THE HOUGHTONIAN | SEPT 2012 | VOL 2 ISSUE 3 | ISSN 1757-3890ON HOUGHTON’SCENOTAPHHi Paul, I checked out the HHwebsite, looking at names ofpeop<strong>le</strong> who died in WWII and livedin <strong>Houghton</strong>-<strong>le</strong>-<strong>Spring</strong> at the timeof their death. I was unab<strong>le</strong> to findmy grandfather’s name on any ofyour sites. Could you advisewhere else I could look for hisname, Joseph Ranson died 22 ndMarch 1943 at the batt<strong>le</strong> ofA<strong>le</strong>mien, he was awarded themilitary medal. He was married atthe time of his death and lived inThomas Husband Street,<strong>Houghton</strong>. I don't suppose thefamilies that were <strong>le</strong>ft botheredabout putting names onmemorials or anything like that. Iwould appreciate any informationyou have.wishes.Thanks and bestChristine HallPAUL LANAGAN REPLIED:Dear Christine, Thank you for yourrecent email. I am sure you arefamiliar with the <strong>Houghton</strong> at Warsection of the <strong>Houghton</strong> HeritageWebsite. You will have noted thatthere is NO SCULPTUREDMEMORIAL for those<strong><strong>Houghton</strong>ian</strong>s who were kil<strong>le</strong>d inaction during WWII. <strong>The</strong>re is abound Book of Remembrance butI note that your Grandfather'sname is not included. I haveheard rumours that there are plansfor a new WWII memorial in<strong>Houghton</strong>-<strong>le</strong>-<strong>Spring</strong>. <strong>The</strong>Heritage Society's view, and thatof several others, is that there isspace for panels to be included atthe base of the present Cenotaph.<strong>The</strong> Commonwealth War GravesCommission may have furtherinformation that could be of use toyou. <strong>The</strong> website is at: http://www.cwgc.org I have done aquick search and note he iscommemorated on the MEDJEZ-EL-BAB MEMORIAL. See:http://www.cwgc.org/ find-wardead/casualty/ 2632877/RANSON,%20JOSEPH It statesthat his parents lived atPhiladelphia; I do wonder,therefore, if those on theCenotaph are the individuals thatlived in central <strong>Houghton</strong> and notthe outlying villages? I do hopethis helps.WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?Can you help solve theseGenealogical & Heritage Quests?THE FATHERLY FAMILYHello Paul, I was doing somegenealogical research on theFatherly family (sometimes itseems it is spel<strong>le</strong>d "Father<strong>le</strong>y") andI have come across a reference tomy great grandfather, John, andhis wife, Margaret, being thepublicans at the LondonderryArms on Colliery Row circa 1880(from the 1881 Census data). Icannot find any reference to thispub in your artic<strong>le</strong> on pubs in<strong>Houghton</strong>-<strong>le</strong>-<strong>Spring</strong>. Was thereone? If so, is it still there? Haveyou heard of the Fatherly family?John Father<strong>le</strong>y was born onColliery Row in 1854 and seems tohave been one a MANY!!Father<strong>le</strong>ys. Margaret (maidenname unknown) was born inHetton in Durham but I have noidea where that is now - I think asuburb of Durham. Any info youmight be ab<strong>le</strong> to give me would bemuch appreciated - and if youhave any contacts with localpeop<strong>le</strong> who are into familyhistories in the area, I'd be p<strong>le</strong>asedto be put in touch with them. Ifthere are any websites whichmight assist me in my trackingwhich you know of, I'd love to havethem too. Hope this is not toomuch of a burden and there's norush! Thanks in advance for yourhelp. P.S. Enjoyed your site andthe friendliness of it. I hope, oneday, to visit to see where myancestors lived their lives, but timeis short since I am 75 now (alas).Peter HillHamilton, OntarioCanadaPAUL LANAGAN REPLIED:Hello Peter, thank you for yourenquiry. <strong>The</strong> Londonderry Armspub still stands at Colliery Row butis now known as JD STEWART. Itis located on the corner of FrontStreet, where it intersects withDairy Lane (which <strong>le</strong>ads