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.

I was contacted recently by Marian Rowley asking if I knew the date of an old photo on this web site - a black and white version of that shown above. It is a postcard of the Royal French Arms, a former pub on the Hexham Road. It's actually in Heddon on the Wall (despite the postcard caption) but right next to its eastern boundary with Throckley. She was interested as she had seen the name of Alexander Waters, the licensee, over the doorway.

A relative of Marian's of the same name, Alexander Waters, had been landlord of the Engine Inn / Locomotive Inn in Walbottle for many years. His son in law, John Armatage, was landlord, of the Three Tuns in Heddon on the Wall, as also was his father.

Alexander Waters died in 1911 and Marian told me that records showed that he was at the Engine Inn at that time as he had been since about 1871. She was wondering if the licencee of the Royal French Arms was another Alexander Waters or the same man as her relative. A date for the photo might help.

The 1901 Census does show that John Armatage (born 1866 (was innkeeper at the Three Tuns, living with wife Mary (b.1871) and two children, Alex (b.1893) and Annie (b.1901). They had two servants.

However, in 1911, the Census shows that Richard Thompson (68, Burnopfield) had succeeded John Armatage (b.1866) as publican of the Three Tuns Inn.

John Armatage (now 46) was at that time at The Royal French Arms at Frenchman's Row. He is described as Manager of the Licensed House.

His brother, George Armatage (b.1852 in Wylam) was working as a blacksmith and horseshoer and lived with his family in a property identified on the 1911 Census as Quarry House, Houghton. 1901 has them living in Common House which was probably the same property (on the edge of Heddon Common). His son, George (23, Heddon) was in the same business. Another son, Robert Armatage (19, Heddon), a postman, was to be a casualty of the First World War.

The Royal French Arms was built in 1897 close to the site of a former beer-house which stood at the east end of the terrace known as Frenchmen's Row. The new inn was built much closer to the Hexham Road and the postcard photo must be later than that year. The public house has now been converted into apartments with the name 'Royal French Court'.

Matthew Auty who founded Auty Ltd. died in 1895 but some postcards in the Auty Series seem to date from early 1900s, even up to 1910 or later. The initials G.H. and W.B. refer to Godfrey Hastings who took over the business in Whitley Bay.

Auty Ltd. claimed to have been the first to introduce the continental idea of picture postcards to the north of England and his views familiarised prospective visitors with the charms of the area. Source: vetraio50 on Collectors Weekly

Prior to 1899, British postcards were commonly 4.75 x 3.5 inches (115 x 89mm), known as court cards. A standard size of 5.5 x 3.5 inches (140 x 89mm) was introduced in 1899. The postcard shown above is standard size, although of course the photo itself could have been taken earlier as Auty's original plates were re-printed.

Marian kindly provided the following information.

Alexander Waters Snr., born in 1813, was the brother of my great-great grandmother, Jane Waters.

He married Hannah Nesbitt in 1838. They lived in Walbottle and had five children [known of] that survived into adulthood.
Alexander Snr. died in 1887 and in 1901 Hannah was living at Mount Pleasant in Throckley.

Their son, Alexander Jnr., was born in 1849 and in 1869 he married Jane Maughan who was born in 1852 in Newburn.
 
According to census information:
In 1871 Alexander, Jane and daughter Mary Hannah were living at 20 New Row in Walbottle.  Alexander was a coal miner.

In 1881 Alexander, Jane and Mary Hannah (aged 11) were living at the Engine Inn where Alexander was the Innkeeper.

Mary Hannah Waters married John Armatage in 1890.
 
The original pub was called the Engine, being associated with the nearby colliery stationary engine. The name changed to Locomotive Inn during the 1870's. Evidently the original pub building was demolished in 1907 with a new building being erected next door. At that stage the 'new' pub was named Locomotive Inn. In 1948 W.B. Reid acquired the pub from the Duke of Northumberland's Estate and it was renamed Engine Inn. It was taken over by Scottish & Newcastle Breweries in 1959 and became the Original Masons in 1991. Source: Steve Ellwood.
 
In 1891 Alexander, Jane, son Edward and daughter Anne were living at the Locomotive Inn where Alexander was the Innkeeper.

In 1901 Alexander, Jane and son Edward were still living at the Locomotive Inn.

