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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Northumberland => Topic started by: lazytee on Friday 02 March 12 22:09 GMT (UK)
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Greetings all Northumbrian Rootschatters!
My grandmother was born at Scotland Gate near Choppington. Looking at maps of the area for various periods it looks as though Scotland Gate is part of Choppington. Is this correct, or are they two separate places? Why is it called Scotland Gate when it is so far from Scotland? Was the present A1068 formerly a turnpike road with tollgates? What is the history of Scotland Gate?
Sorry to bombard you with so many questions. Any answers would be very much appreciated.
Looking forward to your replies,
Lazytee.
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When I was in York last Easter, a guide explained that the Norse "Gate" actually meant Road!
From Ardictionary.com:
Gate (10)
Definition: A way; a path; a road; a street (as in Highgate).
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Hello lazytee, I have several rellies who were born in Scotland Gate from 1892-1894 according to various censuses as well as some civil birth certs; their surname was Morton....any possible connection? I am sorry that I do not know the answers to your questions, but I am confident you will receive some excellent answers very soon! ;D Pat
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Thank you, KGarrad and Patrejax, for your very prompt replies.
With regard to "gate" as an Old Norse road for a way/road/lane, KGarrad, I was aware of this connotation. You find it in "Stanegate" in south Northumberland (for modern linguists, it is cognate with modern German "Gasse"" - sorry to be so erudite!). Although the road on which Scotland Gate stands, runs northwards in the direction of Scotland, I don't think it is a turnpike towards Scotland, because we have the Great North Road only a couple of miles to the west. My view is that it is more likely to be a tollgate on a turnpike. Can anyone cast light on this?
Patrejax: my Scotland Gate ancestors were Morpeths and they were primarily colliery sinkers, who moved from pit to pit, opening up the new collieries. They lived in the Choppington/Scotland Gate/ Sheepwash Bank area only from about 1857 (opening of the Choppington pit) to 1876-9, when they moved to Stobswood, and later on to Pelton Fell, Co. Durham. I'm afraid I don't know of any connection to the Morton family.
Many thanks to you both,
Hazel.
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In the context of the 1800s, the hierarchy of places ( based on ecclesiastic order )...
Scotland Gate community lay within the bounds of the "Township" of Choppington.....
Choppington township was one of the six townships that made up the Parish of Bedlington
( other townships were Bedlington town/village, Cambois, Netherton, East Sleekburn and West Sleekburn)
The "address" for someone living in Scotland Gate then, would have been something like this......
" Wood Row, in the community of
Scotland Gate , in the Township of
Choppington, in the Parish of
Bedlington, in the County of
Durham ( up to 18844, thereafter Northumberland
( These "townships" did not neccessarily refer to towns, and were areas of territory. The Township of East Hartford, one of the five townships that made up the parish of Horton, a neighhbour of Bedlington, had a population of 13 in 1861 ! )
Michael ( who used to bus through the area twice a day, on way to school in Morpeth, from Cowpen, Blyth)
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Thank you Michael!
You are as knowledgeable as ever. What I am wondering is, whether Choppington and Scotland Gate were considered in the 1860/70s to be separate communities. My father always told me that his mother was born in Choppington, so I was quite surprised when I found from her birth certificate that she was born in Scotland Gate. Although I was born in Newcastle, I hadn't heard of Scotland Gate before.
There doesn't seem to be very much material online about Scotland Gate, and as I cannot easily get to the local librarires, I am asking Rootchatters to come to my aid with background information. Does anyone know how far back the name "Scotland Gate" goes?
Cheers,
Hazel.
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Hazel.
I have to admit that I sort of ignored your question " or are they two separate
places ? " because it was too difficult for me to answer.
Even today in general conversation similar questions rise up about other places
( My neighbours and I live in a clump of what I call " Ex-miners Cottages". I declare we live in the Fawdon Ward of Gosforth. They are adamant that we live in the Kenton
part of Gosforth)
Folk also disagree about divisions between North Shields/Tynemouth, Dudley/Cramlington, etc.
My daughter living in Scotland, is pleased to have just moved from Saltcoats to Ardrossan. To my foreign eye she has just moved from one end to another of the same place.
And we shouldn't trust house builders to name places as they abuse historical info for commercial purposes.
