, to be educated under the Rev. R. Simpson, vicar of

Tanfield. As soon as his education was finished, he returned to

Park Gate and learned farming. But his mind was not content

'with farming alone, he therefore joined his grandfather in the

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144

Derwent Haugh brickworks, collieries, and ammonia works, and,
under his direction, the works were vastly increased, to which were
added coke-making, malt houses, manure works, and bone mills.
Mr. Ramsay still devoted part of his time to farming, and it was on
the Park Gate Farm, in 1859, that oxen were last used in the North
of England for agricultural purposes. In 1853, Blaydon Main
Colliery was sunk by Mr. Ramsay, which turned out to be an
advantageous adventure. The ordinary coal obtained from this
colliery was celebrated for the valuable coke it yielded, commanding
the highest price in every market in the world. It is known as
the " Ramsay Condensed Coke," and its chief markets are Spain,
Russia, and Italy. In 1878, Mr. Ramsay was awarded ths Gold
Medal at the Paris International Exhibition of Industries for the
products of his mines and manufactures. In addition to the
ordinary coal and fire-clay seams of Mr. Ramsay's Colliery, a
valuable seam of cannel coal was deposited throughout a portion
of his royalties. This coal is well-known for its high illuminating
qualities and freedom from sulphur, and is extensively used in the
lead-mining districts of Spain and other countries where silver is
found co-mingled with other geological products. Mr. Ramsay
was fond of field sports, and was a reputed shot in his earlier years,
and even at the advanced age of 78, brought down his black game
at eighty yards distance, in the presence of the Duke of Northum-
berland and other sportsmen, the bird being preserved to this day
at Kielder Castle. Mr. Ramsay was a Magistrate for the County
of Durham. In every respect he was a fine specimen of the old
English gentleman. He died on November 28th, 1879, at tne
advanced age of 89 years, and was buried at Winlaton. Mr. G. R.
Ramsay, the well-known colliery owner and brick manufacturer of
Swalwell, is the son of the present owner of Park Head Hall.

In 1875, a School Board was formed for the Township of
Winlaton, comprising seven members, the first election taking
place on April 21st.

In 1875, a Local Board, which was formed at Blaydon in 1861,
was extended to Winlaton.

Formerly the boundaries of the Parish were perambulated, the
last time being on October 22nd, 1850. "Riding the Boundaries"
was an interesting event fifty years ago. The officials represented
the lords of the manor, who were usually accompanied by the

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Steward and the Bailiff. They assembled at Derwenthaugh, after
which they advanced westward along the river side as far as
Blaydon Burn foot, they next went southward via Blaydon Burn
to Winlaton. Here they advanced westward, following the Burn
as far as the road on the north side of the Spen ; after which they
took a south-westerly direction past Bede Lodge to the Derwent,
near to Lintz Ford. They then retraced their steps to Swalwell
Bridge, which concluded the day's proceedings. The Bailiff
w$ carried a small red flag, and preceded the company on horseback.

The cavalcade was always accompanied by great numbers of the
parishioners on foot, who took the liveliest interest in guarding the
boundaries of the parish. A number of medals were generally
distributed to the young people as a memento of the occasion.
The medal struck in 1850 bore the following inscription : —
"Winlaton Lordship, Durham. John Clayton, Esq., Steward.
Boundaries Perambulated October 22nd, 1850. On the obverse
side :— Charles Towneley, Esq. ; *Hon. H. T. Liddel t; W. B.
Beaumont, Esq. ; John Bowes, Esq. ; Marquis of Bute ; Joseph
Cowen, Esq., Lords of the Manor of Winlaton. " ^ .

feu* uav u+tiuikcL *?tfa tut & £fcU <?rf& U^M*^^

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WINLATON MILL.

"Again the bordering woods, aroma'd fill
With blending balms the chalice of the dews ;
Charm laughs on charm, and hill sweet smiles on hill
Till beauty bids us pause at old Winlaton Mill. "

— Barras.

Winlaton Mill is an old-fashioned little village seated on the
north side of the Derwent, one mile and a quarter west of
Swalwell Bridge, and a similar distance south of Winlaton. The
most of the houses are old, and after being whitewashed, give to
the village a picturesque appearance. Before the advent of Sir
Ambrose Crowley, the hamlet was called Huntlayshaugh.

In 1361, Agnes, widow of John Menevylle, held of Ralph Nevill,
the hamlet of Huntlayshaugh, in Wyrilawton, by 2s. rent. The
old public-house (Golden Lion) is still called Huntlay's Hall; the
well at the east end of the village Huntlay's Well; and the
burn, which runs down the wood on the north side, Huntlay's
Burn, by the old people.

Sir Ambrose Crowley after establishing his ironworks at Winlaton
in 1690, extended them to Winlaton Mill in 1691. There is on
a stone in the mill dam, on the west side of the village, the
inscription "Sir Ambrose Crowley, Anno 16 — ." As Sir Ambrose
was not knighted until the year 1706, the inscription must have
been made after that date (1706), or Sir added to it. The
inscription is formed on two stones, and the figures after 16 have
been effaced from one of the stones. In the Universal Magazine for
1782, there is an account of Crowley's ironworks, in which it is
stated that the date on the mill dam was 1691 ; so that we may

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conclude that the ironworks were commenced at that date, or
immediately after.

The Derwent, at the west side of Winlaton Mill, after passing
through the viaduct at Lockhaugh, makes a circuit of about half
a mile round the base of a steep and lofty bank, after which it
flows southward. It was at this point that Crowley commenced
operations for the making of the mill-race. A water-course was
made on the west side of the stream to carry off the superfluous
water ; and on the east side was formed the dam, through which
passes the water required for the ironworks, the water not required
falling over the "steps," and forming a junction with the water
which disappears on the west side, continues its course eastward.
The visitor to this romantic situation should follow the footpath
from the dam to what is known as the " Scaur Head," and obtain
a view of the country south and west of the "Scaur." The
scenery is wild and romantic in the highest degree. Away in the
distance, westward, rising above the surrounding woods is the
column of " Liberty " at Gibside, while immediately before you is
the Lockhaugh Viaduct, rising seventy feet above the Derwent
On the north side of the river is an immense sweep of hill, rising
one hundred and fifty feet above the water, and completely wooded;
at the south side, on a steep and commanding position, are the
ruins of Hollingside Manor House, formerly the seat of the giant
race of Hardings. The mill-race pursues its course from the
dam to the ironworks, after leaving which it empties itself into
the Derwent.

The ironworks of Crowley comprised rolling mills, slitting
mill, file-cutting and chain shops. The mills, forge-hammers,
and shears were kept in motion by nine water-wheels. Only one
water-wheel now remains, which assists in propelling the machinery
of the present rolling mills. The ironwork after being forged*
was carted to Swalwell. After the ironworks had remained in the
hands of Sir Ambrose Crowley, and Crowley, Millington & Co.,
for nearly one hundred and seventy years, on February 10th, 1863,
the whole of the fixed stock, plant, rolling mill, houses, water-
courses, &c, were bought by Messrs. Pow and Fawcus of North
Shields, for the sum of ^780. But the factory did not flourish in
their hands; and, fortunately for Winlaton Mill, Messrs. Raine took
possession in 1885, and since that time the mills have been as

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busy as ever they were in the palmy days of Crowley. Nearly
everything about Winlaton Mill bears traces of old age. The
walls around the factory; the bell, with the date 1791 ; the clock
underneath the bell, with its brass face ornamented with angels at
the corners, bearing the inscription, "Thomas Pare, Londini fecit,"
said by the oldest inhabitants to be as old as the mill itself ; the
old houses and their primitive arrangements ; all strike the observer
as belonging to a generation far remote from our day.

Formerly the factory bell was used as a " Curfew," and was rung
every night at eight o'clock, when the workmen were expected to
retire for rest. This interesting custom, after existing for nearly
two hundred years, was discontinued in April, i860.

There is at the west side of the village and the north side of the
mill-race, an old road which leads to the "Scaur" wood. In 1632,
this was the only road which led through Winlaton Mill. After
passing through the wood, it crossed the land on the north side,
again passing through a wood which formerly filled the Shotley
Bridge turnpike, and entered the " Birk-gate," the way to the
Birks and Winlaton. This was the road taken by part of CromwelPs
army with his artillery, after passing down Ciockburn Lane, and
fording the Derwent After reaching Stella, the army forded the
river Tyne, and proceeded to Dunbar, in 1650. Old men are still
living who remember this road, but a considerable part has now
been effaced from the topography of the neighbourhood. The
Derwent is crossed by a bridge of primitive construction ; it is
formed of one beam of timber, resting on stone pillars. The
pillars were built by the well-known "Lang Jack," the Samson
of the locality. Previous to the erection of the bridge, the Derwent
was crossed on stepping-stones. On the west side of the middle
pillar is the inscription, "John English, Mason, Anno 1842." On
the south side of the bridge begins Ciockburn Lane. The burn
here empties itself into the Derwent. Formerly there stood on the
south side of the stream a flour mill, with a water-wheel propelled by
the water which ran down Ciockburn Dene. The miller's house still
stands on the west side of the bridge. The scenery on the north
side of the village is uncommonly fine. The visitor will be amply
repaid by stopping for a few minutes at a point near to the Spa
Well, and looking up the Derwent towards Winlaton Mill. A
prettier scene is not to be imagined. It is one deep mass of wood

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and lawn, the woods having the appearance of dipping in the
water, and this without a break until the water seems to lose itself
in the forest.

It is needless to say that every part of this charming neighbour-
hood has been reproduced on canvas by the artist. Otters are
sometimes captured in the Derwent ; bird-life is plentiful ; and the
botanist will find the valley a successful hunting ground.

On the west side of Winlaton Mill, and just where the Derwent
makes a bend after passing through Lockhaugh Viaduct, there
once stood a flour mill, which, according to tradition, belonged to
Messrs. Sharp and Walker of Lumley. An old wall, said to belong
to the mill, and the remains of the dam can still be seen. Walker
had another mill at Lumley. Sharp and Walker were tried at
Durham in the year 1631, for the murder of a young woman of the
name of Anne Walker, a niece of John Walker, the owner of the
mill. The young woman had gone to the house of her uncle to act
as his housekeeper. She is described as a pleasing woman of
twenty-five, and her appearance handsome. Unfortunately, after
staying some time at her uncle's house, she found she was to become
a mother. Anne disappeared, nobody knew where. It is said
that the spirit of Anne appeared to John Grahame, miller, at
Lumley, and revealed to him the circumstances of the murder.
Her uncle had sent her away with Mark Sharp, who had to take
her to some place where she was to be taken care of until her
trouble was over. Sharp murdered her with a pick, making five
wounds in her head, afterwards throwing her down a pit The
ghost of Anne made known these circumstances to Grahame; the
pit was examined and the body found. The evidence against
Sharp and Walker must have been convincing, as they were after-
wards executed at Durham in 1631-32. This murder created an
immense sensation at that time in the County ot Durham. The
appearance of Anne Walker's " ghost," no doubt, adding to the
excitement The flour mill at Lockhaugh was worked until the
middle of the last century, and retained the name of Sharp and
Walker's Mill.

