She asked if I knew the Geordie folk song, 'Canny Wylam', which mentions Jackson and other notable, and not so notable, worthies from our neighboring village. After a mention of George Stephenson, the verse about Jackson goes:
Now there's Jackson, his owld mate, was another up te date,
And for that man , aa'll try te fix a line,
Well aall admit he's clever, made a clock te gan for ever,
Built in a wall at Wylam, Canny Wylam on the Tyne.
Song lyrics and background information kindly sent by Lynne Petrie, compiled with the help of her Wylam friends: Philip, Denis, David, Ron, and Marilyn.
Song lyrics
CANNY WYLAM
Aall sing te ye a line, aboot Wylam on the Tyne,
Just te take yer memories back, by the days of old lang syne,
Well there's George Stephenson for inst'
Well the world's run on wheels since,
And he hailed from Wylam, Canny Wylam on the Tyne.
Now there's Jackson, his owld mate,was another up te date,
And for that man, aa'll try te fix a line,
Well aall admit he's clever, made a clock te gan for ever,
Built in a wall at Wylam, Canny Wylam on the Tyne.
Now there's Parson at the Haal, he's a clivvor lad an' aall,
They reckon he invented the turbine,
He built a ship aall reet, it would sail both day and neet,
And he hailed from Wylam, Canny Wylam on the Tyne.
Now there's Harry Wilkinson, he hewed many a ton,
They say that he's the best in Stansley mine,
But the size of Harry's picks, it would take nigh five or six,
To carry them from Wylam, Canny Wylam on the Tyne.
There's a fellow like a lord, called old Buck Rutherford,
Many's the time I've seen him cross the line,
He'll gan intae the Bull, and cram himsel' chock full,
And drink aal the beer in Wylam, Canny Wylam on the Tyne.
Now Aave sung te ye this line aboot Wylam on the Tyne,
And of the folks that lived there in the days of owld lang syne,
Many years have passed since then,
Yet we still sing of these great men,
Who hailed from Canny Wylam, Canny Wylam on the Tyne.
Sung to the tune ’Nelly Gray’ used for 'Keep Your Feet Still Geordie Hinny'. Claims to have been written by Benjamin Hanby (1883-1867) in Ohio, America in 1856, but also used for Liverpudlian 'Maggie May', originating in 1830.
Lyric by Prudhoe born Albert Gibbons (1891-1937). In the trenches in WW1 Gibbons wrote poems like 'The Place where the Prudhoe Lad was Born', and 'A Canny Lad from Prudhoe' which were printed on to cards and sold for one old penny each to buy cigarettes and other necessities for comforts for the local lads. The exact date of Canny Wylam is unknown.
George Stephenson (1781-1848), railway pioneer and engineer, born High Street House, Wylam.
Isaac Jackson (1796-1862) left school at 7, but became self taught and highly skilled engineer, known particularly for clock making - one of his clocks is in the National Railway Museum in York. Buried in Ovingham churchyard. Nothing known at the moment about ’the clock te gan forever, built in a wall at Wylam’, but still looking.
(Sir) Charles Parsons (1854-1931), engineer who designed the high speed turbine (and tried out the model on the pond at his home, Holeyn Hall).
Harry [Henry] Wilkinson (1868-1947), on 1901 census coal miner/hewer, living in Ingham Row, Wylam. By 1911, he was the landlord of The Fox and Hounds. Stansley mine was part of West Wylam Pit, the biggest colliery in the area, maintaining over 900 employees until the beginning of WW2. It closed in 1960 and was to the west of the road from Hagg Bank to West Wylam.
Buck Rutherford (1873-1967). Probably Abel Rutherford, who in the 1901 census lived at Bogg Cottages, New Wylam in Prudhoe Castle (a neighbouring parish) so would have to ‘cross the line’ to get to The Bull. On the 1911 census, he was a coal mine (hewer), living at 2 Burgoyne Terrace, Wylam - much more convenient for The Bull!