I was privileged to be invited to see these two massive old maps last week. Based on sections of large scale Ordnance Survey maps, they have routes of Newcastle's buses, trams, trolley-buses and train routes painted on by hand. They had been designed to be hung up on a large wall somewhere and had been stored in a long and heavy wooden box. They had been rescued from disposal by David Vardy and brought to my attention by both Bill and Lil of Heddon who use a local Facebook page.

See below for more details and some recent research.

The origin of the box with its two maps was from a demolished property somewhere along the River Tyne, perhaps a storage warehouse of the town council.

An auction label on the wooden box showed that the maps had been in an auction by ADG Auctions of Blyth on 10th July 2021 as lot 736.

The lot was described only as 2 x 1920 local maps huge size approx. 18ft x 10ft, reused in war period 1944. Contained in large oak container.

There was no reserve price and the lot appeared to remain unsold and probably disposed of due to its condition.

The background maps can be identified as below:

• Smaller scale: Ordnance Survey 1921 1:10,560 (6" to 1 mile) .
• Larger scale: Ordnance Survey 1919 1:2,500 (25" to 1 mile) 

The plan based on the 6" OS Map shows the existing tram line on the Scotswood Road though Lemington and Newburn terminating at the cross roads in Throckley. The population of Newburn Urban District is given as 18,830. An existing bus route along the West Road terminates at Denton Burn but is marked as authorised but not operated further west as far as Heddon on the Wall. The population of Heddon is recorded on the plan as 676.

To the north, a bus route serves Ponteland and Darras Hall (population 1,146). The train line to Ponteland Station via Gosforth is also shown on the plan but had been closed to passenger traffic on 17 June 1929 due to competition with the buses. Ponteland remained open for goods traffic until 14 August 1967.

The larger scale map is titled:
Newcastle upon Tyne in Parliament Session 1944-45.

​Both plans are stored in a long wooden box which appears to have come from Westminster (probably made by a company at 15 Great George Street in W1 although that is only a guess from the incompletely read labels), and addressed to The Town Clerk of Newcastle upon Tyne. It had been sent by Resident Superintendent, House of Lords in July 1946.

Both maps are massive and would require conservation if anyone wants them, as the paper maps are peeling off their backing.

A quick check of parliamentary records suggests they could have been something to do with proposed Newcastle trolley-bus routes.

Trolleybuses to Replace Newcastle's Trams
The Commercial Motor 7th December 1945, Page 29 

Beamish Transport Online have a nice Newcastle Corporation Transport map (trolley-buses, trams and buses) from 1949 (published for use by public) although with no background OS. It is nice to imagine that the 1944-45 maps shown here were a forerunner for this later public service map.
​
Some of the tram routes on the 1944-45 maps (Throckley/Lemington) have been replaced by buses. However, trams still cross the Tyne & High Level Bridges on their way from Newcastle town centre to Gateshead.

A comment on this map on the website Transit Maps points out:
Interestingly, the main map seems to be presented at a slightly oblique angle almost as if the view was from an aeroplane high above the city. Distances along the north-south axis are somewhat compressed, and everything leans to the left a little. The bridges over the River Tyne are drawn in a way that reinforces this perspective, so the effect is quite convincing.

Perhaps someone had based it on the perspective of one of the massive maps laid out on the floor and observed from the bottom.

Co-Curate provides the following potted history of Newcastle's Trolleybus network.

October 2, 1935
Newcastle Trolleybus System opens
​The Newcastle upon Tyne trolleybus system opened on the 2nd of October 1935. These were electric buses, drawing power from overhead cables through spring-loaded trolley poles. Unlike the trams they replaced, trolleybuses didn't require tracks. The trolleybus system gradually replaced the Newcastle tramway network, eventually growing to a fleet of 204 trolleybuses covering 28 routes..

​Newcastle Libraries Collection Accession Number: 054254.

