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.

Church service on Sunday 2nd April 2017 in memory of William Brown, local mining engineer (1717-1782).

Above are the last three verses of The Death of Old Bay's Leap by Alan Duggan written in 1958. The rest of his poem, a nostalgic memory of the lost beauty, tranquility and productivity of Bay's Leap Farm at the onset of open cast coal mining, has already appeared on this blog.

Today we look at the other side of the coin. The photographic memories of one of those men who operated the machinery, dug out the coal and, at the end, restored the land back to farming.

The following poem was kindly sent to me by Mike Jones working with Averil Dawson, a resident of the care home, Grovewood House, which specialises in dementia care.

The following post by Swakopmunder appeared on the Mining Checks, Tallies, Tokens & Medals forum of the National Mining Memorabilia Association in 2009.

Heddon Colliery Powder Fund Check/Badge

Has anyone ever come across any UK mining explosives issuing tokens or similar? I know such tokens and checks were used in the US coal industry and had been told by at least a couple of very old English colliers that they remembered using something similar in their pits (pre 1947).

Recently I picked-up a 32 mm dia. brass embossed check which had around the edge of its obverse the legend HEDDON COLLIERY POWDER FUND plus two small pierced holes at 3 and 9 o’clock (like those on miners’ association checks/badges). The check did not have a stamped number in its centre like on a lamp or time check etc. instead this space was empty. The revere of the check had the embossed name and address of its maker in a circle. This maker was once a prolific producer of brass pub and other tokens in County Durham and Northumberland and also possibly operated a brass foundry.

Heddon Colliery closed c.1930 and was located 7 miles West of Newcastle-on-Tyne near to the pit village of Wylam (George Stephenson’s birth place). As far as I know this is the only check of any sort known from this colliery as none are recorded in Jeff Gardiner’s book of Durham and Northumberland Tokens.

Presumably the reference to POWDER on this check is to black or gunpowder used for blasting. The word FUND implies to me that there was some sort of communal fund that the miner’s paid into to purchase their powder. Bulk buying of powered or any other sort of mining consumables, by a group of miners, probably brought with it cash discounts which would be the incentive to joining such a fund/club. Possibly the check with its two distinctive piercings was issued by the system’s organisers as a type of membership badge to paid-up fund members, much as miner’s association checks/badges were used. The wearing of the badge would also act as a good advertisement for the scheme that presumably paid more financial discounts to the members the more miners were part of it.

The makers details are embosed in small letters in a circle in the middle of the check's reverse and read: Vandervelde & Co Makers, Newcastle on Tyne. No one knows if this famous north east token manufacturer produced colliery checks for the Great North Coalfield but I suspect that he did. Many of his other pub tokens etc. are also signed. I also have an outdoor type ornate brass head office wall plaque for the Pontop Coal Company that is also signed by him as the maker. I think it's likely he was well connected with the north-east colliery owners and probably did make a lot of the areas lamp checks.

Accidental death of William Weddell of Gallowgate, Newcastle, labourer following accident at Heddon Banks on the Wylam Waggonway in 1862.

Death in 1878 of a boy, Henry Harding at Heddon on the Wall after drinking whiskey with two friends.

Three workmen severely injured in gun-powder accident at New Quarry, Heddon on the Wall in 1879: Henry Garnett (Walbottle), Hutton Robson (Heddon), and a man named Andrew living at Blue Bell.

John Waddell (1828-1888), described as the operator of the New Quarry at Heddon, was a Scottish-born railway contractor based in Edinburgh.

He ran the enterprising and respected firm John Waddell and Sons and went on to complete many routes during the rise of the railways across England during the late 19th century, especially for the NER.

Notable examples of his work include the rebuilding of Putney Bridge in London (1882), the Scarborough and Whitby Railway, completion of the Whitby Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway and the Mersey Railway Tunnel.

Two reported fatal accidents at Heddon Colliery: Robert Simpson (25) conveying clay from colliery to brickworks by pony in 1885, and J Jameson (stoneshifter) in 1893.

Robert Lowery, Deputy Overman at Heddon Colliery, killed by stonefall in 1911.