Canny lass

Delegating is not an easy task. Be proud that you are capable of assessing the situation and knowing: Who to delegate to How much to delegate to them When to delegate In which manner it should be done Where the delegating should take place Knowing why there is a need for delegation in just this instance ... and finally knowing how much of the task in hand you have some aversion to doing yourself. Truly a skill worth having. Having said that, I' love to donate a tree. That way, me and other ex-pats would have some 'physical' roots in the town. Maybe the keen gardeners who take such good care of keeping Bedlington in bloom with the hanging baskets etc wouldn't mind being delegated to/asked politely?

I'm sure you've all got better things to do now with covid restrictions being reduced but here, it's Friday, it's freezing cold and it'll be dark in half an hour so we're having a quiz tonight. No doubt accompanied by a bottle of something tasty and warming together with some nibbly bits (no, that's not a euphemism!). Feel welcome to join in. Usual rules apply and answers next Thursday: 1. What does the name ‘Spam’ (meat - not computer) stand for? 2. Who was the World Darts Champion 5 times between 1980 and 1986? 3. By what other name is a Dublin Bay Prawn known? 4. Who said “The lion and the calf shall lie down together, but the calf won’t get much sleep”? 5. Which member of the royal family married Marina of Greece? 6. When politician Roy Hattersley failed, for the third time, to appear on ‘Have I got news for you’ his chair was occupied by what? 7. Which ex-England footballer is the father of a television weather forecaster? 8. What is the cube of 3? 9. Which animal has the scientific name Capra hircus? 10. How many British pounds in a hundred weight (cwt)? 11. Which parasitic plant was sacred to the Druids? 12. In a game of poker which is the best hand: flush, straight run or three of a kind? I’ll bet you didn’t know …. Elizabeth Taylor never threw away any of her clothes.

Thanks Eggy! I'd started to wonder if The Traveller's rest and The Sir Colin Campbell maybe weren't the same pub. That proves beyond a doubt that they were!

Ex-pats, how about planting a tree? Of course, we'd have to get Malcolm to do the digging - or at least delegate it to someone.

Yes, it certainly wasn't hard to have a pub crawl way back then! I think many pubs in those days were named by the landlord rather than the brewery as is often the case today so it seems reasonable that the landlord would choose something familiar, to him in general and to his prospective clients in particular.

On the contrary - I've no memory of there being a Traveller's Rest in the area. Clearly my youth was not as misspent as I believed it to be. This Sir Colin Campbell beer house is a mystery. Clearly it was named so at some point between 1858-9, when the area was surveyed, and 1866 when the map was published. The 1871 census also gives the name as The Traveller's Rest and this is presumably the correct name. However, the 1871 census shows it as being occupied by a Scottish couple - James and Elizabeth Miller – both born in Scotland – aged 29 and 24 rears respectively. They have a daughter aged 4 years who was born in Bedlington. This suggests that they have lived in the area since about 1866 and could possibly have changed (or at least attempted to change) the name to The Sir Colin Campbell should they have taken over the pub around the time of map's publication. I've now completed my reading on Sir Colin Campbell, his life and times and now draw the conclusion that he himself had no connections with the shire. However, looking around the Choppington, Guidepost, Scotland Gate area 1861 - 71 it does appear to be heavily populated wth residents of Scottish origins - more so than Bedlington. It seems to me likely that the name, The Sir Colin Campbell, (and possibly the name The Lord Clyde) may have been a tribute to the man by his fellow Scotsmen. A question: Does anybody have any idea how far Whinny Hill Farm is from The Traveller's Rest? I've never been any good at judging distances but 27 chains is about 1/3 of a mile. Would that fit the bill? @lilbill15 you n Max have any idea from your walks? Anybody regularly drive that way?

