Whickham
Fellside
Fellside Road runs southwest from Whickham towards Burnopfield, descending the hill to Whickham Golf Club and climbing again to the Woodman's Arms from where it winds along the side of the hill to reach Burnopfield at the Pack Horse pub.
Looking southwest towards
the Woodman's Arms at
the top of the hill.
The road commands extensive views over the Derwent Valley to the north and west and passes two farms, the Fellside and the Byermoor. Clockburn Lane runs down from the golf club to the River Derwent and the Derwent Walk. This is an old road which continued up the north side of the Derwent valley to the River Tyne at Newburn. Another track, Woodhouse Lane runs down to Swalwell and another towards Old Hollinside and Snipes Dene Wood.
Clockburn Lane from Winlaton Mill
under the Derwent Valley Railway bridge.
In the 1950s open-cast mining took place at Cut Thorn on the north side of Fellside Road. Gibside Hall and Estate lies to the north.
View of Gibside Estate
Whickham Past and Present - A Walk Through the Village
Whickham Past and Present:
A Walk Through the Village
View Sample (10.00mins - WMV)
This sample is taken from the Whickham, Past and Present - A Walk Through the Village DVD produced by Whickham U3A Sight and Sound in 2005. The Camcorder, Web Wanderers and Drama U3A groups were also involved in its production.
Copies of the DVD priced at £5.50 incl UK postage (please email for worldwide rates) can be obtained from Noel Adamson. Email us for details on info@webwanderers.org
Memories of Front Street School 1949-1962
Alex Johnson recalls memories of teaching at Front Street School 1949-1962.
Read by Alex Johnson
Available on: A Miscellany of Twentieth Century Memories from the old Whickham Urban District: Part Two.
Listen to the Podcast (28MB download)
Libraries
No record of when a library service to Dunston or Whickham started but they were among the first communities to have libraries.
Dunston Library was situated in Brompton House and was a small divisional library from where Whickham, Swalwell, Sunniside and Marley Hill were served. The staff were all based in Dunston and would work in various locations. Most of the smaller communities, including Whickham, had collections of books delivered by vans and left in village halls and staffed for a few hours every week.
Whickham Library had a number of different premises, including a room in The Hermitage and a shop in Front Street, but in February 1968 they moved into a purpose built building in Chase Park. As the community of Whickham grew with the building of new housing estates the management of the sub libraries was transferred from Dunston to Whickham. This became a divisional library.
The population continued to increase and when the shopping centre in St. Mary's Green was planned, a new library was included. This opened on 26th September 1975 and is still well used but is once again proving too small.
Whickham Library is now open 49 hours per week and issues 176,000 items per year. It has approx. 9,000 members and a stock of 25,000 books.
The population of Dunston declined and the old building in Brompton House became totally unsuitable and past repair - at one time the chimney fell through the roof - so a decision was made to include the library in a new Activities Centre which opened on 17th July 1986.
Swalwell Library
The library was in the old Claxton's Hall behind Holy Trinity church. It was closed in the 1950s and Blaydon or Whickham were then the nearest County Durham libraries.
Claxton's Hall
The libraries were part of the Durham County Library Service but now are run by Gateshead Council.
Whickham Football Club
The club was formed in 1944 under the name of Axwell Park Colliery Welfare, although they were colloquially termed the "Home Guard Team"! In the early days they played in the Derwent Valley League, before switching to the Northern Combination and, in 1974, to the Wearside League. Whickham enjoyed quite a degree of success at this level before joining the Northern League Second Division in 1988.
It was in 1981 that Whickham had their finest hour, going all the way to the Twin Towers in the final of the FA Vase, after a titanic struggle, to overcome Windsor & Eton at the penultimate stage. An estimated 5,000 fans followed Whickham to Wembley . Willenhall, a Midlands Club, awaited Whickham on the big day, but there were problems. Paul Allon, who had notched the crucial injury- time winner in the semi, suffered injury before the Final and had to be content with a place on the bench. Ironically, this made room for lan Diamond, who had suffered the same fate whilst with Blue Star in 1978.
The Final began horribly, with Willenhall going 2-0 up in the opening ten minutes. The task of winning the Vase appeared to be a forlorn one, but the gloom was partially dispelled when fullback Alan Scott quickly halved the deficit. Then, an accidental collision with Cawthra led to the Willenhall goalkeeper being stretchered off. Was the tide turning?
Twelve minutes into the second half, and Whickham were level, thanks to Ronnie Williamson. 2-2 it was, and 2-2 it stayed till the 90-minute mark. Who could dig that bit deeper, and find the extra reserves of strength needed to lift the trophy? The answer was supplied in the dying seconds of the first half of extra-time. Billy Cawthra broke away and launched a potent shot which, though blocked, ricocheted off a hapless Willenhall defender into the net. 3-2, and the FA Vase was heading back to Whickham!
It is a bit difficult for Whickham to prosper when they live so closely under the shadow of Newcastle United. Urban clubs rarely benefit from the same degree of community spirit that village clubs can sometimes- but not always- draw upon.
Club Honours
FA Vase Winners 1980/81
FA Vase Semi-finalists 1978/79
Wearside League Cup Winners 1986/87
Wearside League Winners 1977/78
Northern Combination Winners 1969/70, 1972/3, 1973/4
Northern Combination League Cup Winners 1960/1, 1973/4
Northern League Div 2 Champions 1994/5
Vaux Challenge Cup Winners 1986/7
Record attendance : 3,165 v Windsor & Eton (Vase semi-final 1981)
Whickham Cricket Club
The club was founded in 1860, the second in Durham, and it has played on the Glebe field since its inception. Since that time the only gaps in the record of games occurred during the two world wars of the 20th century.
In 1906 the Derwent Valley League was formed and Whickham won the championship in their second season.
1920 Whickham was in the North Durham Senior League where they played until the commencement of World War 2.
After the war they played in the Northern Combination League, which they won in 1947. This is popularly known as the Compton/Edrich season.
1950 saw them in the North West Durham League. This was a strong league but in 1985 they won it and left to join the Tyneside Senior League.
Today the emphasis of the club is on youth and teams for Under 13, Under 15, Under 18 as well as the First XI and Second XI are coached, encouraged and have full fixture lists. The Club continues to enjoy the great family loyalty, which it has always received.
A glimpse of the family names over the decades is fascinating. These include the doctors Andy and Eddy Smith, their cousin Wilkie Willis, the Rectors, the Scout Master T. Heron, the farmer Mr. Rutter, Muncaster, Taylor, Buckton, Maughan, Laybourne, Proud, Pyle, Handy, Baty, Rose, Oloman, Archer, Athol Campbell, Carr-Ellison, Cheeseman, and later the Ashleys.
Early Days
Finance was always a problem and apart from a yearly subscription of 6 shillings, other methods of raising money had to be introduced. Raffles(always a good source of income) and an annual dance,which was very popular, was well attended in pre TV days. Al this, plus the sterling work of the Ladies kept the finances of the club in the black. .
The Durham County Education committee hired the field for £6 each year, and held the local schools' sports day there. Front Street School paid £3 to hold its Sports Day. The 2 tennis courts, situated near the score-board, paid £2 each year. In 1936 the Club paid £7.10 shillings to rent the field. As the name Glebe suggests, this field has always been part of the Church land.
Machinery was shared or hired with other cricket clubs. There is a record of borrowing a mower from Blaydon Cricket Club.
Later Days
In 1974 the Council built a fine club- house on the Glebe field. It is shared by footballers and cricketers equally and has excellent facilities.
There are 5 representatives from each sport on the General Committee.150 people may be seated in the lounge bar. The central situation of the Glebe has provided a good base for club activities.
In 1979 one of the best scoreboards in the county was installed. Underneath, the equipment and machinery is stored.
In 1983, the undulations, a relic of medieval strip- farming, which had caused untold trouble to generations of fielders, were removed when the field was finally levelled. In the same year permanent seating was installed and the ground was enclosed in 2-metre fencing. There is an excellent car park adjoining the ground. The cricket club seems set for a bright future.
Whickham Cricket Memories
Often cricket pleasure games took place on Cooks Field, West Street Whickham. This site, now occupied by houses, was a field shorn of grass with an uneven surface, very rough rubble and clay which had baked hard during the years.
Large stones formed the wicket, bats were made out of any timber such as floor boards, railings, or old furniture, usually lasting one hour, sometimes less.
One evening a party went to Taylor's plantation on Fellside Road, and felled a young oak tree 7inches. in diameter. Two pieces 4feet. long were cut, branches and waste were left. Some handy man produced two well-made bats whose weight was treble the weight of a normal bat.
Wooden balls were turned on a lathe by Alfie Elliot, trying all species of seasoned wood without much success, finally he gave up. When the Hoppings came to the Church Green, lads retrieved wooden balls which went astray from the coco-nut shies, which soon ran out.
A whip-round gathered in halfpennies and pennies. Two volunteers walked to Newcastle and purchased a cork ball, which proved a success.
About 20-30 participated in these games. One afternoon burly Tom Taylor seized these bats, gave a threatening talk in abusive language, then threw the bats down. Vandalism was curbed by his action, no more trees were cut.
Cricket during the Miners Strike 1926
During the miners' strike of 1926, lads and men had a keen interest in sport. As the summer months were approaching the Australian cricket team were touring this country. Five of our youths thought it a good idea to attend a Test Match, the nearest one being held at Leeds.
Our first thought was the cash. We began to prepare weeks before the date of the match. We needed 2/6d. Entrance and at least another 2/- for sundries such as programme, pop, parkings etc.
The day came to prepare to leave. Our mothers packed a large bait, enough to last two days. It consisted of a granny loaf, half a stotty loaf with jam on and finally into the haversack went a pint enamel pot.
We left Whickham 10 o'clock at night on bikes, with a small paraffin lamp on one bike, down Lobley Hill, along the Coach Road, Birtley, Chester-le Street, Darlington, etc. We had to travel through towns and villages as there were no by-passes in those days. Almost all these towns and villages had a fountain or horse-trough which provided us with drinks.
Arriving at Headingly, Leeds, 6am, we parked our bikes in a back yard for 3d. T Then we joined the queue sitting on the pavement in bright sunshine.
Gates opened 9am. In we all went sitting on wooden planks without backrests, excitement among the crowd as the game started.
Australia batted first, however first ball bowled had Bardsley caught behind for a duck. It was great and gave England a confident start.
Luck deserted England when Australian Mc.Cartney scored a century before lunch, and during the afternoon another century by Andrews. We, as spectators, became bored, tired, drowsy, and really browned off, sitting in the sun all day.
Match over 6pm. We collected our bikes and soon left Roundhay Park behind. At 7pm., about 5 miles out of Leeds on a lonely main road we pitched our tent on a grass verge and called it a day.
7am. Next day, all refreshed, we had an uneventful ride home.
Gives you some idea of the hard and strenuous days, although very interesting. I do not suppose this trip would have been thought of had it not been for the miners' strike.
The Five Cyclists were John Copeland, George Copeland, Kit Heron ,Edward Proud and Charles Lambert.
The Regal, Whickham
In 1914 a Concert and Picture Hall was proposed for a site at the top of Swalwell Bank but, presumably because of the outbreak of the War, it was never built.
In May 1921 a new Parish Hall for St. Mary's Church was made from the converted Coach House, Stables, Carriage Washery and Stable Yard situated in Church Chare. The hall opened in 1922. In 1923 it was leased as a picture hall by Mr John W Tate. It was used for other purposes and was said to have been a Roller-skating Ring around 1930. The floor was raked and between 1931 and 1947 it was a full time cinema run by Margaret Curry and known as The Regal.
In 1947 The Regal was taken over by George Stoddart Cinemas who owned other cinemas in the north east. At this time it seated about 240. Three changes of programme weekly with no shows on Sundays. Unlike most cinemas it had a policy of showing good class "A" films shortly after their release and very rarely showed a Second Feature.
The Regal closed on 7th November 1965 and became a Bingo Club, which it remained until August 1993 when it became a Health Club.
Whickham Shops
Introduction
At the beginning of the twentieth century and up to the 1920s the shops were small and many were part of people's homes, for example:-
Mordue-General Dealer and Haberdasher
Kit Thompson-Confectioner and Newsagent
Dann-Confectioner
Edwin Elliott-General Dealer
Bailey-who baked and sold from his home
Even the Post Office in The Knowles was part of a house.
In the 1930s a terrace of purpose-built shops was erected on the south side of Front Street, just north of Whickham Chase Park. On the opposite side of Front Street houses were converted into shops. Next came General Stores such as Thompson's Red Stamp Stores, Moore's Stores, Law's Stores and the Hadrian Supply Company.
The 1970s saw the demolition of the north side of Front Street from Church Chare to the Spoor Chapel. This included houses, Sam Curry's electrical and TV shop, Rae and Dolly Curry's drapery with ladies outfitting and Henry Taylor's butchers' shop. In their place the shops of St. Mary's Green were built. Another group of shops was built in The Square to the west of the Spoor Chapel.
In the 1980s as shops became vacant they were taken over by Building Societies and Estate Agents. The 1990s saw the introduction of Financial Agencies. The last home/shop, Starks, closed in the early 90s having been established in 1921 in Whaggs Lane.
The main shopping area is still on Front Street from St. Mary's the Virgin Church to Whickham Community Church on Fellside Road. On the Grange Estate is a Post Office with Newsagents, Safeway Supermarket (formerly Presto) and another Newsagents. There are no shops on Fellside Park or Clavering Estates.
The building of the Metro Centre Shopping Mall in 1986 saw a decline in the number of small shops in the whole of the area.
Fellside Road looking
toward Front Street, 1900.
Fellside Road looking
toward Front Street, 1970's.
Fellside Road lies to the west of Whickham and joins Front Street. There has always been a group of shops around the junction.
| 2000 | Previous Owners | |
| David H Gents Hairdressers | Homeseekers Estate Agents | |
| Econofreeze | ||
| Edwin Elliott Grocer | ||
| Marjories Ladies Hairdresser | ||
| Orchid Dress Shop | ||
| Razzmatazz Hair Studio | ||
| Sun Wah Chinese Take-Away | Co-op Grocers | |
| Demolished | Mordues |
Fellside Road at the junction
with Front street, 2000.
The site of William Mordues
general dealer's and the Co-op.
Fellside Road lies to the west of Whickham and joins Front Street. There has always been a group of shops around the junction. The original shops were demolished in the 19?? to make way for the shops which exist today.
| 2000 | Previous Owners | |
| Keith Pattinson Estate Agents | Kitchen & Bathroom Design | |
| Co-op Drapery and Hardware |
Front street, West End, 2000.
This group of shops was built in the late 1950s after some cottages had been demolished.
| 2000 | Previous Owners | |
| Stewart Eye Care | Pat Symons Dress Shop | |
| Offices | Offices | |
| W ayne's Barbers | Barry's Bakery | |
| Walters and Todd Butchers | Wet Fish Shop | |
| Wallpaper & Paint Shop | ||
| barkin shark Fish and Chip Shop | Friars Plaice | |
| Sports Shop | ||
| Dave Younghusband | ||
| Ken Robbins Footwear |
Top of Whickham Bank, 2000.
This group of shops lies just to the west of Whickham Front Street School at the top of Whickham Bank.
| 2000 | Previous Owners | |
| C&H Glass | Davison Antiques | |
| Dodd's Chemist Shop | ||
| Whickham Ale Store Off Licence | ||
| Eggleston's General Dealers | ||
| Lavender Box Ladies hairdressers | Alan Campsell Hair Stylist | |
| Pellets Shoe Repairer | ||
| Empty | Swinton Insurance | |
| Wilson & Ritson Newsagent | ||
| George & May Bailey | ||
| Piccadilly Cake Shop |
Between Front Street
Primary School and the
Bridle Path pub 1975.
This was formerly a row of cottages.">
Between Front Street Primary School
and the Bridle path pub, 2000.
This group of shops was once a mixture of private houses and shops. Although probably they began life as cottages.
| 2000 | Previous Owners | |
| Village Sweet Shop | Bert's Gents Hairdressing | |
| Sun Cradle | Whickham Travel | |
| Blades Hairdressers | Dobson's Sweet Shop | |
| Off the Peg Cleaners | Off the Peg Dress Shop | |
| Muncaster's Cobblers | ||
| Moti Jheel Indian Take Away | Billy Wigham's Fish & Chip Shop | |
| John Davy's Fish & Chip Shop | ||
| Agar's Grocery Shop |
The site of The Square, 1920's,
looking towards Spoor Chapel.
Note the gas lamp.
The Square, 2000
The Square was built in 1960s. For a great number of years most of the land had been derelict, however some stone built houses had to be demolished to give a larger area for building.
| 2000 | Previous Owners | |
| JG's Hairdressers | Ladies Hairdressers | |
| Patterson Solicitors | Wilson & Ritson's Newsagents | |
| Jack Percy Cycles | ||
| Revolver Video | Scott's Pork Butcher | |
| Stanley Racing | Bookless Greengrocers | |
| Post Office | ||
| Post Office | Carricks Bakery | |
| United Newsagents | Hadrian Supply Company | |
| Jamdani Indian Restaurant | Hadrian Supply Company | |
| Wine Cellar | Berkeley Wines | |
| Blayneys Wine Merchants | ||
| Whickham Travel |
The Back Row, 2000.
Whickham Sale Rooms Superstore
was formerly the Miners' Welfare Hall.
The Back Row runs from the Spoor Chapel to Whickham Front Street Primary School and almost parallel to Front Street. At one time there was a row of shops which was demolished and the extension to the Gibside Hotel occupies the site. One of the shops was an office for a taxi firm with parking spaces. This taxi rank still exists today.
| 2000 | Previous Owners | |
| Gibside Hotel | Roberts Drug Store | |
| Home Craft Supplies | ||
| Pellets Shoe Repairer | ||
| Penrose Hairdressers | ||
| Whickham Sale Rooms | Miner's Welfare Hall | |
| Oxley's Fish & Chip Shop | Back Row Fish & Chip Shop |
Whickham Telephone Exchange,
1970, at the bottom left of the photo
is the Gents underground toilet.
Spoor Chapel
with Gibside Hotel at right.
Telephone Exchange, 2000
This part of Whickham extends from the Spoor Methodist Chapel to what is now St Mary's Green. In the earlier part of the century there were a great number of shops on both sides of Front Street. The shops on the south side were demolished to make way for the enlarged telephone exchange. On the south side there was also demolition of the stone built houses.
| 2000 | Previous Owners | |
| Elle Beauty Salon | Hill's Chemist Shop | |
| Thompson's Red Stamp Stores | ||
| McFarlane Partnership | Henry's Hairdressers | |
| Gibside Hotel | Fishburn's Post Office | |
| Lily Butler's Milliners | ||
| Hunter's Fruiterers | ||
| Co-op Fish Shop | ||
| Telephone Exchange | Co-op Chemist shop | |
| Turnbull Butcher with abattoir | ||
| Co-op Butcher with abattoir | ||
| Brown's Fruit Shop | ||
| McGregors Haberdashery | ||
| Pork Shop |
The site of Curry's shops
looking towards the Crown
Hotel now Ye Olde Lang Jack
J H Taylor's Butchers Shop,
just before demolition to
make way for St Mary's
Green shopping centre.
St Mary's Green, 2000.
Walker's Greengrocers and
Florists, 2000.
The shops in St. Mary's Green were opened in the early 1970s.
This was not without controversy as it meant the demolition of some fine stone built houses and in many people's opinion ruined the character of the "village" of Whickham.
Among the buildings demolished were Sam Curry's Electrical, Radio, TV and Cycle Shop. It was here that you could take an accumulator, for a radio, to be charged up. Next door was Rae and Dolly Curry's Ladies Dress Shop and Drapers. Set back a little was Atkinson's Butcher Shop with its own abattoir. This later became Henry Taylors.
| 2000 | Previous Owners | |
| Kwik Save Supermarket | ||
| Ramsey's Cake Shop | ||
| Charles Thompson - Butcher | Factory Meat Shop | |
| R.A. Dodds - Butcher | ||
| Oxfam Shop | Peter Dominic Wine Merchant | |
| Bookless Greengrocers | ||
| Co-op Supermarket | ||
| Home & Gardens Hardware | William's Organs | |
| Margo's Dress Shop | ||
| Baker's Oven | Carricks Bakery | |
| Ruffles Hair Design | ||
| Electrical Shop | Iceland Frozen Foods | |
| Whickham News | Cook's Corner Newsagent | |
| Library | ||
| Dry Clean 2000 | Sunlight Dry Cleaners | |
| Co-op Dry Cleaners | ||
| Whickham Cards & Gifts | The Card Shop | |
| Walkers Greengrocers | Salad Bowl Greengrocers | |
| Martin & Son Butchers | John Taylor Butcher | |
| Henry Taylor Butcher | ||
| Dixon & Spearman Chemist | ||
| Lloyd's Bank | William Low Grocery | |
| Laws Stores (Grocers) | ||
| Village Dental Practice | Laws Stores |
Front Street, Whickham (South East End) (H)
Front Street, Whickham 1970,
outside what is now
Ye Olde Lang Jack pub.
Front Street, Whickham
(south side) 2000
showing the former library
in the background.
The row of shops on the south side were built in the 1930's, by "Pop" Wilkinson. Those on the north side were formerly cottages which have over the years became a wide variety of businesses, from greengrocers to financial advisors.
| 2000 | Previous Owners | |
| Bairstow Eves Estate Agents | Travel Needs | |
| Wool Shop | ||
| A McGregors Haberdasher | ||
| Fernleigh Ladies' Hairdressers | ||
| Diva Ladies Hairdressers | Wool Shop | |
| A McGregor Haberdasher | ||
| Robinson Drapers | ||
| S.K. Handa Chemist | Leigh & Dunn Chemist | |
| H Dixon Chemist | ||
| Moores Stores (Grocers) | ||
| Reed Rains Estate Agents | Leigh & Dunn | |
| Moores Stores (Grocers) | ||
| Library | ||
| Travel Needs | Midland Bank | |
| Donaldson's Sweet Shop | ||
| Flower Design | G.R. Armstrong Confectioner & Tobacconist | |
| Derwent Valley Estate Agents | Ken's Gents Hairdresser | |
| Lloyds Bank | ||
| Leigh & Dunn Chemist | ||
| E Dunn Chemist | ||
| Culey's Bakers | ||
| Bigger Bite Sandwich Bar | Sam's Snacks | |
| Lloyds Bank | ||
| Mc Kechnie's Radio and TV | ||
| Cool Tan | Fezzywigs Health Foods | |
| Lloyds Bank |
Front Street, Whickham ( North East End) (H)
Shops between the
Church Green and
Rose and Crown pub
in the 1970's
Front Street (north side)
1970, with Moores's stores
below the Rose and Crown pub.
Front street looking
towards Church Green, 2000.
