Canny lass

On 22/09/2020 at 13:53, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

The Market Cross. Some call it The Nail. Said to have been moved to it's current site in 1782 but there is o entry in the Bedlington 'Timeline'.

Info on the Megalithic Portal :-

No entry in the 'Historical Timeline of Bedlington' on this site :-

Info from @johndawsonjune1955

The Megalithic Portal doesn't make any sense to me. How can "Jim Swanns early 18th century diaries" possibly suggest that the cross was built in the late  18th century "1792". He must have written his diary BEFORE the cross was built!

YMCA ownership seems likely and thinking about the size of the field a bowling green would be about right.

On 08/09/2020 at 20:54, Jammy said:

 Behind the later YMCA building there is a flat field with something going on. Does anyone know what is happening on the field? My guess is it's a sports day. I didn't know that field existed. There appears to be footpath access from both ends.

While I was wandering around the 'station' in my research on Puddlers Row/Glassey terrace I noticed this:

Could it have belonged to the public house ? The Percy Arms

Somebody must have cut the grass on the area in question. any idea who?

Another question about that photo:

Off centre, left, top of photo: a footpath that divides into two - each going to a fairly large circle in the grass. What are those circles.

I've seen it used occasionally for a 'kick-about' with a football, not a proper match,  by some of the male YMCA members, early 60's. I have some recollection of being told that the area once belonged to the old YMCA (later, boot factory).

2 hours ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

It was Pitch & Toss

That's right! I can't pretend to be au fait with the intricacies of the game but I remember my mother letting off steam to my father about it!

Last part of the institute building, to the far right, must be what's noted as "policeman's dwelling" on the drawing. Would I be right in thinking that this policeman was the 'collry poliss' rather than a member of the constabulary. I know that the colliery policeman at Netherton (Geordie Collis) was employed by the Howard Pit and he had a colliery house but he wasn't a 'real' policeman. We used to sing a song about him:

I wish I was a poliss, a big fat poliss

Wi feet like Geordie Collis, the big fat poliss.

Kids can be cruel!

Good photo, Jammy!

There's no doubt in my mind that the space you ask about is the site of the toilet block, Eggy. That curved wall to the left formed one wall of the passage way to the Ladies entrance. The toilet building formed the other. I only ever used those toilets once and never again! Not because of any fault with the toilet facilities themselves but because of the huge amount of the biggest black slugs i've ever seen that invaded that passageway. The wall was covered in them of an evening. It was always dark and damp in there so they probably thrived. I didn't even like standing at the bus-stop if I had to stand too near the entrance.

I think I just make out the curve of the wall in Jammy's photo.

Could that be the beginnings of the public toilets that were behind the market place bus-stop?

On 14/05/2020 at 21:17, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

@Canny lass - a lad, Alan Brady, on the Facebook group Bygone Bedlington reckons this will be Netherton Colliery Infants school, not Nedderton Junior School. What do you think.

 

I must have missed this. An easy way to distinguish Netherton Infants School at Netherton Colliery from Nedderton Junior School at Nedderton Village is their different building materials. The colliery school was brick built while the village school was stone built (the older part facing the road) with a more modern annexe in green-painted corrugated iron at the rear.

This is brick built but the window is not one I recognise - especially with a door to the right . Compare it to other photos in the gallery and they all show windows with four pains of glass in width. They also seem rather higher than I remember if that's an adult on the far left top row. On other photos the window sill is at chest height.

3 minutes ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

... just testing your memory🙃 

did you find one to test?

I can't recognise anyone by name but nr 15 bears a strong resemblance to Esther Rochester who had the shop at Netherton Colliery but lived in the village. However, if these are all parents then it can't be her because she and Bob didn't have any children. Nr 42 is very familiar and, as I didn't know any adults from the village, apart from Esther,  she could have lived in the Colliery. The sheer number of women on that photo leads me to suspect that some of them must have been from other than the village. I don't think there were so many families there. Sorry. Can't be of any more help on this one.

I think you're right, Jammy. There must have been two with the same name. This photo is after 1959. I recognise a few of the Netherton children on this photo, all approximately.3 years younger than me and Pat Simm the netball player is my age.

Jammy, see my last post and see if you agree.

An after-thought. Pat Simm must have been born 1947. Would that date fit in with your Pat Simm?

Here is Pat Simm again (nr 16). Jammy, could you be getting her mixed up with Valerie Simm (Nr 35) who looks more like 'your' pat Simm?

1959 photo and the teacer here is named as the unmarried Nancy McLean.

I can't believe that is the same Pat Simm on both photos. This one is certainly not the Pat Simm I knew.

She was Miss MacLean when I started there in 1958 but married (McDonald) I think about 18 months later.

This is pat Simm. (nr 6). Same age as Ann Chapelhow who was in my class.

I don't think 21 is Pat Simm, unless there were two. Pat Simm, as I knew her, would be 1 - 2 years older than the people I know on this photo.

2 hours ago, Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) said:

I should stop trying to multitask

Never! Practice makes perfect!

Now I've got it! we're discussing this in two different places!

If Nr. 1 is Barron Smith in this photo then he is also nr 15 in the second photo for this band.

I've no idea who Joe Jones is but he's shown as nr 16 in this photo.

Time for bed. My head's hurting!
 

Now I'm totally confused! Have you changed the numbers?

That IS Joe Grant!

No need to apologize. You do a fantastic job with these photos, which is greatly appreciated. It can't be easy!

I have wondered a couple of times if No 15 could be Joe Grant. He's holding a cornet, his  build is more like Joe's and he's also got glasses. During my time in Netherton Joe was the only band member I can remember with glasses.

"Previous update wrong - No 1 is Joe Grant".

Joe was a short, stocky kind of guy, frequent visitor in my childhood home. I don't think this is him. Joe was never a trombone player. His instrument was the cornet, which he played excellently. He was usually the one playing the cornet solo for the judges outside the old council offices on Front Street.

He was already an adult when I knew him so I don't think he could become any taller.

No 1 (the same guy) is  named as Barron (Biff) Smith on a previous photo of the band taken outside the Brentforn Nylon Factory, under the sign.