Will the lights go out at Prestwick Road Ends?

The washout caused by the drain from the area recently opencasted has steadily got worse over recent months.

Works done by electricity supply company does not seem to be solving the problem. How long before the lights go out?

Rights of Way Modifications

At the Northumberland County Council Rights of Way Committee held on Friday 9th September the committee considered the following:

 1. ALLEGED RESTRICTED BYWAY NO 10 AND BYWAY OPEN TO ALL TRAFFIC NO 72 (PARISH OF PONTELAND).  (Explanation note: road from Mayfair house to Berwick Hill)

Following consideration of the evidence it was:

RESOLVED - that it be agreed that:

(i)  there is sufficient evidence to indicate that public vehicular rights have been reasonably alleged to exist over the route;
(ii)  the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 would not appear to have extinguished the publics motorized vehicular rights between points marked C and D;
(iii)  that Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 would appear to have extinguished the publics motorized vehicular rights between the points marked D and E;
(iv)  the southern part of the route, between the points marked C and D, be included in a future Definitive Map Modification Order as a Byway Open to All Traffic and the northern part, between the points marked D and E, be included in a future Definitive Map Modification Order as a restricted byway.

and

2. ALLEGED RESTRICTED BYWAY OPEN TO ALL TRAFFIC NO 73 (PARISH OF PONTELAND). (Explanation note: Road/foopath from Eland Hall to Mayfair House)

After consideration of the evidence it was:

RESOLVED - that it be agreed that:

(i)  there is sufficient evidence to indicate that public vehicular rights have been reasonably alleged to exist over the route;

(ii)  the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 would not appear to have extinguished the publics motorized vehicular rights between points marked C and B;

(iii)  the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 would appear to have extinguished the publics motorized vehicular rights between the points marked B and A;

(iv)  the eastern part of the route, between the points marked C and B, be included in a future Definitive Map Modification Order as a Byway Open to All Traffic and the western part, between the points marked B and A, be included in a future Definitive Map Modification Order as a restricted byway.

 

More on Street House or Prestwick House or The Badger

Solicitors' documents, deposited at the Northumberland Record Office in 1959, provide much of the information about the owners and occupiers of Street Houses during the 18th and 19th centuries, and also make it possible to attempt to fix the boundaries of the property after 1724.

By 1724 Jane Carr (nee Shafto) was the sole surviving member of Lawrence Shafto's family and, together with her second husband, Robert Carr, owned the west part of Prestwick. They had been married with a lycence in May 1692 in Bedlington ; in 1693 he was overseer of ye poor for Prestwick .

A family settlement of 1724 arranged for the estate to be divided equally between Robert Carr's two daughters, Mary, wife of John Coulter, and Dorothy Carr. Failing heirs from the Carr sisters, the inheritance would go to their four older half-sisters, daughters of Jane Carr and her first husband, William Fenwick. He had been vicar of Lesbury and Shilbottle and had died there in September 1688 .

A deed drawn up in 1733 deals specifically with the part of Prestwick West Farm known as Mengeys (or Mindseys) Close, the site of what was to be known later as Street House Farm. Described as a Messuage Tenement and Close with John Coulter as the tenant, the property was to be for his use during the lifetime of his parents-in-law. Since John Coulter was of the Town and county of Newcastle, he and his family may not have lived at Prestwick. The Coulters were married, in 1716, at St. John's, Newcastle, where their four sons and seven daughters were all baptised .

Jane Carr was buried at Ponteland 7 May 1736 and her husband the following February , leaving their two daughters tenants in common of Prestwick West Farm.

John Coulter, tobacconist and feltmaker , died in 1743. According to the Land Tax Returns for 1748, 1750 and 1753, Mrs Coulter was liable for the tax on a property in Prestwick, whether as owner or occupant is not clear.
In 1756 Mary Coulter of Newcastle and Shafto Coulter of the same place Merchant eldest son and Heir of the said Mary Coulter..had documents drawn up to destroy the entail (so that the possessor would be allowed to sell the property outright) on all that full undivided moiety or half part of Prestwick West Farm.