The row of shops on the south side were built in the 1930's, by "Pop" Wilkinson. Those on the north side were formerly cottages which have over the years became a wide variety of businesses, from greengrocers to financial advisors.
| 2000 | Previous Owners | |
| Ye Olde Lang Jack Public House | Wilson & Ritson Newsagents | |
| Rose & Crown Public House | ||
| Crown Public House | ||
| Moores Supermarket | ||
| Barclay's Bank | Crown Garage | |
| Barclays Bank | Armstrong Butcher | |
| Charlie Young Butcher | ||
| Ken's Hairdressing | Derwent Valley Cycles | |
| Walkers Greengrocers | ||
| Billy Boyd Greengrocers | ||
| Harry Hutchinson Greengrocers | ||
| Casa Carbone Italian Restaurant | ||
| Newcastle Bakery | ||
| Finance Company | Hugh Stephenson Hardware | |
| Maughans Hardware | ||
| Newcastle Building Society | Grainger & Percy Building Society | |
| Your Move Estate Agents | J.M. Clark Estate Agents | |
| Bindman Solicitors | Northern Rock Building Society | |
| Piccadilly Cake Shop |
Return to map of Whickham Shops
Farming Memories
Phyllis Tulip (nee Duningham)
was born at the farm in 1925. She recalls that cattle were kept on the fields which were on the hill going down to Swalwell, behind what is now Spoor's Chapel. The cattle were taken from the farmyard into the slaughter house behind the adjoining butcher's shop (Turnbull's). Phyllis's childhood friend, Della Knott, (nee Gibbons) can remember going into the dairy at Glebe Farm to buy milk.
Front Street was little more than a cart track, motor vehicles being a rare sight. Phyllis and Della remember harvest time, when the hay was transported from the fields on Hay Bogies (flat wagons) pulled by horses. A pike of hay was hoisted onto the wagon by a chain, then was taken along Front Street to the farm to be made into stacks to provide winter fodder for the live stock. The two girls were allowed to ride on the back of the bogie in the place of honour, with several other local children running alongside trying to join them.
Potato Picking
"Discussing the price of potatoes in 1984, £2.50 for four stone, took me back down memory lane to the years 1919-23 when we had a week's holiday in the Autumn to help farmers to gather in their harvest.
All the local village farms such as Glebe, Grange, Windy-Hill, Wood-House, Southfields, Marshall-Lands, (all of which are now demolished), were first to recruit their temporary labour force. Those children who were left including me and wanting work, had to go to Riding Barns, at Fellside which was a long walk for an 8 o'clock start. We did not know what a tractor or a trailer was. We carried our own buckets, no plastic ones in those days; we also carried our own bait and a tea mash.
Old Ned's wage bill for approx 20 pickers would be around £1 a day.
Sometime later he would travel the village with horse and cart, selling and delivering potatoes 4/- a cwt 2/- for 4 stone.
Spud Bashing
Spud Bashing was not the preparation of mashing potatoes for the Sunday Dinner; but the cold, wet, back-breaking work of picking potatoes for the local farmer. I did it once in 1963 for the princely sum of 10 shillings a week. It was the worst job I had ever done in my life and was glad when the week was over!
Every morning, at 7.00 armed with enamel buckets and a couple of jam sandwiches. We would be taken up the Lonnen to one of the potato fields on Smith's farm where we spent all day bent over collecting the potatoes churned up by whatever the appliance was called which did the job. Half an hour for a jam sandwich and a cup of tea and we were back at it until 5.30 in the evening. The 10 bob was spent at the Blaydon Pavilion at the end of the week and I realised the true meaning of slave labour. Apparently, and incredibly, similar work still exists in the UK!!!
If you need a translation send us an email.
Whickham - Farming
The following farms, Glebe, Grange, Windy Hill, Wood House, Southfields, Marshall Lands and Riding Barns were still there in the thirties. Over the years they were often called by the incumbent farmers' names. Through the century most of the farms and their fields have been swallowed up by housing developments.
Whickham Front Street is today a bustling shopping centre and there is little sign of the farm that once stood at the heart of the village. Glebe Farm was demolished in 1960 and has given its name to a small housing estate adjacent to Whickham Front Street. What is now Glebe Avenue was the track leading into the farm. Part of the old farm wall remains.
Dunston Hill farm
West Farm also known as Dunston Hill Farm or Dunston West Farm is to be found on Whickham Highway and was originally part of Dunston Hill Estate. According to Kelly's Trade Directory of 1906, Thomas Easey was the farmer. Grant aid was available for its restoration. It is currently owned by Mr. Hood and is run as Livery Stables.
Betty Oloman remembers Easey's Farm.
Betty's father who was originally from the Hobson came to Whickham to work as a Farm Manager on Easey's Farm. The whole family had to help out, and were expected to work on the farm as farm work was then and still is now, a seven days a week activity. When Betty got older she used to drive the milk cart delivering milk in bottles, door to door on a regular round.
With her farming experience, Betty was able to provide a home for Billy when he returned from the war; apparently Betty being the daughter of a farmer and used to hard work and working with animals she was offered the position of Dairy Maid, with a cottage to live in, if she could milk several cows per day. Betty gladly accepted the challenge and the cottage. The house
they lived in 'Windy Hill' is no longer there, in point of fact, it was demolished to make room for the new road now called 'The Broadway".
Picture Gallery - Shops' Advertisements
| Click on boxes to enlarge the adverts |  Whickham Butchers Charlie Young's |  Whickham Butchers William Armstrong's |
 Grainger & Percy Building Society |  Elite Fish & Chips |  Wilson & Ritson Newsagents |
 Bert T Armstrong Barber |  Sam Curry, TV,Radio and Cycle Shop |  Mrs Rainbow |
 R Hill Chemist |  W Henry Gents Hair Stylist |  Lily Butler, Milliner |
 Scott Butchers |  Laws Stores |  Swalwell Co-op |
 Dunston Travel |
Whickham Motor Company
Whickham Motor Company, formerly Leslie's Garage.
Tanfield Railway (The Bowes Incline)
Click On Map to View
Can you imagine the serenity of the countryside between Bowes Bridge and Lobley Hill being shattered by the noise of trucks clattering their way down through the fields, carrying their load of coal from the local mines of Marley Hill, Byermoor, Hobson, Dipton and Tanfield, on their way to the Staiths at
Dunston? A distance of some 7 miles.
This was the Bowes Incline, part of the Tanfield Railway which is the oldest railway in the world. Originally, in the 17th Century, coal was carried by horse-drawn wagons on wooden rails but by the 1950s a loco-hauled railway was in operation. From Bakers Head Bank, near Sunniside, the wagons were lowered down a self-acting incline with a gradient of 1:11. At the top were two kips, one on each side of a central track. The loaded wagons, with a Bank-rider on the back, travelled down the central track whilst coming up, the empty trucks with a Bank-rider riding on the front, were led alternatively to the left and right kips. There was a passing place near Frugal Bridge and then a single line to Watergate Colliery. The Brakes-man controlled the journeys from the Bank Cabin. Locomotives took over at the bottom of the incline and hauled the wagons to Lobley Hill where they were marshalled ready for the next incline.
.Brakesman Will Harrison
The line eventually closed on the 7th September 1962. The Bank-rider that day was Mr. Norman Christer and the Brakes-man was Mr. Will Harrison. Mr. Harrison had spent all his working life on the railway and he recorded some of his memories in 1997.
Mining Accidents
Nicholas Marr
In 1911 Nicholas Marr, aged 15, a pony driver at Andrew's House pit, was killed while riding on top of a set of wagons laden with coal going down Baker's Bank. His head hit Swan's Bridge and he fell onto the railway line. He normally travelled to work from his parent's home in Whitehall Road, Gateshead, by pushbike and had no authority to be riding on the trucks. The bank riders at this period were John Eltringham and Joe Harrison and they warned people not to ride on trucks but it went on just the same.
Jane Courtley
Another fatality occurred on May 7th 1909, when Mrs. Jane Courtley, aged 23, of the Teams, was killed by a coal wagon at the bottom of the bank near Watergate. She had ridden down on a set of wagons and was crushed as she got off. It was most unusual for a woman to risk life and limb in this way.
Explosion in Watergate Mine
On Thursday afternoon July 3rd 1947,an explosion of gas killed Henry Morgan, coal hewer, at the coal face in the North District, 3rd West, in the Stone Coal seam, about a mile from the shaft, 60 fathoms below ground. The under manager, Mr H.W. Storey, and some of the officials decided to go inbye at once to see if they could help, instead of waiting as was normal practise for the Fire and Rescue brigade. The outcome was that they got into difficulties and were overcome by gas.
The rescue teams from Elswick, Houghton and Crook duly arrived under superintendent F.Mills and rescued them but not before William Hopper, one of the fore-overmen collapsed and died.
Doctor Edward Smith, the colliery doctor, went below to give assistance while his brother doctor Wilkie stayed at the First Aid station on the bank. Seven men were sent to Newcastle Infirmary for treatment - deputy overmen R.Meek, G.Armstrong, R.Walters and S.G.Sinclair; Fore overman A.French, bargain man J.W.Thorpe; and H.Storey the under manager. They all recovered. Will Winter, stoneman and Bob Birkett, deputy were allowed home after treatment at the pit head.
Roof fall at Blaydon Burn Pit, December 1954
Swalwell resident, Patrick (Paddy) King, a Deputy at Blaydon Burn Pit and a Councillor for Whickham Urban District, was killed whilst trying to help another miner who had been killed by a roof fall. There was no compensation in those days but his widow did continue to get the regular coal allowance.
Mining Memories
Mr. Tommy Wharton, Whickham. Coalminer.
Tommy Wharton
Tommy went to Whickham Front Street School until he was 14 years of age then after working for a short time on a farm he obtained a job in Axwell Park colliery. He worked there until it closed in 1954 then transferred to Blackburn Fell Drift mine where he stayed for 20 years. He then went to Marley Hill colliery where he did development work until 1982. Tommy and other miners were then moved to Monkwearmouth colliery at Sunderland, where he worked 15 miles out under the North Sea. In 1984-1985 the miners went on strike to prevent the wholesale closure of the mining industry. In September 1986 Tommy retired after working for 40 years "down the pit".
George Wallace
Taken from 21 Eleanor terrace,
looking up Whickham Banktowards the pit head
and pit yard, about 1940
During the strikes in the mid 1920s, my Grandfather, who had trained as a saddler in the first world war, was employed by the pit management as clerk and company weighman. My father and uncle were on strike and worked in the cobbler's shed to make a little money. This photograph was taken from his garden.
The Miners Strike 1926
We endured hard times in the village of Whickham in the depression years especially during the miners strike in 1926 as 60% of people were connected with Whickham, Whaggs, and Watergate pits. The strike was a very testing 26 weeks.
A soup kitchen was formed and run successfully in the grounds of Whickham Social Club. Boilers, which were coal fired gave a satisfying smell throughout the village.
The produce to supply these boilers was all given by local trades-people. Coal came from the colliery, bags of spuds plus turnips from the farmers, leeks, carrots, parsnips, etc., and from the market gardeners. The butcher would supply a barrowful of bones, often with a bit of meat on them, the grocer would provide a tin of bully beef or something similar and all labour was voluntary.
Basins, bowls, jugs and cans were prominent in the queue on soup days, in fact it was more of broth. If there was still a queue when the soup was running out, in went a bucket of hot water and every person received a ladle full. On special days uncooked fish was given out.
The Soup Kitchen Committee arranged comic football matches, including ladies, and various games and parades. These events raised money to purchase equipment and utensils such as ladles, scrubbing brushes, dishcloths, tea towels etc.
When the miner's strike was about two weeks old, games, chores, pastimes and pleasures almost ceased one afternoon when word was passed around that the Pit Galloways were being brought to Bank. Lads and men who had handled these ponies in the past collected at Whickham Pit gates to welcome their favourites.
They came up in the cage two at a time in care of the horse keeper and his assistant. Stepping out of the cage into daylight each pony was soon recognised by the lads who shouted out their names. There were Tip and Darky, Doctor and Dragon, Bullar and Freddie, Saxon and Sweep and so on. Lads were invited by the horse keeper to hold a pony in the pit yard until all (approximately 25) had been brought up.
Now some of these ponies had been underground for months, some even years. They were hard working, docile and very friendly. Now in the bright sunshine after two weeks rest they took some handling, there was plenty of hoof flying, (fortunately the shoes had been removed), prancing, neighing, squealing and kicking all round quite exciting.
All assembled they left the pit yard still prancing, neighing and kicking. Each handler had his work cut out to keep control.
As the strike was in the summer months, men and lads spent most of their time, after a few home chores, playing football and cricket on Cooks Field or taking a few favourite walks around the area. Fellside, Meadows, Sandy Lane, Washingwell Woods, Back Lonnon etc. were all popular places to walk.
Political meetings were often held off Front Street opposite the Hermitage, or on the ground behind Spoor P.M. Chapel . The speaker would often stand on a soapbox. Mr W. Whitely M.P. for the Blaydon division and Mr E. Shinwell from Seaham addressed and gave speeches to large gatherings of men.
Soup Kitchen in Dunston
In 1926 during the General Strike a soup kitchen was set up to help the needy during those hard times.
Hundreds of breakfasts and dinners were served in Christ Church, Church Hall, commonly known as "The Tin Mission".
Whickham
Axwell Colliery
Whickham Pit Head
Axwell Colliery was located at the top of Whickham Bank with a drift at the foot of Whickham Bank in Swalwell. It was sunk in 1835 and electrified and modernised 1898 to 1906, when the head gear was placed high above the shaft in an enclosed brick building.
This mine was sunk to a depth of 70 fathoms to win coal from very deep seams, all shallow seams having been exploited many centuries earlier by a collection of bell pits. It was closed in 1954.
The enclosure of the winding gear in a building was very unusual and an unsuccessful attempt was made to preserve it as a listed building. The building was demolished 3rd of May 1975
Priestman Collieries Ltd took over the leases of Axwell Park, Bagnall's and Whickham Bank collieries in 1902 and as part of their expansionist policy sank Watergate Pit in 1926.
Farming
Introduction
Coal mining and heavy industry played a major part in the development of Whickham and the surrounding area, but agriculture also played its part. Much of the land above ground was given over to farming and market gardening. On the Ordnance Survey Map of 1897 there are many farms to be found. Today there are very few working farms and market gardens. There are still allotments to be found in the area.
Most of the farms in the area were owned by the Ravensworth or the Carr-Ellison Estates.
Fundraising at St Mary's
There was an other unusual fund raising event at the end of the century which involved the Vicar and the Church warden of St. Mary The Virgin, abseiling down the church tower to raise money, again for repairs to the church.
Celebrations of 25 years at Washingwell School - 1999
Present staff and former staff and pupils reunited with special guest, illustrator Chris Mabbotts, a former teacher at the school, to celebrate 25 years of Washingwell School.
Children's Week 1987 - Let's Make a Circus
The children's week was based on the theme of 'Let's make a circus'. It was run by Captain David Girt and David of the Church Army team together with the vicar and several members of the congregation .
The children played games, sang songs and listened to stories told by Jolly Jack with the help of his puppet friends.
Then they had refreshments followed by the making of masks and puppets based on characters in the the stories.
The morning ended in church with the singing of songs and The Lord's Prayer.
The whole week was a lot of fun with the helpers having just as good a time as the children. Many thanks to Jolly Jack and David.
1st Whickham St Marys Cubs Field Day 1986
Front Street Primary School Sports Day, Chase Park 1986
Nativity Play, Front Street School, 1984
Queen's Jubilee, 1977
An Evening to Remember! 1973
86 guests attended a Social Evening held, for present and past Councillors of the Urban District, to mark the end of the Council due to Local Government Reorganisation
Council Year Books dating back to 1931 were available and these provided the names and addresses of all Councillors from that date.
Many of the guests had not seen each other since their Council days and took the opportunity to reminisce and to engage in lively debate just as they had done long ago in the Council Chamber.
Whickham West End Methodist Church
On August 24th 1968 the Whickham West End Methodist Church held a fund raising Open Day in Chase Park, Whickham.
In addition to the sideshows and stalls usual to such an occasion, there were competitions for youngsters.. For the girls a Skipping Endurance competition was one of the main events and prizes were awarded to the girls in each age group who could skip for the longest time without stopping.
Another major event was the Soap Box Race. Entries were received from schools, scout troops and boys who felt that they could make a Soap Box Car to beat all-comers in the races or win a prize for the best model.
November 5th Celebrations 1960
The Wallace family and friends celebrating Guy Fawkes with a bonfire at the top of Park Avenue, Beech Avenue, Whickham.
Stay at home holiday August 1946 by Dorothy Douglas
Whickham's grand Holiday at Home Week opened on Friday with a fancy dress ball in the Miners Welfare Hall, and on Saturday the 'Queen' Miss Lavinia Ackerley was crowned by, the Mayor of Gateshead, Ald. H. Kegie. The Mayor was accompanied by the Mayoress, Mrs Kegie, and was introduced by the chairman of the Entertainments Committee, Coun. N. Gill.
The 'Queen' was attended by two little girls Miss Judith Heywood, (chosen from the Parochial School), and Miss Dorothy Charlton, (chosen from the Front Street School).
After the crowning there was a parade headed by Felling Brass Band, around the village to the recreation field.
In a children's fancy dress competition the winners were
- William Charlton
- Rita Bradley
- Winifred McKenna
The chief attraction on Monday was cycle racing, which was given under the auspices of the British League of Racing Cyclists.
In addition there were sports, music, a Punch and Judy Show and many sideshows.
Whickham's 1937 Coronation Celebrations
Armistice at Whickham
After the Armistice on November 11th 1918, a victory bonfire took place on ground behind Spoor Memorial Chapel, maybe late November. Timber baulks and pit props were supplied by Axwell Park Colliery, and built in crows nest fashion approx. rising from base to 25'-30' column with an apex of 10' diameter, tar and oil was poured over, with straw placed around the base, built by workman from Axwell Park Colliery.
When the oldest inhabitant, Mr W. Buckhurst, who was invited to light the fire, walked forward with his torch, a paraffin rag on a broomstick, the fire blazed up fiercely in 30' flames. Two officials dragged the 92 year old clear.
A large gathering witnessed that great fire.
Party Down the Pit
April 6th 1900: There was an unusual event of a social gathering down Axwell Park Colliery. The occasion was to raise funds to refurbish the Chancel of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Whickham. Supper was partaken in the 5/4 seam.
Making care the centre of attention.
Foundations for a healthy future have been laid with the plans for a new state-of-the-art care centre in Gateshead. The 5 million pound scheme involves building a new health centre and a block of retirement flats in Whickham. Development will take place around the existing Whickham Cottage Hospital site in Rectory lane. In the first phase the 18th century listed building will be converted to a primary care centre.
Once work is complete by next Christmas, the existing health centre will be demolished and replaced with 58 specialised retirement flats. Detailed discussions on the scheme have been going on for some time between Gateshead Health NHS Trust, Gateshead and South Tyneside Health Authority, the Whickham practice and retirement housebuilders McCarthy and Stone.
Gateshead Health NHS Trust chief executive Chris Reed said: "This is an excellent example of a partnership working together to improve facilities for the local community." "Although Whickham Health Centre has served the community well for many years this new facility will allow the challenges and demands of primary healthcare in the 21st century to be met." Mike Dowse, land director of McCarthy and Stone North West, said the scheme will have a range of benefits for the community. "The advantages of a new health centre are obvious and the retirement development next door will have the effect of bringing increased trade to local businesses and freeing up family houses for younger buyers." Work will be phased so there will be no disruption to service from the Whickham practice. Dr. Graeme Oliver, senior partner at Whickham Health Centre, said: "The partners and staff here are delighted that we will now have the building to enable the provision of modern services to the community while retaining our traditional family practice values."
Reference. Richards, L. Making care the centre of attention. The Evening Chronicle (Gateshead), 13 November 2000.
Reports from Dr. Andrew Smith, Medical Officer of Health.
1900 Sanitary Requirements
1. All slaughter houses to be registered.
2. An isolation hospital should be erected as soon as possible.
1908 The main drainage scheme has been completed by the inclusion of Whaggs Lane, Cornmoor Road, Millfield Road, Sunniside and part of Marley Hill. It has now been decided to connect up the remainder of Marley Hill. Byermoor is still drained by open ditches.
Slaughter houses still remain unregistered but are subject to regular inspections.
History of The Whickham Practice.
.
About to set out on the rounds. Doctor Andrew Smith standing on the steps of Rose Villa with Mr Turbittt (subsequently killed in the Boer War) at the head of his mount.
"The practice was founded in the late 1870s by the first Dr. Andrew Smith in Whickham where he bought a small, run down practice at Hillcrest, a stone terrace house on Fellside Road. He paid 50 pounds down and another 50 pounds in a years time for it. He soon began to attract patients and before long the house was too small to accommodate both patients and the beginnings of what was to become his own large family. In August 1883 he bought Rose Villa, a large house in the middle of the village.
As the years went by the practice expanded steadily and Dr. Andrew employed assistants to help with the increasing workload, making it clear that there was little hope of a future partnership because three of his four sons were expected to join him when they qualified at Newcastle Medical School.
When the Great War of 1914-1918 broke out there was a call for doctors for the front and Andrews three medical sons, Andy, Edward and Wilkie went into the R.A.M.C. leaving their father to cope with a very large practice without even an assistant to help him. He took it in his stride, having bought a motor car in which his eldest daughter Irene (who died in Whickham Cottage Hospital in her 99th year) drove him round on his visits to the widespread practice. At the end of the war his sons returned from their respective theatres of war, each one took over part of the practice.
In 1924 old Andrew died at Rose Villa in his armchair with a newspaper on his lap after a heavy day in the practice. His death occurred after a conversion of the old Rectory to a Cottage Hospital in which he and the Rector had played a major part.
Waiting for father. The doctor's son, Henry, holding his horse in readiness for departure on the daily visiting round. Henry, who is the father of Doctor David Smith, later emigrated to South Africa.
Wilkie came down from Burnopfield and took over the Rose Villa part of the practice. This was a most appropriate move in that he had been appointed G.P. surgeon to the hospital and dealt with many colliery accidents as well as operating a Tonsil and Adenoidectomy session every week with Andrew as anaesthetist. Wilkie had initially intended to be a surgeon. He was on the lower rungs of the consultant ladder at the RVI at the outset of the war in which he become a military surgeon and was awarded a Croix de Guerre by the Belgians for his surgical work for wounded soldiers.
The practice continued uneventfully throughout the 2nd World War with the three brothers meeting every week at the Cottage Hospital after the operating session until 1950 when Wilkie died as peacefully as his father, sitting in a chair at the bedside of a farmer at Hollinside Farm who had influenza.
Andrew Smith, having returned from active service in the Far East, had joined the practice in 1947 and now took over Wilkie's part of the practice and moved in to Rose Villa.
