2 hours ago, Tonyp said:

Hi Alan don’t think anyone has gone off track what’s wrong with giving a new member information to there question we are just trying to help about the area where he’s new house is I would be interested never mind 

Noting wrong at all @Tonyp. I was simply contacting stustep, via the '@' name tag method, so they could see what had been said about the property with the Blue Badge that was the initial query.

The info on the other premises is good

I see Canny Lass  - Coming soon This is an interesting family and I've been researching them this week. I'll post soon, probably on John Dawson's thread The Last of the Nailers. It will probably be long so it may need a few posts. - looks like she has been digging on the genealogy site

@stustep as you can see we have gone off track from your original query on your property with the Blue Plaque.

Haven't been able to turn up any more info on who had lived in that property through the years. 

I wonder if @Maggie/915 has any info via the Bedlington History Society?

stustep - if you are on Facebook then you could join their group and ask :- 

On 16/04/2024 at 12:38, threegee said:

Question for Councillor Sanderson:  Have you ever been in a modern data centre?  If you have, the one thing you'd have noticed is the distinct lack of human beings. 

I agree that the way they talk suggests that there will be 4,00 jobs for the life of the data centre but that has always been  the way they put it to the audience as they attempt to impress the public with 'their' achievment.

Extract from the Financil Times online story -  If successful, it is hoped that the project could attract billions in investment to build one of Europe’s largest data centres and create about 4,000 jobs, the council said. 

I can put up with that nonsense it's the way the world has been informed that Britishvolt, and now Blackstone, are building on the former Blyth Power Station (BPS)  site. I am not aware of BPS having owned all the surrounding plots of land in Cambois. As far as I am concerned Britishvolt have never been on the BPS site. 🤞 

8 hours ago, threegee said:

 

Blackstone to Buy Britishvolt Site for Massive QTS Data Center

 Alamy

 

https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/buildconstruction/blackstone-buy-britishvolt-site-massive-qts-data-center#close-modal

So if the move for the QTS Data Center is successfull then Cambois will have a cloud hangiing over it for many years to come

@stustep using a B&W version of @James's early 19th century photo I have added some old and new images confirming it.

@stustep I have no idea what changes the building has gone through. I wonder if @HIGH PIT WILMA can remember any?
 

@stustep didn't find anything in th Evan Martin booklet on the Bedlington Iron Works (but I did just scan through it )

I did a Google of 'Gibson Bedlington nailers'  and there is one directory that shows Ann Gibson as the owner of the nail manufacturing business 

With a bit of maniplation and I extracted, via screen shots, some extracts from the directory and then with a bit of clarting Iclagged some bits together to make a couple of pages, the cover page and page 897 on Bedlingtonshire :-
 

Yon can seen the directory shows the name Gibson Ann twice.

And then I download @Maggie/915's photo of the blue plaque just to show what we have been checking on

dosen't give any more info than the reference CL has pointed to but the Northumberland County Council has the 'Northumberland Extensive Urban Survey' document and paragraph 6.7 has :- 

6.7 Chain and Mail Manufacturers and Ironmongers There is an account book for Gibson Bros. of Bedlington chain and mail manufacturers and ironmongers dated 1853-1923. This account book lists orders from customers but does not establish the location of the works, which may have been within the Bedlington Iron Works.

Link to it is :- 

https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/NorthumberlandCountyCouncil/media/Planning-and-Building/Conservation/Archaeology/Bedlington.pdf

17 hours ago, stustep said:

Hi

 

We are moving to bedlington as we have just bought a property on front street.

The property in question has a blue plaque on the wall outside (Gibsons who i believe were a family who made nails) and I've been told used to be a wholesalers and such over the years prior to becoming a home in the early 2000's, id be really interested if anyone has any old photographs of 36 front street (opposite the Black Bull) prior to it becoming a home.

 

thanks 

@John Fox (foxy) & @Mal I am assuming the council will have records of the Blue Plaques - do you know who to contact at the council offices?

I don't know if English Heritage are sent all info on Blue Plaques  (to me).

@stustep - I know @Andy Millne added an entry into the bedlington Timeline :-

@Jammy posted in a topic 'Halfpenny Woods' create by @Canny lass and mentioned the iron Works and in his comment was this bit about nails :-  

 Something else that has me thinking. Which way were the completed steam engines moved from the works. I suppose they could have travelled towards the Kitty Brewster or beyond to flatter ground and joined the rail network in the Bates pit area. The furnace bridge is an arch but is flat on the top so the engines could be wheeled/dragged across it with teams of horses. Then there would be the problem of getting them up to the bank top. I doubt horses could pull them up but perhaps a stationary steam engine could pull them up but where would they go from there. There was a rail track from the iron works that ran along the edge of the river towards the black bridge. This track was paid for by the Iron Works and connected with the Barrington pit track that brought coal to the riverside for transfer onto barges. The iron works then had coal delivered directly to the works. I'm not sure if the trains went along that track because it was probably not a standard gauge track and was used to carry tubs of coal. The trains could have been loaded onto a barge though that would be risky and where would they be off loaded. I'm a bit puzzled.

