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Forth Banks Railway Station?

17/12/2011

Lambley Station (2005)

© Copyright Les Hull and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

On October 10th, John Gillot, a member of our Society, gave us a talk about Railways in Northumberland. I walk a lot in many different areas of the countryside and often come across disused railway lines and wonder where they came from and where they went to. Railway history has always seemed so well documented that there can't be much left unknown, and it's a subject I've always left well alone.

Inspired by John's talk, I looked for a suitable book and after a little research picked 'Lost Railways of Northumberland' by Robert Kinghorn published by Countryside Books in 2006. It seemed to cover all the lines that might interest me, is not too big, and has a nice painting on the cover of a steam train at Lambley Station with the viaduct behind.

It's a statement in the first chapter that I want to discuss here which gave me a glimpse into a more confused world of railway history research than I had expected.

Scotswood Railway Bridge (2005)

© Copyright Chris Bell and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

King Edward VII Bridge. Photo A Curtis (2011)

The chapter deals with the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway (N&CR). The existing line from Newcastle Central Station now crosses the river by the King Edward VII Bridge and runs on the south side of the Tyne. The railway, however, first crossed the river by the first (wooden) Scotswood Railway Bridge, built in 1839, and approached Newcastle on the north bank. The disused bridge (the third) that still crosses at this point, was built in 1871, and was used until 1982, when passenger trains were re-routed via the King Edward Bridge.

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Town Farm, Heddon on the Wall

15/12/2011

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The photographer, Caroline Briggs, got in touch recently with a link to her blog, entitled, Picturing the Past which refers to an old postcard she had acquired. She asks if the house could be Town Farm in Heddon.

Postcard courtesy of Caroline Briggs.

The postcard was franked 19 April 1907, posted in Heddon-on-the-Wall and addressed to Mr J W Stephenson of Ravensworth Road, Dunston.

We don't have an old photo of the Town Farm farmhouse on this site, although there is one taken close to its former farmyard off Towne Gate here. The farmhouse itself was located north of the old A69 road (now disused), and the house in that location was recently called 'Four Winds', but is now, 'Glanville House'. It has been much changed and modernised over the years.

The map here from 1897 clearly shows the shape of the porch on the south side of the building. The house is not easily seen from the road but the porch and upper central window in my photo taken from the public road (below) appear to be a good match. If it is the house, the other windows must have been widened.

Caroline tells us that one of the signs on the wall of the house reads ‘New Milk & Soda’. This fits with one of our Memories.

Alec and Winnie Watson gave the following description:

The house (now called Four Winds), opposite Towne Gate, was Town Farm. That farm owned the buildings now in Tulip's Yard which were the farm buildings. Alec would go along to Town Farm with a milk can to collect the milk.

Caroline found out that Mr J W Stephenson, the recipient of the postcard, was born in 1869 in Newburn, and had 11 siblings. The youngest of these were still living with his parents, Sarah and William Stephenson, at Town Farm, Heddon-on-the-Wall, in 1901. She speculates that it his parents and younger siblings that are posed for the photograph outside Town Farm farmhouse, and she could well be right in that too. Caroline told me that she pieced this all together from the 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 and 1911 census.

The brief message (given in full on Caroline's post) is signed 'Cissie'. Although this was often applied as a nickname to several different girl's names, it is often applied to Sarah and that would fit too, inviting her son to visit on Sunday. Caroline found out that John also had a sister called Sarah, who would have been about 27 when the postcard was sent. Perhaps she was Cissie...? The only thing we don't know is what they had for Sunday dinner.

A great feat of detective work and a very interesting find. Many thanks for getting in touch, Caroline.

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Forth Banks Railway Station?

Town Farm, Heddon on the Wall

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