From the following account of a robbery which appeared in the
Newcastle Courant^ May 7th, 18 14, Winlaton Mill appears to have
been a rather unsafe route for travellers to take on their way
home : — ** Fifty Pounds Reward — Whereas last nigtit between the

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hours of ten and eleven o'clock, as Mr. John March of Greenside,
cattle dealer, was returning from Darlington Market, he was attacked
by two men in the lane leading from Winlaton Mill to Winlaton,
one of them middle-sized, the other stout made, who struck him
with a bludgeon on the left arm and head, which unhorsed him,
and after receiving several bruises, was robbed of ^340, principally
£$ Darlington and Durham Bank Notes. A reward of ^30 is
hereby offered by the Stella and Winlaton Association for the
Prosecution of Felons ; also a further reward of ^20 by the said
Mr. John March, to any person or persons giving such information
as may lead to the conviction of the offender or offenders. Stella,
April 27th, 1814."

Formerly, the men of Winlaton Mill had a strong propensity for
poaching. In the time of Sir Ambrose Crowley, bitter complaints
were made to him by the surrounding landowners about his work-
men capturing salmon, and after his time; many sanguinary conflicts
have taken place between "Crowley's Crew" and the gamekeepers
in the preserves of Gibside and Chopwell. Cock-fighting was
carried on to a great extent on the *' Scaur Head," especially at
Easter time, when " Crowdy Mains " were fought by " Hamey "
cocks. It is said the ironworkers were not very particular about
the way they secured the cocks; after being killed, they were
eaten at a supper the same day, at one of the public-houses in
the village.

The Primitive Methodists have a neat chapel, which stands on
the side of the Shotley Bridge turnpike, erected in 1870, and
capable of seating 150.

A delightful walk for about two miles brings the visitor to
Rowland's Gill Station.

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BLAYDON BURN.

" In summer time maw heart dis yorn
Te hev a range throo Blaydon Burn ;
Thy rocky banks, se jagged and torn,
Aw'm fond o' climbing Blaydon Burn."

— Horsley.

The Burn commences at the north side of Coalburn's farm, and
runs down between the hills on the north side of Barlow, keeping
a westerly course until it reaches the north side of Winlaton, where
the stream makes a bend and takes a northward direction through
a deep valley a mile and a quarter long, when it empties itself
into the Tyne at Blaydon. In a plan of the Winlaton lordship
dated 1632, the burn for halfway down the valley is named Winlaton,
in the other half of its course it is called Blaydon. At the present
time the stream in the whole of its course down the valley has
Blaydon applied to it. About a quarter of a mile before the
Burn enters the valley, it is known as the Brockwell, from the
Saxon word Brock = a badger, and welly which sometimes means a
stream as well as a spring of water.

The following entry in the Ryton parish register shows that for-
merly the "brocke" was taken in the parish : — " 1667. — Chopwell,
thirty-six foxes heads and one brocke head." The Brockwell has -f*
undoubtedly taken its name from the circumstance of brocks, or
badgers, frequenting the burn at that part. At the head of the
burn is Blaydon Burn House, the residence of the late John A.
Cowen, Esq., one of the best known men in the North of England.
The late Sir Joseph Cowen made this mansion his residence after
he entered into the brick making business at Blaydon Burn. After

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153

his removal to Stella Hall, his son, Colonel Cowen, became the
occupant of the hall. It was here that Mr. Joseph Cowen of
Stella Hall, was born. The house has been considerably enlarged
since it became the property of the Cowen family, and now it is
one of the best in the neighbourhood. It is surrounded by a small
but beautiful park, which is entered by a drive from the north side.
Mr. Cowen was a Justice of the Peace for the County of Durham,
also Colonel of the Tyne and Derwent Rifle Volunteers, Chairman
of the Blaydon Local Board, and Master of the Braes of Derwent
Foxhounds. This pack of hounds is one of the oldest in England.
Nearly sixty years ago, they were known as the Prudhoe and
Derwent Foxhounds, but in 1841 they were taken to the kennels
at Coalburns, when Mr. Thomas Ramsay became master of the
hounds. Afterwards the pack was sent back to Prudhoe. Again
it was brought to Coalburns, when Mr. William Cowen was
appointed master, a position he held until his death in 1875. At
that time Mr. John A. Cowen became master of the hounds and
removed them to Blaydon Burn. Mr. Cowen remained master
until his death on April 14th, 1895. He was buried in the family
vault at Winlaton. His funeral — which was a military one — was
the largest ever known in the village.

At the top of Blaydon Burn are Messrs. Joseph Cowen & Co.'s
brickworks, where are also made their celebrated retorts. These
brickworks were established about the year 1730. Seventy years
before that date, fireclay was worked at Blaydon Burn, and
manufactured into bricks at Paridise, on the north side of the
Tyne. The clay manufactured at present at the Burn makes about
six million bricks a year. The major portion of the trade of
the firm is foreign and colonial. At the west side of the brick-
works are the remains of a flour mill, which formerly belonged
to Mr. Anthony Foster. According to the plan of Winlaton,
1632, a Foster had a mill there at that time, so that for 2co
years there have been millers in the family. Adjoining the
mill there once stood a forge, which belonged to Mr. Clark Foster,
but all traces have disappeared. On the south side of the brick-
works stands Messrs. Belt and Whitfield's disused corn-mill. The
water-wheel still rests on the east side of the building. Messrs.
Cowen have lately erected, a little eastward of Belt's mill, substantial
screens. Underground communication has been made between

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the Lily Drift at Rowland's Gill and Blaydon Burn, so that the
coals are now brought to the staiths at Stella. This part of Blaydon
Burn is a hive of industry, but we are not sure whether Mr. Ruskin
would not deplore the changes that have been made in this pretty
valley. Proceeding down the Burn, with steep banks on either
side, the visitor sees a chimney emerging from the trees on the east
side. This is the only remaining part of what was known as
Robinson's Flour Mill. It was sometimes called Shipping's Mill,
from a man named Shipping, who was the miller. After passing a
small pit belonging to Messrs. Joseph Cowen & Co., the remains
of Wintrip's Flint Mill are seen standing on the left of the waggon-
way. The mill-race is now filled up, and the arms of the water-wheel
are at rest. The miller's house is still standing, and along with the
rich and varied scenery which surrounds it, forms one of the delight-
ful spots on the burn. The ruins of Fenwick's Flour Mill are next
seen on the burn side. The mill was used last by Messrs. Bagnall
as a file-cutting establishment. Hobby's dam is soon reached,,
which forms a sheet of water both broad and deep. The burn,
after winding round the bank on the south side, appears again
emerging from the clumps of brushwood and trees on either side,
and presents a pretty scene. All around, the banks are clothed
with t trees, and in summer are studded with a rich profusion of
flowers, which makes the spot extremely attractive. No one is
able to tell who the Hobby was whose name is connected with the
dam. On a plan of Blaydon Burn, dated 1775, the mill on the
north side belonged to a person whose name was Hoplyh. The
dam at that time would be Hoplyh's, and Hobby's is evidently a
corruption of Hoplyh. On September 8th, 1869, Robert Foster
of Winlaton, nailmaker, committed suicide by drowning himself in
the dam; and on May 10th, 1875, Robert Prudhoe, nailmaker,.
also committed suicide by drowning himself in the same place.
The remains of a waggon-way may be seen on the east side of the
dam, by which coals were brought from Barlow to Stella staiths.
A little further down the burn is another flour mill. This mill, in
1775, was called Hoplyh's Mill. Thirty years ago it was called
Burn's Mill, on account of William Burn, who occupied the
adjoining farm, using the mill to grind his corn. At present it is
worked by Mr. Edward Gibson, and is known as Gibson's MilL
The water-wheel is confined within the walls of the mill This

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is the only one among all the mills standing on the burn that
has not fallen into disuse. A pleasant walk down a footpath with
delightful scenery on the east side, brings you to another mill, which
was formerly used by Messrs. Joseph Cowen & Co. for grinding
clay. The water-wheel is hidden by a picturesque little cottage
standing by the side of the path; the wheel is silent, and only the
murmuring of the stream is heard as it proceeds in its course down
the valley. A few minutes' walk brings the visitor to Massey's
Forge, which are in ruins. The water passed from the dam
through large pipes on to the wheel, by which it was set in motion.
The building was afterwards used as a foundry by Messrs. Smith,
Patterson & Co. of Blaydon. On the north side of the old forge is
the Milner Pit. The Hodge, or Cannel Seam, is being wrought at
this pit, and is 3 feet 2 inches, including 22 inches of cannel coal,
the depth being 14 fathoms. Another mill, known as Haggerston's
Mill, stood below the site of the old forge in 1775, but all traces of
it are gone. At the bottom of the burn stand the brickworks,
No. 2, of Messrs. Joseph Cowen & Co.

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THORNLEY.

After leaving Winlaton by Scotland Head at the west end, and
proceeding southward for about half a mile, the pedestrian reaches
Snooks Hill farm. In the "survey" of 1632, this house and land are
described as belonging to one Snurke. Snooks is really a
corruption of Snurke, the name of the man who two hundred
years ago farmed the land. The land was subsequently occupied
for two or three generations by members of the Hancock family,
a branch of the Hancocks of Friarside. At this farm, a road
known as the Birkgate, leads to Winlaton Mill; and another
road, a little lower down than the farm, branches to Thornley.

Thornley is described by Surtees as a single tenement to the
west of Winlaton, nearly opposite to Gibside. In 1361, Agnes,
widow of John Menevylle of Hardon, held the manor of Thorneily,
in Wynlaton, of Ralph Neville, by 40s. rent. In 1368, Thornley
is mentioned in the inquisition on the death of Ralph de
Nevill, and it probably rested in the family till the sale of Win-
laton in 1559. Thornley was the seat of a branch of the Tempests
from 1565 to 1709. By fine, 8th August, 12 car. 1636, William
Tempest acquired from Sir William Selby, Knt., and Elizabeth
and William Selby, half of a messuage, toft, and garden, two
hundred acres of meadow, as many of pasture, a hundred acres of
arable land, and as much of moor and whin in Thornley, in the
parish of Ryton.

On the 4th December, 1636 — the year in which William Tempest
obtained from the Selbys the lands in Thornley — William, son
of Sir William Selby, was killed in a duel by John Trollop of
Thornley.

The land is now owned by the Marquis of Bute.

The district extends from the Birk-gate to The Spen, and from

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the north side of Barlow to the Derwent, and is exclusively agri-
cultural. It comprises High and Low Thornley ; High Thornley
lying westward, and Low Thornley eastward. At Low Thornley
there are two farm houses ; one of them evidently has not been
built for a farm, but has been quite a superior mansion. It is of
two storeys, and so old that the front of the house is considerably
out of plumb. At the east side there has been an arched doorway
about ten feet high, which is now built up. There is evidence of
several alterations having been made to the house, at different
dates. As this house is only a mile from Winlaton, and the
Tempests of Thornley are nearly always described as of Winlaton —
for instance : "Dec. 26th, 1613. Mary, daughter to Mr. William
Tempest of Winlawton [bur.]" this house in all probability was
the seat of the Tempest family at Thornley. The farm on the
south side of the turnpike is modern.