 There is a stone block wall next to the furnace bridge which was probably reinforcing the land behind it and was used to tie up barges bringing supplies to the Iron Works or taking some of the other goods produced at the Iron Works. The Iron works also produced 100,000's of stamped nails that were transported all over the UK and the world.

I'll have a look at the Evan Martin booklet  - Bedlington iron & Engine Wporks 1736-1867' and see if the name 'Gibson' gets mentioned.

9 hours ago, threegee said:

I've likely said this before, but at the risk of becoming boring... 😁

Looking back, it will be no bad thing that early expectations regarding Cambois weren't met.  The reason I say this is that world battery prices are on spectacular decline (per kilowatt) right now.  What looked economic a few months back could easily turn into a white elephant today.  There are so many plants now in construction that there's going to be a painful shake-out in the not too distant future.  Also, Lithium batteries are rapidly becoming a strategic material: what would the military now do without its modern armada of drones?!  Import barriers and local incentives are becoming the order of the day.  So if you don't have a large enough domestic market established to take all the output, it's doomed from the start.

It's always nice to be on the cutting edge of new technologies, but those who play with sharp objects...  Doing what you do do well still has a lot to say for it.  If you consulted Elon Musk on this, he'd certainly say start at the downstream end small and then vertically integrate backwards.  Nice that some of this is already going on:-

https://etn.news/energy-storage/rimac-energy-opens-new-bess-manufacturing-facility-in-the-uk

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/britishvolt-cambois-northumberland-county-council-28887437?fbclid=IwAR20CimeFvKKDjmhSdLRo4siOuIeapWcpQYDB2t1zHutHaFHv8_NcRCzhvM

3 hours ago, HIGH PIT WILMA said:

First chance a get,aal hae a luk in at the aad school and tek a picta..aam not shy o just waakin in and asking the Heedmaster and tell him/her aam a historian and original first day of oppenin pupil!!..in 1956...![dinna want ti open that ancient debate again mind!!],,aal see wat a can dae  folks..it's difficult gettin oot noo..me Wife is ill,and aav just been diagnosed wi Glaucoma in both eyes..!!..me bike riding days seem ti be owa sadly!!..itll be me driving the way things are gannin!! Cheers folks!!

1 hour ago, Symptoms said:

Thank you both for the helpful info.  I'll do some editing of the school karting footage and then attempt to upload ... fingers crossed.

🤞🤞

On 15/03/2024 at 20:11, Symptoms said:

Is it possible to upload short video clips to the forum?  I asked this question many years ago but didn't get an answer;  maybe back then the technology didn't exist here to do it but maybe now the guy with the Forum's toolbox (is it one of the Gs?) has added this enhancement.  I've got 1960s 8mm film (now digitized) taken by my late father of some Bedlington related stuff that it would be good to share, eg. school karting.

@Symptoms video clips have been loaded but I assume there might be restrctions depending on the extension name eg. MP4. - MOV. - WMV. AVI. WEBM or HTML5. that this site can handle - @Andy Millne will know

14 hours ago, Symptoms said:

Is the old school building still standing?  One of the posts above suggested it was going to be demolished but Google Street View dated 2023 shows it still standing.  It would be great if a local could stick a camera around the gate post during the Easter holiday (no kids about!!!!) and then share with us expats what the place looks like now. 

No idea @Symptoms . Don't know if we have any local members that could help.

Google street view 2009 

Youll have to ask @HIGH PIT WILMA to ride through the main gates on his motorbike and take some pics

Google street view 2023

Google aerial view 2023

16 hours ago, ms_lighthouse said:

I know its a few years since the last post on this thread, but I'm doing some family history stuff and searched 2 gate house... it would appear my ancestors lived there between yours! Mine were there in the 1921 census, and moved on by 1939! Thanks so much for that map canny lass!

@Canny lass

https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2024-02-15/britishvolt-administrators-in-negotiations-with-potential-new-buyers?fbclid=IwAR2y_w_7jLEwHIS4IlO9P-qHTNsNfxscb6LKcW96bL-0TWzBBh0J-SobV_k

1 hour ago, Canny lass said:

@Alan Edgar (Eggy1948) Well, I got him to look at it and he 'clarted' all day with no luck. He wonders if it has anything to do with my having bought a new laptop and iphone exactly one year ago when something called F-secure was installed (Part of the package I bought). I thought I'd had the problem over a year but maybe I'm wrong.