1946
Newcastle Trolleybus Network - Expansion
​Newcastle Corporation ran a programme of modernisation and expansion of it's trolleybus network between 1946 and 1949. During that period 186 new trolleybuses were ordered, replacing the original fleet of around 100, and expanding the network to cover 37 route miles. 

October 2, 1966
Newcastle Trolleybus System closes
​The Newcastle Trolleybus System closed in October 1966, after 31 years of operation. The electric trolleybuses were replaced by petrol buses. Some of the trolleybuses were scrapped, others were redeployed to trolleybus networks in other parts of the country.

Photo from Geograph © Copyright Alan Murray-Rust (cc-by-sa/2.0) Link

​Byker Bridge in 1966 looking east. The distinctive supports for the overhead wires have disappeared, and we seem to need crash barriers these days.

The trolleybus is no.621, one of the batch of BUT 9641T vehicles built in 1950 to the same design as the last trolleybuses built for London. By this stage only the main route 35 corridor was still operated by trolleybuses, the final closure coming the following year. .

David Vardy managed to find a new home for the maps - the museum of the Blyth Battery.

A set of dog-eared and characterful handwritten books record over fifteen thousand place-names from Abberwick to Youly Sike, with brief descriptions of the places, giving a fascinating overview of Northumberland (including Tyneside) around 1860, a time of great change, and they are now accessible on the Northumberland Name Books website which goes live on 1 September 2021.

The 104 Ordnance Survey Name Books for Northumberland (most housed in The National Archives, Kew) record the immense fieldwork project that lies behind the First Edition Six Inch-scale maps of the county, and all subsequent maps. The surveyors visited every corner of the county, consulting locals, describing the landscape and archaeological sites and recording gentlemen's residences, colliers' cottages, churches, chapels and now long-gone farms, ferries, wells, spas, pubs, mines and 'manufactories'.

Thanks to the dedicated work of over thirty volunteers led by retired professor Diana Whaley, a full set of transcriptions and images, together with introductory sections, can now be freely searched and browsed on the website. For anyone interested in town and country, past and present, in names,
or in the story behind our mapping, this is a treasure trove well worth exploring.

Particular thanks to Irwin Thompson, Cornwell Internet, Explore, principal funders the English Place-Name Society (Jim and Mary Ann Wilkes Fund), the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne and Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust.

Some photos of the newly built houses on the former site of Town Farm (later Tulip's Yard) adjacent to the old A69 when it passed this way through the village. The line of Hadrian's Wall likes under the houses and was subject to excavation during development of the site. The development of two detached, 4-bedroom houses and three link-detached, 3-bedroom dormer bungalows was completed in the summer of 2019.

A figure of eight, local history walk of 4.2 miles (6.7km) around the village of Wylam. You can view the walk on the ViewRanger web-site. A pdf of the walk with photos and other information can be downloaded below.

I have just received the following notification about the launch online of the Journal of William English.

"I am writing to announce that the website and journal of William English, (www.williamenglish.net) a miner originally from the North East of England who through hard work became a mining engineer in the gold mines of South Africa, is now live.
The website and journal covering the period 1875 to 1915 has been a project for William’s descendants, Hilary Norris and Larry Cunningham.
William found his own first job as a trapper when he left school at thirteen but after a week, ‘I didn’t like the mine, and wanted to leave, but my father said I had looked for the job myself and would now stay there. Well that fixed my destiny, but I know I should never have been a miner’.
William later followed in his father Henry’s footsteps and found work in the mines of South Africa. In 1899 he joined the Kaffrarian Rifles, fighting in the Boer War, and keeping a diary of each skirmish he took part in.
It is possible the journal was begun around this time. William’s life wasn’t solely defined by his work as a mining engineer although he details the materials, costs and dangers involved. He had many other interests, cycling perhaps being his greatest passion.
In transcribing William’s journal we have tracked the tragically short life of a self taught man in his own words. Additional material adds context and background information on the family. If you’d like to contact us please do so on info@williamenglish.net Larry Cunningham & Hilary Norris June 2021"

The homepage of the website is here: https://williamenglish.net

William English was born in Wylam in 1875 and died in 1915 at the Phthisis  Sanatorium at Modderfontein, near Johannesburg in South Africa.

