Canny lass

Thanks, Vic, Pete and Alan! Those kind words mean a lot. Really, things are going remarkably well, all things considered. It's just that it seems to drag on and on with never ending rounds of hospitals and health centres but we're getting there slowly. Of course we have our down days but we have plenty of 'up days' as well and these are becoming more frequent now. Hope things are getting better for you and your wife Vic. This ageing thing is a beggar, the curse of the elderly.

That's a great 'before and after' photo! Pete, you're the only one I would be able to recognise today!

Having a rough year HPW. Hubby had a brain haemorrhage, just days before Christmas, which was caused by a fall in September. The head injury caused a long slow bleed which was successfully operated on but left him with epilepsi. This has caused loads of problems - not least the loss of his driving licence. Living as we do (in the 'wilds of wanny', as the saying goes) two cars and two drivers are a necessity. This has meant a) lots of time sitting around in hospitals and b) lots of time sitting behind a driving wheel, neither of which are favourite pass-times of mine. There hasn't been much time to sit down at a computer but, be assured, I try to 'pop-in' a couple of times a week on my mobile (usually in a waiting room somewhere!) and read the site. However, I don't find this medium practical for writing so I haven't been able to respond to so many posts. There is light at the end of the tunnel, however. The seizures are under control and the last brain scan, 4 weeks ago, shows that his brain is back in the centre of his head where it should be. All good news! Hopefully after a year without seizures he will be able to drive again and life will return to normal for us both.

That goes for me too!

I may have been barking up the wrong tree here. It now strikes me as odd that the faces in that photo are all young. William Henry Boll (WHB) was 48 years old in 1911, just one year before the photo was taken. WHB was undoubtedly the headmaster at Nedderton Village School and living in School House in 1911. So I don’t think he is in that photo of 1912. A bit more research reveals that he had another son, Hugh Clementson Boll, (HCB) who also entered the teaching profession. HCB’s occupation is given as “pupil teacher”, age 18 years in the 1911 census and he is living in Nedderton village, walking distance from Netherton Infants School. I’m more inclined now to think that this is the Mr Boll in the photo of 1912. He seems to have done very well in life aspiring to the dizzy heights of “Headmaster Senior School” in Manchester 1939.

Thanks Eggy! I don't know how I've managed to post that twice. The second was meant to be an edit of the first! BTW, it's only fair to say that I don't know which of the males in that photo is Mr Boll. It's a fascinating photo. Netherton infant school only had two classrooms, so they can't be staff, and most of them look well over school age and can't be pupils. Also, if I can say so with no disrespect to the people of Netherton, the clothing seems somewhat out of place for a colliery worker's family.

Update: Eric George Boll was indeed a police constable in Lancashire. He married in Chorley, Lancashire in 1934 to Chorley born Muriel Sandiford. Whether the move to Lancashire was initiated by love or employment remains untold. I forgot to add that Eric George had a brother, Alan. Could this manuscript be dedicated to, or even about, Alan?

The Mr Boll in this photo is Bedlington born, William Henry Boll, who was head teacher at Nedderton School. Eric George Boll was his son, the seventh child of eight born to William and his wife Agnes while living in the school house in Nedderton village shown in Carole's photo above. They had one servant living in (1911) which must have been a great help to Agnes. Eric, at some point before 1939, moved to Lancashire where he died in 1974 at the age of 68 years. I believe that he was a police constable but have not been able to verify that as yet. This sounds like a very interesting document, which I would certainly be interested in reading. It should be preserved and available to all. Woodhorn Museum sounds like a good place, or digitalized for availability on-line. I'm sure Maggie can tell us more about school house. All I know is that it had 6 rooms and 10 residents in 1911.

The Mr Boll in this photo is William Henry Boll who was head teacher at Nedderton School. Eric George Boll was his son, the seventh child of eight born to William and his wife Agnes while living in the school house in Nedderton village shown in Carole's photo above. They had one servant living in (1911) which must have been a great help to Agnes. Eric, at some point before 1939, moved to Lancashire where he died in 1974 at the age of 68 years. I believe that he was a police constable but have not been able to verify that as yet. This sounds like a very interesting document, which I would certainly be interested in reading. It should be preserved and available to all. Woodhorn Museum sounds like a good place, or digitalized for availability on-line. I'm sure Maggie can tell us more about school house. All I know is that it had 6 rooms and 10 residents in 1911.

Ancestry. Very good . I've used it for years.

This is a real mystery! I couldn’t find Carr’s Buildings anywhere on (or leading off from) Front Street in the 1911 census and I can’t find it anywhere on (or leading off from) Glebe Row. The address ‘Carr’s Buildings’ just doesn’t seem to appear anywhere. However, it seems to have been a time of great confusion as far as the street names of Bedlington go. According to the enumerator, the whole of what we now call Front Street West was then called ‘High Street’ but no resident uses this name – most of them preferring to use ‘Front Street’ instead. Some dwellings were given specific names by the residents, in particular those that had a specific function, such as public houses, and those side streets and yards having their common entrance from the main road. From the Market place and heading north towards the Red Lion, the residents call these: Mason’s Arms, King’s Arms, Brewery Yard, Old Brewery House (home of Dr. Trotter), St.Cuthbert House, Howard Terrace (3 dwellings), Foggan’s Yard (12 dwellings, mostly 1 room), Baptist Yard West End (16 dwellings of 1-2 rooms) and West End – the latter being the last building before turning the corner onto Glebe Row and then occupied by Robert Beadnell. Most of us can probably remember Beadnell’s grocery shop on that site. With the exception of Foggan’s Yard and Baptist’s Yard, both with the addition of ‘High Street’, none of these names are taken up by the enumerator. The same situation is evident along the length of Glebe Row. Turning the corner from Beadnell’s and continuing towards Choppington as far as the Dr Pit Cottages on the western district boundary the official name seems to have simply been ‘Glebe Row’. However, even here the residents have their own unique way of defining the place they called home. Next to Beadnells was Kidd’s Yard with 10 dwellings ranging from 1-3 rooms. In one room we can find a father and son aged 69 and 30 years living together with a female servant aged 14 years. Talk about overcrowding! Continuing down Glebe Road, the residents use the names: Charlton’s Buildings (7 dwellings), Oliver’s Buildings (16 dwellings), Alma Inn, Front Street, Renwick House, Renwick Yard, Tankerville Yard, Arcade (6 dwellings 1-2 rooms, my parents lived here), Tankerville Arms, Fountain Yard (6 dwellings of 1 room) and Fountain Inn. The public houses are taken up by the enumerator with the addition of ‘Glebe Row’. No mention by either residents or the enumerator of Carr’s Buildings. I eagerly await the release of the 1921 census in 2021. We should be able to pinpoint it accurately with you having named relatives living there Eggy. By the way, ration books, along with National Dried Milk, Cod Liver Oil, Orange Juice and Virol were collected from the Food Office, formerly the Alma Inn. I've vague memories of visiting in the early 50s.