The practice continued to expand with the population as more and more housing estates were built around Whickham. It became obvious in the 50s that both Rose Villa and Stronsay were too small to accommodate the influx of new patients despite the addition of three more consulting rooms and a small secretary's room being built on to the West side of Rose Villa.
With considerable reluctance the partners decided to ask the health authorities to build a Heath Centre. It soon became obvious that the Heath Authority had little idea of what a good Health Centre should be like as the partners found out when they visited some of the Centres the Authority had built. Many hours were spent arguing about the sort of building the doctors wanted but in the long run it was worthwhile because it is the kind of building they wanted.
Modern Times. A family group outside the Burnopfield Surgery about 1922. The motorcar has replaced the horse; its proud owner Dr Wilkie Smith is at the left of the picture. Irene Smith is at the wheel, Josephine Smith (wife of Henry Smith, a non-medical brother of Edward, Wilkie and Andrew) on the running board, and Elsie Smith (sister of Edward, Andrew, Wilkie, Irene and Henry). The other woman pictured is may be to the right of the child may be Mabel Smith, wife of Wilkie Smith or she could be David Smith's nurse. The bonnetted babe is Dr David.
In 1969 the first cohort of vocational trainees joined their teaching practice."
Andrew Smith.
The Cottage Hospital
In 1920/21 the Rectory was vacated. Lady Clementine Waring, the wife of Major Waring who was Member of Parliament for Blaydon, opened the building as a Cottage Hospital in 1922.
Nurses having a break at
the Cottage Hospital - 1920s?
Can anyone help with
the actual date?
In spite of the efforts of the people of Whickham, who fought against the closure and raised money to install a lift, the Cottage Hospital closed in 1985.
In 1986 it opened as Chase Park School.
The Blue Bus (Frazers) Founded 1937
Watergate - Whickham - Winlaton
This was a wooden seated Bedford bus, which ran every hour. It was owned by a father and daughter called Sarah.
Sarah was the conductress and was a very, very large lady who had difficulty passing down the aisle even when nobody was standing.
This bus was the only way to get to Blaydon, very few people having cars in those days. Blaydon was a very busy shopping area, with three cinemas, the Plaza, the Pavilion and the Empire and a Dance Hall, which was very popular.
On Saturday evenings the Blue Bus had more passengers standing in the aisles than sitting, there were even people sitting on each other's knees. Nobody was ever left behind at a stop. With the bus so full Sarah could not collect the fares. When the bus stopped at the bottom of Shibdon Bank, the nearest stop to Blaydon, Sarah stood at the front of the bus to collect the fares. However, many people alighted by the rear door, saving their 3p fare which they used to buy a bag of chips on the long walk home if they had missed the last bus at 10.30 p.m.
In winter weather the bus had great difficulty getting up Whickham Bank. The men had to get off and push it.
Sarah was awarded the M.B.E. by the Queen.
The Bus Company eventually became Derwent Coaches.
Buses
Venture Bus Company
After the 1914-18 war, a Mr. Harper and a Mr Lockey commenced a daily bus service between Shotley Bridge and Newcastle. The service was started with converted army lorries and was the beginning of the present route no.11. After a few years the business was acquired by two brothers-in-law, G.R Harrison and W. T. Richardson. They operated under the fleet name Venture. They chose this name, because of the four-in-hand "Venture" coach belonging to a local colliery proprietor Major Priestman who was pleased to have the name carried on by the new Venture Buses.
At the same time as Harper and Lockey were commencing operations after the 1914-18 war, the Reed Brothers of Sunniside were preparing to recommence carrying passengers by road, a business which had lapsed as a result of that war. There were five Reed brothers who before the war had carried on a motor repair garage business at Sunniside with private cars for hire and an agency for Overtime Farm Tractors. They started operating a service between Bensham Tramcar terminus and the villages of Whickham, Sunniside, Marley Hill and Burnopfield.
In April 1914 they took delivery of a new 28 seat Halley charabanc which had only a short spell in service before being commandeered by the government for war service in September of that year . The chassis only was taken and the Reeds had to dispose of the body at a greatly reduced price after the war.
With the advent of war, four of the brothers joined His Majesty's Forces.
New bus
The fifth brother took a job on munitions and so the business lapsed until early 1918. In 1919 the business was formed into a limited company Reed Brothers Limited. Early in 1930, Reed Brothers Limited and Venture Bus Service Limited agreed to operate their services jointly and to pool their receipts. They operated under the fleet name Venture and Reed Brothers.
Reed's 'new' bus
In the 30s the business grew with the acquisition of other smaller companies and new bus routes. These included, in 1930, J E Walker of Edmundbyers (The Pioneer Bus Service), JR and RB Parker and J Clydesdale, both of Chopwell, also in 1930, and Robson Brothers whose Consett-based operation was acquired in 1933, with their High Spen services (the Yellow Bus Service) being taken over in 1934, these two services being run under the name of Robson Brothers Ltd. Finally, the business of Mrs Annie Bessford of High Spen was bought out in 1934 and became part of Robson Brothers Ltd.. All these services - Reed Brothers, Venture, and Robsons were eventually put into a new limited company, The Venture Transport Company (Newcastle ) Limited in 1938. The common livery for all its buses was yellow and maroon.
The situation at the outbreak of the Second World War was a newly formed company with a varied fleet of vehicles. Fortunately 34 vehicles had been delivered between 1937 and 1939. Throughout the war years only two vehicles were taken into stock.
During this time vehicles were often required at short notice to operate on troop transport under direction from the government. Due to fuel rationing several routes were withdrawn or curtailed, including the moor land route between Shotley Bridge and Stanhope.
After the war the company again began to expand and benefit from the lucrative traffic, which was available to most bus operators in the early post war years. In common with most other bus operators, the company, by 1959, had felt the decline in passenger traffic, which had been steadily taking place since the middle 1950s. In order to make economies, particularly on the money losing rural services, one-man operation was introduced in 1959.
Northern bus ticket
The original Reed Brother Limited liveries were green and cream, and the fleet of Venture services were red, maroon and white. When the pooling arrangement was in force the vehicles were painted yellow and maroon. In 1959 cream was introduced in the livery. In 1967 the company's head office was in Consett and the main depot and workshops were in Blackhill. In 1969 the Venture fleet, which comprised 85 vehicles with a yellow, maroon and cream livery, was sold the Northern Bus Company.
Fare Table
Roads in Whickham
In the early centuries roads were made up of stone quarried locally, quite an ancient custom, even from the times of the Romans.
19th and 20th century cobbled stones or granite blocks 9x4x4" were placed to help traffic, mainly horse and cart, also to fill between tram lines, in some suitable places wooden blocks were used.
In villages such as Whickham roads were penned with local stone, eg. about 1ft. foundation of penned stone laid by hand, nearby a load of stone would be tipped, where a workman sitting on his cracket using a knapping hammer, knapping stones into crumbles, approx. 2" these crumbles would be used as a top dressing crushed by a steam roller then flushed with water.
Winter roads through inclement weather, also by horse and vehicles with iron wheels, were more or less clarty lanes through the village.
In summer by comparison, dust from horse traffic and iron wheels, grinding the road surface. It was a continuous blizzard of dust on rough windy days, unbearable at times.
Whickham Council owned a water cart approx. 250 gl. Tank with sprayers at the rear, pulled by one horse, this water cart travelled at regular intervals, from Broom Lane to the top of Whickham Bank, spraying one half of the road plus footpath.
Whickham School
Interview with Max Williams - May 16th 2000
In 1962 Whickham Secondary Modern School opened, replacing the all-age school at Front Street, as part of a programme to replace elementary schools with secondary schools. Whickham children who passed the 11+ went to Blaydon Grammar School. The education in Whickham was under the auspices of the Durham Education Authority, which introduced comprehensive education piecemeal. Owing to the huge growth in the school population because of the large house building programme, Whickham Secondary Modern School closed in 1970 and Whickham Comprehensive School opened on the same site.
The new school had different governors, a new head, Max Williams, and all the teachers had to reapply for their jobs. The 3-form entry modern school became an 8-10 form entry comprehensive school, with 39 teachers and over 600 pupils in its first year. There were children from Swalwell (~1.5 forms) and Dunston (1 form of borderline O level pupils who didn't go to the grammar school ). When Dunston Comprehensive was built in 1972 the Dunston children went there. The school expanded rapidly as J.T. Bell was building 200 houses per year and new primary schools were being built. Children from Marley Hill and Byermoor were coming to Whickham, but Swalwell children were going to Dunston. In 1973 21 additional teachers were appointed.
In 1974 when the boundaries were altered, Whickham became part of Gateshead M.B.C. and Whickham Comprehensive became more of a Whickham school. The children from Winlaton stopped coming and went to Blaydon, which became comprehensive in 1974. In 1976 the school had the first 6th form built up from the comprehensive intake.
There were 4 building programmes in the first ten years to accommodate the increasing number of children and provide extra facilities. The school population doubled in that time. By 1979 Whickham was the largest school in the area and probably the most successful. In 1980 Gateshead M.B.C. decided that it should be just an 8-form entry school as people were using all manner of means to get their children onto the school roll, eg. sending children to live with other members of the family. However, in the 1980s Margaret Thatcher introduced parental choice for the selection of a school for a child, so the intake broadened again and Swalwell children started to return.
When Max Williams took early retirement in 1984 on health grounds (he had cancer) there were 1300 pupils with about 300 in the sixth form. The school was organised into a house system with 6 houses by 1984. There were 82 members of staff. Bill Smith, who was Deputy Head, was appointed as the new Headmaster. In his time, when there was talk of Gateshead having a tertiary college, he tried to get the school to opt out of Local Authority control but the parents voted against it. The school is now under the L.M.S. scheme.
In 1983 Mike Hind, The P.E, Master became a Head of House. In 1984 Gateshead was choosing 2 schools where night classes could be held. Mike Hind was appointed to oversee this at Whickham and he got them off the ground. They are independent of the school structure, they just use the building.
Max Williams sees the school as having been an early experimental comprehensive which turned into a very successful comprehensive and then a community school. At his retirement party he told Bill Smith that each day when he went into school he would be surprised by something.
On his second day as Head, a mother burst into his room and demanded to know "And what is the matter with orange knickers?" The previous day the children had been told that they needed navy knickers for P.E. The girl's father had sent the mother up to the school to ask the aforementioned question!
St. Mary's Roman Catholic School
Whickham acquired its first Catholic School in 1972. Catholic education in Whickham began in the house of Mr and Mrs McWilliams in Eleanor Terrace. Father Walsh came from Dunston to instruct the pupils of the County School (Front St.) Catholic Schools existed at Byermoor, Dunston and Blaydon. When Father Pickering founded the Whickham Parish in 1948 it was with the intention of founding a school also. Negotiations were begun which were not completed till 1970, when the then Minister for Education, the Rt Hon Edward Short, MP, instructed Miss Alice Bacon (Parliamentary Secretary to the Department of Education and Science) to inform the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle that the new Whickham R.C. School had been accepted and placed on the "Design List".
Work was entitled to begin on April 1st 1970, but there were more snags, including the death of the quantity surveyor, financial difficulties for the appointed building company, the death of the architect in charge of the project and the departure from the firm of his deputy architect. However, a new architect and building firm were appointed and the project was given a kick-start. From then the work proceeded fairly smoothly with excellent co-operation between the builders and the headmaster, Mr Leo Mason, culminating in the opening on April 10th 1972.
The new school was "Open-Plan" with seven teaching areas, 3 for the Infants and 4 for the Juniors. 74 children attended the school, but it was expected that this number would rise to 250. The school has its own kitchen adjoining the hall. In the grounds there was an "Adventure Playground" a lovely field and an adventure area. Future plans included grassing the front entrance grounds at the top end, putting a rockery around the school's frontage and separating the car park from the children's entrance with a flagged and grassed centre-piece.
St Mary's Head Teachers
Mr Leo Mason 1972 - 1985 (Dec)
Mr Arthur Burke 1986 (Jan) -
Preparatory School
Dorothy Cline started at this school in 1931. It was run by Mrs Easey, who used to teach at the Parochial School, and was situated in what is now the Cuthbert Room in the St. Mary's Centre. There was a big table in the middle of the room with forms on either side to accomodate the pupils, about 8. A blackboard stood beside the fireplace. What is now the lounge held two billiard tables which were always shrouded. The pupils had to pass through there to go to the toilets, which were where the kitchen is now. The pupils wore purple blazers with a school badge, WPS in gold on a purple background. The girls wore purple berets and also black velour hats.
When Mrs Rollins took over the school, she moved it to the building where the Healthlands Cafe is now. (Dorothy also remembers a Miss Conner teaching them, but is unsure of exactly where she fits into the picture.) During the war, Mrs Rollins ran the school from her house on Fellside Road, situated on the R.H.S. going up from the Front Street. Dorothy left WPS in 1938 to go to Dame Allan's Girls School. However, when the girls were evacuated from there during the war, Dorothy's mother would not let her go. She returned to WPS on Fellside Road for about a year until the evacuees started returning to Dame Allan's.
Parochial School
In 1900 Whickham Parochial School was a mixed school under the mastership of Mr Castles, the Boys' and Girls' Schools having amalgamated in 1897 (not in 1900 as recorded in other publications. See the Log Book held in the Tyne & Wear Archives.) The Infant Department was separate at this stage, although on August 1st 1910 it became an Infant Class, under the general control of the Head Master. In 1900 the Infant Department was under the control of Miss Mary Elizabeth Pratt, who had been a pupil teacher at the school and commenced duties as Certificated Mistress on January 9th 1899.
Mr Castles was meticulous in recording information in the Log Book, however his entries mainly dealt with the attendance, which was governed by the weather, the season and illness. As many of the children came from outlying areas and the roads were unmade, heavy rain or snow made them impassable, preventing the children from attending school. Childhood illnesses often became epidemics earlier in the century and sometimes the entire school had to be closed. In 1918 the school was closed for 9 weeks because of the influenza epidemic at the end of the First World War. In the fruit, and potato picking seasons and at hay making time attendance at school was poor because the children were working in the fields.
The school holidays were not taken at a set time every year. The summer holidays were taken in two parts and the timing seemed to vary from year to year. If the school had been closed for illness then the holidays were shortened. When the hoppings came to Whickham in May the children had two days' holiday.
The school premises were used for social functions and Mr Castles often recorded that they were left in disarray. Furniture was left in the wrong place and/or overturned, beer bottles were left lying around, the Master's back door was once marked with obscene pictures and his doorpost was used as a urinal. (Nothing changes!)
The entry for October 31st 1902 conjures up a lovely picture. "54 children were 'draughted' into the Mixed School today." Taking note of the date, was this done by the spirits that were around at the time?!!
Headteachers of the Parochial School
During the twentieth century there were 6 headteachers.
Mr Robert Ord Castles 1881 - 1923: Mr Castles started as a pupil teacher at the school on March 12th 1871, before rising through the ranks to become the Master in 1881, as the head teacher was known in those days. His entry in the school log book for January 26th 1923 reads as follows:
"Resigned the Mastership of this school after a service of nearly 42 years - in harmony with Managers, Teachers and parents. Appointed July 18th 1881 - left January 26th 1923. Signed Robert Ord Castles.
Mr William W. Rose 1923 - 1956: His entry in the log book for January 29th 1923 reads:- "I took charge of the school today as headmaster, in place of Mr R.O. Castles, who resigned duties on Friday January 26th 1923. William W. Rose.
Mr R.W. Edwards 1956 - 1974
Mr M.L. Mears 1974 - 1983: When Mr Mears retired in July 1983 he presented the school with a miner's lamp to remind the children that the school, which was set up as a charity school in 1714 by Dr Thomlinson, taught the poor children of local miners. Mr Mears said "The lamp will work if you fill it with fuel and ignite it, just as the children's minds will work if they are filled with fuel from the teachers, but the spark must come from the children." He also said that the lamp will remind them that Christ is the light of the world.
Mrs P.A. Pritchard 1983 - 1988
Mr Alan Dobson 1988 - Mr Dobson joined the staff in 1973 as a newly qualified teacher, staying for 1 year. He returned in 1983 as Deputy Head, taking over the headship when Mrs Pritchard left.
Front Street School
Whickham Front Street Infant School and Whickham County Mixed School were opened together in August 1909 and were governed by Durham County Council. The Infant School catered for about 90 children aged 5 to 7 years, while the County Mixed School housed another 270 children from 7 to 14 years. A few pupils were admitted to Blaydon Secondary School at 11 or 12 years of age. This pattern prevailed until 1962, when most of the children over 11 years transferred to the new Whickham Secondary Modern School, which became Whickham Comprehensive School.
The County Mixed School eventually became Whickham Front Street Junior School. In April 1974, when local boundaries reorganisation came into effect, the schools came under the jurisdiction of Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council.
The school buildings were extended in spring 1950 with the opening of a dining room and the prefabricated classrooms. In September 1980 the Nursery Unit was added. In September 1986, the two schools, which had opened together 77 years earlier, were at last amalgamated as Whickham Front Street Primary School, under the headship of Mrs Pat Farrell (later to become Mrs Pearson).
Fanny Stephenson's Private School
The Durham Directory of 1870s mentions a private school kept by Miss Fanny Stevenson. "Some Chapters in the History of Whickham" by Helen Bowling records that this school was said to be the one in Church Chare taken over by Mrs Easey. However, in the Whickham Journal No 5, Winter 1978, there is an article by Alan Wright about Grace Hilda Cook. She says that she "was educated at a little private school known as Miss Fanny Stevenson's, which is now the Co-op next to West End Methodist Church." (The Co-op no longer has these premises and the church has become Whickham Community Church - 1999.) Miss Cook was born in 1892 and when she was 11 she went to Rutherford College in Bath Lane.
The Kelly's Directories of 1906, 1914 and 1921 mention Fanny Stevenson's Private School, but it isn't mentioned in the 1925 edition.
Whickham Schools
Cloverhill School
Cloverhill was built in 1977 to bridge the gap between the schools in Whickham and Marley Hill. Separate infant and junior schools were going to be built, but the money ran out. It became a 1-form Primary School, initially taking children who were surplus from Marley Hill School. When Cloverhill was due to open the building wasn't ready so the children went to Marley Hill and used the huts. The first headmaster was Mr Robin Foreman, who retired in 1995, when the post was taken up by Mr P. Coker.
There are now 197 pupils in the school with 7 members of staff, one of whom has been there since the school opened, having transferred there from Marley Hill. There are 7 forms in the school which has 8 classrooms. The reception area is going to be extended to make room for ICT work. (Information, Communication, Technology.) Some children now come to the school from outside the Whickham area.
The school had a very good Ofsted Report recently. It was said that the ethos of the school was one of the best that the inspectors had ever seen.
The school has lovely grounds adjoining Sunniside Park and the children do environmental work there. The school is going to create a Millennium Garden with timber seating. The children have also designed squares for a Millennium Tapestry, which are being embroidered by one of the mothers.
Can you remember? Can you remember?
Ganny Willis - The Pink House
- On Sunday evening she would open her front room and sell sweets and lemonade to the passers - by who made the regular Sunday evening stroll from the Village to the top of Carr's Bank. The sweets were displayed on a big round table. Ganny Willis always wore black with a cameo brooch at her neck.
Fernleigh Ladies Hairdressers
- The shop open about 1934 with a special offer of a permanent wave for 5/=. Marcel waves 1/=, hair cut 6d, shampoo and set 2/=. There's no Wave like a Eugene Wave - 10/6d and it took 3 hours for hot perming. There were 4 cubicles for privacy. A high chair for the little ones. Hair was dyed with red henna.
Lloyds Bank
- when it was on the other side of Front Street. It was open for only 4 mornings a week. There was a guard with a dog outside.
The Crown Garage
- with petrol pumps by the roadside. It is now Barclay's Bank.
The Piccadilly Cake Shop
- site of the late lamented Northern Rock Building Society. Lovely steak pies! Cakes ! Cream when no-one else could get it.
Eggleston's General Dealers
- black treacle out of a barrel, belly pork and a wooden counter.
Thompson's Red Stamp Stores
- next door to Spoor Chapel
The Co-op on Fellside Road
- Groceries where the Chinese Take-away is and Hardware and Drapers opposite.
Whickham Shops by Type
BOOT REPAIRERS
Edward Douglas 1906
Thomas Cunningham 1913
Edward Hilary 1913 - 1918
William McPherson 1921
John Robinson 1921
J Mole 1931
John G Muncaster 1931 - 46
Leslie Muncaster 1946 -1977
William Pellett 1934 - 1960s
Harry Edwards 1939
John Robson 1939
HAIRDRESSERS
Charles Rising 1906 - 1931
M Penrose 1931 - 1939
M Potter 1931 - 1939
Fernleigh 1939 -
Edward Watson 1939 -
Bert's (Striped Barbers' Pole)
Edna Arnold
Henry's
Curry's
Diva
JG's Ladies Hairdresser
Lavender Box
Blades
Ruffles
Dave's
Wayne's
Ken's
David H
NEWSAGENTS / STATIONERS
Andrew Whitfield 1939
Armstrong
United
Martin's
Kendal's became Cresswell
J & B
The Card Shop
WINE MERCHANTS/OFF LICENCE
Whickham Ale Store (Off Licence)
Blaney's became Berkeley Wines then Wine Cellar
Victoria Wine ?
SWEET SHOPS
Ganny Willis (The Pink House. Sundays only)
Donaldson's
Dobson's
Village Sweet Shop
MISCELLANEOUS
Whickham Travel Agents
Travel Needs
Flower Design
Sam's Snacks became Bigger Bite
Cool Tan
Stanley Racing (Betting Shop)
Video Shop
Davison's Antiques
C&H Glass
Econofreeze
BUTCHERS
George Turnbull 1906
Jonathan Atkinson 1906. In 1939 became R Atkinson then sold to :-
Henry Taylor, shop demolished in 1970s to make way for St. Mary's Green.