Hopefully here is something more positive than the above !
The 1820 and 1828 maps of the Bedlington area, within the communities.northumberland.gov.uk web site show Choppington,
but not Scotland Gate.
My book " A Dictionary of English Place-Names" by A.D. Mills lists
Choppington ( " Cebbington, c.1050- estate associated with a man called " Ceabba", OE personal name + ing + ton) but not Scotland Gate.
Another useful book " "Goodwife Hot, Northumberland's Past in it's Place Names" by
Godfrey Watson, lists Choppington ( Ceabba again) but not Scotland Gate.
He declares that some places with " scot" in their name derived from " cot" meaning sheep shelter or outbuilding. e.g. Hepscott, ( which is near to Choppington.
Searching through the Newcastle Courant newspaper ( my membership of Newcastle library allows me access to online newspapers) revealed that from 1800 to 1900 there were 284 mentions of Scotland Gate. But the first mention was not until 1860, last one in 1900.
e.g. 1867 the Choppington Floral and Horticultural Society was held in the Assembly Rooms at Scotland Gate.
On the other hand Choppington had over 500 hits, the first in 1806 !
Michael
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Hallo again Michael!
Thank you for taking so much trouble over Choppington/Scotland Gate. I quite understand what you mean about places that are very close together. Indeed the place where I now live has that sort of difficulty. My address is Codmore Hill and it lies within the parish of Pulborough (West Sussex). Being a newcomer and something of a Codmore Hill separatist, I always say I live at CH, but even within the local area not everyone knows where this is, and certainly outside our immediate district I always say I live at Pulborough. I'm sure that in the 18th century CH and Pulboro were separate places almost a mile apart. Being on the post road to Littlehampton, CH had a pub, a wheelwright and a blacksmith. Later it acquired a Post Office and a shop. Now it has far more houses but only an Indian Restaurant (a very good one)!
Michael, I am having trouble with typing this message. The website doesn't seem to want to give me enough space, so I will start a new message.
Back soon,
Hazel
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Hi again Michael!
Back to Scotland Gate! From your researches it seems that Scotland Gate was a new place and a new name in the mid 19th century. Choppington pit was opened in 1857, and it was at about that time that my ancestors arrived there, my gggrandfather being a colliery sinker. There must have been a huge expansion in the population of the village at that time, and a great need for new housing. The usual rows of colliery houses were built right next to the pit (in 1661 my gggrandparents were living in Second Row) but it seems that after a little while more houses were needed and the village expanded to the north and to the east side of the main road (A1089) and this new area became Scotland Gate. Maybe the name has no historical significance, but was just a nice name for a new development, much as we do for housing developments nowadays.
There is a nice picture of the main road at Scotland Gate in 1910 at:
http://www.bedlington.co.uk/community/gallery/image/1207-choppington-1910jpg/
I wasn't able to find the 1820 and 1828 maps you mention on the Northumberland Communities website. Could you please give me instructions as to how to find them.
Very many thanks for your kind interest in my questions.
Warmest regards,
Hazel.
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Hi,
This is from the death certificate of my Gt-Aunt (a baby) who died at Scotland Gate.
I have included the address of death, and the fathers address.
I know Scotland Gate is in present day Choppington, but I think they came under the jurisdiction of Bedlington in those days.
Thanks,
Darin.
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Here is some information about Choppington from an archiac tome of mine published in 1825. It says of Choppington,
"Choppington, or CHABYNTON, lies at a short distance west from Cambois, and four miles east by south from Morpeth. It is a small village, and gives name to a township. The first proprietor of Choppington was Hugo de Hexham, of Newcastle upon Tyne, who held the manor of the lord bishop in capite, by fealty and six marks rent. The family of Wilkinson, of Wystoe, also held lands at Choppington and Cambois. South and North Choppington now belong to Mr. Cook and Mr. Clarke. There is a colliery winning here. The Guide Post is a small hamlet, consisting of six houses, including a public house."
Sadly no mention is made of Scotland Gate at the time of publishing in 1825, which fits in with it's apparent non-existence and Michael's comments re the maps of the era.
I wonder what might have been said about it in the huge 10 volume work about the History of Northumberland published in 1909. I shall go and find out and report back.
