On Bedlington.co.uk Now...

Hopefully in all the right places, Vic!

Cambois folk aren't happy :-

Canny - I remain unconvinced that loads of women were able to benefit directly from the facilities offered in the Mechanics Institutes even where there was a half-price subscription. I suspect that it was only those with some disposable income who could afford the subs; I’m not sure that the vast majority of ‘working poor’ women fell into this group. I can accept that perhaps those women from the ‘trading classes’ – wives and daughters of the butchers, bakers and candle stick makers were the ones who had the time and resources to access these places. The Institutes in the big cities would have had much bigger populations to draw on so the proportion of women wishing, or able, to use the facilities would have been greater. I can’t see many poor wives and mothers in places like Bedlington, enslaved to the tyranny of the poss tub having the time, energy or resources to join the Institutes. Of course, there would have been exceptions but I can’t see it being widespread. My own maternal Grandmother was an exceptional woman who led an incredible life – I’ve posted her story on the Facebook page of her Co.Durham home village … perhaps I might copy it here to illustrate that Victorian/Edwardian working class drive for self-improvement that we’ve been discussing. What do you think?

I still have some of that asbestos!

More Britishvolt news in the Engineer Magazine: https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/news/britishvolt-acquires-battery-maker-eas-for-36m

I hope that all that dust blowing around Cambois isn't contaminated with residue from decades of industrial use, eg. fly ash, heavy metals, asbestos. Let's not forget the stuff that might have been spread over the site when the place was demolished. That's why I'm suprised that dust monitors and bowsers are only now being deployed ... you'd have thought that a proper site survey would have been conducted BEFORE the ground works began to identify any problems and recommend systems to mitigate the spread of dust.

Pity they weren't able (or willing) to use the existing railhead to load trains to cart the spoil away and bring materials in. Could have spared the locals from all that disruption (and fumes) from the fleet of belching lorries. Or even tipped the stuff into ships! Future 'clean' technology plant built on diesel ... not a good look!

Bike! Shanks's pony more likely.

I suppose most families could have had, or borrowed a bike.

There was also a fine of a few pounds for those who didn't register and that would probably cost more than the busfare.

Registrars also continued to do 'rounds' of villages just as they had done since the 1836 act when registration became their responsibility.

Thankyou - I never knew that👍. I still wonder if every household, prior to Family Allowance, actually made the effort to travel to the registrar's

Posted on the 16th May :-

Eggy, the Registration of Births and Deaths Act of 1874 became effective the following year whereby it became the parent’s responsibility to register the birth of their child within 42 days. Prior to this it was the registrar’s responsibilty.

Checked with one of my cousins who lived in Lily Avenue in the late 1940's through to the late 1960's and unfortunately she can't remember an of the names of the families you have mentioned. - she can remember most of the family names that lived there in the late 1950's. I remember visiting my cousins in Lily avenue in the 1950's. Back then Lily avenue dwellings were flats. My cousins lived in a downstairs flat. I don't know when Google Maps first started adding the house numbers when you search for a particular street but today was the first time I have noticed it (I think) but you can see from the current numbering that they have all been converted into two story houses :-

@Canny lass - I suppose Leslie could have been born anytime prior to when the birth was registered. There wasn't the rush to register prior to Family Allowance being introduced from August 1946. I think many families wouldn't have used their hard earned earnings to travel to the nearest registration office until it was really necessary. Getting from Bedlington to the Morpeth registrars might only have been a yearly event, or even less, for most families in the 1930's. I could be wrong but I don't think there was a statutory period fro birth registrations.