His Journal probably written at a much later period of his life has been transcribed by his relatives and the website contains much more information about places and historical context.

Some information about Isaac Jackson, his clocks and model steam locomotives can be found in the blog articles on this site. There is also information about the song, Canny Wylam.

Photos by A Curtis (May 2021)

Link to 1:2500 georeferenced OS and LIDAR in Side by side view at National Library of Scotland.

In LIDAR data, the digital surface model (DSM) represents the earth's surface and includes all objects on it. In contrast to a DSM, the digital terrain model (DTM) represents the bare ground surface without any objects like plants and buildings. The laser pulses from the tree canopy are effectively removed from the data allowing the model to see through the trees.

The land which measures approximately 10 acres is contained wholly within the North Tyneside Green Belt and was formerly the Margaret Pit and Heddon Brick Works. It was active as a colliery and brick making works until 1947 when operations ceased.
Until 1949 the site was used as a printing works then for light engineering and thereafterwards  for the storage of paper.
In 1962 the then Minister of Housing and Local Government confirmed a Discontinuance Order requiring the use of the land for general industrial purposes to be discontinued and required all buildings and works on the land to be removed.
Protracted negotiations took place regarding compensation payment, and in 1965 final settlement was agreed on the basis of a cleared site without industrial use but with the benefit of an alternative use as a single dwelling house.
Since 1949 a series of applications were made for planning permission for various uses and details of these applications and their determination are as follows:

• 1949 Drying and processing in respect of concrete block manufacture REFUSED
• 1953 Development of land for housing REFUSED
• 1959 Development of land as a caravan site REFUSED
• 1960 Use of old tile works for vehicle spraying REFUSED
• 1965 Establishment of Country Club REFUSED
• 1967 Conversion of former colliery winding house to dwelling REFUSED (& DISMISSED ON APPEAL)
• 1968 Mobile washing plant REFUSED
• 1974 An application was made by the Northumberland County Small-bore Rifle Association for the development of of an outdoor small-bore rifle range with future storage, changing and toilet facilities.

The application was REFUSED for the following reasons:

• undesirable sporadic development contrary to the established policy of preserving the open, undeveloped character of the area.
• associated noise and activity prejudices the amenities of nearby residents.
• increased use of a winding road with no adequate provision for turning or parking of vehicles prejudicial to road safety.
  

An APPEAL was lodged against the planning refusal and subsequently determined by written representation. In a letter dated 30th January 1976 the Secretary of State, taking into account comments received from interested parties, advised  that he had allowed the appeal and granted planning permission subject to details of the design of buildings, site landscaping and means of access.

In September 1977, an application was received from the Tyne Valley Gun Club for the addition of two 25 metre pistol ranges. This application was considered by the Development Control Committee in October and approved subject to landscaping requirements, dates and times of shooting.

Owner of adjoining property submitted technical details in respect of provision of earth ramparts in an effort to baffle sound from the ranges. The Club were prepared to implement these reccommendations in full and this was done.

The application was further considered in January 1978 and deferred for a site visit to assess the problem of noise. On 2nd February approval was granted subject to revised shooting times.

On 27th April 1978, because of continual complaints from adjoining owners and in an effort to establish better public relations a further revision of the shooting times was approved in order to increase the 'quiet period' until the second Sunday in September.

An application by the Gun Club on 3rd July 1980  to extend shooting times into July was REFUSED.

The story of Northumberland's foot and mouth crisis - from those who were there.
On February 19, 2001, Britain's first case of foot and mouth since the 1960s was confirmed - what followed was 12 months of horror which will never be forgotten in Northumberland.