Jane Waters nee Maughan died in 1910.
Alexander Jnr. died 12 Feb 1911.

Probate states:
WATERS Alexander of The Engine Inn, Walbottle, N'land, publican, died 12 Feb 1911. Probate Ncle/Tyne 15 May to John Armitage publican. Effects £6992. 2s. 8d. Re-sworn £8127. 2s. 8d.
 
John Armatage lived at the Three Tuns all of his life with his parents and when he married Mary Hannah he became the 'publican' and remained there until at least 1901.
 
There are several other ‘Alexanders’ in my family named after Alexander Snr. but I can find no other Alexander Waters that could have been the publican at the Royal French Arms. Alexander Jnr. may have taken over the RFA after 1901, had his name inscribed above the door and then at some time before 1911 returned to the Engine Inn leaving John Armatage, his son in law, to manage the pub. Marian speculates that this might have taken place in 1907 when the Engine Inn was demolished.

I've attached a photo of the Engine Inn with Alexander Jnr. and Hannah in the doorway.

John Armatage and Mary Hannah Armatage were living at Elm Lea House on Hexham Road at the time of the pre-war census in 1939. Also living there was their daughter, Annie Armatage, and nephew, Edward Waters. John was described as a retired blacksmith and Edward was working as a screener at one of the collieries. John Armatage died in 1946 and Mary Hannah Armatage (nee Waters) survived until 1958 (aged 89). Edward Waters died in 1949. Annie Armatage, still living in Elm Lea, died a spinster in 1994 at the age of 93.
 
Probate for Mary Hannah states:
Armatage Mary Hannah of Elm Lea, Hexham Road, Throckley, widow, died 14 Dec 1958. Probate Ncle upon Tyne 17 Feb to Annie Armatage, spinster, and John Matthew Tingate, colliery bath attendant. Effects £3127. 12s.

Incidentally, Joseph Waters Spence, Mary Hannah's cousin and another Throckley lad, was a superstar who played for Manchester United.  He was known as Joe Spence, born in 1898 and died in 1966.  There is a lot of info about him on the internet and he ended his days coaching and scouting under Sir Matt Busby.

Our current best guess for the date of the Auty Series G.H. W.B. #4505 postcard of the Royal French Arms, Throckley is around 1900. Please let me know if anyone has a more accurate date.

A couple of old photos kindly copied from Philip Sanderson of his father William Ward Sanderson. Some of the information below is taken from a previous blog after a talk to our Society by Philip entitled 'The House that Fell over the Cliff' in 2011.

William Ward Sanderson (1874-1963) was born at Dale House Farm near Whitby. He became interested in agricultural engineering and the pioneering use of steam engines for ploughing and threshing. After studying at Wye College, he had various jobs servicing and selling farm implements throughout the country and, for three years, in South Africa.

In 1927, William moved back to the north-east working for the Northern Agricultural Supply Company in Newcastle. He rented East Town Farm in Heddon on the Wall which was owned at the time by James Hedley of Bays Leap Farm.  The family lived in the farmhouse and farmed successfully on the fields here, milking cows in a parlour (now part of Tulip's yard), cutting hay on the site of the Roman Wall and running a local shop selling cigarettes and confectionery.

William Sanderson served for many years on the Parish Council, including a stint as Chairman in 1949.

William Harle was station-master at Heddon on the Wall Railway Station between 1898 and 1906. It has been said that he planted 13 trees at the station, one for each of his children. As pointed out on Disused Stations a line of trees extends east of the platform buildings on a photograph from 1910 shown below.

The line of trees is also visible in historical aerial imagery for 1945 on Google Earth. The railway line runs from left to right across the photo. The Newcastle platform lies east of the level crossing which provided access to the Station-master's House and fields to the south. The platform was on the north side and I can count 14 or 15 trees extending to the east on the extract below. The station was staggered and the platform for travellers to Wylam was just west of the level crossing, close to the Station-master's House.

There is a line of mature sycamore trees along the boundary in this location today but now many more trees have grown up both west and east along the line of the Wylam Waggonway, and an exact count is not easy. The Station-master's House is still in use as the farmhouse of Heddon Haughs Farm, located at the bottom of Station Road, just to the north of the station, although the building has been much extended and altered

A newspaper clipping shown below describes how 14 trees were planted in commemoration of his 14 children, to mark the Coronation of King Edward VII.