Mrs Coulter's will was proved in 1774. In 1779, Shafto Coulter and Robert Carr [cousins] were . . Tenants in common for life of Prestwick West Farm containing by Estimation 200 acres and wanted to divide the estate between them. Since the capital messuage [large house i.e. Prestwick Hall] and the greatest part of the other Houses and Buildings [had] fallen to the lot of the said Robt. Carr Shafto Coulter was to be awarded £122.10s. to be paid by ...Robt. Carr together with a further £2 in view of the greater value of wood piling in Robt. Carr's allotment. This £124. 10s. was to be extended and laid out by Shafto Coulter in making and erecting a new Dwellinghouse outhouses and other necessar,' Buildings upon the said Premises so awarded to him.

The new house was a well designed, U-shaped farmstead. Solidly built of stone, it had a meticulously balanced brick facade facing the road. The two-storied central portion was flanked by two single-storey wings, housing the kitchen and a large reception room. The rest of the farmstead included: good Stabling, Coach House, Dog Kennel, Dove-Cot, a Garden walled with bricks, with other Offices and Outhouses, besides all necessary Buildings for a Tenant.

The dove-cot was artistically positioned in the field opposite, so as to be visible from the main windows of the house.

Turner and Young colliery owners

The workforce of "Turner and Young" at Prestwick colliery circa 1900. Joshua Turner is seated second from the left in the front row with Robert Turner third from the left in the front row.
Seated first on the left is James Taylor who went on to sink two new shafts for the  Prestwick Coal Company in 1904 when Turner and Young sold their interest.

Don't always believe in what the papers say!

A recent item in the newspaper about refurbishment of The Badger stated that the owner in the late 18th century had earned a vast fortune during the Napolionic wars by selling hair powder.

Someone has their wires crossed a little! The certificate above shows that Shafto Coulter paid Hair powder tax  in 1797.


Duty on Hair Powder Act 1795 (35 Geo. III, c. 49) was an Act of Parliament levying a tax on hair powder. It was repealed in 1869.

The Act stated that everyone wishing to use hair powder must, from 5 May 1795, visit a stamp office to enter their name and pay for an annual certificate costing one guinea. Certain exemptions were included: the Royal Family and their servants, clergymen with an income of under £100 a year, subalterns, non-commissioned officers, privates in the army, artillery, militia, mariners, engineers, fencibles, officers in the navy below commander, yeomanry, and volunteers. A father with more than two unmarried daughters might buy two certificates which would be valid for any number he stated at the stamp office. The master of a household might buy a certificate for a member of his servants which would also be valid for their successors within that year. The use of hair powder had been declining and the tax hastened its near death. In 1812 46,684 people still paid the tax, in 1855 only 997 did, and almost all of these were servants.

November 2012 Floods

Explosives

ICI's Nobel division transported explosives from its factory at Ardeer, Ayrshire to its depot from 1953 until the1970's. The explosives were distributed from the Callerton depot, with offices at Street Houses, to mines all over the North East of England.

A full history of the ICI local operations can be found in the Ponteland Local History Society publication "Pont Island News 2010" 

PC Wanderings a Blog not to miss

 

Apologies  to Peter for this repost but I'm sure many will like to see the latest entry and indeed many of his other posts at PC Wanderings.

Apologies to Wilson 

PC Wanderings

AND don't miss

Listing 

A place to sit

Just read that the Town Council are to replace half of the public seats in Ponteland Parish.

Pity that the money could not be spent on the pavements - perhaps Councillors should sit in a wheelchair and be pushed around the area.

Alright! no doubt I will be told that the money is allocated from a different "pot"  but I'm sure that bit of bureaucracy could be overcome.

I  bet a "pound to a penny" the council is turning down offers to provide seats "in memorial" of deceased loved ones.

Prestwick Road Ends, AA Phone box.

Can anyone recall when the AA Phone box at Preswick Road Ends on the A696 was removed?

Newcastle Airport "on the ball"

A week ago attention was drawn to the uncut hedge on Prestwick Road - its now been cut! And a good job as well.