@Canny lass had a search on Google for 'F-secure' and it looks like there is a way to temporarilly turn off protection but not sure if I would want to go down that path - the older I get the more secure I need to be .

https://community.f-secure.com/en/discussion/126862/turn-off-protection-option-is-now-hidden-in-f-secure-19-1

Think I would be looking for a device that has access to the www with security software that would give you the option to access 'Not secure' sThites of your choice.

I have used the DMM site for five or more years and I see postings on many local Facebook groups from others who have used the site and I have never seen anyone whinge about the site. I have corresponded via email with the 'Webmaster' who looks after all the software and he told me the site was developed years ago using a now redundant software and he does not know of anyone else that uses this software so there will be no one available to do what he does when he moves on.

Info from http://www.dmm.org.uk/misc/f_purp.htm =

12 hours ago, Canny lass said:

I haven't been ale to access dmm for well over a year. Any attempt just gives this message. Any idea what it means?

 

@Canny lass the DMM site is a site that is recognised by browsers or the Security Software you have on your device as 'Not Secure' and that's why you get the 403 error. 

My security software - Malwarebytes warns you that a site is not secure and gives you the option to 'contnue' or 'block access' to the site. As I said 'continue' for access to DMM my Secrity Software saved that response for the DMM site and I am nolonger asked the question when I access DMM.

There used to be 'padlock' logo at the start of a 'secure' site name but that appears to have changed to awhat looks like a couple of Keys but when you click on the Keys the infois displayed.

DMM site with 'Not Secure' at begining :-

Amazon uk site with 'Keys' :-   

Durham Mining Museum A to Z of Northumberland & Durham pits :-

http://www.dmm.org.uk/colliery/index_a.htm

@Ovalteeny extract from a newspaper article Dave brown posted on the Bygone Bedlington group.

Photo with info from Evan Martin's book - The Shire of Bedlington in old picture postcards' :-

@7RIrF & @Canny lass Red Row - we played there as kids as one of the pupis. Ronnie Phillips (opr Phillipson) lived in the Row when we were at Barrington County primary School - 1953 to 1960. I think all the families were moved out in the early 1960's  as I remember we used to play in the derelict houses = jumping out of the upstairs windows into the garden area. 

Think there is a photo of the row in one of the Evan Martin books on Bedlington/Barrington. The photo is from when you go over the bridge on Stakeford Row that now leads on to Red Row and part of the new housing estate that is built there is called Red Row Court.

49 minutes ago, 7RIrF said:

Hi,

You may have already known this but in case you don't: 

Thomas Bestford served with the Royal Engineers as a Sapper, entering theatre (Mesopotamia) Feb 1917. He was commissioned on the 4th November 1918, to 2/Lt. At some point he is promoted to Lieutenant. Along with the Victory & British War Medal, Thomas received the General Service Medal with the Iraq Clasp, as he went on to serve in Iraq after WW1 (presumably the Iraq revolt).

George Bestford was a Sergeant in the 20th NF (1st Tyneside Scottish), his number was 20/21 meaning he was the 21st man to enlist in the Tyneside Scottish. He is wounded, at which point I believe he was transferred to the 25th NF (2nd Tyneside Irish) and is then commissioned to 2/Lt (I don't know the date). He goes on to be promoted to Lieutenant whilst attached the the 9th NF. He is at some point again transferred but to the 2/4th Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. I have attached a photo from the Illustrated Chronicle. Along with a paper clipping of him being reported wounded - Newcastle Journal 12th July 1916.

 

I have also attached a newspaper clipping relating to William Thomas Bestford - Newcastle Journal, Friday 28th July 1916. Along with a photo of William from the Illustrated Chronicle.

 

There is an Adam Bestford serving in the Royal Engineers, (n. 1248 & 459201) - possibly your man?.. I can' t find any evidence at the moment to link Adam to your Adam.

 

I have also found a William Bestford which I believe is their cousin. His father is William, brother of Thomas (father of the 6 boys). He served in the Northumberland Fusiliers (n. 19530). He was discharged 21st Feb 1918, residing at Bedlington Colliery. I have also attached a photo from the Illustrated Chronicle.

 

Many thanks,

James

@7RIrF this topic was created by @Symptoms directing the members to the work that ex member Rigger (Derek Johnstone) had done investigating the soldiers from Bedlington that had been in WWI. I don't think there is any reference to WWII. 

This is a direct link to the site that Rigger created :-

https://docplayer.net/152715054-Bedlington-soldiers-who-died-in-the-great-war.html

On 15/01/2024 at 09:16, Canny lass said:

"printed and published by G Robinson, 10 Front Street West" - would that be the newsagents at the top end?

Checked with John Krzyzanowski and he hasn't found any info so we don't have any definate proof but I would say you were right. This is G Robinson's advert in the St Cuthbert's parish magazine of 1947 sent to me electronically by Peter Morgan :-