I can tell you that Carr's Buildings doesn't appear in any of the 19 enumerators books in the 1911 census. By that I mean the book into which he transcribed the information given on the individual census forms. However, 1911 was a good year for researchers because we even have accesss to the individual census forms filled in by the householders. My experience tells me that, not infrequently, the street name given by the householder and the street name given by the enumerator are not the same. Carr's buildings may just have been the name given by the residents themselves. If I can get a bit of time over today I'll have a wander up Front street (through the census forms) and see if any resident has used that name.

The pit heaps at Netherton always had a horrible smell when it rained - a sulphurish sort of smell. I've no doubt there's some scientific explanation - HPW? I never liked the smell of a wet, pure wool cardigan either but I doubt if that was particular to the area.

Nr. 1: I knew his face rang a bell! I'll get my coat.

Nr. 3 is definitely not Frank Bower. Nr 2 is, I believe, one of the Leonard/Lennart boys, Joe, Martin or Edward from Third Street. The others are familiar faces but just now I can't put a name to any of them.

I've come across this in my search for "Arcade", Bedlington. It's just a few doors down the road. 1911 Fountain yard comprised six dwellings. Nr. 1 and 2 were somewhat larger, both having 2 rooms while nr. 3-6 had only one. The families living there ranged from 2 to 8 persons and the majority were miners, though one bricklayer is recorded. Fountain Inn and Fountain Yard appear to have been neighbours of the Tankerville Arms public House on Glebe Row but they may have been opposite or adjacent to it. I'm tempted to think it was on the same side of the road, partly as it was located next door to the "Dr Pit Cottages" (logically these would be beside the pit) and partly because in 1904 the west side of what we now call Glebe Road was not built upon. It was farmland, so called 'Bishops Meadow', for the needs of the vicar of St Cuthberts. The housing area retains that name even today. If Mikki Lee Townley can give me some more information about Isabel (her parent's names would be a good help) I'll see if i can find anything nearer 1904. Glebe Row was a complicated area. The adress of every dwelling was simply Glebe Row but residents put their own names to various parts of it and these were later made official.

It would be rude not to give some form of redress, really.

No apologies needed, Vic. There is light at the end of the tunnel but it's been a long tunnel to get through. A good laugh is always a good medicine!

I must say you’ve got a lovely day for it – The Midsummer national holiday! I hope you’ve got your Maypole decorated and ready to be raised! You haven’t forgotten to practice the frog dance have you? Here’s how it goes: Have a lovely day!

Well, there you go! The old man was right after all!

Hi Dorothy, I’ve been trying to pin down the exact row of houses known as Sawmill Row by looking at earlier census records and maps. I’m sorry to say that I’m none the wiser. The choice is still between the two streets I mentioned earlier. However, I found Sawmill Road in the 1891, 1881 and the 1871 census. While the name isn’t mentioned in the 1891 census (it’s simply given as Guidepost) there can be no doubt that it is the same street named Sawmill Row in the 1901 census. You can see this by comparing the residents. There are several residents who appear on both, including your family, and even some of their neighbours living in the same position on the street as previously. The Hall family seems to have been around the Guidepost area for many years. They appear on the street, same house, same birthplace, in 1891 and again in 1881. There is also a Hall on the street in 1871 but you’d need to look more closely at that as there’s not much to go on for an outsider.

It was a serious question, Vic. I'd like to read more from Brian Chambers. That, due to the humour rather than the content of the work. He managed to put a smile on my face and that's a rare sight the last six months. So, if anybody knows who he is or where I can find any oher works of Brian do let me know. P.S. It was my old man who thought he might be a football player.

Who is Brian Chambers? Football player?

That's fantastic Eggy! I haven't been in that area for over thirty years but, while I'm sure I wouldn't recognise anything today, the street layout hasn't changed a great deal. Freehold Terrace (now Freehold Avenue) and Ford Terrace are still there and it looks as if the road I believe to be Sawmill Row is still there. This is a wonderful opportunity for you Dorothy to tread in your ancestors footsteps. I love doing that myself, The street becomes a kind of interface between the past and the present. Have a walk there next time your in the area

Hello again Dorothy! There was something odd about the house number you gave so I went back to the census and had another look. Sawmill Row was a very short row of houses with only 24 dwellings listed in the census so I thought that 194 couldn't be right. There were no house numbers recorded in the census for that street and 194 appears as the enumerators schedule number (always the first column as there isn't any special column for house numbers). Many streets didn't get numbers - or even names - until the postal service was fully developed. Hope this helps your future research.