Moved to St. Mary's Green. Sold out to:-
John Taylor (no relation)Sold out to owner of Salad Bowl who put in a manager. Next
R Martin & Son 1995 - present day
A. Thompson 1913 - 1915
W. Smith 1931 - after 1939
Charley Young 1931 -
Arthur Glendinning 1939 - ( Pork Butcher )
G Armstrong
A Dodds 19 ( became Factory Meat Shop then renamed R Thompson )
Walters & Todd
FISHMONGERS/ FISH & CHIPS
John Davy 1931 (Became Billy Wigham. Then Moti Jheel Indian Take Away)
Lance Oxley (Back Row )
Barkin Shark
Co-op Wet Fish Shop
CHEMISTS
Whickham Cash Chemist 1913
E Dunn 1931 Later became Leigh & Dunn
Roberts (Drug Store) 1958
Spearman & Dixon 1974
Co-op Chemist 1950 - 1966
Robert Hill 1964 - 1981 Sold out to Harry Dixon
S Handa
GREENGROCERS
Thomas Gardiner 1906 - 1921
Albany Battensby 1913 - 1918
William Hunter 1931 - 1939 (became Co-op Fish Shop)
Harry Hutchinson 1931 -1939
Florrie Garrett
Billy Boyd
Appleby (Church Green now Bakehouse)
Browns
Salad Bowl 1970? Walkers of Whickham
Bookless (opened in The Square 1964, transferred to St Mary's Green 1975)
DRAPERS Thomas Bruce & Son 1906 - 1913
Elizabeth Ann Everard 1906 - 1913
Joseph Armstrong 1913 - 1915
M McGlen 1931 - 1934
M Curry 1939 - ( corsets )
Alex McGregor 1939 -
John Robinson 1939
DRESSSHOPS & MILLINERS
Lily Butler 1939
Dolly Curry
Pat Symons
Margo Robson
Off the Peg
Orchid
IRONMONGERS & DIY
Frank Maughan 1934
S Stephenson became :-
Home & Gardens (moved to St Mary's Green)
DIY Back Row
Smith's 19 - 1999 (became Magnum Fitness Centre)
CYCLE REPAIRERS
John Proud 1906
Wilfred Bourne 1921 - 1931
Sam Curry 1939 - 1970s (Moved to School Lane when property demolished for St Mary's Green)
Derwent Valley Cycles 1998 - 2000
GROCERS/SHOPKEEPERS/GENERAL DEALERS
Miss Isabelle Banks 1906
Albany Bell Battensby 1906 - 1918
Thomas Bruce 1906 - 1934
Mrs Maggie Donnelly 1906
Edwin Elliott 1906 - 1934 (West Street)
William Henzell 1906 - 1915
James Hope 1906 (1915 Misses M & B Hope ) - 1918
Mrs Isabelle Smith 1906
Mrs Elizabeth Stark 1906 - 1918 (Front Street )
Annie Stark 1913 - 19?? (Whaggs Lane )
William Mordue 1913 - after 1939 ( Fellside Road )
James Dand 1921 - 1934
Robert Eggleston 1921 - after 1939
Margaret Curry 1921 - 1934
Christopher Thompson 1921 - after 1939
Emanuel Agar 1934
William Dobson 1934
Margaret Irving 1934 - after 1939
William Brown 1939
Co-op 1921 - to present day. (Started as a branch of Swalwell Co-op)
Thompson's Red Stamp Stores 1931 -
Hadrian Supply Company 1939 -
Laws Stores 1939 -
Moores Stores 1939 -
Kwik Save 197
Presto ( became Saveways in 199)
BAKERS / CONFECTIONERS
Percy J Bailey 1931
R & J Culey 1931 - 1934
G Soulsby 1931
Robert Bantham 1939
David Donaldson 1939
Picadilly
Carricks Previously in The Square. Eventually became Bakers Oven
Newcastle Bakeries
Bakehouse Craft Bakery 1980 - now
Ramseys
Ted Joynson
Ted Joynson, is well known on the region's athletic circuit thanks to a career spanning more than fifty years. Ted began running when he did his National Service in the Royal Artillery after the war. He began competing seriously in the army when he was became Regimental mile and three mile champion, and after his demob in 1948 he joined Gateshead Harriers and has competed ever since.
His army experience marked the start of a five-decade love affair that has left Ted as keen as ever to get to the winner's rostrum.
When Luke Edwards interviewed Ted in 1999 he wrote, "Ted is slim and athletic and moves around with an agility that makes a mockery of his pensioner status. He arrived a couple of minutes late for our meeting on an uncharacteristically warm day in the North East. It is no exaggeration to say that he literally bounds over to greet us. His mind is electric and he has an instantly likeable personality and a sharp sense of humour.
Running has been a part of his life for so long that to carry on in the sport comes naturally.
In 1953 he was club champion after running the 6.25 Chowdene race in 33.58 - 40 seconds inside the record. That year he finished 20th in the Morpeth to Newcastle race and 11th in the NE cross-country.
In 1954 Ted was picking up prizes in the local mile handicap races and he won the first ever Paarlauf held in this country with Stuart Wilkie. A Paarlauf is a complicated relay originating in Sweden, They ran 3 miles 345 yards in 50 minutes.
In 1955 Ted won the Gateshead four mile race and the trophy for being, "The most diligent runner in the club".
Ted continued to run until the early sixties but had a nine-year break from the sport while he gained engineering and teaching qualifications. Ted is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering Designers.
He took a teaching post at Gosforth High School and began running again in 1972 aged 47.
In 1973 Ted picked up the first of his many vet awards, first over 45 in the Croxdale "10". The next year he embarked on his campaign, which is far from over.
1974 1st British 50-54 years 1500 metre Championships
1975 50-54 age group
1976 1st British 5000
1st Northern 1500 and 5000
2nd British 1500 and 5000
1977 2nd British 1500
1st Northern 1500, 5000 and Marathon
3rd in the World Marathon in Gothenburg
1st World Vets Marathon - Hanover
3rd World Vets Cross Country
1st British Marathon - 2hrs 49mins
Emil Zatopek presented him with his medal.
1978 1st Northern 5000
1979 5th World 1500 in Toronto
1980 He won the commonwealth 25k in Edinburgh.
1981 Ted won medals in the British 800, 1500. and 5000 metres.
By 1984 Ted was in the over sixty-age group. He ran the London Marathon in three hours. He has run all over the world and has many stories to tell.
In the late sixties he did his winter training with Brendan Foster at Gateshead grammar school.
In 1985 Ted had a badly broken arm and shoulder when he got pushed over at the start of the North Shields Road Races. Typically he fought back and won two silvers in the British 800 and 1500 and bronze in the 5000 at Meadow Bank in 1985.
The high point of 1999 was when he was one of three local athletes chosen to carry the torch at the opening ceremony of his 5th Veterans Olympics held at Gateshead International Stadium in 1999.
The low point was when a car knocked him down whilst taking part in a Marathon in Malta. The routes are usually clearly marked and well stewarded. The woman driver was very apologetic and nearly fainted when Ted said he was continuing the race.
Further on he had a near miss with a bus and a speeding taxi. Ted stresses that he was wearing a bright orange vest so should have been clearly seen.
He has competed in 89 Marathons- 12 London Marathons, 35 Morpeth Road Races and has over 4,000 medals.
Ted is still running. "As a pensioner I'm proving that you can really go for it in your later years. There is nothing to stop you."
His daughter Linda and grandson Christopher Lamb are also runners.
It is his ultimate ambition to run a marathon when he is 100.
Photo gallery
Miss Melvin
Miss Melvin was a Headmistress of Whickham Front Street Infant School. She lived in Whaggs Lane and survived into her 90s.
Thomas Blythe
Tommy owned Birtley Bricks, the bricks were stamped BBB, he lived in Dinsdale House, Burnthouse Lane, Whickham. There are brick pillars on the opposite side of the lane where his garden gate was, steps led to this gate and there were owls on each, the garden which was behind the gate is no longer there. He was a very jolly fellow and well liked in the neighbourhood.
Joseph Wilkinson
'Pop Joe' as he was called, owned a mineral water factory in Gateshead at Tyne Road East. He lived at Chase Park House in Whickham. On the estate wall in Front Street he built shops.
The house he built in Millfield Road, is now known as Whickham Villa Nursing Home. Chase Park House was sold to the Council. It was used during the 2nd World War for the war effort and pulled down afterwards.
Lily Butler
Lily was a noted milliner with a clothes shop in Whickham, ladies came from as far away as Hexham to buy her hats. She married late in life to Billy Fishburn, the postmaster. Unfortunately, he only lived a few years after the marriage. She then retired and went to live in a bungalow at the top of Carr's Bank. Lily was a very nice person and well liked in the area.
Lily Butler's shop window
in the 1960's
Thomas Easey
Tom Easey lived at West Farm, so-called because it was West of Dunston and Gateshead. He was a gentleman farmer and was famous for winning two races at Blaydon Races in one day on the horse called Spoiled.
Tom drove a 4-in-hand for Venture Coaches because it was thought to be a prestigious thing to do. Venture Coaches were owned by the Priestman family, who lived in Shotley Bridge. They also owned Priestman Collieries, some of which were in Whickham District. Their horses, whose names all began with "V" were kept at Ravensworth.
Colonel and Mrs Woodley Thompson
Mrs. Thompson insisted on being called Mrs. Col. Thompson, she had one of the first cars in the district and a chauffeur, Jack Hare, to drive it. She would not allow smoking in the house, even her husband had to go into the conservatory to smoke.
Mrs. Betty Oloman born on a farm in Burnopfield delivered milk to Whickham district by horse and cart. One day some children were pestering the horses when Mrs. Col. Thompson was walking down from Whickham Park dressed as she usually was in tweeds, pork-pie hat and a walking stick. She berated the children and then turned on Betty, trying to insist that Betty went to the police as soon as she had finished her round as she, Mrs. Col. Thompson, would not tolerate this kind of behaviour in Whickham.
During the summer, if it was a hot day, the servants at Whickham Park opened the kitchen window, Betty would then pass the cans of milk over the window-sill, it saved her going round to the back door. One day she was seen by Mrs.Col. Thompson and was 'court-martialled' on the spot.
Mrs Ismay
Mrs. Ismay lived in Woodhouse Lane, Clockburn, Whickham, it was an ash track at the bottom end of what is now Whickham Golf Course near the Holmside Abbey ruins. She had a sweet shop in her front room and a vegetable stall in the garden. She was taken to court and fined for not having a licence to sell, she told the Magistrates she had never had a licence and was doing a good trade and didn't see why she needed one. There was no water or electricity in the cottage and water was drawn from a well.
Ganny Willis
Ganny Willis lived next door to Pink House. She was the widow of a First World War naval captain. Between the wars she started a sweet shop in her kitchen, the sweets displayed on the kitchen table. Children would sneak in and try to steal the sweets. She became noted for chasing children along Front Street.
Whickham Dates
1900 The Century started with an unusual event, an underground party in the gaily-decorated fire quarter seam at Axwell Colliery. This was to raise money to refurbish the chancel of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin.
1901 The population of the parish of Whickham was 12,681 and its rateable value was £51,500.
1906 A Flower Show was held in Whickham.
1907 Lang Jack's cottage burned down. Women worked on hands and knees digging for coal on the surface at Whickham Pit.
1909 Whickham Front Street Infant School and Whickham County Council School opened together.
1910 The Hermitage passed out of the ownership of the Taylor family, (founders of Swalwell Brewery), to James Osterley McLeary.
1911
The Miners' Institute was established on Front Street, (it is now the Community Centre).
1910
The Whickham Pump was still in place.
1911 Coronation of King George V was celebrated by a procession of decorated wagons and horses from Church Green to Dykes Nook where sports and games were held and each schoolchild was given a commemorative beaker. The Golf Club at Whickham was opened.
1912 The village pump was moved from the footpath, stored in the council yard, and eventually fitted into the wall of Glebe Farm.
1913 An experimental service of motorbuses was operating in the district, but not in Whickham itself.
1914 Rev C.E. Little, rector of St Mary the Virgin at Whickham made shell casings in a workshop in the Rectory. A soup kitchen was run in the grounds of Whickham Social Club. The first bus service from Stanley to Newcastle was via Whickham.
1918 A Victory bonfire was held behind the Spoor Memorial Chapel. It was lit by the oldest resident, Mr. Buckhurst, who almost caught fire himself and had to be dragged clear. The original building in Church Chare became the Rectory again.
1922 The War Memorial was unveiled. The Rectory, in Rectory Lane was changed to Whickham Cottage Hospital.
1923 South End Farm was demolished to make way for the Watergate Estate.
1924 The Hermitage was occupied by Mr. William Campton of Norwood Coke Works. The Cottage Hospital at Whickham opened and was run by public subscription.
1926
The year of the Miners strike and 60% of the population were connected with Whickham, Whaggs and Watergate pits!
1929 A new Scout Headquarters was built in Park Drive.
1930 Remembrance Sunday. Christ Church Scouts lead the church organisations to the War Memorial, marching to the drumbeat. The guides walked out of step as the Brown Owl, Miss Parker thought marching was unladylike.
1935 The Rector banned the annual Hoppings on the Church Green.
1937 The house and grounds in Chase Park were bought from Mr. Wilkinson by Whickham UDC for £7,000.
1939 The house in Chase Park was used by the Fire Service for the duration of the war.
1948 The Dockendale Estate was purchased by the Catholic Church Authority; the stables were later converted into the church. The Ministry of Health took over the running of Whickham Cottage Hospital.
1951The population of Whickham UDC was 23,000.
1953 The amount allocated for the celebration, in Whickham, of the Queen's Coronation was £154. This included tea in the Miners Hall.
The Council took over the maintenance of The Church Green
1954 The Miners Institute was converted into the Community Centre and the pit at the top of Whickham Bank closed. The Hermitage opened as a hostel for retired men.
1955 Work started on providing a new shopping centre in Whickham and the purchase of 6.25 acres of land, for housing, on the Rectory field was proposed.
1957 Council staff started a five-day working week on March the 20th.
1958 The Whickham Boys singing group was formed and they raised money for charity.
1960 The names of Marx Crescent and Lenin Drive were changed to The Crescent and The Drive. Whickham Round Table was started. The house in Chase Park was demolished.
1961 The plans to build 18 houses in Whickham Orchard were approved. Glebe Farm was demolished but a commemorative plaque was placed in the west wall of the telephone exchange. Whickham UDC had 50 acres of parks and open spaces under its care.
1962 Whickham Secondary School opened. The Council approved plans for houses to be built on the Grange Estate and for Morris Men to dance on the Church Green for twenty minutes. The Council recommends that Saturday afternoon burials be discontinued - except in cases of emergency.
1963 A Motor Club started in Whickham. Council meets with local Head Teachers to discuss methods of reducing vandalism.
The first of the houses on the new Whickham Grange Estate was occupied by Mr and Mrs G. Hails on the first of June.
1964 Whickham Parochial School celebrated its 250th anniversary. A paddling pool and children's zoo opened in Chase Park. The shafts and drift at Watergate Colliery were demolished.
1965 The Council met to discuss publishing a magazine for the area called Focus. The "meals on wheels" service was extended.
1966 Fellside Primary School opened and a purpose built Children's Home was completed. The Council agreed to take part in "Britain in Bloom" competition and it cost £17 a year to repair and maintain a council house. First Whickham Scout Troup celebrated their Golden Jubilee. The Queen Mother attended a service in Gibside Chapel. The zoo in Chase Park now had 100 foreign birds including bantams, doves, and golden pheasants.
1967 Population of Whickham was now 27,000. Whickham won the Award of Merit in the Britain in Bloom competition. Six monkeys were put into the park zoo. Whickham Council agreed to a new shopping centre being built on the north side of Front Street and started negotiations to buy all land and properties from Laws Stores to the Square. Three existing shops will be affected and will be replaced by twelve new shops together with a library, clinic, car park and some housing. The first phase will begin in 1969.
1968 A spring was discovered running into the basement of the Community Centre and a pump was fitted to control the water. Fellside Infant School opened and the Primary School became the Junior School. Compulsory Purchase Orders were made for the houses, which had to be demolished for the building of the Western Bypass. The plan for the new shopping centre is still being considered by Durham County Council, Whickham UDC and the Chamber of Trade.
1970 Whickham Secondary School became a Comprehensive School. Aerial photographs of Whickham revealed the remains of a Roman Fort near Washingwell. A Public Enquiry was held about the controversial shopping centre.
1971 Whickham Parochial School moved from its original site in School Lane to new premises on The Broadway.
1972 The Tree Nursery was nearing completion on Whickham Highway but there was no new Community Centre for Whickham! It was hoped that the Front Street development would start next May.
1973 Free bus travel for senior citizens. Revitalization of pre-war council housing has now passed 1,000. The new Catholic St. Mary's Church is now in use and the cost of the church and presbytery was £52,000. The Northern Co-op made a successful bid for the new supermarket at a rent of £20,000 per annum.
1974 On the first of April, Whickham became part of Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council. The final meeting took place of Whickham WRVS. The first shops opened on St. Mary's Green Shopping Centre. Whickham Glebe Sports Club opened on the site of the cricket and Football ground.
1975 The Hermitage Hostel closed.
1976 Pit demolished.
1977 The Hermitage was converted for use by handicapped people. Cloverhill Primary School opened. Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee Celebrations took place. The monument to Lang Jack was moved near to The Crown pub (which is now Lang Jack), by J.T. Bell builders. The stables and coach house in Church Chare were converted into a dance hall.
1980 Whickham Front Street Nursery opened.
1982 The Gibside Hotel was built.
1985 Phase two of St. Mary's Green Shopping Centre was finished.
1986 Front Street Infants and Junior Schools merge to form Whickham Front Street Primary School.
1993 Fellside Infant and Junior Schools merge, in the Junior building, to become Fellside Primary School.
1994 Fellside Nursery School was incorporated into the Fellside building.
1995 Whickham U3A was started.
1998 Gibside School, for children with learning difficulties, opened on the Fellside Infant School site. The children's zoo was closed in Whickham park.
2000 Millennium Celebrations included a New Year Party at St Mary the Virgin Church Hall with fireworks on the Church Green and the production of "Time Lord 2000" in Whickham park by the community.
There was another unusual fund raising event at the end of the century, which involved the Rector and the Churchwarden of St. Mary The Virgin, abseiling down the church tower to raise money, again for repairs to the church.
Alex Johnson, teacher at Whickham County School, Front Street from 1949-1962.
After nearly seven years of war I returned home, went to Training College and finally in September 1949 I began teaching at Whickham County School. The Headmaster was Mr Ron Kennedy, a perfect gentleman, and a friend of Mr. Maurice Chevalier, the famous French singer and actor.
The staff was made up of Mr. Emmerson, Mr. Kempton, Mr. Ruddick, Mr. Bramley, Mrs Winskell, Miss Hutchinson, Miss Harbit, Miss Longstaffe and Miss Veitch with Miss Boyd as Cookery Teacher. I was given the 10+B Class which I thoroughly enjoyed, as well as being Physical Education Master.
I loved the children of Whickham and loved teaching. I was seldom home straight after school for I ran a Puppet Club, an Adopted Ship Club, a Nature Club, Athletics and a Football Team.
The children made most of my puppets and I have them still today. All the pupils enjoyed our shows and we gave shows to hospital children. I would pile children into my Ford 10 Prefect, put the puppets into the boot of the car, balance the theatre on the top of the car and away we went. The star of the show (the witch) was Eunice Sharp.
I adopted a ship on behalf of the School It was M.V. Laganfield, an oil tanker, and although it gave me lots of work, it also gave the children lots of pleasure. We plotted the ship’s voyages on a large scale map in my classroom and the children wrote letters to the crew.
When it docked in the Tyne there was great excitement for we all went down to see it.
The crew were mostly Chinese and allowed the children to “take over�? the vessel. A lovely meal was always provided and the children took gifts to their favourite crewmembers.
The Chinese visited Whickham and the fathers of the pupils introduced the visitors to the delights of Whickham Social Club. Mr. Fatkin, the Chief Engineer, presented a model of the ship to the School, and it hung in the school for many years.
Every Christmas the crew made a collection amongst themselves and sent me a large sum of money to give the club members a party, which I did and which was always greatly enjoyed.
In 1955 I took a party of schoolchildren to Blankenberg in Belgium and in 1960 I took 50 children to Italy to Rome to see the Olympic Games and to have a seaside holiday in Rimini.
Rimini 1960
In 1962 I had booked a trip to Spain, and although I had left the school to start my own private school I promised to fulfil my obligations.
In 1993 we had a reunion perhaps one day we can have another?
Reunion 1993
To hear the full story of Mr. Johnson’s time at Whickham School you can buy the audio CD or cassette Miscellany of Memories Part 2, available now.
The Whickham Boys.
The Whickham Boys were a group of men who frequented the Woodmans Pub, especially on a Sunday Night when they were not performing at one of their many charitable functions. They came about because Whickham Choir, a choir with strong choral traditions disbanded in 1958.
Some of the members wanted to continue singing so they decided they would not only try and recruit new members, they would also change their musical careers by singing songs from the shows with a little comedy thrown in as well.
This they did quite successfully for many years, raising thousands of pounds in the process for their many charities. Many organisations in the region benefited from their kindness and hard work, the biggest beneficiary was the Edith Brough Children's Home at Whickham.
Mike Neville
Mike Neville was born on October the 17th 1936 in Willington Quay. (He moved to Whickham in 1962.) He attended school in Howden.
His first job was as an office slave in the Northern Guild of Commerce and Chamber of Trade for £1.25 per week.
Later he managed to get himself a job as a Junior Editorial Assistant in the Newcastle office of the Daily Mail. (He had studied shorthand typing and English at night school three nights a week for 18 months). The job came to an end in April 1955, when he was called for National Service.
He was put in the Royal Army Pay Corps and posted to the 1st Battalion of the Wiltshire Regiment in Warminster which was later posted to Cyprus. He was demobbed in 1957 after reaching the rank of Corporal.
While working as an insurance agent he was invited to take part in a couple of plays at Newcastle Playhouse and eventually asked to join the Repertory company full time, which he did shortly after his 21st birthday in October, 1957.
He remained an actor, playing theatres all over the country, and loving the life until, at the beginning of 1962, he was told that Tyne Tees Television were looking for an announcer/newsreader, was he interested? He applied for the job and got it!
A couple of years later he was made presenter of their new nightly magazine programme, then called "Newsview". After a month or so he was approached by the BBC and offered the presenter's job on "Look North", which he accepted. He stayed for 32 years, until 1996, when he finally accepted an offer to return to Tyne Tees! He finally retired in 2005.
Mike Neville has been married to Pam for 38 years, and they have three wonderful grandchildren - Jordan, Jessica and Joshua.
He was awarded the MBE for services to broadcasting on 31st, December, 1990, in the New Year Honours List, and was presented to Her Majesty The Queen at the Investiture at Buckingham Palace in March, 1991.
Mr Boulton
Mr Boulton lived at Stronsey in Broom Lane and was the first man in Whickham to have a telephone. The number being Whickham 1.
Dr. Bennett
An eminent eye surgeon who lived at Westacres in Grange Lane. He was the first surgeon to replace the retina in eyes at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. A popular man, who doffed his black trilby hat to everyone he met.
William and Norman Baty
Bill and Norman are brothers who still live in Whickham. In their younger days they were well known international cyclists. They are still very much involved in cycling, even taking part in 100 mile rides.
Norman had a cycle shop in Dunston. It was opposite the Cross Keys Public House and next to Roberts the Printers. These have now been demolished.