All credit to the airport who own the hedge! 

Newcastle Airport delays?

Newcastle Airport has usually cut its hedges on Prestwick road by this time of year.

Predestrians are finding it difficult to use the foopath to Prestwick Road Ends and beyond because they remain uncut.

 

All the other roadside hedges have been cut by landowners but the uncut ones pose a danger and potentially could "snag" a coat, skirt or trousers

 

Rent Dobbies Roundabout for £8,000 a year?

Northumberland County Council are proposing to erect advertising boards on many highway roundabouts and sell the space.


But what price a life, a broken leg or broken arm? There have been a least 3 fatal accidents  at Dobbies roundabout.

Should drivers not be concentrating on driving rather than reading notices? Are there not enough illegal notices at this location already?

Prestwick Colliery Home Guard

Back Row: Officer from Woolsington? Gordon Taylor (aged 16) ? from Woolsington, "Buck" Graham, Tommy Strangeways, George Barras, "Reggie" Graham, Billy Weightman

Mid Row: Cyril Graham, ?, Jack Coulson, Wilson Scott, "Robbie" Graham, Jack Lynch, 

Front row: John Guy, Mick lynch, Stan Taylor, Ronnie Lynch, Tommy Winthrop, "Tucker" Robson, Stan Simpson

Prestwick's £36,000,000 company

Northern Bear  has just posted turnover of £36,000,000 and a profit of £8,000,000

Fryer's Map 1820

Prestwick Hall 1900

The 1911 Census shows that Prestwick Hall was occupied by 71 year old William Boyd and his of 40 years, 70 year old Jane Diana together with cook, Ellen Brown and 4 other female servants.

William Boyd, born in Arncliffe, Yorkshire, birth, first came to Wallsend in 1874, when he was invited to become managing director of the Wallsend Slipway Co. Under his direction the small shipyard became a major marine engine building concern, erecting the first steel boilers on the Tyne in 1878. Mr Boyd retired from management at the end of 1911.

He was involved in Wallsend local government from May 1878, when he became a member of the Local Board of Health. In April of the following year he was elected chairman of the board, and served in that position until 1894, when it was replaced by the new district council, of which he became the first chairman. Mr Boyd was elected an Alderman and first Mayor of the new council and continued to serve until October 2, 1906. On Wednesday, June 19, 1907, William Boyd laid the foundation stone for Wallsend's new Town Hall when a Freedom Ceremony was opened for him. By this time he had moved to Cheltenham, where he died in 1919.

The North East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders was founded in November 1884 at the instigation of William Geddes Spence (1860-1946) of R.W. Hawthorn's marine engine works. William Boyd (1839-1919) Managing Director of the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Works served as its first President and is widely recognised as being the leading force behind the Institution's creation.

---

Prestwick Chapel

Built 1882 demolished 1981

Ragwort can kill horses

The grass on the village green has recently been cut - but one asks why has the clump of weeds been left to spoil the effort. Prestwick has a large horse population and I'm sure their owners will not be happy to see that the weeds are poisonous Ragwort which could seed into adjacent fields where their horses run.

As detailed in a previous post the notice board had been lowered - see the posts sticking out of the top- a common fault with highway furniture. Attention to detail again! - why cut the grass and leave the tufts around the posts uncut?

Prestwick based charity accounts published

LEGACARE (UK) LTD
TRUSTEES' REPORT AND UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS

Legacare Accounts

None of the trustees or anyone connected with the trustees received any remuneration or was reimbursed expenses in the period. During the period Margaret Kirby's, who is a trustee of the charity, legal practice Kirbys Solicitors provided legal services by way of consultancy to the charity to facilitate the charity's objectives to the value of £33,333 which is in accordance with the governing document. This ocurred because there was insufficient funding to recruit solicitors for the charity at this time, which would also include costs for professional indemnity insurance, practising certificates, CPD training as well as supervision and monitoring. This is a temporary measure until the Charity has sufficient funding to recruit solicitors and their associate core costs.