Philip
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Just for general interest including mention of how Scotland Gate is thought to have got it's name.
http://www.sixtmedia.org.uk/page3.php
Philip
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Thank you Mazzie and Philip for your interesting contributions. The story of how Scotland Gate got its name certainly has a ring of truth about it, and the 1901 document about the parish of Choppington gives me a lot of new information about the area. I feel I now have a much better understanding of Choppington and Scotland Gate.
Thanks again to everyone who has replied.
Hazel
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I had a look through the Northumberland History volumes and couldn't find a reference to Choppington / Guide Post or Scotland Gate. A shame as I had hoped there might be more information there.
I also looked up Old Maps and the 1865 map for the area where Scotland Gate is now, shows nothing but three long fields side by side on a north south alignment between Choppington Inn and Whinny Hill Farm. It is quite a jump in time to the next available maps which are dated 1898. There is also quite a difference in that there were more houses in the area, Choppington itself was bigger and of course the A pit and the railway were all in place by 1898. The three original fields I mentioned before were however divided up. The clay pit and the brick & tile works had expanded to the north of it's original site and Scotland Gate as a field ran east - west across the top of the clay pits. Scotland Gate was on the west side of what is today the A1068, and not on the east side of the road which is where the modern housing now is. The location of Scotland Gate to the east of the A1068 was recorded on the 1924 map of the area which indicates a 'change in use' of the name from the original field site to the houses and community developing on the opposite side of the road.
The original Scotland Gate field site is now again unoccupied land, though it is now covered in trees and shrubs, the original field dimensions and boundaries lost with the landscaping of that area no doubt after the pits were closed and the heaps cleared away. Of course, despite the passage of time, the name lives on with it's association to the houses and community.
I am very interested in the old Blyth & Tyne Railway and as part of that and various other bits of research done and old photographs encountered, Choppington and that area has changed beyond recognition. It has gone from a small thriving industrial area to what I would now call semi-rural with virtually no trace of the former industries at that location, even the railway and large timber viaduct has vanished without trace.
Philip
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I also know of a photo of the Choppington Colliery A pit looking north from the railway viaduct dated 1963. When you look at the photo the colliery houses were built in rows on the left side of the pit. The rows of houses show up on the 1949 map but not on the 1966 map, only the street plan is visible on the 1966 map. The only reason I mention it is because you said your ancestors live there.
I hope you enjoy seeing the photo. The internet is an amazing tool.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/5660993492/sizes/l/in/photostream/
If you rummage about in amongst Ernie's other photos you will see more of the Choppington Viaduct and the main Blyth & Tyne railway at Choppington which no doubt your family members would have been familiar with as I expect they would have travelled by train from Choppington. I also know that Ernie used to sell his photos, so if you drop him a line explaining your interest you might just get hold of a nice photo for your family history archive. Just in case you wondered, no I don't get commission from Ernie.
Philip
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Scotland Gate still exists and is slightly north east of St. Paul The Apostle Church, Choppington on the A1068. The Vicarage, Scotland Gate, Choppington is the address of the present Vicar.
The Family History Library (LDS) has the records of Choppington 1866-1902
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Philip:
Thank you very much for all the time and trouble you have taken to find out about Scotland Gate for me. And well done for making the Old Maps website work. I always have a lot of trouble getting what I want from it. Also I was most interested to read your account of the changes at Choppington/Scotland Gate in the last 50 years. I did make a brief visit there a few years ago, but of course I didn't have much idea of what the village had been like when it was a thriving coal mining community.
The photo of A pit is a great one for my collection, though it was probably taken after my ancestors left. I reckon they lived there from about 1857-1863. By that time they had moved up the road to Sheepwash Bank and by 1869 further away to Stobswood. But my gggrandparents were at 2nd Row Choppington in 1861 (not 1661 as I said earlier - sorry for the typo), and there is a good photo of 3rd Row (probably taken in the early 20th century) at:
www.bedlington.co.uk/community/gallery/image/1209-choppington-colliery-3rd-rowjpg/
so I do have bit of a feel for what the village was like. As you say, the internet, and especially Rootschat, is a most amazing tool for research, particularly when you live a long way from the homes of your ancestors. I will have a browse through Ernie's photos to see if there is anything else of interest.
Barry: Thank you for your message. I don't think, however, that my grandmother and her siblings were baptized in the C of E. I have never found anything about them on the IGI.