John Hogget
He owned Hogget's Food Products, a factory off Redheugh Bridge, he was noted for having produced the first flavoured potato crisps. He kept horses in a field on Broom Lane where the Health Club is now. He died on the 2nd February, 1980, aged 69.
William McKeag
William McKeag lived in Whickham at the corner of Millfield and Cornmoor Roads. He was a Solicitor, a Member of Parliament for Durham City and became chairman of Newcastle United Football Club. He was an Alderman and twice Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne. He always wore a pince-nez. He was a well-known figure in the district.
C. F. Robinson
This famous Victorian artist was born in the house at the bottom of Dog Loup in Whickham, this is the small lane which runs along the church wall to Church Chare.
William Bourne 1848-1926
William Bourn was a local historian and published histories of Whickham and other villages in this area. He was born in Whickham and attended Whickham Parochial School until 13 years of age when he left to work in Newalls Rope Works in Dunston. He later worked at Stephensons Engineering Works and Armstrongs Elswick Works both in Newcastle. In 1891 he was appointed School Attendance Officer until l913 when he retired through ill-health. He contributed to the Monthly Chronicle and the Parish Magazine as well as writing histories of local villages and families.
Ronald Kennedy and Maurice Chevalier
Ron was a teacher at Brandon. When the First World War started all the young men from the school joined the Durham Light Infantry. Ron was the only one of them to return. He was badly wounded and taken prisoner. A German doctor saved his life. While in the POW camp, an officer asked in the Sergeant's mess if anyone could teach a French officer English. Ron volunteered and was introduced to Maurice Chevalier, who was a very good pupil with a good ear, even picking up the Durham accent.
Ron came home, married, and eventually came to Whickham Front Street School as headmaster.
He met Maurice in London and asked him how he got his new accent. Maurice replied "What is the point of being French and speaking like you?".
Maurice came to Whickham in l932 accompanied by his wife Yvonne. At that time Ron lived at Hillcrest at the top of Fellside Road. The house was besieged, there were so many people there that they pushed down the garden wall. Helen slept through the noise but it woke her sister Moyra and there were press pictures of her in Yvonne's arms.
Maurice Chevalier dining
with Ronald Kennedy
Maurice went to America with his one man show, the first person to do this, then in 1952 brought it to The City Hall, Newcastle.
A Maurice Chevalier
programme
Ronald Kennedy with
Maurice Chevalier
Signed photograph of M. Chevalier
The next time Maurice was in London he stayed at the Dorchester and booked the Kennedys in there too.
Ron and Maurice kept in touch all their lives, Maurice died in l972 and Ron in 1975.
Thomas Heron 1899-1977
'Skipper' Heron became Scoutmaster of 1st Whickham (St. Mary's) Scout Troop in 1916. Skipper was awarded the Medal of Merit for outstanding service in 1937 and appointed District Scout Leader in 1949. The Silver Acorn, one of the Scout Association's highest awards for dedicated service to scouting was awarded to him in 1955. He retired from scouting in 1976, a presentation was made to him in January 1977and he died in July 1977.
One of the biggest events of his scouting life was a play presented in St. Mary's church hall in Whickham in 1923 to raise money for the troupe to attend the Empire Jamboree. The Jamboree was attended by scouts from 25 countries as well as the founder of scouting Lord Baden-Powell and author Rudyard Kipling.
Dr Thomas Nicholson Wilthew
Doctor Thomas Nicholson Wilthew lived at Hillcrest until 1922 when he moved to Ravensworth Road, Dunston. He had a day surgery at Whickham in 1914 and another at Swalwell in 1934.
Raymond Hudson
Raymond Hudson, known to his friends as Rocky, was a well-known footballer from Dunston. He played for Newcastle United in the seventies for four seasons but did not have a great deal of success.
He went to the United States in1976, to try his luck in the North American Soccer League. He loved everything about America and for thirteen years played football for Fort Lauderdale Strikers lining up with such notable players as George Best and Gerd Muller. He was later made captain and played against international stars such as Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff and Pele.
He had many fans; James Last (bandleader) and Brian Johnson ( of AC/DC, another Dunston lad) are two of the most famous. On one occasion, when James Last was playing at The City Hall, Ray's father and mother were invited to the concert and he met them in the interval and told them that he enjoyed Ray's style of football.
When his playing career was over he had a business cleaning swimming pools, together with doing some football commentating and coaching children in a local youth league. Last year he was doing a T.V. commentary for the Miami Fusion team, who were not doing well with their Brazilian coach. The owners asked him to come in as a caretaker manager and they won their first three games.
This is his first year as a top manager and he has taken the team from Major League no-hopers to Eastern Division Champions in just one season. He still returns to the North East regularly, not only to see his family but also scouting for players.
Ray's parents Doris and Wilf still live in Whickham.
Control Commission, Germany, October 1945-1946. Mary Holmes' Memories
After the defeat of Germany in 1945, a Control Commission was set up to support the Military Government, which was in place at that time. This Military government was gradually phased out and the Control Commission took over the role of " Local Government. It was responsible for Public Safety and Health, Transport, Intelligence (which included rooting out Nazis), housing etc. The advanced HeadQuarters was in Berlin. Recruits had to be 21 and were recruited from, civil servants and foreign office and demobbed force's personnel. The Control Commission gradually replaced the Military Government, becoming in fact the "Local Government".
Mary Holmes joined the commission just after her 21st birthday; she was posted to a division, which was at Bunde, near Bielefeld in Westphalia.
Working in the office was much the same as being at home. Life in general was certainly very different. The staff lived in an army type mess with army cooks! It was thought that some of the food meant for the staff ended up on the very active black market.
Uniform was worn (which was neither shape nor make) and army type rules had to be obeyed. There was a curfew at 9.00p.m. No fraternisation with local people was allowed. Germans had to step off the pavement to allow the British to pass by.
One compensation, was the social life, friends were made with work colleagues or ATS, many of whom, when demobbed returned to serve with the Control Commission.
Weekend passes were available to Paris and Brussels. On visiting Brussels for the first time Mary was amazed at the variety of goods in the shops compared with the shortages in Britain.
There were many parties, mainly organised by males competing with different and wilder ideas to attract the very few females available. To reach the American zone (where the best parties were) you had to travel through the Russian control points where security was very strict. The curfew had to be carefully adhered to or you would be stuck there all night and not get to work on time the next day!
Sadly Mary's mother became ill and she returned home to take care of her parents and siblings.
Mary came across many characters during her time there. One girl bought a Dachshund and decided to take it home when she went on leave. She drugged the dog with aspirin and took it on board ship in a zipped up shopping bag!
Another girl took tea and sugar and coffee from the mess (everyone wondered why there never was enough to go round) then took it home to sell. She then bought aquamarine gemstones to mount on silver obtained by melting silver spoons, which she had brought from England, returning to England on her next leave with jewellery to sell!
Fred and Jean Howitt
...were the landlord and landlady of the Coachman's Public House and always had a good display of flowers around the pub.
Fred and Alan Martindale, a customer, built the large planters which stand outside. The stone they used was from Sam Curry’s Electrical shop on Front Street and the soil too was donated by David Foggin from the grounds of his property. Jean won first prize in the Britain in Bloom competition for the best kept commercial premises.
Fred restarted the Leek Club and won second prize in his second year.
In the late 1970’s The Coachmans was used as a school-room by the pupils of the Parochial School because of a caretakers strike. Television cameras took pictures to publicise the use of pubs during the strike. Jean said that the cleaners had their work cut out cleaning everything in the early morning before the children came. She also remembers the time after a refurbishment when there were no ladies toilet facilities in the bar area. The ladies had to go out of the bar and walk around the back of the pub and into the lounge area where there were toilets. Alterations were later made to access the toilets from the bar by knocking a hole in the wall between the bar and the snug.
Whickham Memories 1954
That was the year that as Ann Riches, I married William (Bill) Urwin. Having lived in the Teams area of Gateshead until I married, it was wonderful after living in an upstairs flat to move into a new three bedroom, semi-detached house, in Whickham!
The house in Park Drive, Whickham, was one of the first private houses built by Alec Watson when permits for private building were issued. The Police houses built in Duckpool Lane, being the first houses built by him after the war. It was exciting to watch the houses being built and view the various stages imaging the day we’d move in and it would be our first home. We moved into number 3, on the 4th of December 1954. The lounge was a lovely big room, we had a carpet on the floor and net curtains at the windows to mask the fact that the room was empty of furniture.
It was hard at first to settle down as I was working at Proctor and Gamble in Gosforth, and had to leave home at 7.30 am to catch two buses to get there in time. There were no houses in Lambton Avenue then just fields right across to Swalwell, so it was easy to see if the 89 bus was in the distance and decide whether to walk or run to catch it. The fare was 5d single to Newcastle or Gateshead, and 9d return or 4s for 12 journeys.
In 1956, our daughter was born which was wonderful! I gave up working in an office but worked in the house instead.
One of the penalties of going into Whickham to shop was the fact that there still were no paths or roads and if wet, the pram, my pride, was a Silver Cross pram which kept sticking in the mud. I don’t know which was worse, going up or coming down.
There was a good selection of shops in Front Street then - Hadrian, Laws, Co-op, fruit shops, paper shops and the cottages along toward Back Row were lovely to look at. I was glad that some of the trees that were in their front gardens were left when the houses were demolished for the shops that now form St. Mary’s Green. Old ladies used to sit outside their doors in the afternoons wearing their white pinnies that were dazzling in the sun when it shone. The assistants in Hadrian and Thompson Red Stamp Stores always gave biscuits to the children when mums were shopping.
There have been many changes in the village since we came to live here. Whickham is not the little village we moved into but the camaraderie still exists. People always exchange greetings when meeting in the street.
We attended West End Methodist Church enjoying the fellowship and doing various duties for the church. In 1980, a new church was built in Ancaster Road and all members transferred thereThe green outside St. Mary’s Church is the responsibility of the council; the flowers there get better each year.
The Britain in Bloom Committee was formed in 1980 Bill was one of the first members due to his love of gardening. I was co-opted in 1998 onto the committee and enjoy serving on it, doing duties at the various shows in Lobley Hill and the Spring Flower Show in Whickham.
Park Drive now has a road, pavements, houses opposite and a smart permanent brick building built in 1960 to replace the wooden hut used by the Whickham Scouts.
The bank doesn’t get any easier but Whickham is a great place to live in.
Whickham Winters
From the early nineteen hundreds reaching up to approximately the nineteen sixties Whickham often experienced very severe winters. In the earlier part of the century there was ice and snow which lasted for days, sometimes even weeks.
After one of these heavy snow storms Whickham Council arranged to have a snow plough pulled through the village by several horses. Each horse had its own handler who would sit on its back with a cushion for a saddle. The horses were harnessed up like husky dogs pulling a sledge and always had a great leader.
On one occasion, there were two well groomed and cared for horses, in polished harnesses and shining
brassware. These belonged to the council, but the rest of the horses were supplied by various carting contractors such as Wright and Huston from Whickham, Beasley of Dunston and Oxley from Swalwell. The leading horse was owned by Ord Wright who had a stable on the Croft. It was a big black boney nag with a torn and tattered harness but was regarded as the strongest and most willing horse in the district.
The plough went up Fellside Road where there were drifts of snow up to three feet deep and ten to thirty yards long. The young people followed the plough.
That evening when the roads were almost clear of the normal horse traffic, crowds gathered on Whickham Bank to do a sleigh run from Whickham to Swalwell. This run which was about three quarters of a mile in length took them two or three minutes. Mary Minto remembers doing this run with her friends and family and having to haul the sledge all the way back up the hill.
On one occasion Dora Silcock broke her leg whilst sledging down the Bank and she got into big trouble from her mother, as her mother had forbidden her to go sledging.
Of course there were no fancy sledges in those days. All families made sledges of their own, of varying descriptions.
The sledgers could reach an uncontrollable speed on this run. Steering was by foot alone. Sledgers trailed their feet to guide them one way or the other. There would be a thunderous roar of sledges speeding in the night. It really was a good night's sport if you could achieve two runs.
There were three other places to go sledging. One was just off West Street which was popular being about 150 yards, not as exhilarating as Whickham Bank. Another popular run was down through the Chapel Fields to Swalwell. The third place was named Hilly Howley, a field west of the churchyard wall. It was not as long a run, but was very fast with the hummocks and dips towards Coalwell Cottage.
There was often a brazier at the top of the field, next to the garden wall, which was a great comfort to the sledgers. The boys used to collect coke, fill the brazier up, then roast potatoes which would be ready when they returned.
At weekends during daylight, Carr Pond was the place to be for sliding on ice. The Carr Pond was situated on Windy Hill. Very few people had ice skates in those days. Ted and Betty Kerrigan were said to be quite artistic on ice. Betty, a school teacher, was able to perform a cute figure of eight on her skates.
The code of dress for these activities was trousers for men, women, boys and girls. This would be the only time you would see women or girls wearing trousers. The ladies often had to borrow their brothers pit hoggers (short fustian trousers worn by pitmen) to wear during these leisure times.
All the fields, including the Carr Pond, are now housing estates.
Memories of Bill and Betty Oloman
Billy the youngest of four children to Mr and Mrs Oloman was born, in a house belonging to his grandparents, on the 22nd January 1922. Billy's grandfather was the coachman to Mr Hunter (of the Tyneside ship building family). The cottage was the Coachman's Cottage, Grange Farm, Burnthouse Lane. The Hunter's lived in a big house on Burnthouse Lane.
There was a fire at the big house. It was so badly damaged they did not bother to rebuild it. There was a small section which was habitable. An elderly brother and sister belonging to the Hunter family did stay there for a short time. They were quite elderly and died shortly after the fire. Billy said there were a number of houses along Burnthouse Lane including Laundry Cottage, Dinsdale House,(which was built by Blyths of Birtley Brickwork fame), Green Shutters and Appletree House.
Billy thought it quite amusing that his grandfather who was a teetotaller lived in a house which one day would become a pub.
Billy's father, William Oloman, was a time-served joiner and a clerk of works for various councils. During the war he worked as an assessor for the War Damage Commission.
Billy's father built a house on Grange Lane for his family to move into.This property is still standing and is near Westacres Avenue. The house was named 'Dryburgh' for Pastor William Dryburgh, who had been a Presbyterian Minister at the Ebenezer Chapel, Swalwell. The Oloman family, having been Presbyterians at one time, had great respect for this gentleman. Pastor William Dryburgh was the father of Margaret Dryburgh who had died in a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp.(see People of Note,Swalwell)
Billy and Betty Roberts married in the Parish Church of St. Mary the Virgin on the 17th November 1942. Unfortunately they would only have three days together before Billy had to rejoin his regiment. They would not see each other again until December 1945 when Billy came home for a month's leave.
Betty's father had come to Whickham to work as a manager at Easey's farm. The whole family had to help out. When Betty got older she drove the milk cart delivering milk. She was offered the job of Dairy Maid with a cottage to live in so was able to provide a home for Billy when he returned from the war. The cottage on Windy hill was demolished to make way for The Broadway.
Betty and Billy have one daughter Wendy who was born in 1947 and a couple of grandchildren.
Bill and Betty have lived for several years in Park Cottage, School Lane, Whickham. They have been prominent members of the community all their lives. In 2002 they will celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary.
Park Cottage near the old
Parochial School buildingOnce confirmed into the Church of England, Billy became a very active member of the Parochial Church Council, Sides Person, Server, and Reader. Billy was Church Warden for St. Mary's for several years. Betty has always been a very active member of St. Mary's Parish Church, working on many things including several fundraising events.
Billy had the distinction of being the first Conservative Member on Whickham Urban District Council.
Billy Oloman died in Febraury 2007.
Memories of My Younger Days by Thelma Liddle
Betty Oloman's father worked at Easey's Farm in Whickham and Betty used to deliver milk by means of a horse drawn milk cart to local houses and the shops. The milk would be in big churns and the people would pour the milk from the churns into jugs. As Betty had to pass our house, in Cheviot View, to return to the farm, she would often give us a lift to school. This really was the treat for the day, going to school on the milk cart. Easey's Farm is where the riding stables are today.
In those days, north beyond Cheviot View, there were no houses. It was all just fields, which were called the Banky fields. Almost every winter, it never failed; the children were out on their sledges sliding down the hill.
After the war, in about 1945, Thelma remembered that they held bonfires on the Church Green; the Church Green was not what it is like today, in fact, the green was quite rough and not landscaped. There were bonfires there in November and they also held special bonfires there to celebrate both Victory in Europe and Victory in Japan day. Also bonfires were built in the Rectory field.
Thelma remembers seeing the one in the Rectory field. She said it was absolutely enormous and everybody was there. After that it sort of caught on. Every May they would have a May Queen. They would have a bonfire the night after the May Queen had been picked and the May Queen would go through the village on a decorated float.
Nearly every year one of the Scott's girls would be chosen to be May Queen. This went on for about eight or nine years. The bonfires held in November were also held on the Church green.
Ron and Thelma related a story which Skipper Heron told them about an incident when war had been declared. He and somebody else had hidden all the church silver and other church items so that if ever any Germans came up this way they would not be able to get the silver from the church. They hid it underneath the altar.
They also attended many evenings down at the Old Scout Hut. One in particular, which stands out, is when Skipper Heron showed them some wonderful old slides of the Life of Whickham. These slides, by the way, were not the plastic film of today, but made of glass.
The scout hut was a popular place for dances and social gatherings, typical old fashioned dances and socials where the girls all sat on one side of the room waiting to be asked to dance and the lads on the other. The Miners Welfare, now Whickham Sales room, held dances and this was the most popular place for holding wedding receptions.
There was a sweet shop called Donaldson's where they bought their sweets. It was absolutely wonderful when the sweets came off ration and we could have the choice of the shop.
Bill (William ) Thew. Morpeth U3A
"Living in the Colliery houses, Broadpool Green, an idyllic spot built in the middle of a "Parkland" with surrounding fields, trees, copses and views to Sheriff Hill and Penshaw Monument."
"A night watchman together with his coke brazier and canvas shelter. He was an elderly man who stayed there all night tending the red oil lamps along the road workings.
When the snow arrived it was everyone to the "Chapel Fields", these being the fields between Whickham and Swalwell. What a ride this was and what a walk back."
The Church Green wasn't green and was a rough surface where the annual "Hoppings" came and where all other events were celebrated, such as the Coronation of George VI with singing, processions and bonfires etc.
In Church Chare the large hall was used for Silent Films and when the chairs were moved for roller skating.
"The Woodman's Arms Public House was a house with two rooms, the bar and the singing room or best end."
"The Gibside Estate was used during the last war as a training ground for the Army and the Home Guard for grenade and Sten gun practise etc., the canteen being in the now derelict hall."
" When Gateshead Council took over Whickham Urban District Council the village lost its identity and became a suburb."
I enjoyed my childhood in Whickham, and these are just a few of my recollections.
John Handy (born 1904) remembers
After leaving school in July 1919, having difficulties finding work and finally finding work in October as an office boy at Hall Laidlers Shorthand School, Grainger Street, Newcastle.
Walking to Swalwell Station each morning to catch the 8.40 train to Newcastle, then running to Grainger Street, arriving just in time at 9am. returning in the evening and finding the walk up the hill so much harder!
His father giving up his job at Armstrong Whitworths to build three terrace houses in Whaggs Lane, living in one of them and eventually buying houses in Dunston the rents of which supplied their income (supplemented by occasional building jobs)
Leisure time spent as scorer at Whickham Cricket Club and travelling by bicycle to away matches at Swalwell, Blaydon and Ryton whilst the others travelled by open topped charabanc- very uncomfortable!..
Progress from a bicycle at 21 to a 2 stroke motor cycle made at Scotts of Elswick, then moving on to a BSA.
A Whickham man named Taylor, who lived in Burnside Lane making cars on Scotswood Road, made perhaps 40 and then gave up. Finally progressing to a car himself when he married and moved to Newcastle.
Working as a supervisor of the shorthand writers (all male who had to achieve 200 words a minute and worked at courts in the area and various Government Enquirers in the North of England) receiving and arranging the typing of the text.
Retirement 1971.
Returning to a new bungalow at Whickham, built on land he had known as a farm and seeing many, many changes. Finding new houses, roads, shops, schools and many local landmarks gone. Whickham at least twice the size.
"I have seen many changes since 1971 but still enjoy living in Whickham where I intend to end my days".
My First Day at St Mary' s School Whickham-1997
“My first day at school was very good. At 7 o’clock my Mum woke me up. I bounced out of bed, raring to go. I got washed and dressed into my grey dress with a pleated bottom. Also I had my light blue polo shirt with my grey tights and black shiny shoes. When I was ready I brushed my hair and looked at myself in the mirror. This was it! I was starting school and I wasn’t really nervous, mostly excited. As I walked down the stairs my Mum popped out with the video camera, taping every step I made. I have always wanted to go on the bus and today I was getting on it.�?
“I remember I put on my uniform. My polo shirt and grey pants with a blue sweater. My Mum used to drive me to school at 8.45am. On certain days we went into the computer room and went on the computers. My Mum picks me up in the car at the end of school.�?
“I was on the bus and my Mum was holding my hand and tightly squeezing it. She said ‘I don’t want you to go but you have to’. My Mum looked for my name in the cloakroom. I was right in the middle. Above my name was a picture and I was a yellow and orange ice-lolly. In the classroom I remember seeing lots of toys and bright colours. There was a bright red carpet and at the far end there were loads of children just like me. Some were crying and some just sitting there by themselves. I sat next to my teacher. I was nearly under her chair�?.
“I was really excited but still very nervous when I started school. My Mum took a photo of me in my new school uniform. My Mum took me to school. Then I came back on the bus. I had loads of fun. I played in the water and sand-box. On the second day I cried and didn’t want to leave my Mum, but then I had fun.�?
“When I got in we put our coats on pegs. Each peg had a name on and a picture. Mine was a tree. We went into the classroom and the teachers introduced themselves. They had made name bands for us, and when the register was called you got your name-band which went round your waist, like a belt. I had school dinner and reception always goes in first.�?
“I was looking forward to being in ‘big’ school, as I called it. I walked into what looked like an interesting classroom. It was great playing in the sand and water.�?
I remember there were children that looked like giants. A teacher came out of the door and rang the bell. My Mum took me to line up. All the giants were going in first and our line went in. I started to cry because I was nervous but excited. My teacher showed me around. It was cool. Our class, Reception, had our own toilets. After dinner the teacher read everybody a story and I fell asleep. The story was Little Red Riding Hood.�?
My teacher was really nice and kind. She showed us all of the classrooms. I remember this girl put sand in my hair and then soaked me with water. Sometimes I missed my Mum and felt like crying but I was scared in case some of the big boys and girls laughed at me. I had an older brother but he was usually too busy playing football. Playtimes were great, but I often got knocked down by the crazy kids. They were huge.�?