The Prestwick Hoard

In 1890 13 bronze vessels and a possible handle were ploughed up on Prestwick Carr 350 yards north of Prestwick Whins Farm. This camp kitchen set contained a cauldron, 4 bowls, one basin and 7 saucepans. Though battered and patched, the names of two makers and three owners survived on 4 of the vessels. Of the 13, 7 were donated to the Society of Antiquaries by the landowner, Charles Loraine Bell of Woolsington. The cauldron disappeared before the publication of the group in volume XIII of the Northumberland County History (1926) and the other 5 pieces subsequently also vanished.

Very Tall People live in Prestwick!

We have recently had a magnificent new notice board erected in Prestwick by Ponteland Town Council and I'm sure all residents will be grateful for that.

But what a shame more thought had not been given to its erection. There are guidelines about "Accessibility" issues - it's far too high. Someone in a wheelchair has no chance of reading any notices posted and even tall people will have difficulty.

Ponteland Town Council Local Plan consultation

Make your submission to the Town Council before 10th august 2012.

Here is your starter for 10!

3.6.5                     In previous plans it has been recognised that Prestwick has no defined “development” boundary and that the whole of the “village” is “over washed” by green belt. It should be made clear that this case remains.

3.1.10                The plan fails to recognise the existence of area E2A in the previous plan. Omission of a policy for area E2A from the current plan could prejudice the resulting policy. This area is owned by Newcastle Airport and scheduled for industrial use.

Transport: The traffic flow figures clearly demonstrate that the amount of “bypassable” vehicles is modest and that it is East/West traffic rather than North/South. There appears to be a failure to recognise that the A696 is no longer a Trunk Road ( eg, 3.5.1) and that any bypass will have to be ‘locally’ funded. Whilst the building of a bypass in the next 30 years is going to be difficult to justify there is more chance of building a less expensive B6342/Berwick Hill link than an A696 bypass

W Armstrong and Sons, Prestwick

S Fix Workshop

I am told by someone who worked there at the time that the building was built by local joiner Mr Ditchburn - does anyone recall his fore name?

Ditchburn lived at No.1 Carr View, Prestwick and prior to moving into the workshop he rented Prestwick Chapel as a joiners workshop from Billy Welch, Mechanical Engineer at East Walbottle colliery.

Ditchburn moved to a farm near Chollerford.

Can anyone remember who the next occupiers of the workshop were?

The opening of Dinnington Village Social Club

Stan Taylor and Tommy Nicholson worked at Prestwick Pit and the Robert Pit, Dinnington (joined as one unit called East Wallbottle colliery by the National Coal Board and its pre- nationalisation owners - the East Walbottle Coal Company) 

Jack the Stripper

When the body of 30-year-old Hannah Tailford was found by rowers on the Thames shore near Hammersmith Bridge on February 2, 1964, the similarities to previous murders of Rees and Figg's corpses were uncanny. Naked apart from a pair of stockings, she had also been strangled, several teeth were missing, and her semen-stained underwear had been stuffed in her mouth.
It was an ugly end to a life that had seen precious little beauty.

Hanna Tailford

Born at Prestwick Pit Houses, Hannah was excluded from several schools as a child due to disruptive behavior. As a teenager she ran away to London, where she was soon "on the game", gaining convictions for soliciting and theft into the bargain. She became so desperate that on one occasion she even placed a classified ad in her local newspaper, offering her unborn baby for sale to the highest bidder.
The last confirmed sighting of Tailford was on January 24, and pathologists estimated that she could have been in the water for a week or more. As with Rees, there were several lines of enquiry that appeared to present themselves.
Tailford was said to have connections in a murky world of underground sex parties and "stag films" She frequented a coffee stall near Trafalgar Square where she was known to have been offered money to have sex on camera. One individual connected to these activities committed suicide a few days before Hannah Tailford was found.
In his book on the case, Found Naked And Dead, Brian McConnell reports that Tailford told friends of being paid to participate in bizarre orgies at the homes of aristocrats. Such stories tallied with the lurid tales of high society sex parties revealed during the Profumo Scandal of 1963, in which a British government minister's affair with a call girl was exposed.