About half a mile west of Low Thornley farms, there is a
secluded glen known as Lily Crook. Fifty years ago there were
two coal-pits at this romantic spot, one of which was known as the
Lily Crook Pit, which belonged to the Garesfield Company, the
other was worked by Mr. Daniel Elliot, and used for Land sale.
Both these pits have been abandoned ; and now there is nothing
to disturb the silence which prevails from one end of Thornley to
the other, except the noise of the waggons as they run down the
High Thornley waggon-way to Derwenthaugh.

A pleasant road leads from Low to High Thornley, which com-
prises about a dozen houses. On the west side of the waggon-
way, in a most delightful situation, stands Thornley House, the
residence of Mr. Thomas Bag nail, formerly of Winlaton. At the
top of the bank there is a large house, now falling into a state of
decay, but which still bears traces of former grandeur. At one
time the agents of the Marquis of Bute lived here ; but at present
it is let to several tenants. A footpath leads from High Thornley
for about half a mile to the Shotley Bridge turnpike, from which
there is a commanding view of Gibside and its picturesque sur-
roundings.

On the west side of Winlaton, and the north of the church,
there is a turnpike leading to the villages of Barlow and Spen.
Not far from the entrance to the road are the Winlaton Board
Schools, built in 1877, after designs by Mr. John C. Nicholson of

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Blaydon. The schools comprise boys', girls', and infants' depart-
ments, having in ail accommodation for 500. The cost of the
schools was ^5,000.

Half a mile from Winlaton there is a place called The Nobbys,
or Nobbies, where there is a large stone quarry. Previous to the
erection of Winlaton church, the people of Winlaton Mill were
compelled to travel to Ryton church. They ieit Winlaton Mill by
the Birk-gate, and walked to Snooks Hill farm, when a road on
the south side of the farm house led to The Nobbys, down to
Blaydon Burn, and met the old Hexham turnpike. At The
Nobbys, the road crossed the Barlow turnpike, and made four
lane ends. Tradition says that in the corner of the present field,
at the north side of the turnpike, a man who committed suicide
was buried, and a stake driven through his body. This tradition
is supported by the fact that formerly every pedestrian who passed
the spot threw three stones on the grave ; and old people are still
living who have seen the stake or stob which marked his place of
burial. Formerly a fdo de se, or one who committed a felony by
laying violent hands upon himself, was denied Christian burial,
and usually buried at midnight, at a place where four roads
met In the township of Cornforth, in Durham, there is a place
called Stobcross, which derives its name from being the burial
place of a man who committed suicide. The fixing of the body
by a stake or stob was thought to get rid of corpse and ghost
together. Stones were thrown on the grave as a token of abhor-
rence, common to most nations. The burial place of the suicide
at The Nobbys has always been called "Selby's grave;" but who
Selby was is uncertain. Sykes gives the following account of a
suicide at Winlaton in 1660. He says : "It is related that in the
spring of this year, an unknown gentleman came to reside at
Winlaton, near Newcastle, living very privately, and daily more
and more inquisitive after news and every circumstance of the
Restoration. Upon understanding the passing of the act of
indemnity, together with the exception of the murderers of King
Charles I., he went into an adjoining wood and hanged himself."
Tradition mentions "Lands Wood," on the south side of Winlaton,
as that in which the "unknown gentleman" hanged himself. Not
only does Sykes mention the fact of the suicide's name being
unknown, but unfortunately the Ryton register is silent in regard

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to the event ; so that we have nothing more than tradition affirming
that the name of the suicide was Selby.

Advancing westward, in half an hour the visitor reaches

BARLOW.

Barlow, Barley, from bare, and ley = ground lying uncultivated,
lea land meant the land lying idle. This little village or
hamlet lies one and a quarter miles west of Winlaton, and is
composed chiefly of workmen's houses. There are also several
farms in the neighbourhood. In the year 1632, a great part of
the land lying south of the present village was known as Gair's
Field. A " field " was originally so called, as being a piece of
land on which the trees had been felled, and it is spelled feld
in old authors, and opposed to woods or uncleared land.

Garesfield Colliery, which stood on the south side of Barlow Fell,
was commenced in the year 1800, by the Marquis of Bute and
Mrs. Simpson of Bradley. The depth of the shaft was 25 fathoms,
and there was a day-level at the eastern part of the workings.
Two other pits stood on the north side of the "Garesfield " pit on
the "fell," all of which were abandoned on the opening of the
Spen (Garesfield) Colliery in 1837. The coals were led in waggons
to Derwenthaugh.

Barlow Fell, Blaydon Green, Beda Hills, and the other waste
lands in the manor or township of Winlaton, were divided and
enclosed in pursuance of an Act of Parliament passed in 1823,
Thomas Bell of Newcastle being the sole commissioner employed,
who made his award of the division, June 29th, 1829. The lands
divided, exclusive of that portion allotted for roads, quarries, wells,
watering-places, &c, were declared by this award to contain
394 acres, 1 rood, 13 perches; of which 3 roods 26 perches was
allotted to the rector of Ryton for a churchyard or cemetery, for
the use of the township of Winlaton. Winlaton church was built
on that part of the "fell" allotted to the rector of Ryton.
Formerly the sports connected with Winlaton Hoppin — which
included cock-fighting, bull-baiting, and horse-racing — were held
on Barlow Fell. Horse-racing was last held there in 1854.

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The workmen living at Barlow to-day are chiefly employed at
the Lily Drift and the Spen Colliery.

The " Fell " was also frequented by the " boxing " fraternity of
the neighbourhood. On 25th October, 1824, a pitched battle was
fought by James Wallace and Thomas Dunn, for ^40, when
Wallace was the victor.

On the north side of the village stands the Methodist Free
Church, rebuilt in 1870. Early in the history of Methodism,
John Wesley had a good number of followers in this wild and
uninviting district. Christopher Hopper, who was both school-
master and local preacher, tells us of some of the difficulties he
experienced in prosecuting his work at Barlow one hundred and
sixty years ago. He says : — " In the year 1 744, I taught a school
at Barlow, in the parish of Ryton. My time was employed six
days in teaching the children under my care the branches of
learning I professed, and the first principles of Christianity. But T;*

Satan did not like this work ; therefore he stirred up the rector of 4 *

Ryton and his curate, with those under their influence, to prevent
me. They gave first hard words, and then hard blows. In a
little time I was summoned to appear in the Spiritual Court at
Durham, to answer for my conduct. I did not know what I had
done ; but was soon informed that I was impeached for teaching
a school without a licence ; and what was still worse, for calling
sinners to repentance, and warning the wicked to flee from the
wrath to come — an offence that cannot be overlooked by men who
know not God ! But God raised me up friends, who stood by me,
and defended my cause against all my adversaries. " Notwith-
standing the assistance which Christopher Hopper received from .*
several of the farmers in the neighbourhood, his labours did not
secure the success they deserved, and in 1746 he removed from
Barlow to Sheephill, on Derwentside.

+ John Nixon of Barlow was a devoted member of the Methodist
society. He frequently entertained John Wesley, and opened his
house for religious services. His daughter, Miss Nixon, was united
in marriage with a member of the Stephenson family of Throckley. j

The eldest son of the marriage was Alderman William E. J

Stephenson of Throckley House, and a grandson, Alderman
William Haswell Stephenson, is now (1895) for the third time.
Mayor of Newcastle. . gfa Suu, ^tlx VlSh& t^J^V^w.** >

'OfOULL UMrtA, O. J4K7K4WW ^Milji. &$ *

161

THE SPEN (High.)

This village, which is three miles distant from Winlaton, is
inhabited almost exclusively by the workmen of the colliery.

In the year 1370, Katherine, widow of Hugh de Fery, held four
messuages and a hundred acres in Berley and Spen, of John de
Nevill, Knt., by 3s.«rent, and suit at the Manor Court of Winlaton.
The Spen is included in the general alienation from Nevill in 1569.
William Shafto, gent, who died in 1631, held lands here; and
James Wild, who lived at the Spen about the same time as Shafto,
and married a lady of the name of Barloe, also possessed lands,
but afterwards sold them to William Tempest of Thornley.

The locality has been extensively worked for coal, which in the
early period of the coal trade was carried by wains down the
" Smeales Lane " to Derwenthaugh. The present colliery (known
as Garesfield) was opened in 1838. At the depth of 30 fathoms
the Brock well seam is wqrked. About 200 men and boys are
employed. The workmen live in houses formed of streets, and are
known as East Street, West Street, Glossop Street, Cardiff Square,
and Howard Terrace. One of the streets is known as the
"Jawblades" cottages, from two jawblades of a whale which at
one time formed a gateway near the cottages.

On the north side of the colliery, and separated by a field used
as a 4< Recreation ground," are a number of streets, known as
" Ramsay's cottages," which are modern erections for the use of the
miners. At the west end of East Street the Primitive Methodists
have a handsome chapel, erected in 1884, upon their removal from
an older building erected in 1867.

On December 17th, 1865, Matthew Atkinson murdered his wife
Ellen, at The Spen, for which he was afterwards executed at
Durham.

On the south side of the village are the commodious Board
Schools, opened in 1894,. to supply a lack of accommodation in
the old Primitive Methodist Chapel, in which the school was held.

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THE SPEN (Low).

This little hamlet lies about half-a-mile south of Hi§h Spen. It
consists of a farm house and a number of cottages. In the spring
of 1743, John Brown, a plain farmer, removed fromTanfield Leigh
to the above-mentioned farm house, and invited John Wesley to
his house. Christopher Hopper, in referring to this time, and
having in his mind John Brown's house at the Low Spen, says : —
44 1 then heard occasionally those preachers who I thought could
tell their story well, without stammering ; but still found much
fault with this strange method of proceeding." " The Sabbath-day
following," he says: — "Mr. Reeves (one of the earliest of the
Methodist local preachers) preached at the Low Spen at one
o'clock in the afternoon, and in the evening again, on these words :
4 And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the
greatest of these is charity.'" He further says : — ** My mouth was
stopped. I stood guilty before God. He discovered to me the
blessed plan of man's redemption through the blood of a crucified
Saviour." And thus commenced, in the house of John Brown, the
religious life of Christopher Hopper, one of the most remarkable
men in Methodist history. Soon after, John Wesley visited Low
Spen, formed a little society there, and made Christopher Hopper
a leader. The society held their religious services in John Brown's
house, and under his roof the preachers, often weather-beaten and
weary, received a welcome and found a home. For sixty-four years
John Brown continued a devoted member of the Methodist society.
St. Patrick's Church stands about half-a-mile south of High Spen,
and on the east side of Huger-gale. It is built of red bricks, and
covered with red tiles ; internally, the arrangements are neat and
unpretending, and capable of seating 200 people. A grave-yard
surrounds the edifice. The church was built in 1889, and cost
about ^500. Huger-gate leads from Beda Lodge to the Lintz
Green Station. A branch road near the church enters Smailes*
Lane, which terminates near to Rowlands Gill Station.