“My first lesson was sponge painting and at the end of the day I got a ‘well-done’ sticker.�?
“My Mum was telling me to remember to hand in my Dinner Money and to be sensible and careful. I made a lot of friends that day and it made me happy to know that I wouldn’t be alone at playtime.�?
“When I got there I peered round the corner and started to cry. I felt as if I was tiny because all of the other children were massive compared to me. At lunch time I saw all of the other children eating their dinner. I had dinner too. I thought the dinners were lovely�?.
“ Reception was great! I remember friends who were cool. We did everything together. We would make up games and we would go to each other’s houses for tea. I had a friend. We would have ‘sleep-overs’ and joint birthday parties. Everything was really fun. I felt very special with all my friends around me. It was fantastic.�?
Scrumping.
Unusual incidents during school years often stay in our minds throughout our lives.
As lads living in the West End, our leisure times were spent around the top of Whickham Bank, the Pit Corner and Cook's field off West Street. This would be around 1918-1922.
One night in late summer, an adventure of scrumping took place. Six of us lads walked along to the East End. The venue was the orchard on Duckpool Lane.
We had quite a successful night, apples and pears stuffed up our gansys, caps full of gooseberries and redcurrants. It was dusk returning to the West End. It was a never-ending chew, chew besides giving some of our loot away to other boys on the way. I had a belly ache all night and dare not tell mother. Next morning at school it was the same story from other boys.
After the Assembly prayers and calling the register in the main hall, the master called out names - mine included - to come before him.
Alas, someone had blabbed and grassed, we got a severe telling off and a lecture on trespass and stealing other people's property.
Florence Wood's Memories of her father and of Dunston Hill Hospital
My father, William Henry Thompson, was born in West Hartlepool on the 31st March, 1894, the eldest of six children. He left school at 14 and went to live and work on a Yorkshire farm.
When the First World War broke out in 1914 he volunteered immediately and joined the Green Howards. He was in the second contingent to arrive in France, when the first army arrived, the Kaiser, when informed of the number of men in it, said 'that contemptible little army', these men then became known as the 'old contemptibles'.
The second army was much bigger so no comment was made about them. The second army marched across France to the front line, with full pack. They became tired and thirsty and so stopped at street pumps for water, only to find that some of the French had chained these pumps so the British army could not get water. They continued tired and thirsty until they reached their camp for the night.
Sometime in 1916 my father was wounded in the leg and after being sent to the field hospital was sent to England to recuperate for a few weeks and then sent back to France. In 1918 he was wounded in the arm and while he was lying semi-conscious in a shell hole with his arm outside it, a stray bullet hit him in the wrist. This time during his recuperation in England the war ended, so he did not go back to France.
At some point during the war, the Germans sent gas over the British lines which badly affected my father's lungs . In later years because of his weakened lungs, he developed pleurisy every winter and pneumonia a few times. The doctor informed my mother that his body was at least 20 years older than his age because of what he went through during the war.
It was then found that his arm, wounded at the elbow, had not been set properly at the field hospital, so the ends of the bones did not join completely. The ends of the bones not joined together began to decay and so he had inflammation and great pain for the rest of his life. The wrist and leg wounds healed completely but bits of shrapnel worked their way out of his leg right up to the year he died.
In 1935 he was sent to Dunston Hill Hospital as it was thought they would find something to relieve the pain and inflammation. My mother visited him there every week. There were many men in the hospital who lived there all their lives as they had no-where else to go. Some had relatives, but because they were badly wounded or shell shocked, the relatives would not have them back. All the men wore blue suits in the hospital. After a few months he returned home but wasn't much better, so he was sent back in l937. Again my mother visited him every week, and on one memorable occasion took we three children with her. I remember the train journey to Newcastle and then a bus from Marlborough Crescent to Whickham. We were made a great fuss of by the men as they rarely saw children. One very cheerful man had had his legs amputated at the knees and he could move faster on his stumps than most of the other men on their feet. He would jump from the floor to his bed and then jump from bed to bed around the ward. He had a wonderful spirit and kept the ward entertained with his antics and jokes. Again my father returned home after a few months but never returned to the hospital because of the Second World War. He died in 1958 aged 64, which was quite a long life considering his health and experiences. He and my mother were married 35 years but she was a widow for 45 years as she lived until she was 101 years old.
Kathleen Bambrough remembers.
Memories of a Whickham childhood in the ‘40’s
Katleen Bambrough age 3.
It was a good place to live, the village where I was born. Like dozens of others in the northeast it had a pit, a post office, shops, churches, Miners Welfare Hall and we had a Picture house.
The village was in the countryside, we children played hide and seek in the grain fields. Once there was a haystack to climb, with difficulty, but the view from the top was worth it. Such fun we had with the bales of hay spilling over us as we slid back down to the ground. We made an awful mess. The farmer never had another haystack in that particular place again; it was too near the houses.
The back lanes in between the rows of Council Houses were ideal places for children to play. We were even allowed to play out at night in the lamplights and told not to wander off. If we were feeling daring, we might have a game called “Knocky Nine Door�?, pull the thread we had attached to a letter box and then run away and hide, when someone answered the door.
Skipping ropes were popular, also bouncing small balls against a wall. We sang various rhymes with these games. The boys played football and marbles, the girls Top and Whip. The wooden top was chalked with a pattern on the top of it.
Washing the family clothes took all day - always on a Monday.
The washing machine had to be filled with buckets of hot water. The handle on the top of the washer had to be pushed endlessly back and forth to agitate the clothes to get them clean. Then the clothes had to be rinsed and put through the mangle.
Other loads of clothes had to go through the same process. Finally the water was drained away by a hose attached to the washing machine. The scullery was always full of steam. The washing could be hung across the back lanes to dry but we did have a back yard.
I dreaded the coal man coming.
He would open the sacks of coal and pile them up into a big heap outside the coalhouse door in the back lane. Never on a Monday! Two of us had to shovel the coal into buckets and then tip them through the door at the top of the coalhouse. There was another door into the coalhouse in the backyard. It was hard work removing the coal; my sister and I had to help the same as the lads in the family.
The living room was the only warm room in the house. We would pull the couch up to the coal fire and your cheeks could burn but your back would be cold. Mam would sit and do her proggy mats there. I tried a few times to help, but it was hard work on your fingers. My main job was cutting the rags up into strips ready to be worked into the mats.
Mam had a treadle sewing machine. She did plenty of patching and mending on it. I remember when my pinafore dress got too short for me, she put pieces of material into the shoulders to lengthen it, never mind that the armholes went down to my waist. I had to go to the Senior School dressed that way. You could always pick out the children who were not well off.
Our bedrooms were not heated, no duvets then or double glazing. No fitted carpet on the floor - just oilcloth with a piece of carpet near the bed if you were lucky. On really cold nights when ice formed on the inside of the windows, we piled our coats onto the bed to keep warm.
One of my brothers kept birds’ eggs under the bed, a hobby in those days, now it is illegal. The eggs nestled in cotton wool in wooden boxes. You had to put holes in the eggs with a needle and then suck the liquid out or they went bad inside. I loved to look at them, so delicate and all sizes and colours.
The local Picture House showed three different pictures a week, with two performances a night. The queue would form in the back lane for the second house to go in. It was good value with a ‘B’ picture or cartoons first, then the news, and trailers for the pictures showing the following week before the main picture came on. If the reel of film broke in the middle of a showing there was much stamping of feet and whistling until they fixed it.
Oh Happy Days!
Helen Nordmann. At School in Whickham.
In 1931 when I was 8 years old I started Whickham council school as it was then called. I was glad to have left my infant school in Durham, as I was terrified of the head master. He would burst into the classroom and grab some screaming 5 year old to his room for a beating and I had nightmares thinking he would pounce on me.
In my new school I had no such worries, as the head master was my dad Mr Kennedy. I was put in Miss Longstaff’s class. Later I heard she had been told never to make me a monitor or single me out in any way. At that age I could not understand why I was never chosen for anything but it meant I was popular with the other girls. In fact some of them thought it was not fair! After all these years I can remember their names, the Turner twins, Hilda and Marjorie, Joan Morpeth, Della Gibuns, Rose Guthrie and the teachers Mr Emmerson, Mr Kempton, Mr Ruddick and Mr Parker. Mr Ruddick took music and produced fine choirs but woe betide any one who came late or missed a practice. Mr Parker was a quiet man who rarely used the strap. His woodwork room was at the top if the stairs and always seemed to be full of boys absorbed in what they were doing. He also took over the school garden which was behind the Hermitage. When Mr Parker got promotion Mr Green took over and later Major Johnson.
As well as Miss Longstaff the women teachers were Miss Hutchinson, Miss Harbut, Miss Veitch and Miss Green who took cookery down the stairs. My father’s room was upstairs with a view of the boys' yard. The girls' yard was on a vicious slope with dreadful toilets at the bottom. These were only used in a dire emergency. Actually the school has not changed much. The toilets are inside but the oblong hall with classrooms leading off on either side has not changed. All equipment is vastly improved but there is no woodwork or cookery as all the children move on at the age of 11.
When I was there the infant department was in charge of a rather vague lady called Miss Melvin. Her main aim was for her pupils to recite a poem for the chapel anniversary. I often heard my father say that he could never discuss anything with her as she insisted he heard a poem. She was also very deaf and would not admit to it. Hearing aids were not in use so many bizarre exchanges took place. My father heard the following. Small boy, “Please miss can I leave the room? Puzzling reply, “Yes pet get one in the cupboard?". I remember wishing I could say a piece at the anniversary but I went to the Church of England.
I felt safe at school despite the strap being used, as the main method of keeping order especially by 2 of the men. It was a quiet hard working place. My father was popular as he was firm but fair. I hated the way he asked every morning how I had done in mental arithmetic, which we had to do every morning. I don’t think I ever got 10 out of 10, 6 or 7 was the norm and not good enough. I did not like arithmetic at all though I knew my tables. The 11 plus exam dominated those early years. There were far too few places at Blaydon Grammar School for the large catchment area it covered. So many bright children missed their chance and if a school got more than 4 scholarships out of a class of 30 it was very good. Without any pressure I just knew how much it would mean to my father if I got a place. I was a voracious reader so I was good at English and had no problem with intelligence tests but my arithmetic dodgy and hating it and being scared did not help! As well as those interminable arithmetic lessons I did not like Group Reading. As I had the designated book finished first session and then had to endure weeks while the slower readers stumbled through it.
Another lesson caused problems and that was Needlework. I kept losing my needle and when I found it I could never thread it. My stitches were uneven and I always was way behind the others. Poor Miss Hutchinson despaired so much that on one occasion she told me to take the horrible grubby overall home and finish the seam. Needless to say I did not rush to do it and as my mother was a firm believer in a fixed bedtime I was ordered upstairs and SHE would finish it. As she was no better than me her handiwork was met with horror. “Take these stitches out,? shrieked Miss Hutchinson. “They are worse than ever", I seethed, lost my needle and was in a bad state when I confronted my unrepentant mother. Now my dad was a lovely man but guileless and innocent in many ways and he found the episode funny and actually told Miss Hutchinson who did not find it amusing at all and was mortified. So this trivial episode caused distress all round and I have never forgotten it.
In the years I was at this school Whickham was a PIT village with 2 working mines. Many boys joined their fathers and uncles working underground at 14. The girls went into service and worked for pitiable wages until they married. There were 2 commercial colleges teaching shorthand and typing and they were an escape for those who could pay the fees. It is hard to believe that in those days there were no facilities at all in the village. Once a week in the school hall in the evening Library was held. This meant battered trunks were hauled out and a meagre selection of books was displayed. How I longed for a new book but in vain.
As there was no park the streets were our playground and the Pit streets were ideal. Oh, the games we played and the fun we had! Often I would go into a house and to me they were wonderful. There was generally a blazing fire a lovely smell of baking, a baby to be nursed and on rare wonderful occasions a miner playing the accordion. My own house did not compare well!
I hated the girls' yard and I believe that today the vicious slope still causes problems. I confess that in the winter the slides were magnificent but the rest of the year it was awful. My friends and I were great at bays and I regularly spent half my week’s pocket money on a block of chalk bought at a shop next to the school gates from a nice lady called Mrs Egglestone. With the rest of my penny I would buy a concoction called a soda lunch. My mother behaved as though it was poison, but I liked them as the sherbet could last a long time!
Every year my father arranged a trip for the whole school. On one memorable occasion we all went to Edinburgh. It must have been hard to organise but it was a great success. We had a special train and we went to the zoo. I bought my mother a hideous tartan trinket, which I was sure she would love, as she was Scottish.
Other diversions within the school year were the choir festivals. Mr Ruddick always had a good choir and sometimes we won the shield. There were 2 festivals one in the City Hall and one at Ryton. Mr Ruddick was a very strict disciplinarian and to miss a choir practice was a mortal sin. As there were no school dinners if you lived a long way from the school it was not easy to get back in time but no excuses were accepted in those days.
Of course the boys always had the excitement of the football team in which my father took a keen interest. Somehow he got them all in a maroon and blue strip but even he could only manage one very precious leather football. It was prized and only used for home games. I heard years later that one teacher soaked the ball before a match. This made the ball as heavy as lead and he told the Whickham boys not to head it! My father would have been horrified IF he believed it. He was such a fair man he could not have believed in such unsportsmanlike behaviour.
One abiding memory I have is teachers pay day. There were no banks or cheques just actual money. My father went to the bank and collected the cash. It was then divided accurately and each teacher was called to collect, check and sign.
John Handy, born 1904, remembers.
Whaggs Lane as a mud track with very few houses, following his older sister to the Parochial School when she returned from lunch and the teacher allowing him to sit in a corner of the classroom, a large space divided by chairs into two classes.
Starting his school life officially at the new primary school on Front Street in 1910 and his sister joining him there.
Seeing Dr. Andy Smith riding his horse to visit patients.
Yearly visits to the culvert near Duckpool Lane to see young foxes, also seeing ducks on the pond.
Wandering freely on Gibside and Ravensworth Estates.
Making bats and balls with which to play cricket.
Playing football in winter with local lads in the Junior Football League and on one occasion with the Queen Mother on one of her visits to Gibside!
Royalty regularly visiting Gibside, travelling from Newcastle Central Station by coach.
Wearing clogs during the First World War.
Playing Knocky Door Neighbour and Jack Shine a Low, name for Miner's lamp.
Attending the annual flower show and games in a field at the bottom of Rectory Lane.
In his last year at school helping the Head Teacher with his war work, i.e. selling savings bonds etc.
Joyce Newton Remembers
Joyce, who lived in James Street, started Front Street Infant School in 1932, when she was about 5 years old. She had already been in school twice with her sister, when her mother had to go somewhere, so it wasn't a totally new experience for her. There were 4 classes in the school. The Headteacher was Miss Melvin, who taught English and Poetry. Joyce became very interested in poetry because of Miss Melvin's influence. The other teachers were Miss Wheatley, of whom Joyce was particularly fond, Miss Wilson who taught Maths and Miss Kay who taught Music.
The children always performed plays at Easter and Christmas. There was a school trip every year, which was usually to the coast.
When Joyce was 7, her family moved to a colliery house near Watergate, but she still attended Front Street School. The lunch break was one and a half hours, so there was time for Joyce to walk home to have her lunch. When her father was out of work her mother got a job, but she still went home to have lunch, as her father was there.
When Joyce was about 8 years old she moved up into the Junior School. The Head Teacher was Mr Kennedy. The other members of staff, most of whom lived locally, were Mr Kempton, who became Head at Whickham Secondary Modern, Mr Parker, the Woodwork teacher, Mr Ruddick, the Music teacher, Miss Cousins, Miss Hutchinson, the Sewing teacher, Miss Longstaff and Miss Harbutt. Joyce's first class teacher was Miss Longstaff.
Joyce particularly remembers going into the hall for Music, having lovely Christmas parties when the children were given food in a bag to eat at your own desk, and being given extra school milk, which she hated, because she had a pale skin.
When Joyce was 10, her family moved again and she went to Marley Hill School.
Bowls in Whickham
Bowls began in Whickham when Watergate Colliery Welfare provided a rink beside the tennis courts. This was well used until the outbreak of World War 2. .
When the pit ceased to produce coal and the miners' houses were sold the amenities fell into disrepair.
The Council developed Chase Park and planned to make it a central area for all the people of Whickham to enjoy. Sculpted flower beds, children's playground, "free areas," paths, a gazebo, two tennis courts and a bowling green were created. The Round Table raised funds for a paddling pool for children. The latter had to be removed as vandals had made it a target for their anti-social behaviour. Vandals now make the bowling green surface and club house a target for their pathetic activities. From the inception of Chase Park bowls has flourished. There are Men's teams, Ladies Teams, Mixed Teams and Veterans Teams- all playing in their set league, and with many friendly matches added. .
The Men's team play their matches at Marley Hill where security ensures that the surface of the green is good. It is interesting to note that the other sporting clubs of Whickham plus the police are patrons. Mr. Leadmann, a bookmaker, is a keen supporter and gives generous prizes e.g. £30 worth of betting as a first prize. In the winter months the keen players drop down to carpet bowls. .
Whickham Tennis Club
In the 19th century a group of enthusiasts hired some land on the Glebe and constructed 2 courts. They paid £2 a year rent to the Cricket Club and that is the only information extant today.
Watergate Colliery was in full production and the houses built for the miners were superior to the "Pit Streets." They were larger with more room for the big families. As was the custom, a Welfare Hall was constructed nearby. The council provided a bowling green and later three ash courts. For a nominal sum this mining community had access to bowls and tennis. .
In 1952 Mr. Alec Johnson decided to form a club, with rules and regulations. The emphasis would be on the social side and the encouragement of the young.
Members of the Watergate Welfare played for free.Outsiders paid 12 shillings and 6 pence. The club flourished for many years. Trophies were played for, Ladies and Men's Singles, Mixed Doubles and Juniors.
By 1958 the better players hankered for competition, they wished to play in the Local Leagues. This they did but the social element collapsed.
The Men's team did exceptionally well. They had Tuesday and Thursday nights for practice. Match day was Saturday. In time they reached the Top League in Northumberland and Durham.
Feeling that the club no longer belonged to them, vandalism grew and the difficulties, damage and expense, led to the rapid decline and finally the death of the club.
In Whickham Park, beside the excellent Bowling club, there are two hard courts, which are in a neglected condition, with holes in the wire netting and tennis nets hanging in a dismal state.
This does not mean tennis is unavailable for the people of Whickham. Near Blaydon Rugby Club, within the Derwent Park renovation area, a magnificent club has recently been opened. Lottery money has provided six all weather floodlit courts, a magnificent and spacious vandal proof club-house. There is coaching for juniors of all age groups, and everyone of whatever age or ability is welcomed. .
Whickham Swimming Club
Whickham Swimming Club is based at Dunston Baths on Dunston Bank.
Dunston Swimming Baths were opened on 12th July 1965 and cost £250,000 to build. The main pool is 82 feet long and 42 feet wide.
In October 1968 a Finnish Sauna facility was added.
Back to the leisure page
The Woodman's Arms Public House - Whickham
On a hilltop 583 feet above sea level with a tremendous view over the Tyne Valley stands the Woodman’s Arms.
A hundred years ago the pub was the centre of a thriving little community, mostly the dependents of Gibside all Hall and the Strathmore Estate. Most of the cottages that once stood near have gone.
Early in the 20th century a Mrs. Watson had the tenancy of the Woodmans Public House. It was a private pub, owned by the Watson Family, not run by a brewery like they are today. The Woodmans has been altered many times over the years from the original Woodmans which had the beer cellar on the same level as the bar. This is where the Pub got its name because they served the beer from the wood (wooden casks).
In the early thirties it was a house with two rooms; the bar and the singing room or best end. There was a wooden form outside where families could sit and enjoy a drink together (beer or shandy for dad, lemonade for mam and children).
Mrs. Bet Francis, a former barmaid, recalls the days when there used to be an annual flower show on the field across the road with a dance in a marquee at night and the colliery band from Marley Hill playing the music.
Later it was very popular at weekends with the locals, who boasted a very good "Glee Club".
"In the winter months there would be a huge roaring fire in the snug and all the people would squeeze in there to sit for a chat. Later on in the evening we would be entertained by either the Whickham Boys or just some of the regulars who would sing with piano accompaniment.
On summer nights people could be seen sitting in the car park area on low walls drinking a quiet glass of wine or beer, in fact whatever took you fancy. The children would sit there with their glass of pop. Everyone spoke to each other, no one was ever left out and when strangers came along they would be invited into the company and the conversations."
The Woodman's always had a reputation for good service.
In 1951 the Woodman's was taken over by Newcastle Breweries. The tradition of “live" music carried on into the 1970’s when Mr. Ridley Milton and his wife Ida ran the pub. At that time most of the trade was from regulars who came to hear the resident choir, “The Fellside Lilywhites, singing all the old songs. The pub was enlarged combining old and new building material in an attempt to keep the “country" flavour. It became a place to eat with a very good reputation for quality food.
The pub was enlarged in the sixties when it became a place to eat with a very good reputation for quality food and a good restaurant.
The Brewery then decided to change the pub into a `Funky Kindergarten Kind of Pub', friendly, fast food and standing room only in the bar area. The pub was revamped again a few years ago but has yet to reach the former glory it enjoyed when it had it's wonderful restaurant.
In 2000, a very different establishment from the early days!
Ye Olde Lang Jack - Whickham
Ye Olde Lang Jack has since its formation had three names. Originally called the Crown, in 1939 became the Rose and Crown and finally in 1999 became Ye Olde Lang Jack in honour of Jack English whose statue now stands outside the pub. This statue originally stood in a field off Fellside Road, the site of Jack English’s cottage.
The original Crown Hotel was built in the early 1900's. It was not just a pub, but a hotel with rooms to rent upstairs. This building was demolished in 1965 and the land was purchased by Bellways the Builders. Bellways built a supermarket, Moores, on the same site with the "The Rose and Crown" public house above the supermarket. The pub re-opened on 6th of January 1966.
The first landlord, who was a temporary Manager of the newly reopened pub, was a Mr Jepperson. He was there for only four months. Mr Jack Collins became the permanent manager in September of the same year and he was there for approximately 13 years. Other managers over the years were; Mr Jack Henderson; Mr Andy Nichol; and prior to her taking over the Coachmans Pub, Mrs Pat Hudson.
The pub closed again in 1999, but this time for only one month for major refurbishment. On the 16th of July it re-opened. The pub almost reverted back to its original design with pub facilities being on two floors. The upstairs has a lounge and function room and downstairs a very large bar with pool table.
The change of name, to Ye Olde Lang Jack, caused a few problems. The regulars of the pub went as far as starting up a petition to get the breweries to revert back to the old name of 'The Rose & Crown'. These people actually managed to get 64 names on their list requesting the owners to retain the old name but to no avail. The owners did not even acknowledge their complaint.