The 1901 Census records William Harle (aged 46),  wife Margaret (44), and 8 children: Ethel May (17), Isabella (15), Margaret (13), Lillian (10), William (8), Mabel (5), Sidney (2) and Ernest Edward (0). The Census fails to record the number of rooms in the Station Masters House but lodging with them at the time was a William W Watson (23), Railway Signalman (born in Newcastle).

I was pleased to have recently received more information about William Harle and his family from his great grandson, Brian Harle, who has kindly let me reproduce it here.

5b2    William (1854-1913)      
 
The previous section on his father George (6b3) indicates the poor living conditions to which this family had been reduced since the break up of Corridge. His birth certificate shows he was born at New Cassop, which lies a few miles south east of Durham City.

The family had moved to Trimdon by 1859 when his sister Mary was born and there was a church school here so he would probably have some education, the School Board Act was not introduced until 1870. The 1871 census shows him working as a stoker at Usworth Colliery at the age of 16 years. He must have obtained work on The North Eastern Railway soon after this as his marriage certificate dated 1875 gives his occupation as Block Instructor.

By the last quarter of the 19th century the laying of railway lines all over the country was almost completed and travelling by rail was so well established that a large number of trains was using each line and several accidents were occurring, According to W W Tomlinson's book "The North Eastern Railway" there had been several of these accidents on the NER in the 1860's due to incorrect signalling and experiments were being carried out with a system of block signalling designed to prevent any train entering a section of the railway which already has a train on it. As a result of serious accidents at Thirsk in 1869 and at Brockley Whins near Boldon, in 1870 it was decided in May 1871 to apply the block system to the whole of the NER system and "To arrange for the establishment of classes in which pointsmen, signalmen and other servants of the company might be instructed and trained to perform efficiently the duties required of them,"
 
It is assumed that the NER advertised for men to be trained as instructors and William was one those selected and hence is designated a 'Block Instructor' on his marriage certificate.

He and his bride Margaret Ann Mariner lived close together as the 1871 census shows their families adjacent to each other:-
 
            At 57 Old Engine
Matthew Mariner        Head   39        Coal Miner      Birtley
Isabella Mariner         Wife    33                                Washington
Margaret Ann Mariner Daughter    14                      Washington                 Thomas Mariner       Son           9          Scholar      Washington                 Jonas Mariner           Son          5                             Washington
Robert Mariner          Son          3                             Washington
 
 
            At 58 Coxons Row, Usworth
George Harle         Head               45        Labourer          Witton Gilbert
Isabella Harle         Wife                38                                Pelton
Robert Harle          Son                 18        Labourer          Cassop
William Harle         Son                 16        Stoker              Cassop
Mary Harle           Daughter           12                                Trimdon
 
The first child was born four months after their marriage, so the addresses on the certificate are probably false, and was used to avoid having the banns read at the local church, few neighbours at Washington would hear any details of weddings at North Shields in those days.

It will be seen that Margaret's father was a labourer but it is known from the previous census that he had been a coal miner and was born at Birtley, her mother was Isabella and some idea of Margaret's family can be obtained from these extracts from a letter from Mabel Topping (nee Harle) c1971.
 
"I'm afraid I do not know much about my father really. I was only a small child, about seven when he remarried. I cannot remember any of his people coming to stay or even hearing of them. He had one sister, Mrs Hall who I met once she lived at Low Fell if I remember rightly. Both my mother and father came from the same village, Usworth near Washington, My mother Margaret Ann Mariner had three brothers Jonas, Thomas and William and a sister Mrs Rutherford who lived in Jesmond. I knew uncles Thomas and William's families very well, they were very good to me, they all lived around Washington and their families live there today. My maternal grandmother, when I knew her was Mrs Pringle having remarried. Uncle Jonas was manager of a working men’s club in Usworth or thereabout. I only met him in 1936."
 
The first child mentioned above was Mary Alice born at Brandy Row Washington on the 7 December 1875 and the certificate gives William's occupation as signalman, it was quite common for women to go home to mother to have the first child so William and Margaret may have had a home away from Brandy Row perhaps a railway house.

