Houghton-le-Spring Disappointments

On Wednesday 30th March 2022, I found myself in Houghton-le-Spring for, I think, the first time ever. Now, every time I go somewhere new I conduct a little research to see if I can identify a few historical highlights for my pending visit. So, with Paul Lanagan's 'Houghton Heritage Trail' leaflet in my hand I set forth....

I knew a little bit about the place, I admit. When carrying out research for a couple of articles on my old 'North-East History Tour' blog a few years ago, I was well aware of the famous Bernard Gilpin and the related Gilpin Thorn. At the very least, I wanted to see what I could uncover about these two topics.

It was a cold, sleety day when my wife and I pulled up in the Station Road car park. After a cursory glance in the shops on Newbottle Street, we emerged into the open space beyond the White Lion pub. And there it was: The parish church of St.Michael & All Angels - a huge affair, within which I would, I hoped, be able to find Bernard Gilpin's tomb. With an icy drizzle angling across my lens, I took a photo or two, then proceeded towards the door. Locked! Inside the porch and through the tightly-secured gate I could make out cheery 'open' signs welcoming all and sundry. Not today though, eh? Sigh.

A locked church 😕

Anyway, I had a wander round the back of the church, ran my eyes over the pretty Kepier Hall (an old grammar school) and the neighbouring almhouses, whilst fending an enquiry from a little old lady about the day's W.I. meeting. My unhelpful response offered little in the way of fulfillment, and was to represent an apt metaphor for my own visit.

The Almshouses

We crossed the road to Rectory Park, looked the old Rectory up and down with not a little disappointment (which is the front, I wondered?) - it could really do with a bit of TLC, I thought - and set about looking for any trace of the old Gilpin Thorn. Now I know there isn't supposed to be any trace of it (or its successors) left, but I thought there may be a plaque or something lying around. I couldn't find anything - though I wasn't altogether sure exactly where I should be looking. If I missed something, please let me know.

My wife and I wandered back up through the shops, picked up a hot chocolate each and an egg and cress baguette at Greggs and retired to our car, a little colder and a good deal damper than when we left it.

Circumstances conspired against me today, I fear. Next time I will check to see if the church is open first. And pick a better day, weather-wise.

BTW, the Houghton Heritage Society website is quite excellent if you wish to learn more about the town.

Mackenzie & his 1827 History of Newcastle

Eneas Mackenzie's A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, including the Borough of Gateshead is one of the most important works pertaining to Newcastle's history that has ever been published. It hit the shelves in 1827, and is most commonly found in this 2vols-in-1 format. 

I say 'commonly', but it is not very often you get a chance to buy a copy of one of the first editions ... but I managed to snag one the other day off eBay. I couldn't believe it when it popped up in one of my searches, thus:

A two volume work bound as one volume. 760 pages, measures 28 x 23 x 6 cms, approximately. Has all the plates present and in-text vignettes. An ex-library copy that has been reset in its binding. Has library stamps to front and rear end-papers and to the title-page. Has been well read with tears to some pages, foxing and handling and age-related marks. The boards are rubbed and worn to the edges.

Tell you what, though, it's a cracking copy, and a bargain at £45+p&p. It's the sort of thing that local history fans like me just love to lay our hands on. When I unpacked it and laid it on my office desk, I set about a quick gander. I'm sure I was just beginning to salivate over the musty old pages when my wife walked in on me. It was like being caught looking at porn. I hadn't intended to tell her about my 'illicit' purchase, and my actions took some explaining I can tell you. In actual fact, and despite my enthusiasm for the 'real thing', the book is readily available online to download as a 'Google Book'. But there's nothing like a 1827 first edition, is there? I mean, howay, man, just look at it!

Mackenzie himself was born in 1778 in Aberdeenshire. His family moved to Newcastle when he was three, and he at first seemed destined to become a shoemaker like his father. He became a baptist minister, and briefly tried his hand in business as a broker at Sunderland. He soon returned to Newcastle, opened a school, then changed his mind again, becoming a printer and publisher. After a distinguished career in this line of work, Mackenzie was to fall victim to the cholera epidemic of 1831-32, being one of several hundred to die in Newcastle during the outbreak*. He died on 21st February 1832 "after a few hours' illness" and was buried in Westgate Hill Cemetery.