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It was at the bottom of Smailes' Lane, after crossing the Shotley
Bridge turnpike, that Mr. Robert Stirling, assistant to Dr. Watson
of Burnopfield, was murdered on the ist of November, 1855. He
had been little more than a week in the service of Mr. Watson,
and was returning from visiting the patients of that gentleman,
when he was shot by s&me persons lurking near the road, his
throat cut, and his head and face frightfully injured, apparently by
the butt end of a gun. His watch, money, and lancets were taken
from his pockets, and the body was dragged through a fence and
deposited among the bushes in a plantation which covered a steep
declivity, where it was not discovered till about a week afterwards.
A considerable sensation was excited throughout the county by this
atrocious deed, and large rewards were offered for the discovery of
the perpetrators. Two men, named John Cain, the proprietor of
an illicit still in the neighbourhood, and Richard Rayne, a black-
smith at Winlaton, were apprehended on suspicion, and brought
up at the Durham Spring Assizes in 1856, but the evidence not
being complete, they were remanded to the Summer Assizes in
July of that year. After a prolonged trial, in which a variety of
circumstantial evidence was adduced on behalf of the prosecution,
a verdict of Not Guilty was returned.

Rowland Gill derives its name from Robert Rowland, who
possessed lands there in 162 1, and Gill, a north-country word for
rivulet.

About a quarter of a mile eastward of Rowlands Gill Station is
the Lily Drift, belonging to Messrs. Joseph Cowen & Co. The
workmen live in a row of houses at the west side, at the end of
which there is a neat Primitive Methodist Chapel, erected in 1883,
and capable of seating 200. The .coals are now drawn by an
endless rope to the screens at Blaydon Burn, after which they are
sent to Blaydon and conveyed by wherries to their destination.

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CHOPWELL TOWNSHIP.

This township comprises an extensive district, lying immediately
west of the High Spen and Low Spen, and stretching to Milk-
well Burn. It also extends from the Derwent on the south to
the Leadgate on the north, and contains about 3,850 acres. Popula-
tion in 180 1, 348 ; 1811,291; 1821,237; 1831,254; 1841,320;
1851,458; 1861, 563; 1871, 788; 1881, 1,614; 1891, 2,193.
Rateable value — In 1821, ^2,120 ; and in 1893, ^9,323.

Chop well, eleven miles W.S.W. from Newcastle, anciently
comprised the south-western angle of the parish of Ryton, but
the estate has now been divided into several distinct portions.

Bishop Hugh gave Chopwell to Newminster Abbey, in exchange
for Wolsingham. Surtees conjectures that the Swinburns, who
were already tenants of Chopwell under the Abbey, obtained at
the dissolution the fee-simple of the Crown or its grantees. In
1562, John Swinburne, Esq., was litigating his boundaries betwixt
the manors of Ryton and Chopwell, with Pilkington, Bishop of
Durham. In 1569, he was deeply engaged in the great northern
rebellion, fled under attainder to Fernicherst in Scotland, escaped
from thence into Flanders, was afterwards a pensioner at Madrid,
and probably died in exile. The manor of Chopwell, thus vested
in the Crown, was granted by the Queen to Sir Robert Constable,
of Flamborough, in recompense of his services as a spy and
informer. Sir William Constable, son and heir of Sir Robert, sold
the manor of Chopwell to Anthony Archer; and he immediately
conveyed to Ambrose Dudley, alderman of Newcastle, who, son
and heir, Toby Dudley, Esq., left an only daughter, Jane Dudley,
wife of Robert Clavering, a younger brother of the first Sir James

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Clavering, of AxwelL The male issue of Clavering failed in his
grandchildren, and Sarah, the sister and eventual heir of John
and Dudley Clavering, became the wife of the Lord Chancellor,
William, Earl Cowper. Earl Cowper sold Chopwell Hall, Horsegate,
and Broomfield House to Dr. Thorp, rector of Ryton, and to his
son, Robert Thorp, of Alnwick, Esq. West Chopwell and
Greenhead were purchased by Mr. John Taylor, of Swalwell ;
Leadgate and Ravenside, by Anthony Surtees of Hamsterley, Esq.;
and other portions by William Surtees, Esq., Mr. Miller, and Mr.
Robert Waugh. The mines of coal were reserved by Earl Cowper.

In the reign of James I., John Lyons of Bradley, Esq., receiver
of the revenues, being a defaulter to the Crown, an extent was
issued against his estate in Chopwell, "the East Wood, Moor
Close, Deane, and the Carres." When Chopwell was granted to
Sir Robert Constable, this portion, which is of considerable extent,
was reserved. The present landowners are J. C. F. Cookson,
Esq., William Tudor Thorp, Esq., Miss Surtees, Mrs. Liddle,
Consett Iron Company, and the Commissioners of Woods and
Forests.

After leaving Rowlands Gill Station, on the Consett branch of
the North-Eastern Railway, and advancing westward for about a
mile, Chopwell Woods are reached. These woods are what remain
of the ancient forest which extended from Axwell Park to
Allenheads. About a mile north-west of Rowlands Gill is Victoria
Garesfield, a modern colliery village, surrounded by woods and
charming scenery. Large quantities of coke are also produced
there by Messrs. Priestman. The seams of coal worked are the
Brockwell and Three-Quarter. A pleasant walk of a mile-and-a-half
on the Shotley Bridge turnpike, through the forest, brings the
visitor to Lintz Ford. A road branching northward, known as
Huger Gate, leads to Bede Lodge and the Spen. Half a mile
southward is the Lintz Green Station. Branching off the Shotley
Bridge turnpike, past the houses occupied by the workmen at Lintz
Ford Paper Mills, you are in the heart of the forest. The scenery
is of a quiet and gentle character. The Derwent flows through
the woods on the south side, and occasionally the banks of the
channel rise precipitously, which darken the otherwise crystal
waters. Walking in a north-westerly direction for a mile and a half,
the Tongue Burn is reached before it meets the Derwent. Along-

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side of the burn stands the Carr farm, which in the time of
James I. formed that part of the Chopwell estate known as " The
Carrs." Advancing northward about a mile through the forest, you
reach Heavy Gate and Horse Gate, two old roads which, in the
17 th century, were used as "^always" to Stella. At the west side
of Horsegate is Horsegate farm, which is an old building with a
nailed to every door. If the existence of horse-shoes
the doors of farms and cottages in this thinly-populated
evidence of the belief in witchcraft, that belief must
liled extensively in former times, as nearly every door
s guarded by a horse-shoe. A pleasant walk from
>e, through the woods, brings you to Chopwell Church,
small edifice standing on the north side of the road,
lopwell Hall. The church was erected in 1843. ^ n
side is Chopwell Hall, which is to-day what it always has
arge farm-house. On the west side of Chopwell Hall
ill Wood farm, and in the distance westward are the
i, Greenhead, and Ashtree farms. Chopwell Mill, which
of Chopwell Wood farm, is an old-fashioned building ;
the water mill has disappeared, and only the mill-race, on the west
side of the farm, is now to be seen. Westward from the " Mill "
is Newhouse farm, near to Milkwell Burn, the birthplace of Joseph
Bulman, a well-known local poet.
(^Joseph Bulman, son of Thomas Bulman, was born June nth,
1833. His father was farm bailiff for R. Surtees, Esq., and also
rented Newhouse farm under the same gentleman for a great
number of years. He had a family of ten children, of whom
Joseph was the youngest, and who, in early life, exhibited signs of
a delicate constitution, and not being likely to obtain his livelihood
by hard work, was put to school until he became a very good
scholar, and was very expert in land surveying, in which employ-
ment he had a good deal of practice in assisting his father on Mr.
Surtees' estates. On March 5th, 1852, he obtained a situation on
the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, at Hexham station, After
spending a few years at Hexham, he was removed, by the wish of
the directors, to the audit office at Newcastle, and subsequently
from that to the manager's office, and was entrusted with the
collection of the Company's accounts, a situation of some trust.
At length he had an offer of a situation in the Union Bank at

uMf J2£UM~ SUtyL J***>± (Ufonfri4rt& Ku, &w»un.

167

Newcastle, and from thence to their office at Sunderland, to which
place he removed. About this time his health began to give way,
and no sooner had he removed to Sunderland, than evident
symptoms of a disease set in which compelled him to give up his
situation at the bank. He removed to Ryton for a suitable
residence, as he thought, where he began to sink fast under the
unmitigated effects of consumption, and died on 5th April, r°*~
H is poe ms were published in 1861. Several of them were
duced while following his regular duties, and others were
written during his illness, and finished while he had very
strength.

His poem, "On Passing Newhouse," his birthplace,
charming description of the old homestead : —

Once more I climb the old oak stile,

And tread the grassy green,
Where first the gazing sun on me

Did cast his radiant beam.
I pass the well-remembered cot,

My first, bright sunny home,
Where life's rough tempest harm'd me not,

Nor care could near me come ;
Where all was innocence, joy, and mirth :
The dearest, choicest spot on earth

Yonder stands the Scotch fir clump,

Beneath whose ample shade
Old Nanny's lambs did racing jump,

And judding, gambolling, play'd.
The old pit-hole with rashes grown ;

The well so cooling, clear ;
The hurdle gate and grassy lawn,

Yes, all these yet are here :
To each some story does belong,
Of deeds performed in days byegone.

There is at Newhouse a commanding view of the country south
of the Derwent, which Bulman describes in picturesque language : —

The eye can wander far from here,

Can view the stretching plain,
The pretty hamlets far and near,

And fields of waving grain.

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Wild Derwenfs waters, shining bright,

Like glittering silver lies ;
While Pontop's tree-capp'd towering height

Seems propping up the skies :
Frowning at its neighbour still,
The sunny, airy, Ash-tree hill.

The following verse has reference to Chopwell woods : —

O how I love that wild, wild wood,

It's shaggy, briary glens :
It's nut-bush hills, where secret brood,

The robins, tits, and wrens.
Where woodcock, wild duck, and heron,

Haunt the lonely dells ;
Adown yon holly banks whereon

The blackbird's music swells,
Where songbirds make the welkin ring,
And squirrels high, so fearless spring.

Bulman's poems, "On Leaving Milk well Burn, " and "Sighing
of the Breezes," are worthy of high praise. They were published
in 1861.