Many thanks to you both
Hazel.
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I don't think Choppington St. Paul records are anything you can find on line. I have some Methodist records from the area--what are the names and dates you are looking for?
Some of my family members moved to Scotland Gate around 1855 or so--and some still live there or maybe they live in Guide Post. ??? Choppingotn St. Paul for a few years and not many pages 1869-1871 is on the BT's.
Janis
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Hi Janis!
We meet again on Rootschat! You are so generous about helping everyone.
I did a quick look at Family Search and on the Choppington BTs for the baptisms of my grandmother and her siblings, and found nothing, so I would be most grateful if you could check any Methodist records for the Choppington/Scotland Gate/Guide Post/ Sheepwash Bank area. Earlier generations of the Morpeth family lived in the East Allen valley where John Wesley was very influential.
The names I am interested in are:
William Morpeth, born April 1867 at Guide Post, died 1870 at Scotland Gate
Eleanor Stephenson Morpeth, born March 1869 at Scotland Gate
John Morpeth (a cousin), born June 1871 at Scotland Gate
Mary Annie Morpeth, born March 1872 at Scotland Gate
Robert Morpeth, born January 1873 at Sheepwash Bank
Emma Morpeth, born January 1875 at Sheepwash Bank
William Morpeth, born November 1876 at Sheepwash Bank
Hope this searching is not too tedious for you!
Best regards,
Hazel
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Philip,
I think Bedlington village/township/parish ( sometime referred to as Bedlingtonshire) including its satellites, is not included in the volumes of History of Northumberland was because it was not part of county of Northumberland, but one of three exclaves that lay within the bounds of Northumberland, but " belonged" to County Durham.
These exclaves, Bedlingtonshire, Islandshire and Norhamshire, were collectively referred to as North Durham. For the 1841 census the Bedlington area census was enumerated as within County Durham. But in 1844 Parliament " gave" these three exclaves to the county of Northumberland. ( Parliament did similar changes throughout England's counties)
Western bits of Choppington once lay within the neighbouring Parish of Stannington.
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Hazel,
This link should get you to maps of the area
http://communities.northumberland.gov.uk/Bedlington_C15.htm
This is from the "Plans" section of the Bedlington community of Northumberland Communities
web site.
As Choppington lay to the north of Bedlington parish, some of the maps did not cover north enough.
However the southen parts of Morpeth's maps do include Sheepwash, Guide Post and
Choppington area
http://communities.northumberland.gov.uk/Morpeth_C15.htm
Ditto for Ashington community.
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Trivia angle, notice on the 1828 map how Ashington is marked far away from where Ashington
is today. Fell em Doon is where modern day Ashington took root !
Michael
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Morpeth Wesleyan Methodist Circuit:
Robert Morpeth born 15 Jan 1873 Guide Post, baptised 19 Feb 1873 s/o Edward and Margaret Morpeth
Mary Morpeth born 3 Aug 1873 Guide Post, baptised 17 Sep 1873 d/o Thomas and Elizabeth Wright Morpeth
William Morpeth born 26 Nov 1876 Sheepwash Bank, baptised 22 Dec 1876 s/o Edward and Margaret
That's all the Morpeth's I could find 1839-1884.
Janis
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Thank you Janis and Michael!
Janis: That's great, it confims for me what had hitherto been only family lore, i.e. that my father's family were Methodists. Robert and William Morpeth were my great uncles and Mary Morpeth was a first cousin of my grandmother, Thomas being her uncle and Elizabeth Wright her aunt by marriage.
They were all coalminers who moved around the pits of Northumbeland and Durham, eventually settling at Pelton Fell in Co. Durham.
Very many thanks for looking this up for me.
Michael:
Thank you for giving me the links to the right places on the Northumberland Communities website. The reason I had not found the Old Maps is that I was looking for Choppington and Scotland Gate, not Bedlington and Morpeth. But you have now drawn my attention to maps of various parts of Northumberland, which I can browse at will in connection with my family history. Being something of a map freak, I am most grateful.
Warmest regards to you both,
Hazel.
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Hazel,
In the mid 1870s, A Newcastle newspaper, The Newcastle Weekly Chronicle, published a series
of articles of life, industry, housing, education, worship, etc on mining communities in Northumberland and Durham,
entitled " OUR COLLIERY VILLAGES".
