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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Durham => Topic started by: stockton on Thursday 05 January 12 17:04 GMT (UK)
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:) Please can any one tell me if Witton Park & Spennymoor are very far from each other and if many iron foundries existed in both or any of the areas around 1860 onwards, many thanks and all the best Derek ;)
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Hi Derek
According to the route planner on
www.theaa.com
they're about 8 miles apart!
Can't help with the iron foundries I'm afraid :'(
Linda
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:) Brilliant ;) thanks so much, your answer may be of great help in my search for associated relatives, all the very best Derek :D
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Durham County Council has an excellent site for maps of County Durham from the 1850s up to the present day, with various types of search. You can zoom in and out and pan the maps.
Durham County Council's Geographic Information System (GIS) is an interactive mapping service which we have developed to enhance our website. The GIS allows you to interact with both modern and historical maps of County Durham and the immediate surrounding areas.
http://gis.durham.gov.uk/website/interMAP/viewer.htm
Stan
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Durham County Council has an excellent site for maps of County Durham from the 1850s up to the present day, with various types of search. You can zoom in and out and pan the maps.
Durham County Council's Geographic Information System (GIS) is an interactive mapping service which we have developed to enhance our website. The GIS allows you to interact with both modern and historical maps of County Durham and the immediate surrounding areas.
http://gis.durham.gov.uk/website/interMAP/viewer.htm
Stan
This GIS mapping system is an excellent idea but I'm finding it difficult to use. Panning right took me to France, the scroll/panning tool doesn't work the same way the 'hand' usually does on maps, you need to know exactly where to make the box to 'enlarge' a particular area. :-\
I will persist as I think this is potentially very useful, but I'm not too impressed so far. Perhaps more practice and understanding of the GIS mapping foibles is required. ;)
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:) Please can any one tell me if Witton Park & Spennymoor are very far from each other and if many iron foundries existed in both or any of the areas around 1860 onwards, many thanks and all the best Derek ;)
There are Iron Works at both Tudhoe and Witton Park:
http://sites.google.com/site/waggonways/nz/10/nz1030
(Witton Park works are at 17/30 on the above map)
Don't know about dates I'm afraid though the 1842 beside Witton Park works may be significant. ;) I can't see an obvious 'key' to the maps but there's probably one somewhere.
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This GIS mapping system is an excellent idea but I'm finding it difficult to use. Panning right took me to France, the scroll/panning tool doesn't work the same way the 'hand' usually does on maps, you need to know exactly where to make the box to 'enlarge' a particular area. :-\
I will persist as I think this is potentially very useful, but I'm not too impressed so far. Perhaps more practice and understanding of the GIS mapping foibles is required. ;)
Have you looked at the help pages? http://www.durham.gov.uk/Pages/Service.aspx?ServiceId=7073.
Stan
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Not yet Stan. ;) But I'm heading there now. :)
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You may find following site of interest:
http://www.durhamintime.org.uk/Witton/index.htm
mim
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:) Thanks to all for helping, will now be able to put a new posting on the site ;) ;)
All the very best Derek
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Hi, I was born in Spennymoor and have now settled back in the Town. When I was a boy in the 60's and early 70s the town was surrounded by slag heaps which were the residue of the Bessemer Converter iron works in the town. The iron works didn't exist then, and the slag heaps have now also been removed as the town developed in the late 70s and 80s. We were taught at school that the "Bessemer" process for making steel was first introduced in Spennymoor and a large housing estate, built in the late 60's was named Bessemer Park - it too has now been demolished and replaced with much nicer homes. Bessemer Park was a series of 2 and 3 story flats of the Poulson era that quickly became an eye-sore.
You can find a little more information about the iron works at the links previously mentioned but also at: http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Weardale_Iron_and_Coal_Co
The Weardale Iron & Co Company were instrumental in the development of the iron and steel industry in the area. Good luck with your research.
David
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:) Thanks for taking time to reply to me David, i suppose i dont live to far away from you i'm at Stockton on Tees, which used to be part of Co Durham, we also had lots of foundries and iron works in the area as well as the river Tees, ship building was going on in the early days before 1900, i think thats what brought the large Irish folks here 1850 onwards, my g g grandad James Casey as you may have seen by my posting was a Pudler of Iron, it seems where ever he worked a Comaskey followed or there before him, which makes me believe the Comaskey's and Casey kept the strong family ties going, my g g g g grandmother was Bridget Comaskey Casey born perhaps 1780 { there or there abouts } Comaskeys even came to our town of Stockton on Tees one family found in the 1881 Census, but beleive Comaskeys could have been here earlier ;) hope that explains why i wanted to know about iron works in Spennymoor and Witton Park, all the very best Derek
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The Witton Park Ironworks were opened in 1845-46 by Bolckow and Vaughan using ironstone brought in from Cleveland.