Just as a matter of interest, the bus route timetable still calls the pub by its former name of 'The Rose and Crown' and even the locals still refer to the pub as 'The Crown'.
The Bridle Path - Whickham
The Bridle Path, formerly The Three Tuns.
The Highwayman - Dunston
The "Highwayman", which was built in 1963, stands on Whickham Highway in pleasant surroundings with panoramic views of Newcastle. The decor in the "Tyburn" and "Turpin" rooms, with old pistols and old maps, reflects accurately its name, the "Highwayman". It is very popular with its clientele, especially the excellent dining facilities and large selection of meals.
One of the Landlords of the Highwayman was a gentleman called Bill Bonham. He and his wife Beulah always extended a warm welcome to the customers. This is one of the reasons for the happy atmosphere within the pub.
Mr Bonham introduced a new innovation to the bar, a "Shove Ha'penny" board, which attracted a great deal of interest from the regulars. The "Highwayman" was another one of the Whickham pubs who choose to support the local Dame Edith Brough Home for children. It gave the home a great deal of support, quietly and without fuss. This was a very worthy cause and was the measure of Bill and Beulah's sincerity.
The "Highwayman" boasts a very successful darts team. The impressive display of trophies on show in the bar is a tribute to the skill of the players and hard work of former organiser Don Wilson and secretary Billy Hutchinson. Another aspect of the darts team is shown in the letter of appreciation received from The Spastics Society for the generous donations collected after various matches.
The Coachmans - Whickham
The Coachmans stands opposite the site of two cottages, once part of an old Whickham estate, built many years ago. The Coachman's pub actually stands in what used to be Rutter's Farm. There was a driveway right up Burnthouse Lane for the farm and farmhouse, and the Big House.
The Pub stands very close to where the stables for the big house once were. There was apparently a large house on the corner of Burnthouse Lane and Grange Lane belonging to a Mrs. Kelly. The Kelly's were wealthy people who owned the farm and the Coachman's cottages.
There was an incline before you got to the coachman's garden, with a stile and a footpath. This was where the cottages were built. In one of the cottages there lived a lady by the named of Mrs. Elvin with her three children. Mrs Elvin had a little small holding there where she kept hens. The hens were given the run of the house as well as her smallholding.
Across from her cottage were the stables. This is where the Coachman's Pub is now situated. In the centre of Burnthouse Lane there were a number of cottages. One at the very bottom going towards Fellside Road called Laundry Cottage, (now Garth Cottage) as there was a well, where presumably they did the laundry for the Big House.
When the Coachmans was built it was not originally meant to be a Public House. It was built for a Mrs Fenteman who was going to live there, but she never went into it as a house. It was commissioned for her by a Mr. Wilkinson and built by Mr. Alex Watson. Mr. Wilkinson who had a pop business in Gateshead lived in Whickham Park. Eventually Watson's Builders bought the building themselves and extended it to make it into a Public House.
The pub has had many alterations over the years including one done by Scottish & Newcastle Breweries when they took the pub over. High standards of building were laid down. Increased accommodation around the nucleus of the existing buildings was required.
The main problem for the architects, Williamson, Faulkner, Brown and Partners, and consulting engineers, R.W. Gregory and partners, was to incorporate the new buildings in a way which would not detract from the appearance and performance of the new premises.
Every effort had to be made to preserve the rural aspect of the area and to preserve most of the existing trees. To succeed in this, to increase rather than detract from the rural aspect, heavily tiled roofs and substantial walls were used. The pleasant looking character of the premises was retained by eliminating windows, which faced onto the car park or the road and concentrating them upon views between the trees.
Some of the Previous Landlords: Mr. Jeff Dunn Mr. Joe Foreshaw was there for six years Mr. Fred Howitt and his wife Jean who were at the Coachmans for almost 17 Years Mrs. Pat Hudson was landlady for six years.
The Bay Horse - Whickham
The Bay Horse is the only Pub on Whickham's Front Street to keep its original name.
From 1905 there is a photograph outside the pub showing the participants of a charity football match.
In 1913 the landlord was John Arkless, who was followed in 1915 by John Buckhurst who remained until at least 1939.
By the 1970's the manager Arthur Washington and his wife Madeleine were the youngest couple with Scottish and Newcastle Breweries. They held many charitable functions whilst they were at the Bay Horse. Because of Arthur and Madeleine's camaraderie amongst their customers they were able to get the support they needed for the various charities. Beneficiaries of these events were the Edith Brough Home on Whaggs Lane, the Blake Avenue Home for Underprivileged Children and providing money for many trips for Senior Citizens.
Whickham Glebe Sports Club
Whickham Glebe Sports Club was opened on 2nd March 1974, on the Glebe Sports ground. The premises comprised a lounge, bar facilities, changing rooms for both Whickham Football and Whickham Cricket Clubs, a Committee Room and a cellar with a cooling system.
The first committee had three officials, Chairman - Allan Plews (Captain of Whickham C.C second team), Secretary - Gerry Oxley and Treasurer - William Nicholson together with five members representing the Football Club and five representing the Cricket Club.
Whickham & District Social Club
On the 6th June, 1904, a group of Whickham men inaugurated the Whickham and District Social Club. The Club was initially located in Front Street, Whickham, but soon acquired their present premises, originally a stone built farmhouse, part of which is still visible almost a century later. In 1910 affiliation with the C.I.U. took place, and later extensive alterations were carried out to the building.
The club has been re-styled several times since those early days and has always been a very popular venue for local people, who have been entertained in very spacious and impressive surroundings. The "Continental Room" has been recently refurbished with three snooker tables and the bar area is now being redesigned. These improvements should prove attractive to members who are assured of a friendly and hospital environment.
Mention must be made of officials, committees, staff, stewards and members past and present. Their loyalty to the Club has been unsurpassed, many having given over half a century of service and have brought the Club from its humble beginnings in a small cottage on Front Street, Whickham, to the present large and modern facilities.
Whickham & District Round Table No. 708
The National Association of Round Tables is an organisation for young men up to the age of 40 with the aim of promoting fellowship and a willingness to work for the community. Sponsored by Stanley Round Table, a Table was formed in Whickham in 1960. It was known as Whickham & District Round Table No. 708. It opened with more than twenty founder members. They, along with their Founder Chairman George Lane, met in the Bay Horse Whickham.
The Table grew from strength to strength and in 1964, under the leadership of Fund Raising Chairman George Pledger, organised a "Meals on Wheels Week Appeal". The objective was to provide entertainment for the community and at the same time raise hard cash so that a suitable van could be purchased for the local W.V.S. Meals on Wheels Service. This was to be used to distribute meals instead of having to operate from private cars. Different functions were arranged for every day of the week 23rd May to 30th May, the highlight being a Donkey Derby and Gala Day in Chase Park on the Saturday.
Such was the success of this week, two Mini Vans were purchased for the use of the W.V.S. who were able to provide two hot meals a week for at least 48 old people. The Table was also able to contribute to the old people's Luncheon Club in Dunston providing a hot meal and companionship for at least 30 pensioners.
Flushed with success Tablers organised the following year a "Whickham Carnival" from May 30th to June 5th on similar lines.
This again was well supported and achieved the target of being able to have installed in Whickham Chase Park a paddling pool for children.
For many years the local community eagerly awaited Carnivals, organised by Round Table, and many local causes benefited financially from the hard work and dedication of this band of young men.
1st Whickham St Mary's (32nd Gateshead) Scout Group
Boys from the Whickham Boys' Brigade Unit formed the Scout Group in 1915. A Mr. Thompson acted as the Scout Master. The first summer camp was held at Lintzford near Rowlands Gill. Trek carts being the form of transport in early scouting days, you could see them being pushed and pulled to Scout Camps laden with tents and other equipment.
In 1916 due to the sudden death of Mr. Thompson, Mr. Thomas Heron (Skipper) was appointed Scout Master. This was the start of 60 years of leadership by "Skipper" Heron. In 1920 a Wolf Cub Pack was formed, this enabled younger boys to experience scouting type activities. In 1924 the 1st Whickham Group sent a contingent of Wolf Cubs, Scouts and Rovers to the Empire Jamboree at Wembley.
The first group Field Day was staged in Chase Park, Whickham in 1928. This was a huge success and continues to this day. A Brass Band was formed in 1929 to lead the Armistice Day Parade through Whickham. At the outbreak of war, scouts became messengers, controllers and constructors of indoor air raid shelters and were also involved with fire-watching duties. There were many scout camps including one to Wimereaux in France in 1954. The cost of this was £23.7.0d each.
Skipper Heron died in 1977 but is remembered with affection. The new Scout Headquarters is named in his memory. Today the Group consists of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Venture Scouts.
Ann Urwin's Memories of the Scout Hut in Park Drive.
In 1926 a hut was erected in the street unnamed then but later called Park Drive. Mr Heron was the Skipper and really looked after boys from Cubs to Senior Scouts. He was dedicated to the boys work, taking them to camp with the help of others.
One of the events which was staged yearly was the "Field Day" which raised money to help to take the boys to camp. There was great excitement on this day in June, the grounds around the hut were big enough to house the many stalls set up and run by the scouts. Many parents helped to organise the games and mothers made and served teas in the hut. The Scouts and Cubs, lead by Skipper Heron, and leaders marched from the end of Fellside Road, through the village in spotless white uniforms. The Union Flag and Scouts Flag were at the front of the parade held by Scouts who walked behind the leaders. A salute was taken at the cenotaph then the parade marched down Park Drive - an impressive sight.
When we moved into our new house in Park Drive, Skipper Heron wanted to forge good relationships with neighbours, so we were invited to Country Dances with gramophone music on one Saturday in the month and we were glad to be asked to assist in the Field Day, which Bill, Christine and myself enjoyed .
The old hut was demolished and a new brick building erected - named Heron House - in memory and appreciation of the work done by Skipper Heron to train many, many boys in Scouting and Christian Faith. This building was opened in 1992 and serves a great need for boys who are interested in Scouting, and there are still dedicated leaders who run a full year's programme for the boys.
The group have a website at: http://www.1stwhickham.freeserve.co.uk
Whickham & District Ladies Circle No. 578
The National Association of Ladies Circles is an organisation for wives (and now partners) of Round Tablers.
The Whickham Branch was chartered on November 15th.1963 with Jean Pledger as Founder Chairman. There were 20 founder members.
Over the years the Ways & Means Committee was very active in raising money for charity. In fact Circle was the first organisation to have a Charity Shop in Whickham.
The Social Services Committee found ways of spending the money; from helping needy people in the Whickham area to adopting children suffering from leprosy in Africa.
However Circlers still had time to entertain themselves with cocktail parties, quiz nights, car rallies, the highlight of the year being a formal Dinner Dance.
By 1993 things had altered. Commitments had changed. From being a thriving club with about 30 members, only a few were left. The club closed May 1993. So sadly all those happy days are now only a memory but the friendships that were fostered working and playing together for the community have continued till this day.
Whickham Theatre Club
Whickham Theatre Club was founded in 1976 when a group of like-minded friends got together to form a drama club. Up until this time no such organisation existed.
Their first production was of J.B. Priestley's "When We Are Married".
Productions took place in Whickham School Hall, Sunniside Methodist Church Hall and now in St Mary's Centre, Whickham.
Two productions are presented per year; the Christmas one is now traditionally a Pantomime.
A production of "Godspell" was performed in St Mary's C of E Church in Whickham.
The Club meet on Thursday evenings at 7.30pm in St Mary`s Centre, Church Chare, Whickham.
University of the Third Age (Whickham and District)
In the autumn of 1994 Edna Proud decided that Whickham would be able to support its own U3A and she went to Ponteland U3A to find out more about the movement. Edna subsequently asked the members of a group she attended in Whickham if they would support her efforts by becoming a steering committee. Other people were also drawn in and a local Rotary Group donated £30 to assist with the expenses of a public meeting which was held in St. Mary's Centre on the 8th of March 1995.
Initially the members of the steering committee were D. Cline, G. Dunton, D. Ferguson, S. Gladston, J. Helm, A. Murray, D. Oates, E. Proud, D. Robson, D. Smith, E. Vanner, and H.and R. Wilson. Other people volunteered to join the steering committee at or after the launch.
The launch on 8th of March was attended by 90 people with 49 becoming members immediately. Edna Proud became Founder Chairman and it was decided that the name of the U3A should be Whickham District U3A, later changed to Whickham and District U3A. By the end of September 111 members had enrolled.
A monthly coffee morning began as a three-month experiment and never stopped! At first the coffee morning was to be a purely social event where members could meet and get to know members from the various groups. Then it was decided to put up the notices in order that every member could see what was available and what was planned.
Whickham Fellside WI
The Branch was formed in February 1971
Meets on the Third Monday in the Month (not in August) at 7.00pm in Whickham Community Centre.
The First President:- Mrs Margaret Rossiter
Whickham Probus Club
A meeting was arranged on Friday 22nd May 1993 at 10am at The Bay Horse in Whickham to which Rotary members invited certain persons whom they thought would be interested in forming a Probus Club in Whickham. Membership was not to be limited to members of Rotary but to others who had retired from business or the professions.
The meeting was chaired by local Rotary President, Alan Murray, who explained the workings of a Probus Club; how it is formed and managed. The aim being to have a congenial and friendly atmosphere. After much discussion it was decided to form a Mixed Club.
A Committee was elected as follows:-
President
Fred Brown
Vice President
Ron Wilson
Secretary
Colleen Graham
Treasurer
John Dixon
Registrar
Pat Graham
Speaker Finder
Ron Ramsay
Meetings were to be held fortnightly on a Friday, at 10.30am at The Bay Horse.
The Club is non-political, non-sectarian & non- religious.
An Annual General Meeting at which subscriptions are to be paid, is to be held in July before the summer recess. During the recess there is a "drop in" situation for members to call in at The Bay Horse for coffee & a chat. Speakers are invited to talk on a wide variety of subjects and outings & social events are to be arranged from time to time. As it is one of the few "mixed" clubs in existence, it was fitting that in July 1999 the first Lady President, Olive Simpson, was elected with Iris Alexander as Vice President.
"PROBUS" stands for:- The ASSOCIATION of RETIRED PROFESSIONAL PERSONS and BUSINESSMEN in LOCALISED CLUBS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
John Mather Past President 1998/99
Whickham Golf Club
Whickham Golf Club was formed on 22nd February 1911 at a meeting in Whickham Village Institute.
Lt Col J.W. Thompson of Whickham Park was elected as President. Messrs. J.E. Stafford, Head Clerk to the Land Agent, and J.B. Renton, Council Surveyor, were elected as joint Secretaries. R.W. Glass, Colliery Manager, was elected as Treasurer and Captain.
The Course was situated at the corner of Broom Lane and Sunniside Road. It consisted of 9 holes. 5 holes were on the east of Sunniside Road and 4 holes were on the west side in fields where Napier Court now stands.
During the First World War the course was closed for 2 years and reopened in 1919.
In 1920 there were 72 Gentlemen members, 41 Lady members and 1 Junior member. Visitors' fees were 1 shilling (5 pence) on weekdays and 2 shillings (10 pence) at weekends and holidays.
By 1925 the membership had increased to 82 Gentlemen, 78 Ladies, 7 Juniors and 1 Juvenile (?)
The Clubhouse stood near Broom Lane. It was a wooden pavilion with a verandah and had originally been the Clubhouse of the Polo Club at The White House, Burnhope, run by the Ritson brothers.
The greens and fairways were cut using a horse drawn mower, the horse wearing leather pads to protect the greens.
About 1935 a petrol driven mower was obtained. It was made from an old Austin 7 car converted by Atholl Campbell, owner of the Crown Garage which stood near the Rose and Crown (now the Olde Lang Jack).
In October 1936 a dinner was held in the Crown Hotel, Newcastle to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the Club.
Joseph Tate of Marshall Lands Farm grazed some of his sheep on the Golf Course.
In 1937 Whickham Council approved plans for a new clubhouse to be built at High Hollinside.
The course at Broom Lane was abandoned in favour of a new 9-hole course at Fellside on the Earl of Strathmore's Gibside Estate.
The first AGM was held on 30th March 1938. 9 holes were laid out and voluntary labour became a way of life for the members. Play began on 6th June1938. Of inestimable value was the agreement with the Northern Bus Company who ran an hourly bus service to and from the club. In 1939 the Second World War broke out. However golf was played throughout the war despite enormous difficulties.
Two incidents worthy of note: A German flyer bailed out and landed on the course. He was injured and taken to the clubhouse until the military collected him. A bomb fell on the course during a night when the river Derwent was mistaken for the Tyne, and peppered on each bank. There were no casualties and unfortunately the crater in front of the 5th tee has been filled in.
After the war a further 9 holes were added.
A local farmer's son was paid £1 a week to cut the grass and sheep were allowed to graze. One can imagine the problems there! The club had a stewardess called Mrs. Pringle, who was in charge of the course and was expected to work outside as well as in. And she did!
By 1948 18 holes were in use and everything was improving until in 1951, on the night of New Year's Day, a fire completely destroyed the Club House. If there had been funds available the new Club House would have been sited on Hunters Hill. Funds were not available so it was decided to rebuild on the same site. Five months of intense activity followed. The voluntary labour of members, the fund raising and the insurance payment all resulted in the AGM being in the new and improved Club House. Huwood Machinery and Robert Frayer of Hebburn gave help.
Throughtout the 1950's the club only survived by the continued voluntary work and financial help provided by the stalwarts of the club. They saw to the maintenance of all machinery, assisted in the bar and did all tasks willingly.
In 1962 Bill Woodend was appointed as Professional and Head Green Keeper. He was admired by all who became his pupils and was sought by members of other clubs. He loved teaching the young and also putting mistakes in stance and swing right whenever he saw it. Money meant little to him. Bill was also far sighted and turned the holes round thus eliminating the many blind holes that existed when the course was played clockwise. He retired in 1978 and all the members realised how much they owed to this special man.
All this time, the club lived in fear of the land being sold. However, as it was a thriving club and had the backing of the Whickham Urban District Council, bank loans were agreed and the land was bought from the National Coal Board for £17,500.
At last Whickham Golf Club owned their land. Improvements on the course began, not least the tree-planting programme, which gave hole definitions and protection from the winds which blew down the valley. "Plant a tree in 73 plant some more in 74" and the members did just that! Over 1,000 trees were planted!
In 1994 new land was bought - 29 acres in Snipe Dene. Two new long holes are now in the process of being incorporated into the course. Membership keeps growing and now the ethos is completely different. It used to be the centre of Social Life - open every evening Winter and Summer for good company, shared pleasures and life long friendships. Cards, darts, dominoes, snooker, table tennis, dinners, presentation evenings were all well attended. Now some members never enter the clubhouse. They come in cars, play and go home. "Drinking and driving" has made a difference for Whickham and other golf clubs.
The game is flourishing, but it is important that those who play today realise how much voluntary work and sacrifice from members from 1911, went towards making the club what it is today.
Gibside Chapel
Gibside Chapel Is a lovely Georgian Chapel on the outskirts of Whickham Parish.
Gibside Estate (now owned by The National Trust) in the Derwent Valley is one of the finest 18th Century designed landscapes in the North of England. Within this lie the Palladian Chapel, the Long Walks, Column of Liberty, Orangery, Walled Garden and the ruins of Gibside Hall. At the highest point of the estate is the Banqueting House, managed by the Landmark Trust.
This beautiful Georgian Chapel within the parish boundaries of Whickham is still in regular use. The Rev. Duncan Reed Rector of The Parish of St. Mary The Virgin takes a monthly service in the chapel, including a Harvest Festival Service each October.
Whickham Sunday School Annual Trip 1920
We all assembled on the Church Green at 9:30 a.m. with tally identity label and tea ticket slung around our necks on a piece of string. We then walked to Swalwell railway station to board a steam train for the direct route to Whitley Bay.
The teachers led games on the beach. At an arranged time we collected at a church hall where we received a "tea bag". All the bags included a rock bun.
After an enjoyable and strenuous day we returned home. Arriving back at Swalwell Station tired and weary but grateful for our annual treat, we faced the task of walking up Whickham Bank.
Whickham Church Green
In the early 20th century the church green was hard baked clay and rubble!
After World War One it was used as a car park. It was also the venue for the annual Hoppings. On the first night their was a customary free ride for children, who came straight from school eager to claim their free ride. In 1935 the Hoppings were cancelled as it rained all day. The showmen refused to pay the rent so consequently the rector would no longer allow the Hoppings to be held on the Church Green.
In 1953 it was taken over by The Council and it was laid out as it is today.
St Mary the Virgin, Whickham
The Historic Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is still the heart and soul of the village of Whickham. The church was once the only place of worship for the surrounding communities of Swalwell, Sunniside, Dunston, Marley Hill and Streetgate. The villagers walked miles, up very steep hills, to attend any form of church service there. Fortunately for the people of the districts, over a period of time each of the communities not only started up their own established Church of England but other non-conformist churches came into being too.
It is intended to give details and a brief history of the newer churches and the clergy, but not to dwell deeply on the exterior of St Mary's, as over the years, this has been researched and written fully regarding its bricks and mortar. Therefore the Church building is being left to the experts and this account will concentrate on some of the wealth of material inside the church from the stained glass windows which are fascinating; the wonderful organ, the marvellous bells, and then there is the history of the church itself. History as diverse as the well-known and wealthy families who attended the church and who would leave Whickham Parish Church with many wonderful legacies and the famous people like William Shield, Henry Byrne Carr, Ralph Carr Ellison, and not so famous families who are buried in St. Mary's churchyard and lastly the Clergy themselves.
Churches have always played an important part in village life. In the olden days the church would collect a Tithe, which was allotted for its up-keep and although Tithes are a thing of the past, St Mary's over the years has on the whole been fairly well maintained by church members through a combination of plan-giving and fund raising activities when work needed to be carried out. At this present moment, although roof repairs have been completed, money is still urgently required.
More information about fund raising can be had from the church.
Information about the actual church building can be found on:
http://www.whickhamstmary.co.uk
The first Rector recorded in Whickham Church was in 1200 A.D.
The Rector at the beginning of the Twentieth Century was the Rev. Arthur Allwork.
The present Rector is the Rev. Duncan Reed.
The stained glass windows in Whickham Parish Church are something to behold; there are eighteen windows in all, fourteen are stained glass and four plain. The colours are astounding, such wonderful vibrant colours; on the right hand side of the Church, magnificent lilac, purple and red hues and on the left side we can enjoy the dark reds, blue and white.
There were lots of artists involved in the work of the windows and many people donated money in memory of loved ones, teachers or friends and their legacies have provided enjoyment for generations of visitors to St. Mary's.
As many as possible of the artists and companies who did the work on the windows will be named.
Looking East:
"The Sermon on the Mount"
Chancel:
Two windows; King David and Saint Gabriel
Nave:
Three depictions - Jesus as a Baby with his Mother and Joseph with the animals in the Stable plus Mary at Prayer.