By the February of 1881 the family had moved to Harvey Street in Heaton, Newcastle Upon Tyne, William is still a signalman but will have been upgraded and is probably in one of the larger signal boxes on the main London - Edinburgh line.

They lived in Harvey Street until 1889 when they moved to Tynemouth Road not far away. It can be assumed that William had a few promotions during the ten years they lived at Tynemouth Road as his next move was when he was appointed stationmaster at Heddon on the Wall, quite an important position in those times when the railways were the most important means of transport. It must have been a great blessing to Margaret to have a large detached railway house after living in a small terrace house, since by this time their family had grown to ten, seven girls and three boys, the oldest only fourteen years of age. The railway is long since gone but the station house is still occupied and was only recently modernised.

Margaret had one more child, Ernest Edward in 1901, the last to have a tree planted in his name as shown in a cutting from the Hexham Courant. (The original dated 19 August 1903). She did not have the pleasure of living in the large house for very long as she developed pneumonia in the first days of 1903 and died of heart failure on the 13th January. They had fourteen children in the twenty years of their marriage, three had died and the oldest two were married leaving William with nine still to be looked after.

From Mabel's letter (op cit) it would seem that Margaret's family were very helpful with the younger ones and may have had some of them to stay at Usworth. As a stationmaster William may have had domestic staff but even so the long-term solution to his problem would be to employ a nanny. It is thought that Mary Henderson was chosen for this position but whether this is true or not William was definitely married to her before the year was out.

Mary Annie Henderson was the daughter of Luke and Jane and was baptised at Whittingham Parish Church, Northumberland, Octavia Annie, it is not surprising that she changed the first name to Mary when she was a few years older. Luke's first wife Margaret was a local girl and they were married at Whittingham but his second marriage to Mary's mother Jane took place elsewhere and the certificate has not yet been found. Mary's address on the certificate is Glanton, which is close to and in the parish of Whittingham and could be where her mother was living so if her brother and sisters were still in the area her family would be well represented at her wedding. Mary was fifteen years of age when her father died so she should have remembered his name and occupation, which for some reason are omitted from the marriage certificate.

Not long after his second marriage William added a codicil to his will omitting his daughter Lilian out of any benefit. She left home and went to live with her mother's family, whether she left of her own free will or was forced to leave is not known but all the older children also left home as soon as it was conveniently possible.

Matthew immediately went to live with his sister Kate, married and living in the west end of Newcastle, and Margaretta left home and went into service at Ebchester, Alice and probably Ethel were already married. Isabella if not married at this time was married soon after but she kept in touch with the family as a postcard dated April 1908 confirms. The postcard is from William who is 15 years old and still at home, to Barbara Watson a sister of Isabella's husband.

The family moved to Appleby c1906 and William was stationmaster here until 1913, when he retired due to ill health and moved back to Newcastle. He died at Bolingbroke Street, Heaton in May of the same year and their last child was born some months later. Mary and the family continued to live in Heaton until about 1925 when they moved to a farm at Blencarn, at the foot of Cross Fell in Cumbria, Mary died at Barningham in Yorkshire in February 1947 at the age of 72 years.
 
William and his two wives had 18 children 4a1 to 4a18.

Information provided by Elizabeth Hogson
January 2022

I have just re-read your article on William Harle and am keen to have the correct information regarding his second wife recorded.

Mary Henderson was the daughter of Isabella Henderson who was born at Wandon, nr Wooler in Northumberland ( I have Isabella’s death certificate on which it states that the informant was William Harle her son-in law).  At the time of Mary’s birth Isabella was unmarried.

Further information on the wedding certificate dated 23rd September, 1903 are the witnesses – Margaret Henderson her sister, James Walker her uncle (married to Isabella’s sister Mary) and Mary Luckley.

Mary is the grand-daughter of James and Mary Walker, her mother being Margaret Ann Walker who married Thomas Luckley.

My great grandmother is Margaret Henderson sister of Isabella and Mary.

We have been looking into the origins of Garden House, a stone-built, two-storey house occupying a prominent position in the centre of the village between the Church and the former Town Farm. It has a large enclosed garden on the south side which fronts onto Towne Gate. The plot is approximately 70m long by 25m wide and is shown as a garden or orchard on the 1st Edition OS Map published in 1859.

I noticed this inscription today on the north facing side of the memorial to John Chicken and Ann Chicken of Lemington [47]. It had not previously been recorded.