The ironworks had a comparatively short life and closed in c1884. Work at the site continued so as to produce road material from the slag in the slag heaps.
Wearsider.
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:) Thanks Wearsider, all the best Derek ;)
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American here with weird question, my great grandparents lived in Witton Park briefly for a few years from 1901-1906 and then moved to Crook. They lived on Thompson st. which appears to no longer be in existence. They also either owned a public house in Witton Park or Crook. Any assistance on finding said pub would be appreciated.
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A brief history of Wilton Park.
https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/18999011.paradise-regained-amazing-pictures-past-county-durham-industrial-village/
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Paul, were your great grandparents at this address in the 1901 census? If so, look at the nearby addresses and follow the enumerator’s route to get an idea of the area and try tofind the bame of the pub and locate it on an old map.
Some seem to be named:
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16.9&lat=54.66586&lon=-1.72660&layers=168&right=ESRIWorld
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A brief history of Wilton Park.
https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/18999011.paradise-regained-amazing-pictures-past-county-durham-industrial-village/
This is interesting. Thank you.
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Paul, were your great grandparents at this address in the 1901 census? If so, look at the nearby addresses and follow the enumerator’s route to get an idea of the area and try tofind the bame of the pub and locate it on an old map.
Some seem to be named:
https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16.9&lat=54.66586&lon=-1.72660&layers=168&right=ESRIWorld
Sadly, we have not been able to find them in the Census. They traveled back and forth between England and the states many times in 10 years. During 1900-1905ish, they were supposed to run a public house for about a year or year half. We have found them in Electoral Registry in 1906 and 1907 in Crook on Church Street. We were told the public house was there somewhere, however oddly in 1904 they have listed as a Birth Certificate of one of their sons on Thompsons Street in Witton Park.
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A couple of suggestions:
Have you asked for some help here to find your family in the 1901 census in case they are ‘hiding’?
How do you know they had a pub around Church Street in Crook?
Have you searched newspapers in case there is mention of them.
There may be lists of licencees for the time frame (there are in some areas) so that might be worth pursuing.
If you wish to share their names and any details which may help locate them someone may be able to help. Timeline and known locations might be useful as well, if they moved about.
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Samuel Binns is listed on the 1904 electoral register at 6 High Thompson Street, Witton Park. In 1905 he is listed at 4 High Thompson Street. In 1906 he is listed at Church Street. Crook.
Jay
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A couple of suggestions:
Have you asked for some help here to find your family in the 1901 census in case they are ‘hiding’?
How do you know they had a pub around Church Street in Crook?
Have you searched newspapers in case there is mention of them.
There may be lists of licencees for the time frame (there are in some areas) so that might be worth pursuing.
If you wish to share their names and any details which may help locate them someone may be able to help. Timeline and known locations might be useful as well, if they moved about.
Samuel J Binns born in Yorkshire Feb 1866. Married to Elizabeth O'Connor Binns in the States. They had many children; at least one born back in England. I am going off my ancestry report and my grandfather's, (TJ Binns'), memoir that stated around 1900-1908 they moved back to Crook to run a pub before selling it and moving to Witton Park and then back to the states.
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Samuel Binns is listed on the 1904 electoral register at 6 High Thompson Street, Witton Park. In 1905 he is listed at 4 High Thompson Street. In 1906 he is listed at Church Street. Crook.
Jay
Jay, I discovered that interesting information because it appears Thompson St is no longer in existence in Witton Park. Funny how my grandfather's memoir states they moved back to Crook to run the pub before moving to Witton Park where at least one of his sons was born.
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Have you looked for passenger lists? Might these be of interest?
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PR-R9C4-K?i=180&cc=1368704&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AJFW2-CPD
This is for a Samuel Binns from Crook but note the date of Sept 1905 ( also worth noting that electoral registers can contain out of date information).
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C95R-434C-M?i=42&cc=1368704&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AJXP8-2M6
I assume that this is the rest of the family going to the United States - note that it states last residence as in Stockton on Tees.
William
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Have you looked for passenger lists? Might these be of interest?
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PR-R9C4-K?i=180&cc=1368704&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AJFW2-CPD
This is for a Samuel Binns from Crook but note the date of Sept 1905 ( also worth noting that electoral registers can contain out of date information).
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C95R-434C-M?i=42&cc=1368704&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AJXP8-2M6
I assume that this is the rest of the family going to the United States - note that it states last residence as in Stockton on Tees.
William
Interesting. We knew the last place was Stockton-on-Tees as that was where Elizabeth's O'Connor clan were from. We also know Sam left her and a few kids back in England to run the pub in Crook and came back to the states to work in mines. She stayed a while but sold the pub and may have then moved back into her parents until he sent for her to come back to the states.