On the south side of Newhouse farm is

This hamlet is situated on the south-west of Chopwell, and
alongside of the Derwent. Nearly the whole of the village has
been erected during the last thirty years. The estate of Blackhall
was held under the Crown grantees by the Rutherford family, when
the Dudleys of Newcastle purchased Chopwell. A feud took place
between these two families in 16 15, and which probably arose from
some contention respecting rents and boundaries. The conse-
quences were " John Rutheforth, or Rudderford, Gent., of Wren's
Nest ; Charles Rutheforth, of the Blackhall ; Hugh and Gaven
Rutheforth, and William Shafto, were outlawed for forcibly entering
into the manor of Chopwell, with intention to kill Ambrose
Dudley, Esq., George GifFord, and others, at a place called
Westwood, in which affray William Shafto struck George Gifford a
mortal wound in the thigh, of which he soon died, with an iron

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lance." The Rutherfords fled from the face of the law. The
Bishop, to whom the forfeiture accrued, granted their interest in
the Blackhall to Sir Philip Constable of Everingham (15th April,
1 615), who in the same year conveyed it to William Carr of Cocken.
The above Charles Rutherford married Margaret, daughter of
Thomas Swinburn of Capheaton ; but from an entry in the Ryton
register, it would seem that he had returned when the storm was
over, and died in his old habitation. Blackhall and Milkwell
Burn were purchased, in 1626, by Anthony Surtees.

Anthony Surtees was the son of Cuthbert Surtees of Ebchester.
Robert, son of Anthony, married, in 1663, Isabella Newton, from
whom descended the family of Surtees of Hamsterly Hall.

Although Blackhall Mill is on the north side of the Derwent,
only a part of the village is in Chopwell. The Derwent is the
boundary until it reaches "The Ship" public-house, when an
imaginary line runs along the west side of the house to a hedge
about forty yards on the north side. From this point the line runs
westward till it reaches the old Smelt Mill, where the Derwent is
again the boundary. Several old houses, and one of the old Smelt
Mills arrest the attention of the visitor. Seventy years ago, Isaac
Cookson, Esq., employed a number of workmen in the manufacture
of German steel. Forges and smelt mills have existed on the
Derwent, at Blackhall Mill, from an early period. There is a
tradition that the colonists came from Solingen, a small city on the
WifFer, in the Duchy of Berg, which had long been noted for its
fine elastic sword blades. At the present time Derwent Cote and
Swalwell are the only places on the Derwent where steel is forged,

About a quarter of a mile west of Blackhall Mill, is the Milkwell
Burn, which flows into the Derwent, and which is the south-western
boundary of the old parish of Ryton.

Half a mile north of the Derwent, on the side of the Burn, is
Blackhall, at one time the seat of the Rutherfords. Blackhall
probably obtained its name from its situation on the edge of what
was anciently the Black Moor, on the west side. The Hall is an
old stone building, bearing traces of former elegance and import-
ance. At present it is occupied by several tenants. On the east
side of the Hall is Blackhall farm, formerly connected with the Hall.

On the north of Blackhall is Ravenside, and north of Ravenside
is Ash Tree, both of which are agricultural districts.

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AXWELL PARK.

This beautiful modern seat of the Claverings lies in Winlaton
township, and north of the Derwent. It stands open, but not
unsheltered, in the midst of a soft wooded park, which slopes
gently to the Derwent, and is diversified by beautiful swells and
undulations of ground. A number of deer add to the simple and
rural beauties of the scene. The southern view overlooks the rich
enclosures and hanging woods of Gibside. The east front
commands a prospect of Derwent Bridge, and extends over part of
the Vale of Tyne, the shipping at Newcastle quay, and the heights
of Gateshead.

The name Axwell is probably derived from ak = oak, and sheals —
sheds ; sheds made from branches of oak trees. The Claverings
transferred the name from their estate on the south side of
the Derwent, to the park which now surrounds their present
beautiful residence. On the plan of the Winlaton lordship (dated
1632), there is a mansion on Springhill, which is about one
hundred yards west of the present hall. Surtees states that
Whitehouse, the former seat of the Claverings, stood about half a
mile west of Axwell Hall. Surtees was evidently mistaken in the
site of Whitehouse, as the house on Springhill was undoubtedly the
Whitehouse of the Claverings. The father of Mr. Ralph Norton, the
late agent to the Axwell estate, was present at the demolition of the
old hall, after which the site was planted with trees. Whitehouse
was surrounded by a small park comprising 30 acres. On the
north side of the park was Newfield, 53 acres ; on the west the
Hagg, 150 acres; on the east Lady Close, 6 acres; and

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the Black Meres — lakes or ponds — 24 acres; and on, the
south Broom Close, 40 acres. On the erection of Axwell Hall, all
the above-mentioned parcels of land were enclosed in the new park.
Axwell Hall was built by Sir Thomas Clavering, from the designs
of Payne, and is considered by professional men to be one of that
eminent architect's happiest efforts. Bishop Pococke, who visited
Gibside in the year 1760, says : — " We came about two miles to
Whickham, and saw on the left Sir Thomas Clavering's fine large
house, the shell of which is just finished in hewn freestone." From
what the bishop says, we may conclude that the Claverings made
Axwell Hall their residence about the year 1761. The entrance
into the mansion is by a hall, on the right of which, to the east,
is the ante-chamber, or common dining-room ; in the centre of
the east front is the best dining-room ; in the south-west angle,
and on the left of the hall, is the withdrawing room ; and in the
centre of the building are the staircases ; in the north-east angle
is a small study ; beyond that, and on one side of the common
passage, is a small room or office for business ; and on the opposite
side of the same passage is the steward's office ; in the north-west
angle, is the housekeeper's room, which serves also as a dining-room
for the upper domestics ; in the intermediate part of the west front
is the kitchen, taking in a part of the subterraneous storey, and
rising as high as the mezzanine, the roof being substantially arched
to prevent any disagreeable smells. The mezzanine storey is con-
tinued over the before-mentioned part of the building and through
the north front, in the centre of which is a passage to the laundry,
and other subordinate offices, which, on account of the natural
situation of the ground, are built above the level of the house, but
entirely out of sight This mezzanine affords six good rooms for
the upper servants of the family and those belonging to visitors.
In the centre of the upper landing of the great stairs is the
entrance to the ante-chamber; in the south-east angle is Lady
Clavering's dressing room, which commands most beautiful views
of Newcastle and the village of Whickham ; in the centre of the
east front, are the principal family apartments, including two
dressing-rooms; a bed-room and dressing-room occupy the
south-west angle; in the intermediate part of the west front is
another bedroom and a dressing-room; and in the north-west
angle is a single bedchamber. The attic storey contains four bed-

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rooms, with dressing-rooms to each, and three single bedrooms.
The Hall is roofed with slates. The handsome porch, which forms
the principal entrance, was built about twenty years after the
erection of the mansion. Previous to that time the principal
entrance was on the east side. A flight of steps leads to the porch,,
and on each side there stands a small brass mounted cannon,
placed there by the late Sir Henry A. Clavering. Above the porch,
on the third storey, are the family arms — Quarterly : Or and Gules,,
a bend Sable. On the south side, and at the termination of the
carriage drive, the entrance is formed by a terrace, which runs
along the south and east sides of the house, from which there is a
commanding view of the wooded banks on the south of the
Derwent.

The Hall contains some interesting and valuable pictures,
amongst which may be enumerated "The Raising of Lazarus,"*
and "The Inauguration of a Bishop," by Paul Veronese; "The
Holy Family," by Carracci; "The Passover/* by Le Seur;
" Bentivoglio," by Titian ; " Interior of a Cathedral," by Neep and
Tenier; "Sacking a Village," by Vander Malin; "Skating," by
Bout; and several family portraits. The park, which comprises
270 acres, is enclosed by a wall. The house is approached by two
carriage drives — one at Shibdon, on the north side of the park, the
other at Derwent Bridge, on the east side. The drive from the
direction of Swalwell (via Derwent Bridge) is especially worthy of
notice. From the entrance gates to the house it winds under the
branches of ancestral trees, through the vistas of which the deer
may be seen bounding over velvety turf or bushes, or among the
tall brackens, where they often seek refuge from the burning rays
of the sun. After passing an ornamental bridge and turning a
gentle curve, a splendid view of the house is obtained, which, from
the gentle style of its architecture, has a very imposing effect. On
the west side of the house are the stables, neatly and compactly
built, terminating at each end by a lower tower ; in the centre is a
high tower, in which is placed a clock. A gentle drive from the
north side leads to the large and beautiful gardens and greenhouses,
which have always been a great attraction to those living in the
neighbourhood privileged to visit them. West of the gardens
is the " Home " farm and the old joiner's shop. Formerly there
stood on the north side of the lake a house covered with shells,.

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and known as the "Shell House," which, having fallen into a
state of decay, was set on fire by the late Sir H. A. Clavering,
and burnt to the ground 22nd March, 1876.

At the west end of the park is "Park Villa, n formerly the
residence of the steward of the estate, and at present occupied by
Mr. Thomas Metcalfe. On a hill, hidden by trees, about two
hundred yards south-west of the hall, there are the remains of a
building known as "The Temple," built by Lady Clavering during
her husband's detention in France by Napoleon, at the beginning
of the century. The structure is semi-circular in form, its height
about 16 feet and diameter inside 20 feet At the entrance
stand three polished pillars. Whatever the building may have
been intended for, it was never finished, and to-day lies in ruins.
The park contains several very fine trees, including a Sycamore
four hundred yards N.E. of Hall, girth at a height of 5 feet, 15 feet

4 inches, spread of branches 28 yards, height 65 feet ; a Lime, near
to joiner's shop, girth at a height of 5 feet, 13 feet^height 101 feet;
an Oak, two hundred yards west of Hall, girth at a height of 4 feet,
17 feet, spread of branches 22 yards, height 44 feet ; an Oak, four
hundred yards S.W. of Hall, girth at a height of 5 feet, 14 feet

5 inches, spread of branches 34 yards, height 59 feet 6 inches ; a
Beech, three hundred yards E. of Hall, girth at a height of 5 feet,
13 feet, height 55 feet; Beech, one yard W. of Park Wall on the
west side, girth at a height of 5 feet, 13 feet 10 inches, height 55 feet;
Ash, three hundred and thirty yards N.E. of Hall, girth at a height
of 5 feet, 13 feet 10 inches, spread of branches 18 yards, height
60 feet; Sycamore, about four hundred and seventy yards S.E. of
Hall, girth at a height of 5 feet, 13 feet 7 inches, spread of branches
20 yards, height 65 feet. Several large trees have lately been
destroyed by storms. In the year 1763, March nth, as some men
were digging in the park, they discovered an urn with a little dust
in it, and by going further they found a large stone coffin, in which
was a skull with the teeth very fresh, and several bones of a great
size. It is not known in what part of the grounds the coffin was
found, and it is uncertain what became of it. Axwell Park
contains within its area the old Whitehouse Park, the seat of the
Selbys and the Claverings, until the present Hall was built.

The Selbys, as already noticed, were extensive landowners in
Winlaton. A branch of this influential family settled at Old

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Axwell, on the south side of the Demerit, as early as the middle
of the 1 6th century, afterwards removing to Whitehouse, on the
north side.

Sir William Selby, sometimes described of Bolam and Shortflatt
Tower, County of Northumberland, is also described of Winlaton.
He was buried at Ryton, 3rd April, 1649.

Sir George Selby, created a baronet 3rd March, 1664, and
buried at St. Nicholas, 16th September, 1668, is described of
Whitehouse and sometimes Winlaton.

