Today's Reminders of the Past...The Battle of S. Hill

There is an internet difference when it comes to the Battle of S. Hill which took place in 1068 between William the Conqueror and Malcolm III of Scotland. William Hill would have the odds about even. Harry Hill would just say "Fight!"
That there was a Fight does not seem in dispute but was it on Sheriff Hill or Shadon's Hill?
For those not familiar with the local geography Sheriff Hill is at the pinnacle of Gateshead Fell and Shadon's Hill is on Blackfell between Birtley and Eighton Banks. If you don't know it, go from Birtley up towards Eighton Banks passing the big fishing lake on the left and just before passing the road on the left leading to the Bowes Incline pub look at the hill on the right, usually with horses in the surrounding fields. That's Shadon's Hill. See my pic taken from Shadon's Hill looking east towards the Felling (which is what this blog is supposed to be about). The Ship Inn is just off to the top right of the pic
What is surprising about this is that both factions, on the internet, seem oblivious to the fact that there is a battle going on. The Sheriff Hill lot don't say there is a counter point of view nor do the Shadon contingent.
Me? I'm off to the Library to investigate but I'm erring on the side of Sheriff Hill which is bang on the old A1 and exactly where an army from the Sooth and an army from Scotland would meet.

Today's Reminders of the Past...Q Pit Area of The Felling

A whole generation have renamed an area by collectively mishearing Cube Pit as Q Pit. The problem is that many do not know it relates to the former William Pit which was the ventilation shaft for the John Pit. It happened to be a Cube Pit which is a Scottish mining term for a ventilation shaft with a furnace to draw out the bad air and discharge it up high by the use of a very tall chimney.
The above extract mentioning the "old Cube Pit area of Felling" is from local lass June Gadby's novel

The Glory Girls



Here's another reference to Cube Pit in Heslop's Advertiser

Today's Reminders of the Past...Overblown Advert That Won't Go Away

Almond Printers of Felling High Street published this magazine in 1949 carrying this item

Undesirable

The Planning Committee think that the large advertisement for "Lochside Ales" painted on the gable end of the off-license shop in Davidson Street, undesirable, and are taking steps to see if it can be removed.
66 years have elapsed since then and these are photos of that gable end taken yesterday

Lochside Ales
Supplied By

JAMES DEUCHAR LTD

can still be clearly...OK, obscurely... seen

Should the new owners of this house brighten up this gable end with fresh paint or should they leave this little bit of local history for a little while longer
Paint it...24,000 days of enjoyment is long enough

Today's Reminders of the Past...Street Names

In the Brandling area of The Felling, being the location of the former Brandling seat Felling Hall and the Brandling Main Pit some new Council housing has been created where previous Council maisonette blocks have been demolished. It is a delight to see Rev John Hodgson (1779–1845) honoured in a street name. It is a disappointment to see this, Brandling Court, as the only other street name in this small development, though I can see the funny side of John Hodgson being Close to Brandling being Caught.

The Brandlings are long gone from Felling and some would say "it's good riddance". It was a large employer of local people but not a caring one and I fail to see why the name is further honoured

This one is very understandable for who would begrudge this man being honoured
I well understand Pattinson Gardens being named after Hugh Lee Pattinson, (1796-1858) the famous chemist who owned the huge Chemical Works and who showed a benevolence and a social reforming approach to his workers and their childrens' education. In Windy Nook there is Robert Owen Gardens named after this man who was also a benevolent employer/school provider in New Lanark, Scotland. So too there is Ruskin Road named after philanthropist John Ruskin (1819 – 1900), Hopper Road after John Hopper, the Methodist preacher who lived in Windy Nook and was the creator of the 'aged mineworkers home scheme' in 1898 and Oxberry Gardens named for John Oxberry (1857-1940) who was a local historian, as was Chas C Taylor who has Taylor Gardens in Pelaw named after him.
Talking of local historians being honoured one day we will have a street sign bearing Joan Hewitt's name but as she is still hale and hearty there's time yet. Sadly there is a local historian who was taken from us too early so maybe a vote should go to the next new Felling street being called Peter Haywood Way

Today's Reminders of the Past...Heworth & Pelaw/Bill Quay

Some young folk might have difficulty visualising Heworth as it was before the Felling By-Pass was built in the late 1950's. The points of reference on this pic are the wall of St Mary's Church at the bottom right of the picture which is Heworth and the houses in the far distance...

...which can be recognised today... and which are Pelaw and Bill Quay beyond. Now wait a minute. Heworth, Pelaw and Bill Quay are hamlets collectively forming, with others, the town of The Felling

Here is a photo of those houses taken today

And another. But wait. The Felling  By-Pass doesn't by-pass at all- it splits Heworth from Pelaw/Bill Quay. And is not Wardley on two sides of the so-called by-pass?

Indeed it splits Heworth itself. Some of the front garden of Heworth Hall was sacrificed to make way for the by-pass and the Parish Hall built in 1912 was demolished

Bits of St Mary's churchyard were also sacrificed..see these signs. Click the pics to make them bigger

By-Pass...my ass
When it was built in 1957-9 most of the industry on Felling Shore, Heworth Shore and Bill Quay had gone so why didn't it truly by-pass The Felling?

Today's Reminders of the Past..Coach Road from Leam Farm to North Leam Farm to High Heworth Farm

The Wylam family had three farmhouses at High Heworth Farm (former peae pudding factory, now a church), Leam Farm (still a house) and North Leam Farm, known in later times as Major English's house, but now long gone. However what remains is the magnificent coach road between the three.

The Leam Farm House is the buiding in the bottom right hand corner. The North Leam Farm House was in the round..ish green area in the middle of the picture and the High Heworth Farm House is off the picture at the top left

Here's my pics of the route starting on Leam Lane

This from the Farm field..the red is the bus stop shelter

This the entrance to the walk on Leam Lane

Isn't it magnificent, even now?

The big green area on the right is where North Leam Farm House was

This is the section after crossing Wealcroft

Today's Reminders of the Past. Post Box on Felling High Street

The post box is now outside the Felling Hub but how long has it been there? Before the Hub it was the Greyhound pub, which by this photo had become Roys, Furnishers

It's been on the High Street since the period 1901-1910 because this

is the Royal Cypher of Edward VII who was on the throne in that period
But this, or an earlier box was on the other side and further down. It was outside Walter Willsons shop that was created out of the Methodist Chapel

You can't tell from this pic that it was at that location but you can judge it by the shops on the other side. The two dormer windows near each other are just down from Costelloes, later Sauls..indeed you can see the three pawnbrokers balls on this pic

Its bigger than it was when it was first installed by virtue of the 30 or so layers of red and black paint it's had applied to it over the past 110 years!