to<strong>Houghton</strong> centre). <strong>The</strong> Pub's fulladdress is: J.D Stewart, FRONTST, COLLIERY ROW,HOUGHTON LE SPRING, DH46LR I do not recol<strong>le</strong>ct when thename changed - nor why - but itwas after 1999, as I tookphotographs (not digital) in thevicinity then. <strong>The</strong>re is a relativelyrecent photo online Flicker. Youwill also be interested to know thatthere is a Fatherly Terrace in veryclose proximity to the Pub. Youcan see the Street on this map:there is a Fatherly Terrace in veryclose proximity to the Pub. Youcan see the Street on this map:http://goo.gl /maps /AadUj<strong>The</strong> label which says "MEERU SPA& BEAUTY" appears on the mapabove where the pub is (hope thathelps you to pin point it). <strong>The</strong> redlabel "A" is where Fatherly Terraceis. On the same map, if you followthe B1284 road down (southeasterly)you will come to the nextvillage, Hetton-<strong>le</strong>-Ho<strong>le</strong>, which youalso mentioned in your email. I dohope this helps you.JOHN DAYLEYLooking for information on JohnDay<strong>le</strong>y who was buried at<strong>Houghton</strong>-<strong>le</strong>-<strong>Spring</strong>'s HillsideCemetery.Pauline CrosbySpennymoor, Co DurhamROW OR ROWEI would appreciate information onthe ROW or ROWE surname ofindividuals from <strong>Houghton</strong>-<strong>le</strong>-<strong>Spring</strong>. Regards.Dr J. E. CurranWest SussexADA CHARLTONHello, I hope you may be ab<strong>le</strong> tohelp me with this inquiry. I'msearching for the grave of mymother, Ada M Charlton who, Ibelieve, was buried in St Michael'sdetached churchyard, Hillsidecemetery in 1951. My sister and Iplan to visit the graveyard andsearch for our mother's grave. Ifyou can give some advice on howbest to proceed with this I wouldbe very grateful.John CharltonKingston, SurreyMARGARET ROSE MCNEILI need help to find my aunty’sgrave plot as I've tried everythingand can't find her. Her name wasMargaret Rose McNeil and shedied at 3 weeks old with a c<strong>le</strong>ftpalate. All I know is that she wasburied in <strong>Houghton</strong> Cemeteryunder a tree. I would love to findher for my Grandmother who isnow 91 years.He<strong>le</strong>n Melvin<strong>Houghton</strong>-<strong>le</strong>-<strong>Spring</strong>LAIDLER’S PITSomeone was asking about thewhereabouts of Laid<strong>le</strong>r's Pit asmentioned in Durham Records for1815-30. We have just found amention of the pit in the 1928 listof Abandoned Mines which coversall abandonments since recordsbegan. It says: Laid<strong>le</strong>r's Pit in theParish of Painshaw. BetweenWaggon Hill and Painshaw Stationto the west of Whitehill Pit andclose to Painshaw Ti<strong>le</strong> Works. Weassume the brick kilns marked onthe 1856 map just to the west ofPainshaw Colliery (Whitefield Pit)now appear to have been underthe two houses now cal<strong>le</strong>dWhitefield are on top of what wasquoted as being Painshaw Ti<strong>le</strong>Works. <strong>The</strong> cottages numbered 8to 11 are either very old (pre 1856)or have been replaced on thesame site and appear to havebeen within the Colliery area.Information came courtesy of theDurham Mining MuseumWebmaster at www.dmm.org.ukRoy LambethCounty DurhamJACKIE MACDERMOTTI am wondering if there are anyrelatives of Jackie MacDermott(used to sell fruit n veg) out there.He died a few years back as Iremember going to his funeral. Hewas my Mam's cousin.Kay Lyness<strong>Houghton</strong>-<strong>le</strong>-<strong>Spring</strong>CHEEKYY MINERS AND AMINOR!When I was a lad I lived at 108Newbott<strong>le</strong> Street sadly it wasdemolished. Has anyone anyphotos of the area in the 50s andearly 60s? I remember agrocers/florist shop & theminers/labourers coming homefrom work dropping pennies in mysisters pram every time they gother to say bugger!Chris WattsCambridge* * * * * * * * * * *Keep reading formore Quests!
THE HOUGHTONIAN | SEPT 2012 | VOL 2 ISSUE 3 | ISSN 1757-3890
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