The 26th article, published on 12 April 1873 was " CHOPPINGTON". It filled 4 newspaper columns.
Below are a few( I am a poor typist) snippets, mainly on Scotland Gate....
" As we leave the station (Choppington railway station) we are flanked on either side by two
most respectable looking hostelries and a number of tenemented brick houses, which at first we imagine to be Choppington.The station master however informs ud that Choppington is not a
single village, one and indivisible, but rather a whole colony of villages. You come first upon Choppington Station, then you reach Scotland Gate, then comes the Guide Post, while away
to the northward you have Choppington Colliery and New Choppington Colliery."
Then Guide Post is described, then.....
" Leaving the Guide Post a walk of half a mile along a very muddy road brings us to Scotland
Gate, which is as it were, the capital of Choppington, more on account of its central position,
than for its size or for any other virtue which it may possess.
Scotland Gate may be described as consisting of one broad street about three or four hundred yards in length, the houses at each side being respectable looking brick houses, two storeys high
, the property of various individuals. Many of these houses are tenemented with a family residing
in every room, and where this state of things exist, there is a lamentable want of exterior accommodation. The west side of the street is much the worst in this respect, and it may be as well to observe that the east side is much the most respectable side of the street, the houses having newer and fitted up with more regard to the requirements of decency and comfort.
In one case at the west side, only four privies are provided for the use of twenty families, and these privies with their attendant ash pits, are situated at such a short distance from the doors
of the houses, that in summer the stench from them must be well nigh insufferable"
" Nor are these the only nuisances to which Scotland Gate must submit, for almost at their very doors , they are stormed at by fire and smoke from to different sources
( a burning pit heap and a brick factory)
And lots more on schooling and worship.. then finale...
" We turn our face homeward, thanking heaven that we have a Town Councils in our large towns which though sometimes neglecting their duty, never permit the public health to be endangered
by such sanitary abuses that disgrace Choppington"
Michael
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Hi Michael!
Thank you very much for copying out parts of the article. It certainly tells us what "Greater Choppington" (!) was like, and explains very well how the different parts of the community fit together. I have rellies born in Choppington, Scotland Gate, Guide Post and Sheepwash Bank, and the description helps me to know how they moved around. It seems like Scotland Gate was the "downtown" bit of Choppington! It is also interesting to learn of the living conditions.
I have sent you a PM.
Cheers, Hazel.
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Michael,
Didn't one of the buses to Ashington take us through Choppington, Scotland Gate and Guide Post? One of my cousin's live nearly across the street from St. Paul's but I don't know if it is technically Guide Post or Scotland Gate.
Janis
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The Morpeth Wesleyan Circuit probably had 3 to 5 church sites that the minister visited but I think the baptismal records combined all of them. I am not 100% certain but I think there are pages missing from the register written as "deliberately taken". There may have been other children baptised there. I just cannot remember if it was the Methodist register or Choppington St. Paul
Glad to have been of some help.
Janis
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Yes, Janis, I think that probably the other Morpeth children were baptized as Methodists at one or other of the chapels in the Morpeth area, but I have their dates of birth, so am just happy to have it confirmed that the family was Methodist.
Many thanks,
Hazel
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There was one Choppington Church of England entry on the baptism records and another on the burial records. William, baptised 19 May 1867, s/o Edward/Margaret Morpeth, Coal Miner, abode Chopington. William Morpeth, Scotland Gate, buried {Sunday} 25 December 1870. 3 years old.
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Yes, thank you ever so much for those details from the Choppington parish registers, Barry. Little William was the older brother of my grandmother.
It is interesting that he was baptized in the C of E, when some of Margaret and Edward's younger children were baptized as Wesleyans.
Cheers,
Hazel
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Janis,
The Service X22 of Arriva bus company runs northward from Newcastle to Ashington with stops
at Choppington, Scotland Gate and Guide Post.
The X2 of same company runs from Blyth to Morpeth, also with stops in Choppington, Scotland Gate and Guide Post.
The X22 take the north road out of GP. The X2 takes the west road out of GP.
Trivia Angle. I wonder what interest a lady out of Wisconsin, USA, could have in buses running through old mining communities in Northumberland ? LOL.
