Diana

Many thanks to everyone who has replied to my topic - you have all really helped to set my ancestors in context. Because I have seen miners' rows in the west of Scotland, where the houses were single storey, I had assumed they would be similar in Northumberland, but that is clearly not the case. The accommodation looks well designed and the generous gardens a good feature. The outside toilets I am not so sure about!

I'm afraid Lewis Green drowned after falling off the bridge at Bedlington Iron Works, after spending the evening in the "Rose and Crown". The accident was written up in the Newcastle Courant 6 May 1864. I suspect it was a railway bridge either associated with the colliery or the iron works and may not have had a parapet. Or he may have been crossing via the stepping stones which were there at the time.

Many thanks - my ancestor, Lewis Green, died in an accident in 1864 and the newspaper mentioned that he worked at Sleekburn Colliery. I've checked the 1861 census for clarification of 1st Colliery Row, and I think the enumerator was travelling roughly west to east, taking in 1st & 2nd Colliery Row at Bedlington Colliery, followed by Tile Shades Cottages, Sleekburn Cottages and then 1st-3rd Colliery Row, Barrington Colliery. I look forward to your map images - I have another query to follow about the location where Lewis met his end.

Many thanks for the splendid photo. The miners' rows, at least in 1924, were clearly two storey. My great grandmother (Lizzie Green) was born in 1862 but the 1861 census shows her mother, Mary Green, living at No. 9, 1st Colliery Row, Bedlington Colliery, with her parents Lewis and Margaret Green. It was a crowded household, at least to modern eyes, with 3 children and 7 adults. I therefore wondered where the family went for social get-togethers and if the Railway Inn was the community's hub. Also, did they grow a lot of their own food since shopping must have involved a walk into Bedlington or Blyth?

My great great grandmother was brought up at Bedlington Colliery in one of the miners' rows. I found this 1858 map of the area and I wondered if anyone could tell me about the houses - were they single storey, how many rooms were there in each one, were the long gardens for growing vegetables and were the toilets indoors? I also wondered what became of the Railway Inn?