The main (east) face reads:
John Chicken of Lemington who died Oct 26th 1913 aged 63 years. Also of Ann Chicken wife of the above who died January 19th 1926 aged 73 years. "In God we trust".

The north side (adjacent to the path and shown in the above photograph) reads:
Thomas Kirkup
Chief Engineer
Lost at sea on the S.S. Cavalier
Dec. 13th 1891
Aged 44 years.

The Wrecksite website gives more information about the disaster.

On December 13th, 1891, the British cargo ship CAVALIER, built in 1878 by Doxford W. & Sons and owned at the time of her loss by Forster William, on voyage from Odessa to Falmouth with a cargo of grain, was last seen in heavy weather by the SS INDIAN PRINCE, abandoned and about 16 miles WSW from Bishop Rock. Since then, nothing was ever heard of her.

The "S.S. Cavalier" was a British iron screw steamship, official number 76,231, built in 1878 by William Doxford & Sons, at Sunderland. Her length was 279.1 ft., breadth 34.7 ft., and depth of hold 24.05 ft.

In October 1891 the "Cavalier" loaded in the Tyne a cargo of 2,538 tons of coal including bunkers for Savona, and before sailing, Captain Jennison finding the vessel with a list to port, ordered some of the crew to fill the two starboard boats with water to get her upright. One of these men, H. S. Broadbent, stated in evidence that as fast as they put water into these boats it ran out again through the seams which were leaking. The steam-steering gear which had been landed for repairs was not re-shipped; and the vessel sailed from the Tyne with a crew of 20 hands, under the command of Captain Jennison. She arrived safely at Savona, where the cargo was discharged, and she proceeded in water ballast to Odessa, where she arrived on the 15th November, and proceeded to load a cargo of wheat.

On the 21st November 1891, the "Cavalier" left Odessa with her crew of 21 hands. After taking on board 135 tons of bunker coals, she sailed from Gibraltar on 7th December, apparently in good condition, being upright and with the centre of the disc above the water.

Nothing more is known of the "Cavalier" until about 4 p.m. of the 13th December, when she was sighted by the s.s. "Indian Prince," about 16 miles W.S.W. of the Bishop's Rock, Scilly, apparently abandoned. The "Indian Prince" steamed round her, and remained near for about an hour, but as the sea was rough, and there was no sign of any life on board, she left the "Cavalier" and proceeded on her voyage. Since then nothing more has been seen of that vessel.

On the 4th January 1892, a body was washed on shore at St. Ives Bay, and on the following day two more bodies were found. One of the bodies was identified as that of the second mate of the "Cavalier." Some wreckage, apparently portions of a boat, were also found near the same place on the 4th, and on the 13th a bucket marked "Cavalier" was also found.

Just came across this strange book. It can be read or downloaded on the Internet Archive website. It's subtitle is 'A Romantic Autobiography' and is set in Wylam and Heddon on the Wall. It may well be an autobiography of the author, James J Lawler, but then why is the hero of the story called James Raymond? I can find neither of these named individuals in local records. The author's preface only provides this clue (the emphasis is mine):

Although many recognisable events, descriptions and named people do occur in the book there are also many errors. They could of course be put down to a poor memory of past events and places. There is also much that smacks of fabrication and a huge desire to set the hero in the best possible light. If it is an autobiography it is certainly high on the big-headed side and there is little modesty.

Our meeting on Monday, 11 January 2016 was time for the AGM, discussion of our new year's programme, and listening to part of an oral history recording made by Mr & Mrs Hall speaking about village life in Heddon in the years around 1904 and 1914. The recording (about two hours in length) was made on 08/02/1978, and is available at the Northumberland Archives, Woodhorn, reference T/114 and T/116. I transcribed part of the same recording during my first visit to the archives in 2011.

My background notes to the recording are given below.

The Gibsons are one of the oldest families in Heddon. I managed to piece together some of their lines from Census records. Additional information has been added from a more detailed family tree kindly provided by a living relative, Ralph Gibson, son of Edward Septimus Gibson, now resident in Stamfordham.

Cadwallader J. Bates wrote about Eachwick in Heddon-on-the-Wall: The Church and Parish (Archaeologia aeliana v11 p240-294, 1886)