Mr. Charles Selby of Winlaton, was buried at Ryton, 29th May,
1668.

Thomas Selby of Winlaton, was married to Susan Heslerigg, in
March, 1670.

Five individuals of the Selby family obtained the honour of
knighthood from King James. Sir William Selby of Biddlestone ;
Sir George, the King's host ; Sir William of Winlaton ; another Sir
William of the Mote, Ightham, Kent; and Sir John Selby of
Twizel.

The Whitehouse Estate was probably considered too small to
give a name to it, hence the residence of the Selbys is described as
Winlaton.

In the year 1749, Whitehouse Park still retained the old name,
and it was not until the erection of the present hall that the old
park disappeared in the newer and larger one, Axwell.

The Claverings.

The family of Clavering derive their descent in the male line from
Charlemagne. The original family name is De Burgh, which was
resumed by the Marquis of Clanricarde in 1752. Eustace de
Burgh, a noble Norman, had two sons, who came over with William
the Conquerer. Serlo, who built Knaresborough Castle, died
without issue; but his brother, John, had three sons, whose
descendants became connected with the noblest houses in England.
One branch of the family became barons of Warkworth, of whom
Eustace de Vescy was one of the competitors for the Crown of
Scotland. The surname of Clavering was given by King
Edward I. from Clavering in Essex, which was the chief estate of

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Robert Fitz Roger, Lord Clavering, Baron of Warkworth and
Clavering. Robert Clavering, son and heir of John Clavering and
Elizabeth Fenwick, married Ann, daughter of Sir Thomas Grey of
Horton Castle, Northumberland, from which last are descended the
family of Clavering of Axwell Park. James, son of Robert
Clavering and Ann Grey, was sheriff of Newcastle in 1599, and
mayor in 1607 and 1618. His son, John Clavering, Esq., of
Axwell, also served the offices of sheriff and mayor of Newcastle.
He married Ann, daughter of Robert Shafto, alderman of New-

Sir Henry A. Clavering, Bart.

castle, widow of Robert Tempest. He was buried 6th of May,
1648. This John Clavering seems to have been the first member
of the family to make (Old) Axwell, in the parish of Whickham, his
residence. James, the eldest son of John Clavering, married Jane,
daughter and heiress of Charles Maddison, Esq., of Saltwellside.
He was high sheriff of the County of Durham in 1650; but in
1656 it would seem that he was an object of suspicion to the

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government, for in the information of Lady Hall, dated 7th
November, 1656, it is stated that one Mr. Clavering of Axwell, in
the County of Durham, who was chosen a member of this present
parliament, but not admitted, did lend to Charles Stuart ^4,000,
since March last. In the following year, however, the church-
wardens' book of Gateshead shows that he had at least set out for
the purpose of attending his public duty, as one of the charges to
the parish is for one gallon of mulled sack, had of Mr. Watson,
bestowed on Mr. James Clavering, Justice of Peace, at his taking
journey to parliament He was created a baronet 5th June, 1661,
and stood an unsuccessful contest for the county in 1675. He
was buried at Whickham 24th March, 1 701-2, aged 82 years.

About the year 1670, the Greencroft estate came into the
possession of the Claverings. James Clavering was succeeded by
his grandson James, in 1702, and at his death, in 1707, his
brother, John Clavering, became the third baronet. He died in
17 14. In 1735, under date February 22nd, Sykes says: — "Died
at Newcastle, Dame Jane Clavering, widow and relict of Sir John
Clavering of Axwell Park, aged 66 years ; a lady of most exemplary
life and unbounded charity. Her ladyship left by will ^50 to the
poor of each of the four parishes in Newcastle, and ^60 to the
charity school in St. John's parish. The residue of her estate,
amounting to ^120,000 and upwards, devolved upon her
ladyship's two daughters. Her corpse was interred in St. Nicholas*
church, upon which occasion, pursuant to her own directions, an
excellent sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. John Ellison.
The funeral procession was very magnificent, the pall being
supported by eight gentlemen of distinction. Before the corpse
went the master and charity boys of St. John's, followed by the
beadles, several mourners with cloaks, and eight of her ladyship's
servants in full mourning, without cloaks ; next after the corpse
went a great number of gentlemen and clergy, as mourners ; then
walked the mayor and aldermen with their regalia and ensigns of
honour and after them most of the gentlemen in the town and
adjacent country with scarfs, &c. ; after which followed her lady-
ship's coach, in deep mourning, succeeded by many others."

John Clavering was succeeded by his son, Sir James Clavering ;
baptized August 3rd, 1708, and died May 18th, 1726. The title
next devolved on his uncle, Francis Clavering, who died without

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issue in 1738, and was succeeded by his cousin, Sir James, sixth
baronet. He died May 1 2th, 1 748. Although the Claverings had
been active and distinguished partisans of the Stuarts during the
great Civil War, they were strong and vigilant supporters of the
Government in the Rebellions of 17 15 and 1745 ; in fact, it was
chiefly due to their watchfulness that the Government was apprised
of the proceedings of the Northern Jacobites. In the " Rising of
1745," Sir Thomas Clavering raised a troop of horse militia at his
own expense. Sir James Clavering had by his first wife, Catherine,
daughter of Thomas York, Esq., one son, Thomas, by whom he was
succeeded. He was baptized June 19th, 17 18. He was M.P for
Shaftesbury in 1754, and for the County of Durham in 1768, 1774,
1780, and 1784. He unsuccessfully contested the county in
1760, when John Wesley used his influence in Sir Thomas' favour,
by writing the following letter to his friends : — " 20th November,
1760. — I desire earnestly all who love me to assist him, to use the
utmost of their power; what they do, let them do it with all their
might; let not sloth nor indolence hurt a good cause, only let
them not rail at the other candidates. They may act earnestly,
yet civilly. Let all your doings be done in charity ; and at the
peril of your souls receive no bribe ; do your duty without being
tired. God will repay you both in this world and to come."
Sir Thomas Clavering married Martha, daughter of Joshua
Douglas of Newcastle, and died without issue October 14th, 1794.
2. George Clavering, Esq., of Greencroft, who by Mary, daughter
of fcthe Rev. Mr. Palmer of Comb, Rawleigh, Devonshire, and
relict of Sir John Home, Bart, left a son, eighth baronet. 3. Sir
John Clavering, K.B., Major-General in the Army, Commander-in-
Chief in the East Indies, Governor of Berwick, and Colonel of
the 52nd Foot. He began his career in the .Coldstream Guards,
and was sent with General Barrington to take the French island of
Guadaloupe. He is said to have displayed great skill and bravery
on the occasion of taking the island, which elicited the highest
admiration from his friends in the North of England in learning
the news. The local papers of June 17th, 1759, contain the
following account of the reception of the news : — " On the arrival
of the agreeable and welcome news at Newcastle of the reduction
of Guadaloupe, on the 21st of the preceding April, the bells were
immediately rung, and the day was concluded with every demon-

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stration of joy. The news was particularly pleasing at Newcastle,
as the brave Colonel Clavering, who brought home the dispatches
was of that neighbourhood, and whose relatives were complimented
on his account. The colonel had greatly distinguished himself on
the occasion."

On the appointment of Warren Hastings as Governor-General
of Bengal, Sir John Clavering was one of the four persons appointed
to constitute a Council to act with him. He received as a
councillor ;£i 0,000 a year, He was to command the Bengal
army, and to be next in rank to Hastings; but the Governor-
General and the Council could not agree. Sir John Clavering
fought a duel with one Barwell, a friend of Hastings ; and he and
Hastings nearly came to grief in a similar manner.

Sir John was a man of great ability and sterling integrity. He
undoubtedly was the most distinguished member of the family of
Claverings of Axwell and Greencroft ; but his abilities seem not to
have been appraised at their true value in India, and after much
worry and many disappointments, he diecl at Calcutta, August 30th,
1777, aged 55 years.

Sir Thomas John Clavering of Axwell Park, son of George
Clavering and Mary Palmer, born April 6th, 1771, married
August 2 1 st, 1 791, Clara, daughter of John de Gallais, Count-de
la-Sable of Anjou, by whom he had issue William Aloysius, born
January 21st, 1800; Clara Ann Martha, married February 8th,
1826, to General Baron de Knyff of Brussels; and Agatha
Catherine, married February 12th, 182 1, to the Baron de Mont-
faucon of Avignon.

In 1798, Sir Thomas Clavering raised, at his own expense,
a troop of yeomanry known as the Tyne Hussars. Sir Thomas
Burdon was colonel, and Mr. William Lockey, land agent to Sir
Thomas Clavering, was captain of the troop. The cavalry was
composed of men who lived at Swalwell, Whickham, Winlaton
Mill, and Sir Thomas's tenantry at Axwell Park. The regiment
was extremely popular in the neighbourhood, which in a great
measure was due to the geniality and the commanding presence
of its captain. His sword, and a handsome silver cup, presented to
him, are still preserved by one of his descendants at Whickham,
The cup bears the following inscription : —

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Presented to

Capt. Willm. Lockey,

by the Axwell Park Troop of Volunteer Cavalry,

1815.

At the time of the "False Alarm" (January 31st, 1803), when
it was reported that Buonaparte was ready to invade England, the
people of Blaydon, Swalwell, &c, had a great many carts and
rolleys to carry their furniture and goods to Alston Moor for
safety; but Captain Lockey, at the head of his gallant cavalry,
disarmed their fears, and they returned to their respective homes.

Sir Thomas lived chiefly at Greencroft, devoting his time to the
improvement of his estates. He was held in high esteem by his
tenantry. On the 20th October, 1845, tne tenants met him at
Greencroft and presented him with a full-length portrait of himself,
executed by Hastings of Durham, as a token of their respect.
The painting is now among the family pictures at Axwell Park.
Sir Thomas died at Clifton, on November 4th, 1853, at the ripe
age of 83 years, and was buried at Greencroft.

Having paid a visit to France soon after the peace of Amiens,
Sir Thomas was detained by Buonaparte from the rupture of that
treaty until 18 14, and a singular dispute arose in 1854 as to
whether his children born in that country were entitled to a share
in the property left by his father, George Clavering, that gentleman
having expressly excluded any descendants of his son that should
not be members of the Church of England or that might be born
or educated abroad. William, the only surviving son of Sir
Thomas, was the sole person entitled to claim under the strict
letter of the will. Lengthened litigation ensued as to whether the
terms of the will had been broken by the heir having been born
abroad, but, ultimately, the son of Sir Thomas was adjudged the
legal claimant to the title and estates of the family.

