Scarlet fever hospital Blyth

[Michael Dixon]

Philip,

 Been  Bebside-born, the riverside, both banks, was my regular play area.
 Still further up the river, from Kitty Brewster, on both sides of the Stone Bridge
 ( or the "Furnace Bridge" )were walls with metal rings.

 Back to hospital angle....   On  the 1897 Ordnance Survey map of 1897, 6 " version,
(httm://communities.northumberland.gov.uk/006192FS.htm )
at the top is Infectious Diseases Hospital. To my eye this looks to be in different place to the one on the riverside ?

Michael

[Phodgetts]

There were two hospitals. If you go to http://gis.durham.gov.uk/website/interMAP/viewer.htm and do a post code search on NE245TG it will center the map on where one of the Infectious Diseases Hospitals was. If you zoom out and go to the 1938-50 map both hospitals are shown. They appear to have been built in the late 19th Century.

Stan

Yes, I got myself in a tizzy over the hospital location, thinking all manner of things like it could even be a cartographic error heaven forbid! Actually there were two hospitals in the vicinity of Factory Point, one on the Point itself and another hospital that is masked by trees a little to the west. If you can manage to follow the layers of maps as Stan above pointed out, the map reveals the two hospitals in close proximity to eachother. The 1898 map misses off Factory Point and only shows the hospital to the west and the map omits to include the wooded area. That is what threw me initially because the photo I have of the hospital has no visible trees and the original posters photo is def. on Factory Point.
I would post an image of the map showing both hospitals but I think there will a copyright problem and I don't want to get into trouble, so please try and see if you can look up the historical maps on the above link.

Philip

[Phodgetts]

I have managed to find a photo from my collection that includes the area where the hospitals were. The photo I posted of the tin shack and the nurse stood outside is the building on Factory Point.

Philip

[Phodgetts]

I wonder if there is indeed a difference between Monkey's Isalnd and Factory Point. I thought they were one and the same, but it would make sense if Monkey's Island was the hospital surrounded by trees. Factory Point of course was the place where the old alkali works was.

Any thoughts among the locals?

Philip

[pityackafromblyth]

Re Factory Point and Monkey's Island, I think they are two different locations.  In the 1950s lived at Cowpen and used to end up at the location where the hospital had stood.  We always referred to Monkey's Island as the land across the river on the Cambois side, more or less directly opposite.

[Michael Dixon]

 pyfB,

 Well it just shows you ....... I lived at Bebside then at Cowpen from 1952 and to me and my gang, Monkey's Island was on southern bank ( i.e. Cowpen) of the River !

Mick the Chimp.

[pityackafromblyth]

Michael, That is about the same 'era' we were kids playing in that area. I remember when we went down from Cowpen Road, past John Street, etc., and the corner shop/off licence, to get down to the river bank, before the sewage works were built there.  If I remember correctly we may have seen your gang, and we assumed that you had swum across from Monkey's Island, so we all fled home shreiking and screaming. Generally got the belt for telling lies, saying that we had seen wild animals swim across from the island.

[emmadog]

As a young lass I always thought there were 'real monkeys' down that way but could never understand why I never sow any ha ha!! How gullable can one be.

Barbara

[Pete E]

Some great responses and photos thanks all; sadly no other names for the children