John Profumo

Tailford told a friend she had attended an orgy at the home of a French diplomat named Andre, and on another occasion had been paid £25 and taken by a limousine to a house where a man in a gorilla costume had sex with her while a crowd of upper-crust revellers cheered him on.
Could Tailford have been silenced by someone with connections to this sleazy world? Tempting though the theory may have been, it seemed unlikely. Nevertheless, during the investigation police interviewed hundreds of people who they knew to have consorted with prostitutes, among them an international soccer player, and several clergymen.
Yet the possibility that Tailford had fallen victim to a "maniac," as the newspapers put it, was shortly to become even more terrifyingly plausible.

The Jack the Stripper murders have never been solved.

1953

Received from Newcastle Airport on Tuesday 25th April 2012 following "noise complaint"......

"Due to a single engine fault on an Eastern Airways aircraft, the airline requested a series of high power engine runs over the last three nights. I have been informed by our Airside Operations Department that this testing  was an essential operational requirement.

 

Unfortunately, Eastern Airways have also experienced technical issues with another aircraft and there will be further engine testing carried out this evening.

 

I must stress that the Airport Company regrets any annoyance or nuisance, its operations may cause to its neighbours.  If you require any further information please do not hesitate to get in contact"

Which Badger do you prefer?

Prestwick Park

A modern Logo which I would suggest represents the office development very well. Modern, and rural.

Beneath this green and pleasant land

For those interested in mining in the locality his book by John Graham will be a facinating read.

There was a review in the recent edition of Pont Island News published by Ponteland Local History Society:

"Son of a miner, John Graham dreamed of a life at sea.Sadly ,his fatherdied of cancer when John was 10 years old,so when he left school at 15 he had no choice but to follow his 2 brothers and go down the mine.This was summer 1953.Hestarted as a screener picking out stones from the coal trucks for £2-16s a week and by hard physical work and study worked his way up the coal face heirarchy to be a colliery overman.When he retired in 1987 miners could earn bonuses of up to £125 a week.Realising what would eventually happen to the coalmining industry,he applied for voluntary redundancy which he won after a battle.;he then bought a newsagents business and was very successful. His final verdict on life as a miner was--YES I would do it all again, NO I  would not send my sons down the mine.                       

This is the fascinating story of a coalminer who worked at Prestwick and Havannah and ended up working at the huge undersea colliery at Westoe South Shields. There is a lot of technical information,with illustrations,but it gives an excellent insight into life at the coal face.The opening up of new seams,shoring up the roofs,building the railways to transport the coal to the surface are all beautifully detailed. Soare the dangers involved including  roof falls,methane gas explosions and flooding ,often with apalling injuries.However ,this book is not just a commentary on the mining industry and its developement over the years with increased mechanisation and vastly improved safety and working conditions--it is the very human story of a man A man dedicated to his life as a miner,striving always to ensure the safety of his men,increase production and motivate them. Itis also the story of the miners themselves, theur humour,their camaraderie,their distrust of new techniques and inventions, and sometimes their "bolshiness"If you have ever wondered what life was like at the coalface ,John Graham's book provides a fascinating read.Coal mining is part of our Northeastern heritageand should not be forgotten.This book will help the reader remember."

"The Flight" crosses the A696.

                                                             

Coals from the "Robert colliery" at Dinnington arrived at the rail head at Prestwick by aerial ropeway. This picture was taken circa 1960 at the point where the ropeway crossed the Newcastle to Ponteland road. 

The photographer is standing approximatly where the wash bay is at the Airport Filling station, looking towards Newcastle . The Doubletree hotel site is on the left hand side and the street of houses, Prestwick Terrace, seen in the distance still exists.

Why not visit Carr Birds as well

Please do visit "Carr birds"  In setting up this Blog I am hoping to compliment the excellent photos and comments made by Peter in his blog. The aim is not to compete with his content but perhaps cover some other items which might interest readers.