1832 was also the year of the Great Reform Act, which received royal assent on 7th June. Mackenzie was especially well-known at the time of his death in so much as he was a big supporter of the campaign for electoral reform, even appearing as a speaker at a 50,000-strong demonstration on the Town Moor in October 1831. Mackenzie was instrumental in founding Newcastle’s Mechanics’ Institute, where his bust is preserved.

So there you have it, my new prized possession. And just to top it off, tucked inside the tome was this nice note from the seller:

*The UK’s cholera epidemic of 1831-32 began, in fact, in Sunderland in October 1831, before spreading nationwide. It was brought to these shores by a ship carrying infected sailors.

Seaham & Thereabouts

It may seem strange to begin this blog with a few lines and pics of a non-Newcastle venue. But it just so happens that the day after I launched this site my wife, Angie, and I visited Seaham for the first time in many years. So I thought I'd give you a little report on our adventure on Sunday 20th March 2022. 

We parked at the Seaham Hall Beach Car Park to the north of the town, and walked south, past the harbour & promenade, then down to Nose's Point, along Blast Beach, then onto Hawthorn Dene. We followed the Durham Heritage Coast Trail ... until we missed a turn and ended up scrambling around under Hawthorn Dene Viaduct (a little unnerving due to my dodgy ankle). So we turned around and retraced our steps back to the car. A lovely and (mostly) sunny day - though it was a Spring Tide, which gave us a bit of excitement when dropping down to the lower prom for a short time!

As we were nearing the car, we took a little diversion up Church Lane to have a quick gander at the parish church of St.Mary the Virgin and Seaham Hall. The light was starting to draw in so I couldn't really take any more photos ... but here's a selection of a few other highlights of the walk:

Here's 'Tommy', the famous statue by Ray Lonsdale erected in 2014, and paid for by local donations. Sorry about the slightly skewwhiff shot of the plate below.

The sign says it all in the pic above. What a hive of activity this place must have been in times gone by.

Next we have the northern descent down to Blast Beach from Nose's Point. 

And here we have the view south from beach level. The rough-looking edge on the beach is what's left of the 'lip' of industrial slag which used to reach far out to sea.

The picture below shows the view looking the other way. Nose's Point reaches out to sea, and the 'descent' mentioned above is in the centre.

Another pic follows. Very dramatic, even on a calm day.

Here's a good idea of how Blast Beach looks today. Strewn with a mixture of industrial waste and weathered bits and bobs from the cliffs. About two-thirds of the way down the beach is a curious lonely stone stack, opposite which is a set of steps up to the cliff-top.

On the way back, we caught sight of this on the top of Nose's Point. I remember seeing something similar in Stanhope.

Here's two halves of the helpful info panel on Nose's Point.

There's been a fair bit of sprucing-up of the front in recent years, that much is clear; and it all looks rather nice. Plenty of opportunities for ice creams, coffees and fish 'n' chips, too. Well done - "you've all done very well", as young Mr Grace used to say.

[note: I mention Blast Beach and Nose's Point in my book The Great North-East: An English History Tour, Vol.1. I'm ashamed to say that I wrote the same before I'd ever visited the twin site - but nothing I said in the book is contradicted by what I saw on my trip. It is an extraordinary spot, if one considers what the place used to look like. Fact: the site was so barren in the early 1990s that it was used for the opening scenes of Alien 3]

  

Ok, then, here's a 'Holding' post...

Yeah, I know, there isn't much to see here right now. I've only just thrown the basics of this new blog together today, and now it's time for bed. I shall sort things out over the next week or so, and will post regularly to keep you coming back for more. If anyone has any websites, news, etc., about Newcastle to report then do get in touch. My email is in the 'About' section.