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  #1  
Old 31-10-2010, 08:37 PM
sixo sixo is offline
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Default Hi from Ashington.

Hello folks, i have just come across the site and saw some fantastic pics of old bottles dug up many moons ago, I have similar interests Metal detecting, bottle digging, fishing, homebrewing and general mooching around the beautiful northumbrian countryside.
cheers
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Old 01-11-2010, 12:50 AM
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Hi Sixo, great to have you here!

Have you any old bottles with 'Ashington' on? Never found any around Amble, which seems unusual as I would have thought there were a few Brewers / Mineral Water Companies there too. Found Alnwick, Morpeth, Berwick, Newcastle companies, but not Ashington.
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Old 01-11-2010, 03:25 PM
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I have seen Ashington bottles in various collections, from the lads I used to dig with, I never kept much from the digs that I took part in years ago, foolish but not to worry.
Mainly the bottles were from the Grand Hotel, The Portland but I've never seen one from the North Seaton Hotel (White Elephant)which is the only fully functioning bar/hostelry still active out of the three!
Many of the bottles were from Blyth being an older port.
The digs were quite a few years back, and Morpeth turned up some amazing finds, I never knew what happened to them, but I was just a bairn at the time.
I got into digging growing up around the Seaton Hirst area of Ashington and over the road from the White elephant was a small post office behind which was a small holding of considerable size, in the embarkment that ran through the valley held all manner of glass, I regularly got a tanner, two bob from coloured glass bottles from an old fellow that came along to see what we had prised out of the ground. Big money for red glass, must've been worth a few bob.
cheers
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Old 02-11-2010, 12:02 AM
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Shame about the end of those great drinking establishments over there. Big changes have occurred over the past thirty years with the demise of the mines. I can remember frequently going into the Portland direct from the pit training centre at Ashington Colliery. Massive building. What's it used for now? I can't remember the last time I was at that end of town

My first bottle was a George Young Ginger Beer - "Chantry Well, Morpeth, Est. 1872" that establishment date was exactly 100 years earlier than the year I found it -1972 - so I can never forget when I started bottle collecting if I keep that one.


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Old 02-11-2010, 04:12 PM
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Ah... you've got me reminiscing now, trying to remember the names of the instructors at the pit training centre....Jim Kadansky and his partner in crime Mr Luke, Mr Liddle on machine tools, Mr Hepplewhite, Mr Bell, Mr Alexander and a load more. highly skilled individuals.

My first venture underground was at Ashington colliery too. Bit of a shock to the system it was.


My apprentice piece for 'machine tools' - a steel miner's lamp. Took a month to teach us enough to make one of these:

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Old 02-11-2010, 07:09 PM
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here's a nice transfer printed jar found Amble:




The Allenburys Malt Extract 'Rich in Diastase Soluble Phosphates & Albuminoids' sounds quite toxic!
I wrote to Allen and Handburys (Glaxo?) when I found this and they told me when it was on the market, but I've lost the letter. Edwardian I think.
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Old 03-11-2010, 09:34 AM
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Yeah, I know of the name Kadansky in Ashington and think like the majority of Poles that joined the community and pits that they were easily accepted by being exceptional worker's. Polish surnames in the community I've heard are, Mielnik, Kadansky, Lech, Czezhepok etc the name spellings may not be entirely accurate and I'm sure there are many more.
I never ventured into mining, choosing to go into Oil and Gas. My father was a Woodhorn Colliery man working at the pit from 14 putting tokens on tubs, then apprentice fitter/turner until 1971 where he left to do his own thing.
The jars have grand transfers and the machined piece is very good indeed.
My dad told me of a woodhorn turner that made watch winder's on a 30 Ft whitworth lathe, quite an achievement.
cheers
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Old 10-02-2011, 10:27 AM
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Default Beattie of Ashington - Chemist Ginger Beer

Many years ago, back in the 60's and 70's, our family business J.Sharp Haulage of North Shields were responsible for a lot of the pit heaps in the Northumberland coalfield. We extracted the burnt shale and a lot of ash for use as an aggregate on the region's roads, including the Coast Road, Tyne Tunnel, Spine Road (A19), and countless others. Among the ash from the heaps were of course tons of bottles, these mainly came from Burradon Pit. We had the machinery and wagons for the haulage of the material, and one of my hobbies of course was bottle collecting. Eddie Thompson,( deceased c.1982) who lived in Cramlington,was our machine man who operated either the Wetheral or the Michigan loading shovel. He would often bring to our garage in North Shields, bottles for me. One of which is the one illustrated here. I have never seen another and was wondering if anyone here knew of F.Beattie, Chemist in Ashington. Interestingly, for those who colect bottles, the Buchan - portobello mark is included in the transfer beneath. I was wanting to date the bottle, typically anything from 1900 - 1920. I wonder if anyone has seen the like or can impart any information?
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File Type: jpg beattiebottle.jpg (27.6 KB, 10 views)

Last edited by In Sharp; 10-02-2011 at 10:33 AM.
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Old 10-02-2011, 11:31 AM
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Hi, Very nice item.

this is the 1911 Census for the Beattie's:



Address: Portland Place Ashington Northumberland County:


Frederick BEATTIE, (Head) Occupation: Chemist, Married aged 44, born 1867 Aberfeldy Perthshire
Lily Catherine BEATTIE, (Wife) aged 44, born 1867 Newcastle on Tyne
Neil Robertson BEATTIE, Son, Single aged 15 , Occupation: Student, born 1896 Ashington Northumberland
Mona Frasen BEATTIE, Daughter Single aged 15, Born 1896 Ashington Northumberland



Doesn't help date the bottle though. Frederick Beattie, was recorded as working "at home" which I guess means they lived in their chemist shop in Portland Place, and he was an employer, this has a "2" written next to it, not sure if this means he employed two people.
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Old 10-02-2011, 11:41 AM
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Quote:
J.Sharp Haulage of North Shields were responsible for a lot of the pit heaps in the Northumberland coalfield. We extracted the burnt shale and a lot of ash for use as an aggregate on the region's roads,

Any photos of the process? (I'm ever hopeful )

I remember the smoking Hauxley Colliery pit heaps, seemed to be burning by themselves for years.
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  #11  
Old 10-02-2011, 11:57 AM
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That is one of my regrets, we have no photographs at all of the working in the slag heaps. There is a small piece we have on video of the slag face collapsing while a loading shovel worked the face. I remember as a child (I was born 1960) being fascinated with the landscape of the burning shale. I remember quite clearly walking over the heap and down the hollows smelling the burnt shale, a strong smell of sulphur. The red shale when extracted actually used to burn off the paint off the side of our tipper wagons, it aslo melted the soles of my D.M's. Great days. The last pit heap we worked was at Ashington, that was for the shale. A ,ot of the shale was extracted to make a hard standing for the NCB back in the early 80's. Backworth, Burradon, Bomarsund were all some of the pits we had the sole rights for extraction. I worked in the business from leaving school in 1978 until the business closed in 1988. I was the third generation. I am now dealing in antiques here in Tynemouth - quite a contrast!
Thanks for the information on the bottle, it gives a clue to its date. I'll do some more research and try and find exactly when Beattie was working and manufacturing ginger beer.
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bottle digging, chantry well morpeth, george young ginger beer, ginger beer bottle, northumberland

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