Michael
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From the Admission Register for Choppington CofE School.
The following children were the children of John Morpeth and unknown wife, all living in Scotland Gate at the time of admission.
Sarah Morpeth born 16 OCT 1891, admitted 1 SEP 1896.
John (Jnr) born 20 JAN 1889, and Samuel born 12 NOV 1887, both these boys admitted 24 AUG 1896.
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Barry:
Thank you for the school records. I didn't know that Choppington School records were available. Are they online?
I don't think these children are members of my Morpeth family, as by 1879 my grandmother and her family had moved to the Stobswood area. As far as I am aware, there are two main lines of Northumbrian Morpeths. Mine are what I think of as the "Allendale" Morpeths, a large clan who lived in the East Allen valley from about 1730-1830. I'm not sure where they came from before that. The other branch I call the "Tyne Valley" Morpeths, as the first I can find of them is in the parish of Bywell St. Peter in the first decade of the 18th century. This is a more numerous family, some of whom moved to the Killingworth area towards the end of the 18th century, and then spread round the coalfields of Northumberland and Durham. I feel pretty confident that the children you found in the Choppington school records are descendants of the Killingworth
Morpeths. As yet I have not found any connection between the "Allendales" and the "Tyne Valleys". If anyone has information on that point, I would love to hear about it.
Thanks again, Barry.
Regards,
Hazel.
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Unfortunately the School Records of Scotland Gate are not on-line. The Newcastle Sunday Sun has an interesting article in their on-line "Mr. Justice" Section today regarding the state of the churchyard. “Since 1993 this churchyard {St Paul the Apostle} has gone derelict, there are no paths anymore, you cannot get access if you were wheelchair-bound or use walking aids, even with a pushchair it is impossible.”
Sad but the upkeep is very expensive.
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Thank you for your post, Barry. I will have to look further for the records of Scotland Gate/Choppington school - perhaps they are at Woodhorn.
Regarding the state of the churchyard at St. Paul's, when I visited there about 5 or 6 years ago, I found it quite well kept, not pristine exactly, but I was able to walk round easily and search for family graves. Is the quote from the Newcastle Sunday Sun from today's issue?
Regards,
Hazel
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Yes. The full "complaint" is in the Sunday Sun today (June 10) "Mr. Justice" Section.
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Many thanks, Barry. I will have to go and have another look, next time I am in the North.
Cheers,
Hazel
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If you want to know more about that area then you might find this book interesting:
Images of England - Bedlingtonshire. Compiled by Evan Martin.
ISBN 0-7524-0784-8
Only one pic of Scotland Gate but lots more of the area.
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Many thanks, Craclyn, the book sounds very interesting. I shall try and obtain a copy through my local library.
Regards,
Hazel
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For the user who began this topic.
Scotland Gate, Choppington, got its name as in the old days the farmers had names for their fields.
Now when they came to build the field was called "Scotland" and hense the gateway to "Scotland"
Scotland Gate.
I am a historian born at 61 East Gate, Scotland Gate, my grandparents house, and as you would expect have a vast ammount of interest in Choppington.
I am also the secretary of the Sixtownships Community History Group and at our website www.sixtownships.org.uk (http://www.sixtownships.org.uk) you can find so much about Choppington and many more ares including Bedlington, Tyneside, Durham and more. There is also a forum . Have a look and there are many pics too. Enjoy and if you need any help l;et me or the members know, only too pleased to help.
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Hello JRD!
Very many thanks for your reply about Scotland Gate. It's nice to hear from some one who knows the area really well.
Thanks also for the link to the Six Townships website. I had a quick browse and feel sure I will be using it quite a bit in the future.
I wonder if you can help me with another query about Scotland Gate. A FH correspondent of mine asked me whether I knew the location of Rose Villa in Scotland Gate, but I couldn't help. His grandparents lived there in 1901, and he had tried to find it on old maps, but had had no success. Do you know from your local knowledge where it was situated?
Best wishes,
Hazel.
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Is it Roseville ?
There is Francisville and further up Roseville , opposite St Pauls Church.
Hope this helps
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Hazel i went to school at Scotland Gate and got grand-kids there now.
