Delavel, Dalavel, Northumberland

[lisingreece]

Please can some kind person familiar with Northumberland tell me where Delavel is. I have a John Lawson b abt 1866 Delavel. He is insistent in all the census's that this is where he was born, but can I find this place?? Seaton Delavel, is this the place? He was a coal hewer so it would be near a mine.
Thank you in anticipation
Lis

[Stanwix England]

I had a quick google and there is evidence that locals may have reffered to Seaton Delaval as simply Delaval.

According to the wikipedia page for Seaton Delaval there is a 19th Century folk song called the 'Blackleg Miner'.

"Oh, Delaval is a terrible place
They rub wet clay in the blackleg's face.
And around the heaps they run a foot race,
To catch the blackleg miner!
So divint gang near the Seghill mine.
Across the way they stretch a line,
To catch the throat and break the spine
Of the dirty blackleg miner!"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seaton_Delaval

Also the family name of the gentry who owned the land was Delaval. According to this wikipedia entry they owned a mine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaval

So I do think it's possible that locals simply called Seaton Delaval, 'Delaval'.

Funnily enough Rootschatters have been helping me trace someone, who probably isn't my relative as it turns out. However whoever this person is, she answered a census return as Segil and it seemed likely to me that this referred to Seg Hill which is around the corner from the area you are talking about. So it seems that pronunciation and interpretation of names does differ.

[lisingreece]

Thank you Ilona, yes you must be right. Now to find a mine at Seaton Delavel. And I used to sing the Blackleg miner.
This family is proving very awkward as every child is born in a different place. I will have to buy some certs to make sure I have the right family.
thank you for your in put
Lis

[Stanwix England]

According to wikipedia the Delaval family owned a mine which was at a place called Old Hartley.

If you look on google maps it's only a few miles away from Seaton Delaval. It's hard to get a sense of distance as the directions function on gmaps goes the roadway which seems the long way round and is 3.4 miles. As the crow flies it appears to be much shorter.

Also it appears that Seaton Delaval is the second or third closest village to Old Hartley, so I can imagine them taking some workers from that area?

Here is some history about that mine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartley_Colliery_disaster

[Stanwix England]

Here is a nice blog post with some useful photographs about mines at Seaton Delaval.

http://northumberlandpast.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/seaton-delaval-collieries.html

[pityackafromblyth]

Also, do not forget NEW DELAVAL, on the outskirts of Blyth, which also had a coal mine, which closed in the early 1960s.

[lisingreece]

great information from you both thank you so much. Lots here for me to follow up

Lis

[AlisdairGB]

There's a great site at Durham Mining museum. Despite the name it covers much of the north of  country...

http://www.dmm.org.uk/mindex.htm

Seaton Delaval had a big mine , there are details of this and others in the immediate area. Many people, my ancestors included, worked in several pits in their lifetimes.

As an aside, I can see Seaton Delaval Hall, the home of the Delavals, and now a National Trust property ,  from my front garden ...

[Ruskie]

The waggonways maps are very useful and interesting:
https://sites.google.com/site/waggonways/nz/25/nz2575

You can scroll and zoom into this:
http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sidebyside.cfm#zoom=14&lat=55.0798&lon=-1.5327&layers=1&right=BingHyb

As an aside, I can see Seaton Delaval Hall, the home of the Delavals, and now a National Trust property ,  from my front garden ...

Half your luck Alisdair!  What a wonderful view.