The Martin’s Memories series has been reproduced with the very kind permission of Tony Martin from his posts on the Old Blaydon and Old Winlaton Facebook group.
OLD Blaydon and OLD Winlaton | MARTIN’S MEMORIES 28 | Facebook
The area between Shibdon Road and Railway Street and between Cuthbert Street and Edward Street was known as “the Streets” It was an area I only visited if I had an errand or I was taken to meet relatives who lived there. However many of my class mates at Blaydon West lived there and the monthly Church Lads Brigade Church Parade on the first Sunday of each month took in part of this area. While we marched to St Cuthbert’s Church along Shibdon Road from the Church Hall at the top of Edward Street, the return route was a little longer. We fell in on Shop Spouts, next to the Plaza and proceeded down Church Street, along Tyne Street to the bottom of Thomas Terrace and then marched half way up this street before left wheeling into Shibdon Street and then taking a right wheel up James Street to Shibdon Road and then back to the Church Hall.
The accompanying air photo, dating from 1950 shows the area I am talking about. It was bounded by Shibdon Road on the south and Railway Street on the north and from Thomas Terrace eastwards the streets were bisected by Shibdon Street. Cuthbert Street and Robinson Street had been built originally as miner’s housing in connection with the opening of Blaydon Main at the bottom of Shibdon Bank. These were the only two streets in the area to have public houses – the Terrace Inn, Harper’s Ferry and the Forrester’s Arms. Thomas Terrace had gardens down the west side and the top half of the east side and had been seen as an “up market” area when built. James, John, George and Edward Streets were typical Victorian terraced housing and most of the occupants worked in Blaydon’s booming industries of the period.
I was introduced to Robinson Street and Thomas Terrace as through routes to get to other places…like the Crown Lending Library or the Spike. I have mentioned these already in an earlier memory. Uncle Stephen quite often took me to visit George Browell’s builder’s yard behind the Church Hall. This was the business my maternal grandfather had established, but his younger brother, George took over after his death in 1922. I remember going in through the large gates into the yard and then climbing the steps up to the office from where Uncle George operated. He died in 1956, but my lasting memory of him is of a man dressed in plus fours and a gingery brown jacket. He was always good for a sixpence so I felt the richer after a visit. Sadly the only picture I have of the business is a dilapidated empty building which still bears the firm’s name.
Once in a while, my father would take me to visit his Aunt Lizzie in Edward Street. She was the widow of my grandfather’s brother, Joseph. Their son, Leslie was a bass in the church choir and it was the only time I ever saw him because he seemed to spend most of his time in the Club. He always smelled of beer, but never got the worse for drink When in 1952, he signed my autograph book with the words “Always a Bass, a good Bass” I was never sure whether it was his voice or his beer he was referring to….lo!
Another interesting visit in this area was to Joe Armstrong, the barber where Uncle Stephen got what little hair he had, cut. This was in Robinson Street, I think. Joe was a keen harrier and lived in Polmaise Street. Having been told as a child, to watch my hair did not catch fire when it was dried in front of the fire, I was rather perturbed to see Joe take out a wax taper, light it and then proceed to singe the hair on the back of my Uncle’s neck. I have never seen this done anywhere else so it must have been an Armstrong special. Also in Cuthbert Street, I always gave no 5 a wide berth because this was the home of Meggie Brocklebank. Today, she would have been described as having special needs, but in those days, she wandered the streets, muttering to herself, collecting bits and pieces for her fire and for the house and she would quite often come around the top of the Avenues and when she saw me, she would shout that she would come and run off with my brother. She was a real sad case – she was teased by many and misunderstood by others and sadly ended her days in Prudhoe Hall once the relative she lived with died.
Uncle Stephen also took me to visit his brother, George who lived in George Street. He had been a stone cutter in Davison’s Quarry behind Monarch Terrace and, as a result of an accident, he had lost a hand. This has been replaced by a hook and this filled me with a combination of curiosity and fear, because I associated him with Captain Hook. When one is a child, one notices the peculiarities in people and another person who lived in this area was a diminutive, but amiable man, known to everyone as Bogey. His real name was Mickey Shields. Uncle also took me to visit another man who was known to many as the “deaf and dumb tailor” I am not sure which of the streets he lived in – John Street at a guess. Again I stood in awe as Uncle Stephen told his mother what was required and then watched her sign to her son as he wrote down the instructions..that also gave rise to many an hour when I was shown how to sign the alphabet.
I remember a number of corner shops at various points in the Streets….there was also a branch of the Store in Shibdon Street while there were a number of shops at the bottom of Thomas Terrace, including Robinson the butcher on the corner with Railway Street, Percy’s hairdressers and a shop where Louie Perna of the ice cream family worked. More shops on Railway Street and at the bottom of both Robinson and Cuthbert Streets…..but they were just “shops” whose names I do not remember, but obviously a very important part of the community in the area.
The other important features of this area were the Goods Yard at the end of Railway Street. This was always a very busy part of the railway network where goods were transferred from road to rail transport and vice versa. There was also the nursery behind Edward Street, which I did not attend. Next to this was a quite expensive area of allotments before one arrived at the Tips or Dats.. Churchills factory had not been built until 1957. The only reason for me to go here was to try to learn to play the bugle in the C.L.B. It was deemed to be far enough away from habitation so that people would not be disturbed by the tunes we tried to play. I was that bad as a bugler, that the warrant officer helping with the bugle practice, Joe Snowball, told me I sounded like a rag and bone man and advised me to try the drums instead. Happy days.
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