Jesus on the Cross and Jesus carrying the Cross.
The angels coming to Mary and Her companions and Jesus with staff in hand talking to one of his people.
North Aisle:
St. Monica "To the Glory of God and in memory of Clare Burrowdale Huthwaite May 18th 1931"
Two depictions, one of St. Peter and the other of St. John.
Porch West:
"St. George".
West: Right Side:
"He is my beloved Son whom I am well pleased" and "Suffer little children to come unto me".
South Aisle:
"Suffer the little children" and "All ye who labour".
South West:
"Simeon and the Baby Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary".
In the Baptistry:
"Ascension of Our Lord".
In the South East section of the South Aisle:
"The Five Wise Virgins, our Lord rebuking Martha , the raising of Jairus' daughter, and Christ blessing little children".
Standing above the altar:
"The Rose Window".
North Aisle:
"St. Peter and St. James Curing the Paralytic at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple"
North Wall of Chancel:
"Augustine of Hippo"
West:
"Nativity Presentation - The Birth of Christ and the Presentation in the Temple".
This list of burials at St Mary's from 1901 shows just how many parishioners died in infancy at that time:-
July 18 Barbara Gilchrist Little (Whickham) Aged 19 days.
21 George Oloman (Swalwell), aged 10 weeks.
22 Catherine Scott Radford (Swalwell), aged 5 weeks.
23 William Benn (Swalwell) aged 32 years.
24 Ada Noble (Swalwell), aged 15 months.
28 Edmund Turner (Swalwell), aged 1 month.
28 James Hardy (Whickham) aged 72 years.
29 Bertie Hickson (Whickham), aged 3 months.
30 Joseph Raine (Swalwell), aged 40.
Aug 3 Jane Rutter (Swalwell), aged 17 years.
3 Ridgeway Foster Hutchinson White (Whickham), aged 75 years.
4 Thomas Arthur Gowland (Whickham) aged 5 years.
4 Archibald Allison (Swalwell), aged 39 years.
6 Mary Cook (Swalwell), aged 4 months.
6 Lydia Amelia Hardy (Whickham), aged 5 months.
7 Rachel Brown (Swalwell), aged 10 months.
11 Thomas Norman Lumley (Swalwell), aged 4 months.
12 Alice Clark (Swalwell), aged 9 months.
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Whickham
Quite near Dockendale Hall, a farm building was converted into a Catholic Church in 1948. The present Catholic Church was completed in 1970. It was designed by Rossi McCann and Partner, will seat a congregation of 350. It was designed to suit the new liturgical requirements. The sacristies and waiting room form the link block to the new presbytery. The scheme is designed to a domestic scale to domestic standards in order to meet a tight budget limit of £52,000!
Fellside Methodist Church, Whickham
When, in the seventies, the West End Chapel became too small for the congregation, it was decided to build a larger church in a new location. When an old church in Gateshead had to be demolished the local authority was persuaded to build the replacement church in Whickham to serve the congregation of West End Chapel. This church became Fellside Methodist Church.!
When the new Fellside Church opened in 1980 the Reverend Thomas Walsh moved with his flock for a few months, until the arrival of the Reverend Terry Hurst. In 1990 further renovations and alterations were paid for by the Church Members. These included a new vestry, an upstairs extension and the turning of the church by 90 degrees to allow a stained glass window to be the focal point of the building. It is a circular window with the Church logo depicting a person kneeling beside a cross with a dove at its centre, the whole being surrounded by sunrays.
The newly established Community Church bought The Old West End Chapel from the Methodist Church. This was an evangelical church and it opened around 1982.
Whickham - Washing Well Roman Fort
In 1970 Dr. McCord, on a flight from Sunderland airport noticed odd lines in a field between Team Valley and Whickham. The lines showed the typical playing card shape of a Roman Fort and an east and north gate. This was thought to be the missing piece of the stanegate jigsaw. Carlisle was linked to Corbridge with a series of forts, this line did not extend to the east coast and Whickham fort could solve the mystery.
The site of the fort lies just south of the old farmhouse of Washing Wells in Whickham. The ground slopes away on all sides except the north, where the approach is more level.
Aerial photographs clearly show a succession of Roman military structures; the main cropmarks represent successive lines of ditches of several phases or periods. At two points groups of symmetrically placed cropmarks suggest large post holes, which may have held timber uprights of gateway structures. It may therefore, be reasonably concluded that the site is that of a pre - Hadrianic fort. Faint cropmarks exist in a field near this site, which may indicate barrows and non - Roman occupation of the area. Another find of interest in the same general area is a Bronze Age burial. Material from this is in Sunderland Museum.
A survey by the Dept of Archaeology of the University of Durham in 1998 found that although the overall dimensions could not be determined with certainty, it was thought the area of the fort was C.2.5 hectares the size normally associated with a garrison of 480 men. The date and function of Washing Wells fort is unclear, but if this fort represents a practice camp, where a variety of methods of defence were practiced - ditches, rampart types, survey and lay - out - the varied nature of the evidence might be explained.
Whickham - The Watergate Estate
Priestman's Company built 146 colliery houses at Broom Lane, to house their workman, many of whom came from Chester Moor and Waldridge Fell where Priestmans had other collieries.
Whickham - Aged Miners' Homes
The six Aged Miners Homes off Broom lane and standing near the site of Southfield farm were built in memory of Peter Lee, the Durham Miners' leader and opened on January 27th 1940.
The homes were built at a cost of £2,300 and miners at the colliery had contributed a penny a week to the scheme since the mine opened. Bill Kelly, checkweighman and secretary to the miners lodge, was presented with a gold watch, for his contribution, to the successful outcome of the scheme by Mr J. Hook, chairman of the committee. Priestman Collieries Ltd donated the land and an ongoing allowance of 6 tons of coal a year to each of the tenants. Mr William Whiteley, MP for Blaydon and chairman of the Durham Aged Mine Workers Association presided over the meeting and presented the keys to the first tenants. A luncheon was laid on at Watergate Welfare Hall and later on tea for guests and members of the scheme. The colliery at this time employed 850 men and boys.
Whickham - The Windmill
The Windmill in King George's Field (Chase Park) is thought to have stood for at least 300 years. It is made of coarse squared sandstone. The mound surrounds the Mill to a height of 5 feet from ground level. Although it bears the date 1567 the style of the carving is inconsistent with that date and must have been added later.
It is referred to as a 'Tower Mill' and is the only mill still standing in the Gateshead area. It has also been referred to as a 'Palatine Windmill'.
When the Scots invaded Northumberland and Durham in 1640 the English were defeated at the Battle of Stella Haughs (Newburn). This happened at Harvest time and the crops were destroyed, the people fled, and the upper millstones were broken and buried by order.
The Mill was in use until 1835. The Miller at that time was Isaac Baty.
In the summer of 1979 the members of the Whickham Local History Society and some of their friends carried out excavation work inside the Mill under the supervision of Miss Barbara Harbottle County Archaeologist. At that time suggestions on the future use of the Mill was to either declare it as a local history centre for the Whickham area or to use the ground floor of the building as a refreshment kiosk - neither suggestion was developed and the Mill still stands in the park today.
Anya Seton, the famous novelist used the Mill as a setting for a lover's tryst in her historical novel "Devil Water".
Whickham House
The entrance to the House was opposite the Bay Horse.
The Leaton family was one of the earliest residents - their daughter Ann was baptised in 1714. The last member of the Leaton family living in the House was George Thomas Leaton Blenkinsop who died in 1864.
Several families lived in the House until 1937 when the owner Mr J Wilkinson sold the House and the ten-acre grounds to the Urban District Council for £7,000. With Mr Wilkinson's interests in horses and hunting he changed the name from Whickham House to "The Chase".
The House was used during the 1939-45 War by the Fire Service. Later falling into a state of disrepair and being demolished in 1960.
The area to this day is known as "Chase Park".
Whickham - Salisbury House
In its early days circa 1700 it was a Manor House and stood by itself outside the Village on the Fells.
The Village stopped at The Cross - where coal wains crossed the Front Street going down Coalway Lane to the Staiths on the Tyne. The Cross is where Lang Jack's monument now stands.
At the early part of the century locals knew it as Fiddlers Hall because every night an elderly gentleman played a violin at an upstairs window. Although the exact age of the house is not known due to incomplete deeds it is thought to be about 1653. It is now a four-bedroom house but it originally had six chimneys and flues. Various people have lived in the house including a dressmaker who made most of the wedding dresses for local weddings.
Whickham - Miners' Houses (Priestman Colliery)
Only one row of dwelling was originaly built for the workers at Axwell Park Colliery. It was a row of flats ground floor and first floor. It was called Railway Row - later to be renamed as Thomas Street. More homes were needed for the workers and the land surrounding the Pit Head was built on in 1899. Thomas Street was converted to two bedroom houses and other similar properties were built namely, William, George and James Street.
At the same time Eleanor and Edith Cottages were built - later renamed Eleanor and Edith Terrace on Whickham Bank. The houses were two bedrooms upstairs with living room downstairs and a walk in pantry. Outside in the back yard was a toilet and coalhouse. The houses were originally lit by oil or candles. Electric light was installed and switched on in the Pit Houses on 29 April 1903. The houses have been updated with many having kitchen and bathroom extensions and central heating installed.!
Whickham - Axwell Park Colliery
Axwell Park Colliery was sunk in 1839. It was a man-riding shaft. Men went down the shaft at Whickham and the coal was brought to the surface at Swalwell.
The Pit Head was closed in 1887 leaving 40 men out of work. It was owned by Lord Ravensworth and worked by Mr Snowball. In 1889 it was taken over by Hannington with Mr Rutherford as Manager.
On 6 April 1900 a party was held underground to raise money for the Parish Church.
The Pit Head closed in 1953 and the buildings were demolished in 1975. The area is now "Bank Top Hamlet" Whickham Bank beside the Whickham Car Company - formally Leslie's Garage.
Whickham - Dockendale Hall
This 16th Century building is of historical and architectural interest. Originally described with ivy-clad walls, trees and a well-kept garden enclosed by a low wall.
Originally the holding of the Earl of Darlington who sold the estate to Sir Thomas Liddell of Ravensworth (the title of Ravensworth dates back to 1747).
Rumour has it that Oliver Cromwell stayed there for two days during his march in 1648 to Edinburgh to make a treaty with the Marquis of Argyle.
In the 19th Century local farmer John Meek occupied the Hall. He cultivated the surrounding fields until his death in 1840. His family grave can be found in the south of the churchyard.
In 1841 the residents were the Taylor family who made several alterations.
Mr A Campbell was another owner - his sons had various activities in the Village - one raised pedigree cattle - though unsuccessfully.
The Bank then took over the estate and it was sold to Canon Phelps who made further alterations. After his death in 1948 his widow sold the Hall to the Church.
The Catholic Church Authority rebuilt the stables and it became the Church of St Mary's Dockendale.
The Hall is now converted into flats.
Whickham - Beech House
Located on the main street opposite the Police Station. It was originally a boy's boarding school, attended by the first Lord Armstrong. It then became a girl's boarding school. It is now a private house.
Whickham - Origin of the Name
The name Whickham is derived from the name Quykham or Qhickham and formerly meant the land bounded by the Tyne, Derwent and the Teams. This would now include Swalwell and Dunston. It is most probable that the original name was Quickham, which would refer to a village with a quickset hedge.
Mary Burdon Gilhespie.
Mary, born in Whickham in 1923, belonged to an old Whickham Family. She left school when she was 15 years of age. Her first job was at the Hadrian Stores. When she was sixteen she went for one of those really old fashioned interviews. She had to sit at a large table opposite a group of men who interviewed her to see if she was acceptable for a job in Whickham Co-operative Stores.
Mary got the job and started work in the Grocery Department on Fellside Road. In those days, you were quite privileged to get a position with the Co-operative Stores. As Mary said "To get a job with the Co-op in those days meant you are set for life"
Mary worked at the Co-op for four years before being called up in 1943. She had to go to Scotland to do her training, which she said was an event in itself. She had only once been to Scotland before, and that was when she went on a school trip to Edinburgh. Mary's journey involved her getting a train to Glasgow, changing trains there for the onward journey to Bewick, which was on the banks of Lock Lomond.
Mary's stay in Scotland was in December and January. She recalled what a beautiful place it was. Unfortunately for her and her fellow Wrens, it being winter, they had to go round in oilskins, clogs and sou'westers. Apparently the site had once been an American Naval Base with just Nissan Huts and oil stoves to keep them warm. Mary said it was dreadful and she would never forget the experience as long as she lived.
After her training in Scotland Mary was sent Rochester, which was not far from the Chatham Dockyards. She had all her injections and what not done there. As a young Wren, Mary remembers, the Royal Navy being very protective towards the young girls who were stationed there. If they went into Chatham and were caught by the MP's loitering, talking to anyone, more so Naval Personnel, they were in front of the Commodore the next day.
Mary was not in Chatham very long before moving to Staines in Middlesex. Here she worked in a former Lino Factory, which the Royal Navy had taken over. There were Men Ratings as well as the Wrens, working in the various departments, shipping, packing and office jobs; this was where Mary worked. From this factory the Navy were repairing and supplying spare parts and machinery for the ships including anchors and propellers which were then transported to Naval Bases abroad.
When in Rochester, Mary's accommodation was quite good. She and her fellow Wrens lived in one of the houses taken over by the Admiralty. There were four streets of Victorian houses, which were on two floors with attics and large cellars. They also had small gardens to front and back of the house. The Windows were blacked out on the inside and sandbagged half way up the windows on the outside. Mary and her fellow mates saw at first hand the raids in London, all the bombing and the doodlebugs. It was a terrible experienced she said.
In the house at Rochester, the Wrens, lived, slept, and washed. There was no furniture, only makeshift cupboards for clothes with curtains around them. No food was taken there as meals were served in the canteen at the Wrens quarters in Rochester. One or two Wrens were billeted there, but it was just a staging post before being transferred.
Mary was at Chatham about eighteen months before she went to Windsor. She and a number of her fellow Wrens actually lived in Clewer Park, a large house which stood in its own grounds, with the house backing onto the River Thames and Windsor Racecourse. Whilst in Windsor Mary was a messenger for the Navy and she used to go to The Admiralty in Trafalgar Square to deliver messages.
She used to get a pass to take her on the train from Staines to Windsor, where there was a civil defence place. This was all to do with the Admiralty. It was like the military supplies department. When signals came up from the Admiralty, into the teleprinter room she would deliver them to the different departments. She was one of the first in the section, apart from the Admiralty, to know that the Second World War had ended.
Mary came out of the Wrens in January 1946 after being with the Wrens just over two years. She never thought she would have been called up for the war. Her position as Wren Caygill was, in her opinion, just an ordinary jenny Wren who was a messenger.
The Ack Ack Camp 1939-1945
In the early part of the war Whickham had a Ack Ack camp, (an AntiAircraft Guns and Research camp). There were a number of big guns there and also vital equipment. The camp operated by W.A.A.C. (Womens Auxillary Army Corps) was located on Fellside Road, where the bungalows are now on the Rectory Estate, going towards the Glebe. This camp was not large and the accommodation consisted of wooden huts.
There were various nationalities in the camp including soldiers who had been evacuated from Dunkirk, and some Americans. Eva Tingler relates a story about the young men in the camp. Apparently one day a group of young Americans knocked on her and a few of her neighbours' doors, asking if they could please have a bath.
Eva lived in one of the Colliery houses quite near to the camp. As Eva's husband was a miner, with a concessionary coal supply, they had ample coal to heat the hot water needed for the baths so she quite willingly obliged. In way of thanks, Eva was given some army blankets. Eva said she not only kept the blankets but also used those blankets right through the years until just recently when she bought herself a quilt.
A number of the men from the Ack Ack Camp used to go to the dances at the Miners Welfare Hall, (now Whickham Sales Rooms) on a Saturday evening and quite a few acquaintances were developed with the local girls. The hall was originally built after the First World War for Axwell Pit as an Institute, but as it was not used it was offered to Watergate Pit.
Betty Oloman can remember when doing her milk round on her cart, she would sometimes carry extra milk and the men from the camp would buy it from her. She also remembers being teased by the wolf whistles she received.
When the army vacated the camp many of the local families moved into the camp as squatters and used the wooden huts as homes. In those days it was very difficult to get houses. Many people had no option but to squat. They stayed in the huts until they were either rehoused, often in prefabs, by the council or they could afford to buy a property for themselves.
Thomas Dickinson's Memories
The first memory I have of world war two was when the proprietor of the local shop, Mr L. Jarron, came down the street shouting that war had been declared. Everyone was standing at their doors.
As the war progressed air raids became more frequent so the school I attended, Whickham County Council, introduced a code of practice which was that if an air raid finished after midnight you did not have to attend until 1pm the next day.
Air raid shelters were built next to the school and our gas masks were often tested for different kinds of gas that may have been used by the Germans. Barricade blocks were built on certain roads. These were made of concrete and there was just enough space for one vehicle to pass through. There was one on Broom Lane near my home and others at Fellside road and Sunniside.
The government introduced a scheme so that you could get extra clothing coupons if your feet were over a certain length but I never qualified.
As the war progressed, when you reached the age of 13 you were allowed to "potato pick" in the autumn. I think that it was for either 25p per day or 25p per week. It was hard work!
There were a few air raids when bombs were dropped in our area, notably one in Tait's farm field at the top of the street where I lived. A number of houses had their windows shattered. The day after the raid we used to go into the bomb craters to collect shrapnel (pieces of the bomb). In an air raid on Sunniside a bomb killed a Mr George Shanks. The bomb was a direct hit on his home.
My father was a coal miner and one of the shifts he worked finished at 11.30pm; if an air raid was on and they were bombing South Shields, he would take me to the bottom of the street and show me the flares, fires and guns being fired at the German aircraft.
There was an army camp on Fellside Road, which had an anti-aircraft gun; there was also one at Lobley Hill and the noise was terrific. There were also barrage balloons situated around the area, one in Beech Grove (below Whickham Church) and one at Fellside. There were also static water tanks where gallons of water were stored in case of fire from the bombs. During the blackout people were shouted at by the wardens, for showing lights from windows.
Once my mother took me to Whickham pictures, now the gym in Church Chare, and when we came out it was pitch black. Instead of walking up Broom Lane to our house we ended up in Duckpool Lane.
I never saw a banana, until near the end of the war. A schoolboy brought one into the schoolyard it was black. His father, a soldier, brought it from abroad.
At the end of the war we were all introduced to a famous person. It was Maurice Chevalier, the French singer and film star. He was introduced by our Head Master, Mr Kennedy, who had been a prisoner with him during the First World War and who had taught him to speak English.
I keep remembering things since starting this story such as when an air raid was in progress we either went to a public shelter which was about 75 yards from our house or to a single bed under the staircase which was supposed to be the safest place if we were bombed.
Sweets and chocolates were rationed to 4ozs a week so when we went to the pictures we used to buy a half-penny carrot at H. Hutchinson the fruiterers, Front Street, Whickham, now a bank.
Another event in the war was just after Dunkirk, hundreds of soldiers were sent to Whickham and district. I remember them seeing some of them sitting and lying in the fields below where The Gibside is now. My father once brought a couple of soldiers home for lunch.
Memories of WW2
"The first memory I have of the war was when the proprietor of the local shop (Mr. L. Jarron) came down the street shouting that war had been declared. Everyone was standing at their doors."
"Concrete barricade blocks were built on certain roads. There was just enough space for one vehicle to pass through. Do you remember where these were?"
"One day while on the way to the hairdresser's in Back Row a plane came overhead and a man pushed me over a wall by Spoor's Chapel. The plane was a German one and it machine-gunned children playing in the schoolyard in Rye Hill."
"The night they bombed the Derwent instead of the Tyne the sky was lit like illuminations with flares and incendiary bombs."
Home Guard Certificate
"All the women of the pit streets used to hold Beetle drives (no Bingo then) to raise money for a victory party after England won the war."
"Air raid sirens were sounded after the Chamberlain broadcast on the wireless, which woke the baby."
"If bananas appeared in fruit shops there were big queues. Bartering food for goods and services was usual in the village. People grew their own vegetables. Patterson's nursery on Grange Lane was where the prisoners of war were put to work."
"A shell came across the park and landed in a lady's back yard. We thought it was German but it came from the big gun in Lobley Hill known as Big Bertha, The heavy Ack Ack battery sited on Fellside Road. Everyone was evacuated from their homes and came to our house."
"An army camp of the Kent's regiment was on Fellside Road and Larkspur."
"My father and others used to bring them (soldiers) home for supper and we even had their wives come to stay."
"I used to deliver the newspaper (to the army camp) every day and used to look forward to my huge mug of tea and a big jam sandwich."
"Holidays were spent at home. Bands played and we had dances. The army played football matches against Whickham in fancy dress."
June moved to the trading estate making filters for gas masks while other buildings were being adapted for producing shell cases. The pay was five pounds a week. The pay was increased when working on furnaces.
"Working on the furnaces was alright in winter."
Marley Hill Home Guard
"The Gibside Estate was used during the last war as a training ground for the Army and the Home Guard for grenade and Sten gun practise etc., the canteen being in the now derelict hall."
"My daughter was getting christened in church, another lady was a godfather short. So one of the young soldiers who had just arrived from France stood as a godfather for her."
"At a time of very heavy bombing in London, Cockney evacuees arrived on Tyneside. A group of children, mothers and grandmothers were billeted in the disused church school building in Dunston. My grandmother was in the WRVS. I went with her when she went to see how they were coping. I remember being fascinated by their Cockney accents."
"We did not go to school full time from 1940."
"There wasn't a lot of room so the Catholic school children and the Board school children would go in the morning one week and the Hill school children would go in the afternoon. The next week it was reversed."
"I was playing in the street with my sisters and some friends because of course there was no traffic. Suddenly and simultaneously we heard a plane and a machine-gun firing and realised in fact they were above our heads and the bullets were bouncing along the street and our mother was shrieking at us to get in the house.
Our main interest was in looking round to see if we could pick up some shrapnel."
"Someone came knocking round the doors saying that the Dunston Board school was going to be opened and soldiers from Dunkirk would be billeted there and could people manage to offer a bath and a hot meal to one or two soldiers."
Whickham Memorial
On Whickham war memorial are inscribed the names of those who lost their lives in two world wars. R.A.F. Sergeant John Guthrie was shot down in a Lancaster bomber as h e flew over the village of Erskdork, Germany. He was only 23 when he was shot down. His sister still remembers the day when it happened. "My mother was informed of what happened by the war office and from what I know the rest of the crew were also in their twenties. Every time that I walk past the war memorial in Whickham I look at it as his name is on there, I think it's only natural." [Source Gateshead Post, 14 June 2000]