Sir William Aloysius Clavering seldom visited Axwell Park, the
most of his time being spent in London and on the continent,
He died unmarried in 1872, and was buried at Greencroft. He
was succeeded by his cousin, Sir Henry Augustus Clavering, son
of Rawdon Clavering, Esq., born 30th August, 1824, and was
educated at the Royal Naval College. He was with Sir Charles
Napier on the coast of Syria in 1840, was present at the siege of

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Jean D'Acre, and held a medal for the gallant part he took in those
events. He married a daughter of the late Andrew Alexander, LL.D.,
Professor of Greek at St. Andrew's University, who survives
him. Sir Henry made Axwell his residence, and during the
latter years of his life was never away from it. He took no part
in national or public affairs, but devoted his time to the beautifying
of his charming residence. He died on the 9th of November, 1893,
aged 69 years, and was interred at Blaydon Cemetery in a new
vault built by Sir Henry during his lifetime. He was the tenth and
last baronet, and his death terminated the male line of one of the
oldest, most influential, and far-branching of the county families in
England.

The Rev. John Warren Napier, Vicar of Stretton, South
Staffordshire, third son of the Hon. Charles Napier, and grandson
of Frances, Baron Napier, in the peerage of Scotland, succeeded
to the estates in 1893, on which he assumed the name of Clavering,
in accordance with the will of Sir William Aloysius Clavering,
This gentleman now lives at Axwell Park.

On the north side of Axwell Park there is an extensive tract Of
land bordering the river Tyne. Part of it is a marsh or swamp
called the Strothers, and as the bog produces nothing but rushes,
it is the resort of water-fowl, among which may be mentioned the
Snipe, Golden Plover, Water Hen, Red Shank, and Water Rail.
The last Water Rail was shot in 1892.

On the west side of Axwell Park is the Hagg, which signifies the
broken ground in a bog.

" He led a small and shaggy nag,
That through a bog from hag to hag."

— Lay of the Last Minstrel,

There is at the Hagg a neat house, the residence of Mr. Thomas
Battensby, one of the agents of the Axwell estate. A pleasant
path from the house leads to the Shotley Bridge turnpike at the
foot of the hilL Formerly there was at this spot a well-known
sulphur spring, known as the " Spa Well," but unfortunately the
water disappeared a few years ago, to the regret of the multitude
of visitors to the Derwent. A short walk along the south side
of Axwell Park brings the visitor to Derwent Bridge. On
the north side of the bridge, and the east side of the Blaydon

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turnpike, is "Bates' House." On the plan of the Winlaton
lordship (1632) there is a mansion which stood on the east side of
the present farm-house, with a park on the south side stretching
to the Derwent. Bates lived in the house at that time. It is
uncertain what social position Bates occupied in the world, but an
old woman who died some years ago remembered the ruins of the
old hall, which were of considerable dimensions, and had been
the residence of a man of wealth and influence.

Two old white-washed cottages stand on the west side of the
farm, and were probably connected with Bates' House in the olden
time. It was here that Cuthbert Houston lived. He was a
cripple from his birth, and notwithstanding his infirmities he was
a frequent contributor to the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle, Being
unable to walk, he was wheeled in a perambulator along the side
of the Derwent, where he enjoyed the sunshine, the flowers, and
the music of the birds. But his life was short; he died on
February 15th, 1877, aged 19 years. He rests in Whickham
churchyard. A neat stone, subscribed for by Mr. Joseph Cowen
and other friends, including many of the contributors to the
Weekly Chronicle, marks his resting-place.

From Derwent Bridge a commanding view of the Derwent and
Axwell Park is obtained, and in the moonlight the scene is
delightful. The bridge, which was built of stone from a quarry
belonging to Sir Thomas Clavering, was opened in 1760. After
leaving the bridge you pass along an avenue of trees, at the end
of which is the <c Clavering Arms " public-house. Previous to the
erection of the Scotswood Suspension Bridge, this avenue formed
the carriage drive from Axwell, before reaching the Hexham turn-
pike, to Newcastle. The trees are sometimes called the " Crow
Trees," on account of the crows formerly building their nests
there. Swalwell Bridge is next reached, which formerly was the
the south-east boundary of the township of Winlaton.

On the north side of the mill-race are the paper mills belonging
to Messrs. Wm. Grace & Co., which occupy part of the site of the
factory established by Sir Ambrose Crowley about the year 1700.
On the west side of the paper mills are substantial houses, built
for the workmen. They occupy the site of a row of very old
houses once inhabited by Crowley's workmen, and known as
"Cuckold's Raw." The word Cuckold, according to Bailey,

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formerly signified a man whose wife's adulterous conduct is
said to have grafted horns on his head. From the name,
evidently the place was one of evil repute. On the north side of
the paper mill are the gardens cultivated by the working-men of
Swalwell. Seventy years ago, the land was used as a cinder-heap
for Crowley's factory, but since that time the workmen have made
the spot to blossom as the rose. Formerly the boundary line
between the Winlaton township and Whickham parish ran from
the Stone Bridge along the Hexham turnpike to the Keelmen's
Bridge, where it took the middle of the dam to the east side of
Errington Terrace ; it there made a northern course till it reached
the north side of the field lying along the Derwent side, it then
ran eastward to the east hedge, when it returned to the dam. On
the 31st March, 1896, the boundary was altered. Now the line
runs from the east side of the Railway Station to the Derwent,
then proceeding eastward to the point where the Derwent and the
Mill Race meet. The field known as the Preste's, or Priest's, field,
although on the north side of the dam, is in Whickham parish,
and is ecclesiastical property. A pleasant walk through the
gardens to the Shotley Bridge turnpike, and proceeding northward,
in a few minutes the visitor reaches Derwenthaugh.

This hamlet stands on the south bank of the Tyne and west
of the Derwent, at the point where the tributary empties itself into
the Tyne. The word Haugh signifies a meadow lying in a valley,
and is a noted surname on the south side of the Tyne.

Derwent Haugh is one of the oldest villages in the North of
England. In the year 1724 there were at this place staiths
belonging to several coal-owners, namely, Sir James Clavering,
George Pitt, Mr. Blakston, and Mr. Shafto. Stathe, stade, and
steed, are Anglo-Saxon terms, formerly applied to single fixed
dwellings, or to places on the banks of rivers where merchandise
was stored up, and at which vessels could lie to receive it These
places were also formerly called dikes, probably on account of their
being diked or defended from the river, for dike in the North of
England has always a mixed meaning between defence and limit,
but probably the word dike has reference only to those repositories
for coal which were uncovered. The staiths were afterwards
provided with roofs, under which coals were deposited in bad
seasons of trade, and with stages and spouts from which they are

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poured into keels when the demand for them was immediate.
Great quantities of coals were brought from Whickham, Spen,
Thornley, and the neighbourhood of Pontop at the beginning of
the eighteenth century, to the staiths. Before the introduction of
waggon-ways, coals were conveyed in panniers hung over the backs
of horses, and afterwards in wains or bulky carts. Several of the
old coal-ways may still be seen on both sides of the Derwent
One may be traced on the south side of Landswood, on the north
side of Winlaton Mill, which proceeded along the south side of the
Hagg, through the low ground of Axwell Park, and afterwards to
the staiths. A man named George Potts of Bates' House, was
killed by the upsetting of a waggon or wain on this old coalway in
1 710. Another commenced in the neighbourhood of Hollinside
and proceeded by Old Axwell and Woodhouse to Swalwell and
Derwenthaugh. When waggon-ways were adopted at the end of
the 17th century, the line of way from Pontop to Derwenthaugh
was called the Main Way, other smaller lines being connected
with it. Hutchinson describes this waggon-way as the most
expensive that had been made. The rails were of wood and the
waggon wheels were of the same material. The following account
furnishes us with the cost of the material for the construction of
the old railways : —

Per Main Way.
Received George Bowes, Esq.

£ s. d.

4917 Sleepers at 8d. ... 163 18 o

4282 Yards of Rails at 6d 107 1 o

Totus ... ... ... 270 19 o

May 2nd, 1723.

According to Hutchinson — In the year 1794, about 62,000
Newcastle chaldrons of coals were yearly received at Derwenthaugh,
to work, lead, and deliver, at which upwards of 600 men and boys
were employed, and about 400 horses, together with 200 keelmen
to navigate them down the river to the shipping below the bridge.

The cost of bringing a waggon of coals from Pontop to Derwent-
haugh was 2s. 3d. Keels received the coals at the Staiths. Keels

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in bygone times were strong, oval, and clumsy-looking vessels.
Probably the name is derived from the keles of the Greeks and the
clax of the Romans, a small swift-sailing vessel. The keel was
sometimes navigated by a square sail, but generally by two long
oars. When by contrary winds neither sails nor oars could be used,
the keel was pushed forward through the shallow parts of the river
by a long pole called the pooey, fixed against the bed of the river
and the keelman's shoulder, while they walked on each gunnel
from head to stern, in a strong, stooping position. The keel was
navigated by two men and a lad called the Pe-dee. The keelmen
were a strong, hardy, and industrious class of men, but much given
to indulge in the intoxicating cup ; they earned their money with
difficulty, and spent it with corresponding recklessness. Of late
years, however, a considerable improvement has taken place in
their modes of life, and many of them now are sober, active, and
intelligent. A curious custom at one time prevailed among the
keelmen. Every time they led a keel of coals from the staith or
dike, they got a " can," or an allowance of ale, equal in value to
2S. 6d., and when the number of keelmen was considerable and
trade flourished, the stormy scenes that took place in the " Skiff"
public house at Derwenthaugh, may be more easily imagined than
described ; but the increased facilities offered by steam communi-
cation on both land and water have considerably injured their
trade, and their numbers are consequently diminishing. Formerly
the villages of Whickham, Swalwell, and Derwenthaugh were
composed mostly of keelmen, to-day their number is not more
than twenty. There are at the present time at Derwenthaugh, on
the west side, coke ovens and a staith belonging to the Stella Coal
Company, also a lofty building in a ruinous condition, at one time
used as a malt house. There is also a large house used by Mr
Joseph Cowen for an office, which fifty years ago was the residence
of Mr. G. H. Ramsay ; one of the old staiths is still used by the
Consett Iron Company for the coals brought from the Spen
(Garesfield) Colliery. There is a third staith belonging to Mr.
Joseph Cowen, while eastward stands the disused bone mill and
guano works which once flourished under the direction of Mr.
Ramsay. On the east side are the coke ovens belonging to Mr.
Joseph Cowen. On the west side of the Derwent may be seen the
remains of some of the staiths of the 17th century.

