THE HOUGHTONIAN | MAR 2012 | VOL 2 ISSUE 1 | ISSN 1757-3890MYSTERY SOLVED!Regular readers will recol<strong>le</strong>cthow in <strong>Vol</strong>ume 1 <strong>Issue</strong> 1 ofthe HOUGHTONIAN we weresearching for the location ofthe twins’ tombstone whichhad been placed in thechurchyard during renovationwork in 1857/58. We arep<strong>le</strong>ased to say that thetombstone, now in twopieces, has been spotted –alongside Bernard Gilpin’stomb in the south transept ofthe Parish Church. Our otherongoing mystery, of theunidentified house, continuesto provoke much discussion inour popular Facebook group.THIEVES STRIKEA new mining memorial wasunvei<strong>le</strong>d in Concord on March31 st 2012, depicting a motherwatching her son pass hisdad, a miner, his bait box.<strong>The</strong> special unveiling of thememorial was attended by alarge gathering, includingWashington Councillor DianneSnowdon, pictured <strong>le</strong>ft. Dayslater metal thieves attemptedto hack down the £100,000statue, causing damage to the<strong>le</strong>gs of the boy.Anyone with any informationis asked to contact police on101 ext. 69191.ON SCREEN SOONA new production from theBBC is set to film at LambtonCast<strong>le</strong> over the summermonths. <strong>The</strong> Ladies’Paradise, a rags-to-richesstory set in the 1890s, hasbeen written by Bill Gallagherand will be based on the novelby Emila Zola.Members of <strong>Houghton</strong>Heritage Society andHerrington Heritage Societyvisited the Lambton Estate in2011.
PAUL LANAGAN REPLIED:Dear MichaelThank you for your emailregarding the old clinic onTHE HOUGHTONIAN | MAR 2012 | VOL 2 ISSUE 1 | ISSN 1757-3890WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?Can you help solve theseGenealogical & Heritage Quests?THE OLD CLINICDear Paul, I have just recentlyfound the <strong>Houghton</strong> Heritage siteand found it most interesting andwondered, if you had time,whether you could c<strong>le</strong>ar up acoup<strong>le</strong> of points for me. I’moriginally from South Shields butin the early to mid sixties I workedwith what was then DurhamCouncil’s Health & WelfareDepartment and for about two orthree years I was based in<strong>Houghton</strong>: I was certainly workingthere during the big freeze-up in1963 when getting into <strong>Houghton</strong>was difficult - and getting outalmost impossib<strong>le</strong>. What puzz<strong>le</strong>sme is just where our office wassituated and I cannot find anytrace of it on any map, old or new.My now hazy recol<strong>le</strong>ction is thatthe building was probably an oldclinic and it was down a short laneon the <strong>le</strong>ft hand side of the roadas one headed north towardsNewbott<strong>le</strong>. My hazy recol<strong>le</strong>ctionalso summons up the name‘Gasworks Lane’ but I could wellbe wrong there and guilty ofmixing it up with something out ofCoronation Street! I have had ago on Goog<strong>le</strong> Earth but what I seebears hardly any relationship tothe <strong>Houghton</strong> I can vaguelyremember from forty-five yearsago. I can recall one local name:the nurse or health assistant wascal<strong>le</strong>d Mrs Parsons and I think herfather was a local councillor. Mypurpose in getting in touch is justto try to find out some basicdetails which I hope to include in awrite-up I am doing for the family.Was the clinic where I think Iremember it to have been and wasit really cal<strong>le</strong>d Gasworks Lane? Isit still there masquerading assomething else or did it go a longtime ago? I hope this isn’t toomuch troub<strong>le</strong>. I gather that I reallycouldn't have chosen a busier intime in <strong>Houghton</strong> to send in myquery! I have lived in a village inScotland for forty-odd years andknow how these fetes can takeover one's life but I'm glad to knowthat my memory is still more or<strong>le</strong>ss intact. I shall look forward togetting the images. Meanwhi<strong>le</strong>,enjoy the <strong>Houghton</strong> Feast. Bestwishes.Michael LawrensonScotlandPAUL LANAGAN REPLIED:Dear Michael, Thank you for youremail regarding the old clinic onGasworks Lane, also known asSunrise Lane on modern maps.This road was an offshoot at thenorthern end of Newbott<strong>le</strong> Streetand ran west down to thegasworks. <strong>The</strong> clinic, which was asquare-shaped J, and can still beseen on Goog<strong>le</strong> Maps. Indeed, itis listed as Sunrise House, SunriseLane, <strong>Houghton</strong>-<strong>le</strong>-<strong>Spring</strong>, DH45AL. Most peop<strong>le</strong>'s recol<strong>le</strong>ctionsof the building have negativeconnotations - teeth extractionand sunlight treatment - have alook at the postings in the HHFacebook group! I have attacheda photograph which was taken inSeptember 2011. <strong>The</strong> buildingnow appears to be in use ascommercial premises. I hope thisinformation of interest to you. Iwould be interested to hear of yourrecol<strong>le</strong>ctions of working in thebuilding, such as the snow in1963, as I will then be ab<strong>le</strong> to addthem, with the recent photos, tothe HH website.BEADLE ABOUTDear <strong>Houghton</strong> Heritage Society,My grandfather John WilliamBead<strong>le</strong>, I believe was interred atHillside Cemetery September1919. Born 21 st March 1880married 7th may 1906. Anyinformation you can supply wouldbe gratefully received. His wifewas Elizabeth Ann bead<strong>le</strong>, NeeLeckenby. Looking forward toyour contact.John W. Bead<strong>le</strong>Victoria, AustraliaTHE KEPIER 1927Hi all, just found your siteresearching the family tree. Mymother, Elsie Spearman, was bornin St Michael’s Kepier in 1927.Daughter of Ada and JimSpearman. Ada's mother, MaryWatson nee Father<strong>le</strong>y washousekeeper at the Kepier. Iunderstand if I go back ageneration Michael Father<strong>le</strong>y waspublican at the Black Boy Inn inNewbott<strong>le</strong>. Does anyone have anyinfo?Richard CravenMR THOMAS HUSBANDHello Paul, Whi<strong>le</strong> looking throughthe <strong>Houghton</strong> Colliery Bannerspage on the <strong>Houghton</strong> Heritagesite, I came across the name"Thomas Husband". This mademe remember a Thomas HusbandStreet in <strong>Houghton</strong>, but for the lifeof me I can't think where it was. AGoog<strong>le</strong> search has thrown upnothing, except for references to adevelopment there, which makesme think that the original streetmay no longer exist. It may havebeen near a North Street and aSouth Street - Goog<strong>le</strong> searchesshow p<strong>le</strong>nty of these (in EastRainton, West Rainton andNewbott<strong>le</strong>, for the former at <strong>le</strong>ast),but none in <strong>Houghton</strong>.With thanks to LenaScarborough,Inch forN.Yorkshiresharing these Quests photographs only in the and <strong><strong>Houghton</strong>ian</strong> many more.Havethese been redeveloped, too?Best regards.Steve HowarthPAUL LANAGAN REPLIED:Dear Steve, Thank you for youremail. Thomas Husband Streetwas located between SeahamRoad and Kirk<strong>le</strong>a Road, next toRyhope Street and Earsdon Road.You can see the modern locationon Goog<strong>le</strong> Maps. You may haveread my recent artic<strong>le</strong> about<strong>Houghton</strong>'s seven colliery banners,where I mentioned the 1923banner had Thomas Husband'sportrait on. What I hadn't linkedin, until I read your email andchecked my <strong>Houghton</strong> CollieryTime Line, was the 1921 incidentin which Thomas Husband waskil<strong>le</strong>d at <strong>Houghton</strong> Colliery. WhenI get time during the week I wil<strong>le</strong>nsure this reference is added tothe Banners artic<strong>le</strong>. Thank youonce again for mentioning this.BURIED AT HILLSIDELooking for information relatingto: John Atkinson; GeorgeAtkinson; Ernest Lawson; RalphLawson; and Samuel Pais<strong>le</strong>y, allpossibly buried at <strong>Houghton</strong>Hillside Cemetery.Mr Geoffrey Atkinson<strong>Houghton</strong>-<strong>le</strong>-<strong>Spring</strong>QUEST FEEDBACKHello Paul, I trust that you are well. Ihave found the latest '<strong><strong>Houghton</strong>ian</strong>'and there are a few points that I canmake that may help you. <strong>The</strong>Lindens - when I remember it MrPatterson (of Patterson Lamps atTeam Val<strong>le</strong>y Trading Estate, makersof miners safety lamps) lived there.<strong>Houghton</strong> Miners Project - you willneed to remember that, followingnationalisation, <strong>Houghton</strong> Collierywas also the location of a MiningTraining Centre for which therewere classrooms on the surface anda mining training gal<strong>le</strong>ryunderground in the Main Coal andFive Quarter seams. I spent threemonths there in 1950, I think thatthere were 20 or 24 of us there intwo groups at that time. Adultsspent one month there. <strong>The</strong>training centre closed at the end of1964. Ho<strong>le</strong> Lot of Troub<strong>le</strong> - I am abit puzz<strong>le</strong>d by this. <strong>The</strong> informationthat I was given three weeks agowas that the houses concernedwere in Station Avenue South, yourartic<strong>le</strong> says Station Avenue North, Iam wondering which is correct.<strong>The</strong> artic<strong>le</strong> also says that theprob<strong>le</strong>m has been caused byLambton D pit Shaft No 4. Iworked at Lambton D in 1955 andthere was no shaft No 4 and there isno such shaft shown on the miningplans. Can you enlighten me anyfurther p<strong>le</strong>ase? Do you know thenumbers of the houses that areaffected by any chance? JunctionRow - the houses are no longerthere however the name lives on. Itwas the location of three roadsalthough the name is taken fromthe 'Junction engine'. It is at thejunction of the road <strong>le</strong>ading fromthe Bee Hive PH at Fence Housesthat <strong>le</strong>ads towards Herrington Burnand Shiney Row. A road then <strong>le</strong>adsoff from this and goes throughSuccess and then on passing theCity of Sunderland Col<strong>le</strong>ge and toHerrington Burn.Another road<strong>le</strong>ads away from Junction Row andcomes out on the A183 road thatruns from Bournmoor to ShineyRow. Regards.Alan VickersSunderlandKeep reading for more Family Tree
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