I’m still looking for a connection between Sir Colin Campbell and Bedlington. Today I had a look at the 1861 census for Bedlington, District 8 which is described by the enumerator as comprising: “Whinny Hill, a farm house and two cottages an off farm planted by Mr Robt. Swann Bedlington, Scotland Gate, being one row of Double two stories houses & a few Back Cottages there is two Publick Houses. A few trades man shops & houses the private dwellings being mostly all occupied by coal miners. Choppington Colliery, is just a new one? The miners cottages are close adjoining and comprises one row (Cross Row) of Double houses these houses have two rooms on the ground floor & two sleeping rooms, or garrets above there are other four Rows of single Cottages being all nearly two storey Houses, that is one room, one garret, one pantry, one Ash pit & privy & one Garden. Peas Bush is an old sort of a place being formerly an off onstead for Choppington farm but now occupied by Choppington Colliery”. Here is the 1866 map again but this time covering the whole of that area: Following the enumerator’s route, it’s not difficult to identify The Sir Colin Campbell beer house in the enumerator’s book for 1861. As he says, “There are two Publick Houses” in his district and, as his enumeration route starts at Whinny Hill Farm and works its way to Peas Bush, the first must be the Choppington Inn and the second must be The Sir Colin Campbell. Looking for it in the enumerator’s book I was hoping to find the residents with a good old Scottish name who had proudly named there beer house after a fellow Scot. I was disappointed. In 1861 the building is a public house called the Traveller’s Rest. The innkeeper , named Elliot, was born in Cawsey Park, Northumberland and his wife in Hartley. However, they do seem to have some Scottish connection having a 14 yo daughter who was born in Scotland. The OS map, published 1866 was based on surveys done 1858 to 1859. so it’s possible it was renamed after the survey but before Sir Colin Campbell was raised to the peerage in 1859. The name Scotland Gate has had many explanations over the years and no one really knows its origins. My wanderings in the area, via the census of 1861 caused me to think of yet another. At that time, the area we know as Scotland Gate today has no name on the map, but we can see that it is basically one long street fronting the main road between Whinny Hill Farm and Choppington Colliery. ‘Gate’ in place names, often originates from the Old Norse gatu/gata meaning street. Looking at the census today, I was surprised to see the number of people born in Scotland who are living there. I counted 25 people in 15 families. Could Scotland Gate simply refer, locally, to a street where many Scots lived?

Very stylish gentleman. It would be nice to think that he had some connection to the shire.

Forget that, Eggy. I've just found both of them on the same map from 1866:

Same here! Started researching The Sir Colin Campbell. This is described in The Northumberland Name Book as a Beer House: "An ordinary new house licensed for the sale of ale and porter" an is situated "27 chains S of Whinny Hill Farm". This seems, to me, a rather 'modest' sort of establishment to be having such a 'high-fallutin' name - 'The Sir Colin Campbel'. The gentleman in question, Colin Campbell (1792 – 1863), was a Scottish born, British soldier, who attained the rank of Field Marshall and now lies buried in no less than the centre isle of Westminster Abbey. He had 50 years of service and was distinguished for his efforts in both the peninsula wars and the pacification of India. His services in the latter earned him the title ‘Baron Clyde of Clydesdale’ also known as ‘Lord Clyde’. What, if any, his connection to the Shire of Bedlington is/was I haven’t been able to ascertain. Could this humble beer-house be the fore-runner of the Lord Clyde at Choppington that later became The Swan? Eggy, what’s the earliest map you’ve seen The Lord Clyde on?

@lilbill15 Mystery solved. Ninette is advertised in the booklet that Eggy just added to the gallery. You'll find it on page 2.

4 days!!

I had my first tentative rummage today! It's wonderful! Here are some of the places that cropped up: Cadger's Highway Gravy Hill Cow Gut Pancake Well and my all time favourite - Shinny Gripe Lug. ... and, did anyone know of any of the following drinking eastablishments in the shire: The Brown Bear Inn (Beer House) The Prince of Wales The Lord Byron Inn The Sir Colin Campbell (Beer House) Can't wait to start researching.

@lilbill15 The jam-making has given way to wine making. Elderberries are looking good and I've just made a batch of mead from the mountain of tomatoes needing to be taken care of before they become over-ripe. It sounds strange but it's really very good (and very easy to make). I've just read about Puce Bush in the Name Book. If anything remains of it, you should find it "About 10 chains SW of Choppington Colliery". Looking forward to the photos.