By Hannah Graham
ChronicleLive - 19th February 2021
Link     ArchiveLink

ITV News - 17th February 2021
Link     ArchiveLink

The terraced houses of Blayney Row were built for the employees of Heddon Brickworks by Bates of Heddon Hall in 1889 and sold to the Throckley Coal Company in 1895.

Cadwallader John Bates (1853–1902), was a notable antiquarian who inherited Heddon Hall, Colliery and Brick Works from his father Thomas Bates.

The Bates family had been established in Northumberland since the fourteenth century, but their connection with the Blayneys of Gregynog, Montgomeryshire, introduced a strain of Celtic blood, and Cadwallader himself was named after a cousin, the twelfth and last Lord Blayney (d. 1874).

This was the connection used by Cadwallader John Bates in his naming of Blayney Row.

Another row of terraced houses nearby, Moore Court, also now in Newburn parish, was named for the maiden name of the mother of his great uncle, Thomas Bates, a famous stock-breeder.

The photos below were kindly supplied by John Taberham, a member of the St James Heritage and Environment Group in Benwell. They show the ornate cast-iron vent or stench pipe almost hidden by vegetation behind the houses at Blayney Row.

I've not found a good local story for a while then this turned up which is definitely quite interesting. It comes from Chris Mitchell from Queensland, Australia who has strong evidence for being an ancestor of John Smith (1787-1853) who was brought up by George and Isabella Smith at what was then called High Close Farm. They had four other children, Margaret, Jane, George and Ann, all baptised at Heddon on the Wall.

At the time, High Close House, now a private residence surrounded by a golf course, was probably the Home Farm of Close House Estate, owned by the Bewicke family.

The family are remembered by a gravestone in St Andrew's Churchyard [14] which reads:

Sacred to the memory of Isabella Smith wife of George Smith of Close House who died the 13th of November 1822 aged 71 years. Also to the memory of George Smith husband of the above Isabella Smith who died the 5th of June 1836 aged 82 years. Margaret Smith daughter of the above died at Close House 25th July 1858 aged 75 years.

John Smith married Frances Jackson from Southwell, Nottinghamshire on 21 October 1816 and emigrated with one infant, George, on the vessel, Shipley, bound for Australia on 18 December in the same year. By coincidence this was the same vessel which carried John Gill to Australia in 1821, having been convicted  for the Great Heddon Tea Robbery.

In January 1818 John Smith received a land grant of 500 acres at Bringelly, about 50km west of Sydney. He named it Close House. Owing to the effect of heat on Frances' health, in 1820 they decided to move to Tasmania. John applied for and received a location order for 500 acres at Breadalbane about 7 miles south of Launceston. The property was named Marchington, after property inherited by Frances from her father Magnus Jackson.

Although Chris seems sure of John Smith's connection with High Close House he is not quite so certain of the rest of the tale, a collection of family stories, heirlooms, family likenesses and genetics which suggest that John Smith might actually have been the son of Prince George (later King George IV 1820-30) and Maria Fitzherbert. They were secretly married in 1785 but later annulled.

Could John have been paid off for his silence and encouraged to emigrate as far away as possible? He is only one of several who claim to be children of George. If true, John Smith would have been a cousin of Queen Victoria.

Is there another reason John could have been placed with the Smiths at High Close House? No connection is yet known between Maria Fitzherbert and George and Isabella Smith. However, there are local connections. Maria's cousin, Sir Edward Smythe owned Esh Hall near Durham until his death in 1811, and her uncle, Henry Errington posessed Beaufront Castle near Hexham, only 15km west of Close House estate. Henry's will referred to his nephews (Maria's brothers), Charles and Henry 'Smith'.

Chris has produced a nicely written, well documented and balanced assessment of the evidence which you can read below. Perhaps more will come to light in the future. Read it and make up your own mind.