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At the end of a row of houses running in a line with the railway is
a public house, the Skiff Inn, which fifty years ago was occupied by
Harry (Henry) Clasper, the renowned oarsman, and in front of the
house, alongside of a large pond, stood his boat-building establish-
ment. "Harry" Clasper was born at Dunston, July 12th, 181 2.
When young, his parents removed to Jarrow, and Harry was sent to
work in the pits. After a time he returned* to Dunston and worked
as a cinder-burner at Derwenthaugh ; and when about twenty years
of age he became a wherryman for the same firm (Garesfield),
removed to the scene of his future triumphs, and became the host
of the Skiff Inn. One of his earliest attempts at boat-building was
the " Five Brothers," which he built at nights after his day's work
was done. In this boat, the crew, consisting of Harry, Robert,
William, Edward, and Richard, he was for years victorious at the
annual gala on the Tyne, commonly known as " Barge Thursday."
On the 1 6th June, 1842, the Clasper brothers were defeated on
the Tyne by a London crew named Newall, Coombes, and J. and
R. Doubledee. The Clasper brothers on this occasion rowed in
the "St. Agnes" (No. 1), built by John Dobson of Hillgate, which
was a clumsy and unwieldy boat, and no doubt contributed not a
little to the defeat of the Clasper brothers. Harry, who had
improved the shape of the skiff, and had built "The Hawk" in
1840, and "The Young Hawk" in 1841, with which he won at
Durham Regatta in 1842, now set about improving the four-oared
boat On December 18th, 1844, he was defeated by Robert
Coombes of London, in a skiff race on the Tyne for ;£ioo. In
1845, his new four-oared boat, named "The Lord Ravensworth,"
was finished, and on June 26th, at the Thames Regatta, Harry,
with his brothers William and Robert, and his uncle Edward
Hawks, won the champion prize of ;£ioo, and for the first time
the championship of the world was wrested from the Thames.
On the 29th of September, 1845, Harry defeated Thomas Carrol on
the Mersey; and on November 25th, defeated W. Pocock of
London on the Tyne, each match being for ^200 ; in the same
year he won the skiff race in " The Hornet," at Shields Regatta.
Early in the following year, 1846, he was defeated on the Tyne by
Robert Newall in a match for ^200 ; and on the 2nd November,
1847, by Anthony Maddison, in a race for ^200. In 1848, in
the famous "St. Agnes" (No. 2), Harry and his brothers, with

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J. Wilkinson, won the champion prize on the Thames. On July
2nd, 1849, at tne Royal Thames Regatta, the champion prize for
four-oared boats was again won by the "St. Agnes," the crew of which
consisted of Robert and Harry Clasper, and R. and S. Coombes
of London. In 1849 Harry removed from Derwenthaugh to
The Close, Newcastle. On the 9th September, 185 1, he and James
Candlish rowed on the Tyne for ;£ioo a side; a collision took
place, when Candlish claimed and obtained the stakes. On the
1st January, 1853, " Harry," with his brothers, were defeated by
the celebrated Elswick crew, namely, Oliver, Bruce, Winship, and
Spoor. On the 8th August, 1854, at the Thames National Regatta,
the champion four-oared race of ;£ioo, was won by the Elswick
crew ; the eight-oared race was won by a crew exclusively composed
of Newcastle men ; a match for ;£ioo, between Robert Newall and
Harry Clasper, was won by the latter ; the Clasper crew gained the
landsmen's prize, and Harry Clasper, with Pocock of London, won
the waterman's pair-oared match. This was the last time the
Clasper brothers rowed together, the name of the boat being the
"Lady Kilmorney." On July 22, 1858, Harry won the champion-
ship of Scotland, defeating Robert Campbell for ^200, and again
defeated him on October 6th, in another match for ^200, on
Loch Lomond ; but on November 9th, 1858, he was beaten by
Thomas White on the Thames, in a match for ^200. He took
part in several races afterwards, but age began to tell upon him,
and meeting younger men, success did not crown his efforts. He
was closely associated with the famous champion, Robert Chambers,
in the early part of "Honest Bob's" career, and died on July 12th,
1870. On the Sunday following, his remains were brought by river
to Derwenthaugh, after which they were conveyed to Whickham
Churchyard, followed by a multitude of people such as has never
been seen in the quiet village before or since. The boathouse at
Derwenthaugh has been removed, and the pond filled up, and at
the present time nothing remains to indicate the site of the once
famous establishment.

Three hundred yards west of Derwenthaugh is the Suspension
Bridge, connecting the township of Winlaton with Scotswood.
Previous to the erection of the bridge, the old turnpike road through
Swalwell, was the only way to Newcastle. The bridge was opened
April 1 2th, 1 83 1. It is 630 feet in length, the distance between the

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two points of suspension being 370 feet, with two half-arcs of 230
feet each ; the roadway rises in the centre about eight feet, causing
the bridge to assume a curved line of a graceful and pleasing effect ;
the carriage-way is 17 J feet. On July 21st, 1829, the first freight of
stones for the masonry was conveyed to the site of the bridge, and
the foundation stone laid on the 9th of February, 1830. The
first chain was suspended across the river on the 23rd February,
and the last on the 5 th March, 1831.

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INDEX,

Addison Colliery, 62 ,
Amen Corner, 137
Armstrong, Charles, 104
Anderson, 49
Axwell Park, 171
Axwell, Old, 176
Bagnal, 129, 137
Barmoor, 43
Barlow, 159
Bates' House, 182
Battle of Stella Haughs, 74
Bede Lodge, 165
Belt, Robert, 130
Bells, 6, 103, 140
Birk Gate, 149
Blacket, Sir William, 115
Blackball Mill, 163
Blaydon, 99

— Burn, 152
Bleachgreen, 130
Boxing, 160
Bradley, 48

— Hall, 48

Braes of Derwent, 153
Brockwell, 152
Broomfield, 166
Brown, Dr., 109 ,
Brown, Rev. William, 104
Bucksnook, 58
Bues Hills, 52
Bullbaiting, 124

Bulman, Joseph, 166
Bunny, 18
Burn Hill, 60
Casson, Hodgson, 131
Castlehill, 47
Cave, 19

Chancer, Thomas, 28, 33
Chare, 47
Charities, 30
Chartists, 126
Chopwell, 164
Claraville, 47
Clasper, Henry, 186
Claveriog, Family of, 175
Clavering Arms, 182
Coalburns, 57
Cockfighting, 124, 151
"Coffee Johnney," 136
Congregational Church, 134
Conway, Lord, 75
Cromwell, Oliver, 80, 149
Crowley, Sir Ambrose, 116
Crowley's Court, 120

— Crew, 124

— Poor, 120
Cowen, Jane, 96

— John, 137, 153

— Sir Joseph, 90

— Joseph, 2, 38, 52, 92, 128, 137

— William, 136, 153
Cross, 26, 33, 90

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190

Cuckold's Raw, 182
Curfew, 118, 149
Daniel Farm, 48
Derwenthaugh, 183
Derwentwater, Lord, 66
Dockendale, 100
Dunn, Archibald, 47

— Sarah H, 47

— William M., 62
Easten, 9

Edington, Robert, 59, 81
Elliot, Sir George, 48
Elvaston Hall, 35
Emma Pit, 44
Emmerson, Edward, 82

— John, 126

— Thomas, 97
Eyre, 71, 89
Folly Pit, 54
Forts, 77

Foster, Anthony, 153

— Clark, 153

— General, 66
Freemasons, 127
Galley, 81, 98
Galloway, Robert L., 38
Game, J. 0., 37
Gilpin, Bernard, 5
Glebe Pit, 60

Grace, H. W., 132

— William, 182
Greenflide, 54
Hagg, 51, 181
Hall, James, 54

— Thomas Y., 55
Hassocks, 76
Haugh, 183
Hauxley, John, 36
Heavygate, 166
Hedgefield, 61
Hedley Fell, 136
Heppel, 143

Hindmarsh, James, 37
Hindhaugh, 36
Hirings, 33
Hodgson, Family of, 114

— Thomas, 91, 137
Holburn Dene, 38
Hopper, Christopher, 58
Horsecrofts, 100, 105
Horsegate, 166
Houston, Cuthbert, 182
Hugergate, 162

Image Hill, 74
Independents, 39
Jenison, Henry, 60
Keels, 185
Kenmure, Lord, 68
Kepyer, 47
Eielder Castle, 144
Kossuth, 73
Kyo, 57
Lamb, Humble, 39

— Joseph, 39
Lambton, 15, 64
Lang Jack, 149
Laurel Leaf, 98
Laycock, Joseph, 128, 132
Leadgate, 59

Lily Crook, 157

— Drift, 163
Lincoln, 73
Lockey, Capt., 179
Lock haugh, 148
Market, 123
Marmion, 60
Martinson, 61
Mazzini, 73, 94
Milkwell Burn, 169
Mirehouse, 25
Napoleon, 82

Napier, Rer. J. W., 181
Newburn, 76
Newhouse, 166

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191

Newton, Anthony, 90

Nicholson, T. C, 109, 118, 157

Neville's Cross, 33

Old well Lane, 131

Orsini, 73

Parish Hall, 35

Parkhead Hall, 143

Payne, 73

Penny Hill, 59

Pethhead, 52

Plague, The, 116

Post Boy, 116

Queen Elizabeth, 84

— Philippa, 33
Quern, 112
Races, 80, 136
Raine, 148

Ramsay, George H., 143

— George R., 144

— John, 143

— Thomas, 153
Ravenside, 169
Eavensworth, Lady, 48

— Lord, 48, 50
Realy-Mires, 60
Rectors, 17
Register, 20
Renwick, William, 135
Ricklis Farm, 60
Ritchie, Rev. Dr., 93
Rockwood, 60
Rotheram, John, 19
Rowlands Gill, 163
Runhead, 38
Rutherford, Dr., 73
Rutherford, Family of, 168
Ryton, 1

— Church, 3

— Cross, 33

— Ferry, 40

— House, 39

— Lawn, 38

Ryton Village, 35
Saltmarket, 135
Sandhill, 126
Saunders, 9, 43
Savings Bank, 38
Scaur Head, 148
Schmalz, Herbert, 39
Seeker, Thomas, 19
Selby, 114, 174
Selby's Grave, 158
Simpson, John, 50

— John B., 50, 62
Silverhill, 101
Silvertop, 81
Smailes Lane, 163
Snooks Hill, 156
Sourmires, 50
Spen, High, 161

— Low, 162
Spencer, Thomas, 35
Spring Hill, 171
Square, 131
Staith, 183
Stanley Barn, 51
Stargate, 52
Stella, 63

— Chapel, 87

— Hall, 71

— House, 81

— Staiths, 85
Stephen's Hall, 52
Stints, 42

Stirling. Robert, 163
Stocks, 26
Strothers, 181
Summerhouse Hill, 74
Surtees, Anthony, 169

— Robert, 36
Suspension Bridge, 187
Tablet*, Memorial, 9, 104, 139
Tapestry, 73

Terry, Ellen, 143

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192

Thompson, Canon, 61

— Messrs., 129

— J. W., 137
Thornley, 156
Thorp, 9, 11, 14, 15
Tongue Burn, 165
Towneley, 71
Tumulus, 29
Volunteers, 137
Wallace, Sir William, 31

— Terrace, 37
Wallis, Owen, 50
Wardell, R. H., 140

— Charles C, 142
Weeks, Richard M., 38, 92

Wesley, Charles, 37

— John, 46, 56, 160, 162, 178
Westwood, 60
Whitefield, 59
Whitehouse, 38, 171, 175
Whitewell Lane, 35
Widdrington, Family of, 65
Winlaton, 111

— Cemetery, 142

— Church, 138

— Hall, 118, 132
Winlaton Mill, 147
Wood, Nicholas, 50
Woodside, 60
Young, Robert, 46

G. AND T. COWARD, PRINTERS, CARLISLE.

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