However, before Mrs Blyth took over as head, i visited the old headmaster then. Now he let me and a fellow friend with a keen interest in our locality, read the old school record books as i was interested in the Zeppelin Raid during WW1 at Choppington. I saw the comments on it and really enjoyed some early reports on other matters concerning the school. This was about 1999.
Now when he retired i only assume he took all the records with him. Mrs Hilda Blyth aint seen them. I wonder if he donated them to the archives ?
If not i may chase this up if he is alive or indeed any family and see if i can find out. They were so interesting. There was lots of old school pics too, but sadly none for my years there. Maybe contact some of my old school friends for class pics as my parents couldnt afford them. Just got the odd one of me and me brother at school.
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Thanks for your swift reply to my query, JRD. I think the house my friend is looking for probably is Roseville, though he remembers it as Rose Villa. I will pass on this information to him, and maybe at some stage he will be able to pop by and check.
Thank you also for the info about the Scotland Gate school records. I think that my grandmother must have attended there in about 1874/5. After that the family moved up to Sheepwash Bank. Was there a separate school there, or would she have had to walk to Scotland Gate?
Cheers,
Hazel.
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If he was at Sheepwash as a boy he would have gone to scotland gate school.
i got lots of old pics from school those days showing the kids i will get them on our website this week.
regards
john
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Looking forward to seeing the old photos etc. on the Six Townships website soon.
Many thanks,
Hazel
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Lazytee,
Forgive me being a Newbie, but are your Morpeths at Scotland Gate related to Margaret Elliott bc1845 Pasture Hill Colliery, daughter of Robert Elliott and Eleanor Stephenson?
I am descended her brother Thomas Elliott who emigrated to Ballarat in Victoria, Australia in the 1850s, and have a family note of Margaret's children being Ellen, Robert, William, James, Emma and Annie Morpeth. Does this tie in with you?
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No mate.
Morpeth is just outside from Scotland Gate, Choppington in Northumberland.
Elliot is a name associated with Morpeth tho.
There is the Elliot Bridge.
Maybe someone can assist you in your search.
Best of luck
Regards
John
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Wow Perrine!
Welcome to Rootschat, and thank you for your message. This is fantastic! I have been trying for ages to find out what happened to Thomas, the eldest brother of my great grandmother Margaret Elliot(t), b. 1845. He appears in the 1841 and 51 England censuses, but then disappears from English records. I thought perhaps he might have emigrated, but as I had no idea whither or when, it was very difficult to follow up. I am absolutely thrilled to be in touch with one of Thomas' descendants and will send you a personal message with my email address so that we can exchange information..
You are quite right with the names of Margaret's children; Ellen was my grandmother. The only great aunt/uncle I ever met was her sister Annie - in 1964, in Canada.
JRD is quite right about the locations of Morpeth and Choppinton/Scotland Gate. They are not far apart, but quite separate places. As far as I know the Morpeth family had no connection to the town of Morpeth, except maybe way, way back. In the 18th century my lot were lead miners in Allendale.
Looking forward to a fruitful correspondence with you.
Warmest regards,
Hazel (Lazytee).
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Well Hazel aint it nice to get info.?
Well done.
The lead miners at Allendale i have a few very early pics of them.
Hopefully you may recognise someone ?
A part of my dads family had a drift mine for coal at Elsdon and my dad worked there a while too.
I will of course get all the pics promised on the web as soon as i speak to our Web designer.
Or, thinking about it, i can post on our forum myself.
So will do that very soon
Regards
John
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Thanks, Hazel, I look forward to sharing!
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Just bookmarking this page as my husband's lot (Maddison) were lead miners in Allendale and it will be interesting to see the photos.
Fairlane
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Hi again John!
Regarding Rose Villa again, I conveyed your helpful information to my friend and he came back with some supplementary questions. He reminded me that the house where his great grandfather lived is recorded as Rose Villa (not Roseville) in both the 1901 and 1911 censuses, and also as the place of death on his great grandfather's death certificate, and wonders whether it could have been situated between present day Frances Ville and Glebe Terrace, where there are some 1930s style houses now. Could this be the case? And when you say "up" from Frances Ville, do you mean a little further to the North?
Also, do you have any knowledge of "Cranberry Cottage" and "Jessamine Cottage" which figure in the 1901 and 1911 censuses respectively?
Many thanks for your interest and help.
Hazel.