Quote:
Originally Posted by janwhin
Those Widdrington miners must have been proper desperadoes. Here's a newspaper article from the Morpeth Herald of 21 November 1868:
"A number of men have come on several occasions from Widdrington Colliery and vicinity in large bodies for the purpose of getting salmon in the Coquet....On Sunday the 15th at two a. m. a large number of people assembled on the Coquet to fish. A body of police were on watch and they succeeded in apprehending William Bolam, Robert Black, James Young, and James Liddell, all pitmen at Widdrington Colliery. Bolam is a desperate character, known by the sobriquet of "Dick Turpin" to which he answers. He is well known in Castle Division, in Bedlington, and Six Mile Bridge......"
|
That's early for Widdrington Colliery. Perhaps they were shaft sinkers, I think they had a bit of a reputation.
There was another colliery, at the roundabout end, near Widdrington castle, called...you guessed it... Castle Colliery, they could have worked there if it was still operational? Castle Colliery started in the 1720s. This is after the Widdringtons lost their lands so it must have been started by the new owners.
Looking at the modern map the new road must be just about on top of Castle Colliery.
[any casualties for 'Castle Colliery' Janwhin?]
1864:
