Burradon Colliery Village History

Burradon is a Tyneside village which developed around a coal mine that existed from 1820 - 1975. It was a typical colliery village of the area in that it was hardly known to outsiders and the pit villagers developed a unique community, culture and hardy way of living. Travel to nearby towns such as Morpeth, Blyth and Newcastle, in the early days of the colliery at least, was difficult and not an everyday occurrence. The colliery communities were largely self-sufficient. But Burradon was often at the forefront of mining community improvements, and controversy, with some remarkable individual events and individuals, most notably the Pit Disaster of 1860 which killed seventy-six. Read about the pre-industrial times such as the building of the  Burradon Tower House which is still a much visited site in the village today.

At the beginning of the 19th century Burradon was a small hamlet of around thirty people. At the centre of the settlement were two farmsteads, but were often tenanted by just one farmer. The hamlet of Burradon was in the centre of a contained tract of land of some 540 acres. A road, or more accurately a dirt track, ran through the area on exactly the same course as the main highway does today. It was bounded by the fields of Weetslade and Hill Head Killingworth farms. 

A pit was sunk at Burradon in 1820 and would be the beginning of a new community, eventually leaving the previous centre of Burradon as an isolated farmstead. The colliery was described as "large" in one contemporary source, but this is a comparative term and was small in terms of what would come later.

By 1828 rows of colliery housing, of around eighty dwellings had been erected in Camperdown, or Hazlerigge as it was named when the housing was built, which is a little distance away from the colliery and in a different parish, with possibly one pub and a shop, but the whole area would still have a largely rural feel to it. 

1820 - A coal pit was sunk at Burradon. The Ridley family were landholders of nearby Blagdon and Blyth and their estate papers include a map from around 1802 showing boreholes drilled at various locations within Burradon Township which would indicate the mineral deposits lying under the surface. They didn't sink a coal pit but did quarry for building stone. Work commenced on the sinking of a coal pit in 1819. The pit was sunk by Lord Ravensworth and partners, who were known by the name of "The Grand Allies". They owned the nearby colliery of Killingworth, where they employed the soon to be famous engineer George Stephenson. He was to play a large part in installing an engine at Burradon Colliery. In a letter to his friend, and fellow engineer, Joseph Cabry (Dec 1819) he mentions that the engine at Burradon is "working satisfactorily". 

The Grand Allies was a powerful cartel of wealthy coal-owning families formed in 1726 in the North East of England. They banded together to control coal production, pricing, and distribution from their collieries, effectively creating a near-monopoly on much of the valuable coal trade (particularly for the London market via the River Tyne). This cartel helped them dominate the regional economy for much of the 18th century. They pooled resources to develop infrastructure like wagonways (early rail systems) for transporting coal more efficiently from inland pits to the riverside staiths

The continued development of the steam engine to pump water and the introduction of gunpowder in the sinking of shafts meant that by the beginning of the 19th century  mines could be sunk to the coal seams that were at a greater depth away from the coast and the rivers. Transport costs to the shipping points on the rivers were also becoming less expensive with the introduction of cast iron rails. Previously rails were made from wood. A large amount of the coal was shipped to London by sea. Mining north of the ninety fathom dyke, where the coal seams are even deeper because of a geological fault, was achieved in 1802 on the sinking of Killingworth Colliery. Backworth and Burradon collieries were soon to follow.

The census of the year 1821, shortly after the colliery was founded,  lists 52 persons living in the township of Burradon, a rise from 29 persons in 1801 an increase presumably due to increased quarrying. They consisted of nine families in nine separate dwellings. This was only an increase of four persons since 1811. It is not recorded how many workers were employed at Burradon Colliery at this time, but what is clear is that they were not living within the township and a settlement at Camperdown does not seem to have come into existence until after 1826. This was not unusual. It was often several years before a colliery village was established after the pit became operational. It was a similar situation at the Isabella Colliery near Blyth where the workforce travelled from Cowpen Colliery. The location of the Burradon Colliery workforce would most likely be at Killingworth Colliery, which was 25-30 minutes walk away and under the same ownership of the Grand Allies.

1824 - The land tax returns of this year, and of 1806 and 1812, lists the landowner of Burradon Township as William Ogle, paying £11 14s. 8d. William Ogle was of the Causey Park (near Morpeth) branch of the family. The family had held Burradon since the 16th century. The occupiers (farmers) were Thomas Spraggon and Robert Bell. In a later document Bell is named as the farmer of Hill Head, Camperdown. Charles Brandling esq was listed as the landowner of South Weetslade where the village of Camperdown would later be sited. Rev Ralph Brandling was enumerated as the landowner on the tithe map of 1842.

1825 - The historian and publisher Eneas MacKenzie had this to say of Burradon in his History of Northumberland: “... It consists of two farmholds, and a few cottages for labourers and colliers. Adjoining one of the farmhouses are the ruins of a strong old fortress... Near the village are quarries of good freestone, and a brick manufactory. Persevering attempts have been made by the owners of Killingworth mines, during the last five years, to work the colliery here, but the intersections of dykes etc. render very difficult and expensive.” McKenzie also continued to say of the whole of Earsdon parish of which Burradon was one of eight townships. "...The surface is gently undulated; and the soil which is strong, is well adapted for wheat, turnips and potatoes. The farms are mostly let on leases, and the whole are well cultivated... There is a poor house [residence for paupers] at Hartley and another in the township of South Blyth."

1828 - The Parson and White directory, Burradon entry, of this year gives the following information: 

• "...some excellent freestone quarries belonging to Tate and Brown". [The quarry in 1811 had been owned by Matthew Ridley of Blagdon Hall to provide building material for the vastly expanding range of industrial and commercial buildings he was developing in Blyth]. 

• "Thomas Spraggon, farmer". 

• "Robert Bell, farmer Hill Head". Thomas Bell is also listed under Killingworth as a farmer of Hill Head.

A map published by Greenwood in 1828 has some inaccuracies and is at too small a scale to yield detailed information, but some features are worth noting:

 Burradon Farm has two areas of quarrying in its vicinity. Quarrying had probably been undertaken here, off and on, for centuries to provide local building stone. It had no doubt been expanded in recent years on the purchase of the quarry by Tate and Brown to provide stone not just for local usage, but to be sold commercially. 

Burradon Colliery is marked as co. pit on the map. A wagonway built on the opening of the colliery in 1820 runs from the pit in a southerly direction joining on to an existing wagonway at Killingworth, which was constructed in 1764. The Killingworth wagonway had been made from wood but later reinforced with metal strips, especially when the wagonway became the venue for George Stephenson's early locomotive experiments. By 1818 the Backworth wagonway was constructed with short cast iron plates set on stone blocks and from their shape became known as fish-bellied rails. It can be presumed that the Burradon wagonway was similar. It was a horse-drawn wagonway at first. According to John Buddle, the famous mining engineer of the period, on the nearby Backworth wagonway a horse drawing two wagons would make three journeys per day and there were several horses employed. During the 1830s locomotives began to be introduced although horses were still employed when the engines broke down or for shunting in the pit yard.

There does not seem to be any housing at Burradon Colliery, namely Pit Row, which we know by census returns was in existence by 1841. It could be that the map is simply not detailed enough to be able to distinguish Pit Row from the rest of the colliery buildings, but is to be expected that Pit Row was in existence having been built to accommodate the pit sinkers in 1819, which was the usual practice. Once the colliery was up and running and the sinkers had moved away the housing became occupied by ordinary pitmen, although later census returns indicate Pit Row was reserved for a while for the workmen who held some kind of service position at the colliery. The housing was abandoned in the later 20th century and was used by the coal company for storing lamps and other equipment.

Weetslade Township part on the north side of the main highway, shows from east to west:

• Lane Row - Was probably built no earlier than the construction of the Seaton Burn Wagonway in 1826. Both Lane Row and West Row were back-to-back housing of a one-room-and-a-garret type; 48 dwellings. The 1859 OS map also shows outbuildings next to the housing which are believed to be communal outdoor bread ovens, which were common in the early mining communities.

• West Row - This again this is not before 1826 as the limit of building is constrained by the wagonway. 

• Chapel Row - It would not have been known by this name in this year, only later when a chapel was built close by. 

• A shop building later owned by Mr. Purvis 

Killingworth Township Part on the south side of the main highway 

• Railway Cottage beside the Seaton Burn Wagonway (1826) housed a railway maintenance worker employed by the Seaton Burn Coal Company. The winding house and cottage for a worker at Hill Head farm is also shown. 

The Seaton Burn Wagonway runs on an east-west course through Burradon and Camperdown. It was not originally connected to, or for the use of, Burradon colliery - this had its own wagonway for transporting coals to the Tyne - but had a major impact on the landscape of the two settlements. Originally it was known as the Brunton-Shields Railway, having been built by the Grand Allies in stages (1826 and 1837) from Brunton Colliery to the staiths on the Tyne between Wallsend and North Shields.

It was a rope-hauled wagonway being served by several stationary engines and self-acting inclines along its route. One of these stationary engines was in the west of Camperdown (Hill Head) and was permanently manned. A cottage was provided beside the engine house for the engine man and his family. The cottage was described by a resident, Bill Wardle, as small with only earth for a floor and no toilet in the early part of the 20th century. The ropes were guided by rollers set in the ground between the two rails known as sheaves.

Tunnels were dug which allowed the wagons to travel underneath the main highway and the Burradon wagonway. A cutting was made to keep the wagonway at lower than ground level between these two obstacles. 

1830 - A Weslyan Methodist chapel was erected in Hazlerigge (the previous name for Camperdown) in the west end of the village. The Methodist movement had been started by John Wesley (d1791) who was famous for his open-air preaching. Methodism stressed that both the working class and upper class were equal in the eyes of God. It was widely adopted in the industrial, urban centres.

1837 - A new pit shaft is sunk close to the 1820 shaft after problems winning the coal from this original pit. It is known as the Engine Pit.

1840 Aug 06 - A baptism recorded in the register of Longbenton, St. Bartholomew gives the first recorded reference to the name Camperdown as a settlement. "William to John and Mary Cockburne of Camperdown, pitman." Camperdown was named after a famous naval battle that occurred in 1797.

1840 March - Christopher Wanless lists his occupation as a publican on his child's birth certificate. He lived in the Grey Horse public house, but on the 1841 census and later baptism records he is recorded as a coal miner. Being a landlord was often a part-time occupation in the early days of these mining villages. The pubs were often family-run affairs and it is often a female name listed as the proprietor on trade directories of the time.

1841 Census (no addresses given) 

Burradon Township had a population of 97 in 18 dwellings with 28 heads of household. The village had not yet expanded beyond the 9 cottages for agricultural labourers and quarry workers at the farm and the 9 terraced houses of Pit Row at the colliery

• Farmer, John Moor, age 80, Burradon Farm, employer of 5 servants

• Agricultural Labourers 12

• Stone Quarrymen 8

• Dressmaker 1 (a cottage industry employing wives and young women)

• Milliner 1

• Blacksmith 1

457 people lived at Camperdown who were mostly the workforce of Burradon Colliery with these notable exceptions

• School Master, Anderson Stoker, Weetslade Terrace?

• Grey Horse Public House mentioned by name, but not the publican

• Flour Dealer, Thomas Purvis in what would later be known as Purvis Buildings (behind Halfway House)

• Publican of Travellers Rest, Alice Patterson

• Railway Layer 4, indicating railway laying nearby?

• Grocer's Shop, Swinton, on site of  what is now Station Road.

• Farmer, William Brown, Hillhead, age 40

1847 Mar 24 -  Fatal Boiler Explosion At Burradon Colliery

The Newcastle Guardian and Tyne Mercury reported on what seemed to be a frequent event occurring with boilers at this period, both with stationary engines and locomotives:

"On Saturday morning, about nine o'clock, a fatal accident occurred at the above colliery, by the bursting of one of the boilers used in working the engine of the pit, by which three persons were killed, viz., a man, a woman, and a boy. The colliery is situated about six miles north of Newcastle, and belongs to Lord Ravensworth and partners. The engine attached to the pit is of 90-horse power, and three boilers of large dimensions and of an oval shape are used to work it ; but on the morning of the accident only two were in operation. A few minutes previous to the occurrence, the engineman, on examining the float, found the water more than a foot above the working mark, but as the steam was low he gave directions to the stoker, Robert Thompson, to raise the fires ; soon after which the boiler suddenly burst with a tremendous noise, carrying away part of the engine house and chimney, killing three persons, and injuring, more or less, several of the workmen at the shaft. The boiler was torn into three pieces, and parts of it were blown a considerable distance into an adjoining field. On examining the place, the stoker was found almost buried in the ruins, dreadfully scalded and bruised, but quite dead; and a female, named Margaret Proctor, wife of one of the miners, who was at the place getting water, was lying a few yards from him. The other sufferer was a boy, about eleven years of age, named James Gordon, employed at the bank. The engineman escaped, though much scalded in the face, and injured in the head. Several of the workmen were also seriously injured by the flying bricks, &c. but are all expected to recover.

On Monday, an inquest was held on the bodies, before Stephen Reed, Esq., coroner, when the following witness was examined :

Anthony Scorer said he had been an engineman at Burradon Colliery for twenty-six years. Last Saturday morning, about nine o'clock, the boiler belonging to the colliery burst, by which Robert Thompson, Margaret Proctor, and James Gordon were killed. There were several others more or less injured by the explosion. The boiler had two safely valves, but only one was used, which was three inches in diameter. The other could have been used if necessary. The working valve was regulated with the steel-yard weight. About twenty minutes previous to the accident taking place, he examined the boiler, and found, at that time, about four and a half feet of water in it. The working mark was about three feet two inches. He ascertained that by the float inside of the boiler. It was possible for the float to stick, but on that occasion it was free and loose. The safety valve was also free and loose. About a fortnight ago they had a little caulking of the boiler. There were no rivets then put in. He considered, after these repairs, that the boiler was strong and sufficient to work. The plate at the boiler itself was three-eighths of an inch in thickness in every part, and he (the witness) considered it a very good one. The fact of the destruction of the engine-house, and other buildings, showed that the boiler was a strong one. About twenty minutes before the explosion, he perceived the engine going slower, and went to the safety valve, and worked it up and down, and, considered the steam to be low, he desired the stoker to raise the fire by putting more coals to it. From all is experience he could not give any opinion as to the cause of the explosion. The engine was about ninety horse power, and they worked at 50lbs to the inch. He thought the boiler plates were not heated more than usual, but believed otherwise, on account of the steam being lower than usual. It was stated to the witness after the explosion that the appearance of the field adjoining the engine house to 100 yards, exhibited sufficient proofs of a quantity of water having been in the boiler, so that he might be satisfied that the accident did not occur from the want of water. He was much scalded at the time on the face, and received a wound on the head. He could not tell how he escaped, and before the explosion he had not the slightest apprehension of any accident. There was always plenty of water at hand, and the man who lost his life would not have worked if there had not been plenty of water. The deceased was a timid man, and on that account he (the witness) worked the boiler always with a foot more water in it than he considered necessary. There was little possibility for the boiler being surcharged with steam while the engine was at work. The boiler was ten years old. One safety valve was quite sufficient to work with. The weight on the lever was calculated at 50lbs the square inch. The length of the lever was two feet.

The jury, at the conclusion of this evidence, signified to the coroner that as they were satisfied that the explosion was the result of an accident, their minds were made up, upon which they returned a verdict of "Accidental death."

1848 - The Carr family took over ownership of the Colliery from the founding owners the Grand Allies. By 1858 the Low Main seam had been won. The Carr brothers, John and Charles, were originally from Ford in Northumberland. Their father had been the manager of the Ford Castle estates, which included a colliery. The family had skilfully built up a large fortune from their original humble beginnings. They owned the nearby Seghill, Cowpen and Hartley collieries, as well as having interests in a Newcastle bank and later the Blyth and Tyne railway. John Carr the elder of the brothers lived at Bath Terrace in Blyth. Charles Carr acted as the Chief Viewer to these collieries.

1851 Mar 31 Sunday - The ecclesiastical census gives the following information for the Weslyan Methodist Chapel at Hazlerigge on Sunday School attendance: 56 in the morning; 30 in the afternoon; 20 in the evening. The chapel is enumerated as being a "separate and entire building used exclusively as a place of worship, except for a Sunday school". It had 130 seats. Edward Davidson is the steward and schoolmaster of the chapel. A schoolmaster, Anderson Stoker, was previously  listed on the 1841 census. When a purpose built school was being planned in 1861 the major funders spoke of visiting the schools in Burradon to "examine" the children in the "different" schools. Journals kept by children from mining communities often mention attending schools voluntarily when they were afforded the opportunity, the schools often being associated with a Methodist church. This was before the introduction of compulsory state education and the schools would have charged a fee, although it is frequently mentioned in evidence given to the 1842 Royal Commission on Child Employment that coal owners helped financially in establishing these local educational facilities. The attitudes in parents sending their children to school seems to have been varied, some preferred to send their children down the pit for extremely long hours before they were legally allowed to,  but this improved during later decades.

1851 Census

Burradon Farm

Population 65; Households 9.

• Farmer, John Younger, age 60, born Boldon, farmer of 254 acres, 3 labourers living in the house

• Farmer, William Younger, age 30 unmarried, born Gosforth, farmer of 260 acres, 2 farm servants living in. [the two farmsteads were clearly being once again occupied as in the 18th century. Two farmsteads are shown maps up until the 1st ed Ordnance Survey of 1859. One is attached to the Tower House and has a courtyard. Both have round features at the rear which are almost certainly "gin-gans", which was an area for walking horses around attached to a mechanism which powered the threshing machines. The land of Burradon had throughout the 18th century been split into two farms. This was still the case in 1858 although only one farmer, John Moor, was the tenant farmer in the 1840s, working both farms himself.

• Quarrymen 4

• Husbandman 1

• Farm Labourers 6

• Miner 1

• Cartman 1

Burradon Pit

Pit Row

Population 39?; Dwellings 9 or 10. 

• Overman 1

• Enginewright 2

• Loco Fireman 1

• Enginemen 2

• Engine Fireman 1

[This would have been Pit Row  which was close to the colliery. It could be inferred that the people with occupations mentioned above needed to be close to the colliery as they provided some service function etc.]

Camperdown had a population of 531 in 119 dwellings. There had been a small enlargement of the commercial activity with another pub, the Halfway House, and two grocers coming into existence. The population was mostly the labouring workforce and families with these exceptions:

• Farmer, John Brown, Hill Head; his brother William, a vet, also resided here

• Grey Horse Publican, Christopher Wanless

• Grocer, Mr Stoves, on Front Street in a building that still exists today

• Travellers Rest Publican, Elizabeth Blakey

• Hill Head Engineman, John Nichol, 5 in family

• Schoolmaster, Edward Davidson

• Halfway House Innkeeper, Richard Carr

• Grocer, Robert Palmer, site of Station Road

• Grocer, Thomas Purvis, who had been present in 1841, behind Halfway House

• Brickmaker, John Craven

• Grocer, William Swinton, who had been present in 1841, site of Station Road

• Blacksmith, Abraham Boston and Son

The brickmaker entry is interesting. Brick fields are often found beside colliery sites to extract the heavy clay that pits are often sunk into and the 1859 OS map clearly marks a brick field at the colliery site. Brick was becoming commonly used as the building material in towns and cities such as Newcastle. Very little is known, however, of the clay extraction and brick manufacturing industry of Burradon. The Keys to the Past website describes a brickfield in their glossary: "A site where clays are extracted, crushed (and/or stirred), shaped (by hand or mould), dried and then fired to make bricks. These have their own kilns that may have run continuously for large amounts. Brickworks were often situated near collieries to use fireclays." He lived at Camperdown. Where the brick was being used is not known. At nearby Barrington colliery a mixture of brick, wood and stone was being used for their colliery housing but brick does not seem to have been used for building at Burradon until c1900, stone being the preferred material. Of course, a quarry existed within the township.

1854 - Whellan's trade directory names Adam Tate as the sole owner of Burradon Quarry. Previously, in 1828, it was owned by the company of Tate and Brown. The 1st edition OS map of 1859 shows a large quarry has been opened up to the north-east of the farm buildings. Previous quarries are marked as "old" on the 25" edition map. The stone had been quarried since medieval times to provide the building material for the buildings around the farm and presumably in the 19th century for the buildings of the village. In the early part of the 19th century Lord Ridley, the landowner of Blyth, owned the quarry.

1854 Jul 22  - Another boiler explosion

Newcastle Guardian and Tyne Mercury

Local and District News

"An inquest was held on the 17th instant, at Camperdown, before Stephen Reed, Esq., coroner, on the body of Henry Stewart, aged 18, who was killed by the explosion of one of the boilers at Burradon Colliery. One of the jurymen was fined by the coroner for non-attendance."

1854 - The land of Burradon was in chancery. It was sold by order of the Court of Chancery, on June 9th 1857, for £29,800 at a public auction held at the Queens' Head, Newcastle. The land of 520 acres was jointly purchased by Mr. Joseph Straker of Benwell and his son, Mr. John Straker of Tynemouth and consisted of Burradon Farm, the Colliery, Hill Head Farm and a large portion of Burradon/Camperdown lands. The Strakers were to build up a considerable list of business interests including shipowning and mining. They purchased a large country estate at High Warden, near Hexham. The blurb to the sale mentions the farm yielding a yearly income of £700 from the "highly respectable tenants-at-will Messrs Younger whose practical husbandry offers a model of excellence" even though they did not seem to have a security of tenure at this time. The mine was let to Lord Ravensworth [Grand Allies] for an unexpired term of fourteen years at a minimum of £1000 per annum and a quarry of freestone being wrought for a reasonable profit.

1855 - Whellan Trade Directory, Camperdown (Hazlerigg)

• Bell, Mary Ann; Grocer [on Front Street and occupied by Mr Stoves in 1851]

• Blakey, Elizabeth; Beer Retailer [Travellers Rest also present 1851]

• Carr, George; Vict. Collier Lad. First mention of this pub in documentary sources. It later became the Camperdown Hotel.

• Carr, Richard; Vict. Halfway House [Also present 1851]

• Marshall, George; Joiner and Cartwright

• Purvis, Thomas; Grocer [Also present 1841]

• Wanless, Christopher; Vict. Grey Horse [Also present 1851]

• Davidson, Edward; Schoolmaster [Also present 1851]

• Palmer, George; Grocer [Robert Palmer in 1851]

1856 May - Mrs Elizabeth Short, general dealer with a shop on Front Street, Camperdown, stood trial accused of the deaths of three children through poisoning. The children: Robert Wood 7, Margaret Weston 5, and Matthew Humble 3, had died after being given sulphur and treacle  purchased from Mrs Short's shop. This was to cure boils. Several other villagers had also become violently ill on taking the substance but recovered after a few days. Mrs Short had unknowingly purchased a batch containing arsenic. The seller could no longer be traced. She was acquitted after a long investigation. Verdict: misadventure. 

1856 Jul 12 - Reduction in Wages

Newcastle Guardian and Tyne Mercury

Local And District News

"The owners of Seghill and Burradon collieries have intimated to their workmen that the position of the trade unavoidably compels them to make some reduction in the present rate of wages."

1858 Kelly's Trade Directory

• Carr, John and Co; Colliery Owners

• Tate, Adam; Quarry Owner [Also trading 1854]

• Younger, John and William; Farmers [Also present 1851]

• Blakey, Elizabeth; Grey Horse [in 1855 victualler of Travellers Rest]

• Carr, Elizabeth; Halfway House [in 1855 Richard Carr]

• Carr, George; Beer Retailer [Travellers Rest; in 1855 had been licensee of the Collier Lad]

• Laverick, Eleanor; Shopkeeper [Probably site of Dixons Buildings just south of the Grey Horse]

• Marshall, George; Joiner and Wheelwright [Also present 1855]

• Palmer, Robert; Shopkeeper [Also present 1855]

• Rutherford, John; Collier Lad

• Short, Edward; Shopkeeper [shop between Travellers Rest and Collier Lad]

1858 - Joshua Bower of Leeds purchases the colliery at Burradon, but retains the services of Charles Carr as manager. Messrs Carr and Co sold all four of their collieries by public auction in this year due to what is described in the Mining and Smelting Magazine Vol 1:"the disastrous effects the commercial panic of 1857 had upon their property". The purchase price was £50,000.

1859 - The housing of Office Row began to be constructed. This was in Burradon Township, close to the pit. Burradon and Annitsford Terraces near the entrance of the farm track had also recently been constructed. It was a row of 40 houses with a manager’s house and office at the colliery end of the terrace. The larger scale OS plan indicates a quite large formal garden attached to south of this house, which had disappeared in later times. The building still exists.

1860 - The old farmsteads, one of which was attached to the tower house, were demolished and a new farmhouse built. New housing was also provided for the farm workers (hinds) at a slightly later date.

1860 - A mining disaster occurred at Burradon Colliery which claimed the lives of seventy-six men and boys. 

1861 - Land was purchased from Charles Straker by John Fryer, the viewer of the colliery, to build rows of housing and a shop (Fryers Terrace). The shop was at first run by family members, but later became a Post Office and then a Co-operative store.

1860s - A small Primitive Methodist chapel was built adjoining the school on its southern side. This was part of the Seaton Delaval Primitive Methodist circuit. The Methodists divided areas into circuits, appointing a minister to each one, who on each Sunday would visit a different chapel within the circuit. Local men, who felt they had a certain religious calling, would become lay preachers for their respective chapel. On the 1861 census Joseph Maddison described himself as a lay preacher and in 1881 Alexander Bolton the shopkeeper also had this title.

1861 - a school was built on Burradon Road and was capable of accommodating between 450 and 500 pupils. The school was completely the property of the miners and was larger than either the Seghill or West Moor schools, a fact that the miners were "justifiably proud of". Each married man had to pay 6d. per fortnight for running expenses. Young men and boys could pay 3d. per fortnight if they wished to take advantage of the night school. The school was mixed and completely unsectarian in its teaching. A news room and library was also attached to the school and had thirty members. Money from the mining disaster relief fund had been used to part-fund the initial construction. And on 3rd October 1863, The Newcastle Guardian reported:

"On Wednesday afternoon, H. Taylor, Esq., and R. Rowell, paid their half-yearly visit to this colliery on behalf of the Burradon Relief Fund. After transacting their usual business connected with the widows and orphans, these gentlemen, with their ladies, examined the Colliery Schools. They very kindly awarded prizes to the scholars for good conduct, attendance, and progress. The children acquitted themselves in the various subjects of the examination to the entire satisfaction of the visitors and school committee, and to the credit of the teachers. A pleasant afternoon was concluded by a general distribution of fruit and small rewards."

1861 - Census

Camperdown

Population 536; Dwellings 109.

Occupations

• Shoemaker, John Copeman, West Indian, possibly a deserter or retiree from a ship which frequented the port of North Shields, Roughs Cottage

• Grocer, Robert Palmer, Also listed in 1851, site of Station Road

• Chemist, William Parton

• Grocer, Thomas Purvis, Also listed in 1841, beside Halfway House

• Innkeeper of Halfway House, Elizabeth Carr

• Head of Beer House [Travellers Rest] Joiner, George Carr, Also listed in 1858

• Grocer, Edward Short, also listed in 1858, shop located between Travellers Rest and Collier Lad

• Innkeeper Collier Lad, John Brown

• Butcher and farmer of 28 acres, Samuel Pollock, shop located on Front Street?

• Innkeeper Grey Horse, Elizabeth Blakey, Also listed in 1858

Buildings NE-SW

Lane Row, 48; Wood Houses, 8; West Row, 32; Smith's Cottages, 2; Halfway House; Hazlerigg, 3; Roughs Cottage. Buildings W-E Camperdown, 4; Beer House; Camperdown 2; Grocers shop; Collier Lad; Camperdown, 2; Dixon Building, 1; Grey Horse; House [Railway Cottage].

Burradon (Township)

Population 507; Approx. 61 person in farm area, Approx. 210 colliery, Approx. 190 Burradon Terraces; Dwellings 80.

Occupations

• Farmer of 552 acres, William Younger, employing 11 men and 2 maidens

• Butcher, Robert Scott, Farm

• The rest comprise mostly agricultural labourers and some miners

Diverse population of miners and farm workers in Burradon Terraces, which poses the question of who commissioned this housing

• Cartman and wagonway man, Peter Mather, Pit Row

• Blacksmith, Thomas Gerhans, Pit Row

• Joiner, John Hardy, Pit Row

• Brickmaker, Robson Lodge [Brick Field shown on 1858 map], Pit Row

• Coal Heap Keeper, Adam Tindle, Pit Row

• Mostly persons employed by the colliery in Pit Row, but not miners

• Resident Viewer, John Fryer, Office Row [manager's house]

• Overman, William Kirkley, Office Row

Interestingly Margaret Fryer a widow aged 60 is listed who lost a husband and son in the Colliery Disaster of 1860. She still had a son aged 18 and a daughter at home but had 5 lodgers living under her roof. Three were young miners aged 19-22 from Co Durham and one was a miner aged 36 and his wife. These were less than ideal conditions, but the company would have been short of miners after the disaster and would have encouraged young pitmen with few ties to emigrate to Burradon. Widows like Margaret would have little option than to take in lodgers to be able to make ends meet and retain their housing.

Total Population 1043; Total dwellings 189

1863 Feb 07 - Newcastle Guardian and Tyne Mercury: Accident At Burradon Colliery

"An accident occurred at this colliery on Tuesday, which, though not attended with any fatal results, afforded strong evidence of the danger of working with naked lights. It appears that on the morning of that day, Mr. William Kirkley, one of the overmen, paid a visit to a part of the pit where considerable gas is evolved from the coal. For purposes of ventilation bratticing has here been erected; it had been decided to form an extra air crossing at this point, and it was in examination of the part that Kirkley proceeded to the spot. From some cause or other he used a naked candle, and the consequence was that the gas accumulated there took fire, and he was severely burnt on the face and hands. The fire was soon extinguished, and Kirkley walked alone to the shaft. Prompt measures were taken to prevent any more serious results from the accident, the pit was soon in working order, and it is expected that as Mr. Kirkley's burns are not serious, he will be able in a short time to return to his employment. Rumour was busy with the accident, and its proportions were so increased that considerable anxiety was manifested in the neighbourhood, and many anxious persons journeyed to Burradon, only to find their fears at rest."

1863 Sep 02 - The Times

"Considerable amount of anxiety was created in this town yesterday afternoon by intelligence being brought in that an accident had occurred at Burradon Colliery, which, if it had been single shafted and had only one outlet, might have involved very serious consequences. About 1 o'clock in the afternoon of yesterday the pit was working as usual, the engine was in motion, and was drawing to bank one iron cage containing four tubs of coals, and lowering another empty one, when, owing to a balance weight giving way, the ropes broke, and both tubs fell to the bottom of the shaft. The engine, on being released from its load, was set in motion with increased velocity, and one of the wire ropes was drawn upwards with such violence as to cause injuries to the machinery on the bank, which prevented an immediate resumption of operations. Thus both tubs were lying at the shaft foot, and even the provision of new ones could have done no good at the time in consequence of the injury to the engine. At the workings at the time there were about 200 men and boys, who soon became acquainted with what had occurred, and flocked to the bottom of the shaft, by which they were not slow to perceive they could not hope for a considerable time to reach daylight. Under the guidance of Thomas Weatherley and others, who knew the workings thoroughly, they sought a passage to the shaft of Seghill Colliery, which is about three miles distant; and though constantly exposed to danger from disturbing stoppings &c., they steadily made their way from where, if they had been obliged to stay longer, they must have run a much greater chance of losing their lives. The story of the escape is short ; the men persevered amid difficulties, and with good guidance had got through half of the distance between Burradon and their destination, where they were met by Mr. Rendall, viewer, of Seghill, with a party. Their way thence forward was rid of the most serious obstacles, and they reached Seghill about 4 o'clock, and were taken to bank without one of the number having sustained an injury. It is expected that three or four days will suffice to place the machinery at Burradon in proper working order."

1866 Jul - John Harrison had caught Thomas Charlton and Thomas Horsfield - boys employed at Burradon Colliery - breaking sheaves (a guide for the ropes pulling wagons by means of a fixed engine on a railway) on the Brunton-Shields railway line near Camperdown. The railway owner's agent did not seek compensation for this act of 25s. damage, but wanted an example set, because they have been caused a considerable nuisance and expense by this vandalism, that had been going on for a long time. Charlton - said to be the ringleader - was sent to prison for three days. His mother made an arrogant and impertinent plea to the bench, but they were told she was a violent woman who had threatened John Harrison's wife. The boy was taken away crying.

1867 Nov 12 - This short piece appeared in the "Shields Daily News": "Mr John Younger the enterprising tenant of Burradon Farm has purchased two self propelled steam driven cultivating machines. These had arrived the previous Saturday from John Fowler and Company, Steam Plough Works, Leeds. The steam was applied and the machines propelled themselves through the town to Burradon. They were quickly put to work, most satisfactorily, in a field near Burradon Pit."

1871 - Nathanial Lambert purchased Burradon Colliery by auction. He, along with his partners, lived and had financial interests in the Killingworth district. They also owned the Coxlodge colliery and had financial interests in many other pits in Northumberland and from this time forward their company was known as the Burradon and Coxlodge Coal Company. They traded up until the time of nationalisation in the mid-20th century.

1871 - Census

Camperdown and Hazlerigg

Population 536; Dwellings 155

Occupations

• Draper, Jane Cobbie, H. Square

• Grocer, Elenora Laverick, Also listed in 1858, Possibly Dixon's Buildings, H. Square

• Medical Botanist, William Porter, Shorts Cottages

• Cooper, James Holden, Shorts Cottages

• Innkeeper Halfway House, Thomas Finlay

• Innkeeper Travellers Rest, Elizabeth Carr [George Carr in 1858]

• Shopkeeper, John Forster [previously Edward Short, Carrs Buildings]

• Publican (and Coalminer) Collier Lad, Edward Urwin

• Innkeeper Grey Horse, George Means

• Grocer, John Fryer, Fryer's Terrace

• Shoemaker, John Palmer, Fryer's Terrace

Burradon

Population 561; Dwellings 118

Occupations

• Shopkeeper, Alexander Bolton, Dodds Row

• Newsagent, Willam Durey, Dodds Row

• Viewer, John Maughan, Viewer's House

• Farmer of 500 Acres, John Younger [William Younger in 1861] employing nine labourers and three boys

The rest of the working population was mostly colliery workers and agricultural labourers

Total Population 1097; Total Dwellings 273

1872 - The first Co-operative store was opened in Camperdown.

1872 - Work began on the new colliery housing of North, Middle and Double Rows. The new colliery owner was responding to criticism of the existing housing, which was described by one newspaper reporter as a disgrace. Families were actually beginning to leave Burradon to find work elsewhere because of this.

1872 - The average daily attendance of the school was 164 pupils

Our Colliery Villages II West Moor and Burradon

Newcastle Weekly Chronicle Saturday October 12th 1872

"After leaving West Moor a short walk up the waggonway brought me to Burradon Colliery, which about twelve years ago was the scene of a terrible explosion, whereby 76 men and boys lost their lives."

"At Burradon, almost every variety of pit house may be seen. You have some of the very oldest, and some of the very newest; although the new ones,I am sorry to say, are not built upon such improved scale as the houses at Dinnington or Cambois."

[The reporter had this to say of the scientifically-managed Cambois colliery and its superior housing in the piece he wrote about it: “After passing through the garden, the kitchen entered by an approach of two or three steps, and is a fair sized room, with nice fireplace, oven, and pot. Behind the kitchen a wash-house is formed and out of the wash-house a staircase with hand-rail leads to the upper storey, which contains two decent sized bedrooms, to say nothing of a sort of lumber room outside the bedroom doors and immediately under the slates. These bedrooms are vastly different places from the garrets of Seghill and Killingworth, and much better than even the new houses in the course of erection at Burradon, indeed, the lumber rooms of Boca Chica would make far snugger bedrooms than any of the garrets of Seghill. Outside, and at a good distance from the back doors, is the privy for each house, with its accompanying ash-pit.” The colliery was just over five years old.] 

"There is one row of houses, which begins close, to the pit heap, and 300 yards long, every house from the front looking snug and comfortable with its liberal allowance of kitchen, garden in front, however, are deceptive, and the inside of these houses, although they are in pretty good repair, are far too small for people with a family. [He was referring to Office Row which was constructed in 1859-60. Large gardens were a feature of miner’s housing. The gardens at Cambois were thirty yards long. Colliery officials housing did not often have gardens attached, but they were more commodious.] There is only one room downstairs, and the garret upstairs, with a projecting pantry at the back side: These houses are roofed with slates, and they are considerable improvement upon the old-fashioned tile."[Photographs from the 1890s of the earlier Lane Row show this housing to be roofed in pantiles.] 

"At a distance-of about half a mile is another row of houses the same as these, With the exception that they are ceiled upstairs." [This is Burradon Terrace, near the farm, possibly privately built and leased to the colliery.] 

"Two or three new rows are in course of erection, and at first sight they look very nice and neat and they are undoubtedly improved in some particulars." [North, Middle and Double Rows.]

"They have a good high step up the door, which will greatly tend to aid inside dryness and cleanliness, and the downstairs floors are of wood. There is a washhouse and a pantry at the back of each, and further back again there is a privy to each house, and a substantial ashpit. Fifteen of these new houses have privies attached, and so will all the others when finished, but these are the only privies in the place. The attics of the new houses will be very comfortable, for they are all to be nicely ceiled, and have each a fireplace in them. The rooms are about 17 or 18 feet square, and are undeniably a great improvement upon the old style; but still they are much too small for men with families. Just fancy a working man living in Newcastle and earning two pounds or two pounds ten per week living in a little place like some of these houses with a family of six or eight, some of them perhaps grown up to the age of 18 or 20; Why, decency forbids it, and a due regard for sanitary laws ought to cause coalowners to build larger houses for their married workmen. In the new houses at Burradon the dangerous ladder and the unguarded hole in floor is still the only means of entry to the upstairs room. As one woman put it, "They might elways hev put us a staircase in, hinny."

[There had been much agitation in Parliament regarding public health in the period preceding 1872. This had resulted in public health acts being passed, notably in 1848 and 1873, but the Public Health Act of 1875 brought together all the previous legislation and compliance with the act was now compulsory. Sanitary Authorities were created under the terms of the act. This led to a drainage and sewerage scheme being installed at Burradon by 1880. The money to implement the scheme was loaned from the Local Government Board. But even in 1878 the Medical Officer of Health reported that there was a lack of systematic removal of refuse and middens had accumulated for nearly six months and had “assumed such a state of putrefaction as to be almost unbearable”. Farmers removed the refuse when it suited them and not as sanitary conditions required them too. It seems that throwing slops and rubbish into the streets, “producing a filthy nuisance”, was a habit the mineworkers could not overcome quickly though. Even when most houses, by 1879, had been provided with privies this practice still continued, as reported by the Medical Officer of Health.]

"These are the best houses at Burradon, now let us take a look at some of the worst. On the opposite side of the road to Burradon is what is known as Camperdown, although I believe the proper name is Hazlerigg. At the top of the village is a filthy pond which is the receptacle for all the surface drainage of Burradon; and, although it is guarded by a low wire fence on the side next the road, it is very dangerous as well as very offensive. A little lower down you have the old-fashioned back to back type of colliery house, which is more economical still than the West Moor "to-falls". It is simply one house, as at Seghill, divided between two families." [This is West Row and Lane Row built in the 1820s - the early days of the colliery.]

"One family lives on one side, and another family faces the other way. Little pantries, with entrance from the inside of the house, have lately been added; but privies or wash-houses, or ashpits there are none. These houses are simply a disgrace to any coalowner, and it is some slight satisfaction to know that the present proprietor who has not been long in possession, is building houses as fast as they can for the better accommodation of their hands."

[In 1871 Nathanial Lambert purchased Burradon Colliery by auction. He, along with his partners, lived and had financial interests in the Killingworth district. They also owned the Coxlodge colliery and from this time forward their company was known as the Burradon and Coxlodge Coal Company. They traded up until the time of nationalisation in the mid-20th century. The new owners did seem more willing to improve the conditions of their workforce and it was noted by the Medical Officer of Health in 1876 that they were fully co-operating in the drainage scheme by laying several hundred yards of sewer pipes along the rows. But even in 1884 there was still a dispute as to who was responsible financially for the supply of water as the piece from the Morpeth Herald, at the bottom of the page, illustrates.] 

"Within the last last few months large numbers of men have left the place simply on account of having to live in these dwellings, so that it has become absolutely necessary for the owners to do something."

[It was a similar situation in other nearby colliery villages too. This is what the reporter wrote about Seaton Burn: “These are miserable houses, and are rented by the occupants. Each house has two rooms, one on the ground floor and one above. Each of these rooms is occupied by a family, and somehow or other people manage to exist in them. We enter one on the ground floor to be nearly stifled with the heat and foul air, for there is no through ventilation here, and the woman of the house, who strange to say, looks hearty enough, assures us that ‘There’s ne call fur onny vapor baths in this place, fokes can git thim if they only stop in thor awn hooses.’ This we can readily believe, for a few minutes inside have been sufficient to induce a state of unhealthy perspiration… The people of the room we enter are preparing to flit. ‘Weev leeved here ower lang,’ says the woman in charge, ‘an’ noo weer gan to try Blaydon.’ This is evidently a wise woman, for though her house is the best in the block, if she stays much longer, the ceiling which, for some time past, has been coming down in ‘single spies,’ will come down in ‘whole battalions’ upon her.”] 

"One row, which faces to the west, has a low stone wall almost close in front, against which the ashes have to be laid, and some of the middens, being so close to the door, are very offensive. Indeed one old woman complained bitterly of the close proximity of the nuisance, and, speaking figuratively, I suppose, in allusion to the stench, said, "Ey, hinney, it mony a-time gies me ma brickfast i' the mornin." [It was not uncommon for toileting facilities not to have been provided in the earlier 19th century colliery housing. Reference is made to this in the reports on many colliery villages, eg Holywell and New Delaval where residents toileted behind a hedge on the other side of a railway track..]

"The ovens in these houses are curiosities. In fact I can compare them to nothing but the half of a common furnace-pot, let horizontally into the side of the fire-place, flat side down. They are made of very thick metal, but are small inside, and have a loose door which has to be lifted off and on when the oven is in use. One man, with a family of seven, said his was just barely big eneuff to byek" a pie for the dinner; but the good wife, looking affectionately at her growing lads, doubted it would soon be "far ower little for byeking wor family pie in." 

[They were perhaps lucky in having individual ovens. Many mining villages had outdoor communal ovens in the earlier part of the 19th century. A mention was made by the reporter on a visit to one colliery of “ovens, ash-holes and coal places thrown into unpleasant prominence”. The ovens being round were an indicator of their antiquity, square ovens having become the norm in the later 19th century.]

"Turning from the sanitary to the social conditions of the Burradon miners. I am bound to say that it does not contrast very favourably in some respects with West Moor. There is not much difference in the present population, although a census taken last year gave Burradon a population of upwards of 1,600. Burradon and its dependencies is only provided with two chapels, while it can boast the possession of four public houses, such as they are."

[The Weslyan Methodist chapel was erected in 1830. The Primitive Methodist Chapel was newly built. It is quite a small building which has now been occupied as a dwelling house for over a century.] 

"They have, however, a branch of the Cramlington Co-operative Society flourishing here, which seems preparing to lighten the darkness of the coming winter by the brilliant display of fancy paraffin lamps in the front window." [The Co-op was also a newly-opened venture, the premises being a leased shop in Fryers Terrace.]

"The most intelligent of the Burradon miners are justly proud of their school, which is larger than either the Seghill or West Moor ones, and is their own property. There is a compulsory payment of 6d. per fortnight by each married man, the young men and boys, who can have the advantage of the night school if they choose, paying 3d. per fortnight. The school is a mixed one, and the aggregate average daily attendance is 164. As nearly all the denominations are represented among the scholars, the teaching is purely unsectarian. There is a news-room and small library attached to the school, but it does not number on its list more than 30 members."

[The miners of West Moor had commented that their news room was too close to the colliery offices where officials were always in proximity and: “A chep was afraid to speak his mind”. The school was built in 1861, which was prior to the state taking responsibility for education in 1870, and was in part funded by the explosion disaster relief fund from 1860. The Methodist Church had established itself in the coal districts by the 1820s and had a great effect on improving the moral welfare of the pitmen and encouraging education. A schoolmaster, Edward Davidson, was resident in the village even on the 1851 census, presumably the Weslyan chapel serving a dual purpose of school and place of worship as Mr Davidson is also listed as the steward of the Weslyan Chapel on the ecclesiastical census. Mr J Wales, the manager of Burradon and Killingworth collieries in the 1840s had told a government commissioner of the rapid moral improvement of the men in the previous two decades due to the influence of Methodist preaching and effective policing. Gambling and blood sports were not nearly so widely practiced and there were no men who could any longer be described as vicious. However, the reporter did mention that Burradon did have four public houses within a short distance of one another and although no other vices were mentioned it is difficult to imagine that the villagers were much more virtuous than their neighbours. The reporter made these remarks on Dudley colliery which is two miles from Burradon: “In conclusion, and we have a few words to say about the prevailing vice of Dudley- pitch and toss. The vice is not peculiar to Dudley, but it seems to have a very firm hold in the village, and all attempts to dislodge it seem in vain. Now, most men have some respect for Sunday as a day of rest; but here, at Dudley - and again, Dudley is not singular- Sunday is not at all held sacred by the pitchers and tossers, who on that day, hold high carnival, and coins may be seen spinning aloft among the hedge rows to the accompaniment off "heads a croon", or "tails a shilling". Gambling in itself is bad, and the gambling of the pitmen is no worse than the gambling of others who indulge in its excitement; but to bet on the spinning of two pennies seems so ridiculously absurd that, making all due were allowances for the passion of Englishman to back their opinion, we cannot help wondering at the folly of men who are content to form an opinion and hazard money on the whirl of a coin.” Even in 1904 local newspapers were reporting prosecutions for pitch and toss gambling, on a Sunday, with some quite heavy fines being handed out to pitmen caught in the act by concealed policemen.]

[On the positive side the sport of quoits was beginning to become popular and competitive and there were many more pastimes peculiar to the North East coal district played among the pitmen. It has already been mentioned that the pitmen’s houses came with a large garden. Gardening was encouraged, although how much the pit workers needed encouragement is only to be guessed at - an inexpensive supply of vegetables was obviously desirable. The Chronicle reporter made this comment about Seaton Burn colliery village flower show and judging by reports in the local press in the following years this was the norm in every colliery village: “The society has been seventeen years in existence, and its object is to promote the cultivation of flowers, fruits, and vegetables, by the distribution of prizes to the most successful exhibitors. When the society first commenced operations Its funds were very limited, and, consequently, its prizes were small; but year by year it has gone on steadily improving, until now it is the boast of its members that they have the best show between Bishop Auckland and Alnwick. The rearing of prize flowers and vegetables is a healthy hobby, its development has been assisted to the fullest extent by the genial resident viewer of the colliery, and now the men of Seaton Burn and Dinnington vie with each other as to who shall do most to support the show.”]

"I have reserved to the close of my paper a few remarks upon the water supply of both West Moor and Burradon, and I will venture a few suggestions as to the manner in which the families of both places may be better supplied with water. At both places the water has to be carried, and that sometimes to a considerable distance. At West Moor, many of the people have small casks fitted on to wheelbarrows, and they bring their water in these from an old pit shaft; at Burradon the water has to be carried from the pit or from wells. Now a much better system of water supply might easily be adopted at both these places. There is any amount of engine power at the collieries; pumps could easily be attached, pipes laid along the rows of houses, and thus a constant supply of good water could be cheaply brought to the door of every house, to the great improvement of cleanliness and the great saving of time and labour." [As previously mentioned the new colliery owners participated fully in the installation of a drainage system soon afterwards.]

"To go a step further, I would suggest the erection of wash-houses, with a supply of good large tubs, wherein the grimy miner might wash himself after his shift was done, and not as now have to wash himself in the principal room - sometimes the only room - of the house. If such places as these were erected (so many to each row) and made fit for use either in summer or in winter, personal cleanliness would be greatly promoted, and there would then exist no reason for the pugilistically-inclined miner, while washing himself before the fire, to say, "Mary com eer and wesh me back, for fear aw hev te fight the neet.”

"In conclusion, I will just say that, as I am rather tired of looking at the dark spots of mining life in this district, I will next week betake me to “fresh fields and pastures new" and write in more cheerful strains of top modern and model colliery of Cambois."

[Frank Atkinson gives a useful account of pit village life in his 1977 book: ‘Life and Tradition in Northumberland and Durham’ also ‘The Pitmen of the Northern Coalfield: Work, Culture, and Protest, 1790-1850’ By Robert Colls

Other Sources: Morpeth Herald January 16th 1904 ‘The Isabella Pit - School’. Coal Mining Villages of Northumberland and Durham: A study of Sanitary Conditions and Social Facilities MA Thesis 1973 Jennifer YE Seeley.

Co-operative Store

One of the most important commercial developments within Burradon was the arrival of Co-operative retailing. Great Britain's co-operative societies were born through the efforts of poor people to help themselves and one another in years of hardship. In 1844, when wages were low in England and food expensive, a group of weavers in Rochdale saved a few pence every week until they had £28 and acquired a small shop. There they sold food at the same price as other grocers, but the profits were divided and given back to the customers in proportion to the money each had spent in the shop. The scheme was so successful that the idea quickly spread. The Cramlington and District Co-operative Society founded a retail branch in Burradon, in 1872. The Cramlington and District Co-operative Society had been founded, in Cramlington, in 1861. The workers of Cramlington pooled their resources and sent a couple of the men off to Newcastle to buy provisions. The local traders thought the scheme would flop, but it was a huge success, selling out in no time at all. The workers had to guard their provisions well from the perturbed local traders who would try to sabotage them. Premises were eventually found and the Society discovered that customers were coming from the surrounding villages, sometimes miles away, to trade with them.

On November 11th, 1871, a meeting was held in Cramlington. It was decided that a branch was needed in Burradon. John Fryer offered the Fryer's Terrace premises at £40 per annum rental, and after a deputation had been sent out to view the shop, the offer was accepted. The "Co-op store" was opened on June 8th, 1872. Unlike most other branch openings this was rather spectacular; a large marquee was hired for tea and a band was engaged for a ball in the evening. A "Newcastle Chronicle" reporter noted in October 1872, how a display of lit paraffin lamps in the window looked very inviting on a winter's night. A few members, who disapproved of the Society's methods, broke away to fund a store nearby, but it was short lived. William Waldie (Fryer's son-in-law ) was made the first manager. A butchery business was also run from this shop. The Co-operative made an offer to Fryer, in 1876, to purchase the freehold shop for £650; he delayed his answer, but by this time a severe economic depression was affecting the country; sales had fallen and the Society considered the possibility of closing the shop; this they did in 1880.

Cramlington was still supplying Burradon by a cart, but this was found to be impracticable and expensive. A meeting was held, in February, 1881, and it was decided once again to find another store. They were a long time finding suitable premises but eventually the trustees of the Primitive Methodist Chapel, just south of the school, were offered £220. The second Burradon Co-operative was opened on November 22nd, 1883. An extra storey was added to this building to cater for the drapery business. Trade was at first fluctuating, but then steadily improved.

Trade improved so much that by 1896, purpose-built new premises were deemed necessary. Land was purchased on the north side of Burradon Road, opposite Fryer's Terrace, from Eustace Smith. The building had two floors containing: shoe sales and repairs, drapery, grocery and a dance hall. This was opened on July 17th, 1897 and once again a large tea and entertainments were provided. In September 1900 it was felt a butcher's shop was needed, and Mr. Morrison's shop in Camperdown was leased. After only a few weeks this was felt to be inadequate, so more land was purchased off Eustace Smith, at the side of the Co-operative "store" and a butcher's shop was attached. The Society had purchased another eight hundred and eighty yards more than was needed; this would not be used until the 20th century. 

1879 - Post Office Directory

Burradon

• Lambert Nathanial and Co. Colliery Owners; Burradon Colliery

• Stobbs, Edward; Farmer [A curious entry since the Younger family had farmed this land single-handedly since the 1840s. The size of the farm or dwelling is unknown.]

• Tate, Adam; Quarry owner [Also listed in 1854]

• Younger, John and William; Farmers Also listed in 1851]

Hazlerigg

• Lacey, John; Halfway House

• Means, George; Collier Lad

• Means, Margaret (Mrs); Grey Horse [1871 George Means]

• Morrison, Joseph Burn; Butcher [Front St]

• Short, Edward; Shopkeeper [Listed in 1858 at Carr's Buildings]

• Taylor, Stephen; Beer Retailer [Travellers Rest]

• Waldie, William, Grocer [Fryer's Terrace]

• Younger, John; Farmer Hill Head [1851 John Brown; no info on 1861-71]

1881 - Census

Burradon

Population 1110; Dwellings 198

Occupations

• Teacher, Barbara Urwin, Double Row

• Coalheap Keeper, Angus Tweddle, Pit Row [previously Pit Row had housed colliery workers, but not miners, this was no longer the case, apart from Angus]

• Colliery Manager, William Green, Manager's House

• Police Constable, James Hay, site of Burradon Road

• Draper, Susannah Wilson, site of Burradon Road [just north of the school

• Grocer, Alexander Bolton, Since at least 1871, site of Burradon Road [just north of the school]

• Newsagent, John Durey, Since at least 1871, site of Burradon Road [just north of the school]

• Stone Mason, Robert Hine, Burradon Terraces

• Farmer, John Younger, Also listed in 1871

Hazlerigg and Camperdown

Population 521; Dwellings 137.

Occupations

• Brass Finisher, John Hartley, Weetslade Terrace

• School Mistress, Elizabeth Oaks, Weetslade Terrace

• School Master, William Davey, Weetslade Terrace [Interestingly the house is directly opposite the school]

• Butcher, Stephen Dixon [shop in Purvis Buildings]

• Innkeeper Halfway House, John Lacey, Also listed in 1879

• Innkeeper Travellers Rest, Stephen Taylor, 1879

• Innkeeper Collier Lad, Luke Rossiter

• Grocer, Edward Short, since at least 1858 [1881 his shop is in Dixons Buildings beside Grey Horse. Previously in Carr's Buildings beside Travellers Rest]

• Innkeeper Grey Horse, Margaret Means, x1879 [George Means 1871]

Total Population 1631; Total Dwellings 335

1887 - Bulmer Trade Directory (Burradon Township Entries)

"Both freestone and coal are plentiful and extensively wrought."

• Bolton, Alexander; Grocer and Draper [Also listed in 1871]

• Burradon Colliery, the owners of

• Green, William; Under Manager (colliery)

• Hetherington, David; Colliery Manager; lives Gosforth

• Howey, Joseph; Police Constable [Also listed in 1881]

• McDougal, Thomas; Schoolmaster Burradon School

• Messer, Geo; Deputy Burradon Colliery

• Patterson, Ralph S; Com Traveller

• Wilson, James; Draper [1881 Susannah Wilson on Burradon Road just north of school]

• Younger, John, Farmer [Also listed in 1871]

1888 - The Primitive Methodist chapel, adjoining the school, was sold to the Co-operative Society.

1890 - A Primitive Methodist chapel was constructed, larger than the previous, on Burradon Road. 

1891 - Census

Camperdown and Hazlerigg

Population 620; Dwellings 165.

Occupations

• Innkeeper Halfway House, Stephen Taylor [1881 in Travellers Rest]

• Grocer, Stephen Dixon, Purvis Buildings

• Innkeeper Travellers Rest, Jonathon Dorricot

• Innkeeper Collier Lad and Butcher, the shop being beside the Collier Lad/Camperdown Inn, Joseph Morrison

• Stone Mason, Michael Alexander, Wood's Buildings

• Boarding House Keeper, Lizzie Pringle

• Innkeeper Grey Horse, John Thew

• Stone Mason, Robson Wilson, Chapel Buildings

• Butcher, Patrick Thompson [Weetslade Terrace shop, the first mention of a butcher in this location]

• Teacher, Thomas McDougal, Weetslade Terrace [1881 William Davey held this position and residence]

• Timber Merchant, John Hardy, Also listed in 1890, Weetslade Terrace

• Post Mistress, Elizabeth Hardy (wife of above), Weetslade Terrace [1894 map shows a post office at the N end of Weetslade Terrace]

• Music Teacher, James Hardy, Weetslade Terrace

• Blacksmith, Benjamin Wandless, Fryer's Terrace

• Fireman, Alfred Burn, Fryer's Terrace

• Policeman, Joseph Howe, Fryer's Terrace

Burradon

Population 1156; Dwellings 194

Occupations

• Hairdresser, Henry Cuthbertson, North Row [believed to have had a small wooden cabin at the site of the W.M. club/railway crossing]

• Grocer, Alexander Bolton, Also listed in 1871 [shop just north of the school]

• Oil Merchant, Henry Anderson, site of Burradon Road

• Blacksmith, John Anderson, site of Burradon Road [yard where hairdresser's premises are now]

Ordnance Survey 1894

• Colliery Buildings - expanded from previous OS edition

• Football Ground - first recording

• Pit Row - 1871 10 dwellings; 1881 9 dwellings

• Double Row - 1872; 3 rows of 7 dwellings each

• Strawberry Terrace - first recording; 7 dwellings

• North Row - 1872; 27 dwellings

• Middle Row - 1872; 27 dwellings

• Mission Chapel, Church of the Good Shepherd - 1894

• Infant School - first recording

• Office Row - Built around 1860; 1861 30 dwellings; 1871 40 dwellings

• Pit Manager's House- In existence by 1858; at the end of Office Row

Burradon Road S-N

• Post Office Row - In existence by 1871; 11 dwellings; 1871 part of Chapel Row; 1881 School Row; 1891 PO Row

• Primitive Methodist Chapel - Built c.1860s; 1883 Co-op Store

• School - 1861

• Burradon Road Freeholds - buildings to the north of the school in small blocks; 1871 8 units known as Dodd's Row; 1881 as part of School Row which had 25 units

• Primitive Methodist Chapel - first recording on this map c.1890

• Mechanic's Institute - first recording on this map c.1890

• Taylor's Buildings - first recording on this map; 4 dwellings

Camperdown NE-SW

• Fryer's Terrace - 1861; 4 blocks of 17 houses and 1 shop

• Railway Cottage 

• Grey Horse Pub - In existence by 1828?

• Dixon's Buildings - 1861

• Norah Place, The later site of - In existence by 1841?; 2 or 3 dwellings.

• Collier Boy Public House, site of later Camperdown Hotel - In existence by 1855.

• Carr's Buildings, Later site of - In existence by 1841.

• Travellers Rest Public House - In existence by 1841.

• Wood's Houses - In existence by 1841; 4 dwellings in 2 separate. blocks.

• Roughs House - First recording, but probably in existence by 1841; 25" Ordnance Survey shows an enclosure around the house with a formal garden layout.

• Station Road, although not yet known by this name, N-S

• Purvis Buildings - In existence by 1828?; shop and house.

• Halfway House Pub - In existence by 1851.

• Palmer's Buildings - First recording, although possibly in existence by 1851; house and shop?

• Atkin Street, site of - In existence by 1841; grocer shop and house

Hazlerigge NE-SW

• Lane Row - In existence by 1828; back-to-back housing of a one-room-and-a-garret type; 48 dwellings.

• Wood Houses - First recording, but possibly in existence 1841; back-to-back housing as Lane Row; 8 dwellings.

• West Row - In existence by 1828; back-to-back housing as Lane Row, in fact probably identical; 32 dwellings.

• Chapel Buildings - In existence by 1828?; 2 or 3 dwellings.

• Weslyan Methodist Chapel - 1830.

Self Help and Welfare

Welfare provision and self help in the Burradon mining community was a gradual progression from small cooperative schemes towards employer and state subsidies. Post war, this eventually developed into the welfare state we know today. This situation was not unique to Burradon Colliery; it was happening throughout working-class communities.

Several of the slogans emblazoned on the Burradon Union Lodge banner of the 1950s refer to the newly-won state provision of welfare created by the post war Labour Government. These are: family allowances, social security, health and more loosely happiness, peace and prosperity.

We can see several examples of this gradual progression and better provision of welfare from the late 19th century onwards. This was provided by a number of different organisations: religious groups, with the Methodist denominations being dominant in the coalfield communities, unions, the Co-operative Society, one-off charity events to benefit a single cause and friendly or mutual societies. Sometimes these organisations overlapped in the activities they undertook. In fact, you can often see the same residents' names appearing as leading activists in more than one organisation. Moving through the timeline of the twentieth century some of these leading activists are also listed as councillors for the local authority.

Probably the beginnings of self help in Burradon can be traced to the mining disaster of 1860 where seventy-six workers were killed by an explosion in the pit.  The mineworkers had lobbied the coalowners for a mutual provident insurance scheme to pay compensation in the event of accidents or deaths in the pit. The coalowners did not back the scheme at that time, but the campaign for a change in attitude towards fairer conditions for mineworkers was to gain momentum. Although miners' cottages often came with a garden in which to grow vegetables and allotments were often provided, the conditions for the colliery workers, in the mid-19th century, was often squalid and there was not much regard for health and safety in the pit.

The co-operative movement followed closely behind the mining disaster. Great Britain's co-operative societies were born through the efforts of poor people to help themselves and one another in years of hardship. In 1844, when wages were low in England and food expensive, a group of weavers in Rochdale saved a few pence every week until they had £28 and acquired a small shop. There they sold food at the same price as other grocers, but the profits were divided and given back to the customers in proportion to the money each had spent in the shop. The scheme was so successful that the idea quickly spread. The Cramlington and District Co-operative Society founded a retail branch in Burradon, in 1872. The Cramlington and District Co-operative Society had been founded, in Cramlington, in 1861. The workers of Cramlington pooled their resources and sent a couple of the men off to Newcastle to buy provisions. The local traders thought the scheme would flop, but it was a huge success, selling out in no time at all. The scheme continued to grow and in 1894 a large premises was built on Burradon Road. It was still flourishing in the 1950s.

The 1894 Ordnance Survey mapping showed a mechanics' institute having been built on Burradon Road. These were establishments formed to provide adult education, especially in technical subjects, to working men. The Mechanics' Institutes were used as 'libraries' for the adult working class, and provided them with an alternative pastime to gambling and drinking in pubs. The mechanics' institute at Burradon did provide recreational facilities though, including snooker tables. They were funded by subscriptions and may have been given practical support by the colliery owners to get the structure built. Mineworkers seemed to be  enlightened as to the benefit of education in self improvement.

The newspapers often featured reports of  events held in some charity fundraising capacity, or in celebration. One example would be the concert held for Henry Cuthbertson who lost both his legs in a colliery accident in 1894. He was able to set himself up as a barber in a wooden hut near the Social Club, presumably with the money raised at this charity concert featured in the Morpeth Herald article.

Many of these concerts were held in churches or were organised by religious groups. One such group was the Independent Order of Rechabites, a friendly Society founded in England in 1835 as part of the wider British temperance movement to promote total abstinence from alcoholic beverages and other self help benefits. Over 200 people attended their annual social in the Co-operative hall in 1903 and joined their friendly society providing benefits in case of sickness or death.

The memoirs of Honor Weightman, recalling life around the time of the second world war, makes a mention of her father having been taken by pit ambulance to the infirmary after an accident. Frequent mention is also made of a village Doctor. In 1921 a cottage, which still stands, was built to house a village nurse. It incorporated a war memorial. Dr John Dagg was appointed community GP on 23rd November 1938. He replaced Dr Roberts and the interim GP of 3 months, Dr White. In an interview I held with former miner Bill Wardle several years ago he referred to various mineworkers schemes of mutual recreation initiatives, such as the mechanics' institute and the recreation ground. The committee of trustees had at one stage discussed building a swimming pool in the  recreation ground, but it was felt that it would be underused and not be economically sensible. A bandstand was erected instead, but this was rarely used either. These schemes were financed by a mixture of subscriptions, some charity donations, a levy on wages and sometimes support from the mine owners.

The mines had been commandeered and nationalised during the 1914-18 war. This led to a better awareness of conditions within the coal industry. It was a time of low output and falling wages within the industry. The Coal Industry Commission Act 1919 (c 1) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, which set up a commission, led by Mr Justice Sankey (and so known as the "Sankey Commission"), to consider joint management or nationalisation of the coal mines. It also considered the issues of working conditions, wage and hours. Taking the pits into public ownership wasn't implemented at that time but it was recognised that mineworkers were at a disadvantage over labourers in other industries in having to spend a great deal of time getting themselves and their clothes clean after a shift. The miner's unions had been disappointed the coal mines had not been nationalised at this time and continued to campaign for public ownership in the decades that followed. This was the subject of many speeches given at the annual miners' picnic, the speakers often questioning what useful part the owners played in the management of the pits and stating that the industry could survive without them. There is sense from reading the transcriptions of the speeches that the workforce believed they were the rightful stakeholders in the industry. The coalowners and coalminers had now organised themselves into national associations and unions. However a concession was obtained in that a miner's welfare fund was established which later became the Miner's Welfare Commission. This extract is from and HMSO publication of the Miner's Welfare Commission of 1945:

Miners’ welfare originated in an Act of Parliament in 1911, dealing generally with conditions within the coalmining industry, but which touched, somewhat tentatively, one aspect of welfare, namely the provision of pithead baths. Following the reports of the Sankey Commission in 1920, and the Samuel Commission in 1926, two more mining industry Acts were more directly concerned with welfare. These established a fund and an administrative framework for the purpose of welfare for workers in and about coal mines.

When viewed as a complete series, these and subsequent Acts present a picture unique in the industrial history of Great Britain, viz. : comprehensive welfare founded on legislation but effected, in the main, by voluntary and co-operative methods. The approach to actual welfare problems was, at first, tentative and experimental. But as soon as experiments began to show results, and it became clear that the spirit of organised welfare could flourish notwithstanding difficulties and complications within the industry, its scope was enlarged or strengthened. Hence we find today, welfare firmly planted in the mining industry and, although it was not always so, its importance as an integral part of the industry widely recognised. In 25 years it has developed from small and tentative beginnings into a great organisation for the benefit of the miner and his dependents, with capital assets in the region of 24 millions sterling and with an annual income, in normal times, of £1,000,000.

Pit head baths were soon after established at some collieries. The capital cost was met by the colliery owners but use of the facilities had to be paid for by the miners themselves. It was not until 1951 that Burradon Colliery were to build a large pit baths and canteen, although a small canteen had been established in the pit manager's house on 25th August 1941, Mrs Saint being the manager. On 5th November 1937 the colliery started to pay its workforce every Friday instead of fortnightly, as had been the long-standing custom. The week without pay had been known as baff week. In 1938 miners were allowed three days paid holiday per year. This was extended to one week's paid holiday the following year.

These were the beginnings of an involvement and funding by the state and colliery owners in the welfare of the workforce. After nationalisation and the creation of the welfare state the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation was created to fulfil the role of the previous mentioned organisations. The website of the CISWO states:

CISWO was established as a limited company prior to the Miners’ Welfare Act 1952. It was a partnership between the National Coal Board and the Mining Unions, to address the welfare of employees and their dependents “beyond the colliery gate.” It succeeded the Miners’ Welfare Commission, very much a social experiment between 1920 and 1952, which developed community facilities for the benefit of mineworkers and their dependents. The work of CISWO as an Organisation until 1995, was funded by British Coal on the basis of a levy on the tonnage of saleable coal.

The organisation comprehensively was, and still is, involved in many aspects of a miner's welfare: recreation, health and education. 

1896 - The Cramlington and District Co-operative Society purchased land, from Eustace Smith, to erect a purpose built store. This was opened on 17th July 1897, a large tea and entertainment being provided. The building had two floors consisting of a grocery department, shoe sales and repairs, a drapery department and a dance hall. Eustace Smith had purchased a large land holding in Weetslade from the Brandling family at some time between 1842 and 1896.

1896 - A poorly attended meeting of the Burradon Parish Council had discussions on annexing Camperdown, including Hazlerigge and Fryers Terrace, into the parish of Burradon. This would have brought the colliery village together as one administrative unit. Other matters such as street lighting provision and creating a road to Killingworth Village were also lobbied for.

1897 - Kelly's Directory

Burradon

Board school (formerly colliery school) mixed; average attendance 372 [previous attendance 1872, 164 pupils]. Thomas Dougal, Master [Also listed 1891]; Mrs Margaret Fryer, Mist.

• Anderson, Thomas; Blacksmith [John Anderson 1891; premises north of PM chapel]

• Atkinson, John; Watchmaker and Grocer [Fryer's Terrace?]

• Bolton, Alexander; Grocer and Draper [Also listed in 1871, to the north of the school]

• Burradon and Coxlodge Coal Co. (Jethro Longridge, Manager)

• Cramlington and District Co-operative Society Ltd (George Hunter, Secretary)

• Dorricott, Jonathon; Beer Retailer [Travellers Rest]

• Hardy, Elizabeth (Mrs); Postmistress [Also listed 1891, Weetslade Terrace]

• Hardy, James; Joiner and Cartwright [Also listed 1891]

• Lambert, Nathanial and Co; Colliery Owners

• Morrison, Joseph; Collier Lad P.H.

• Robson, John; Quarry Owner [1858 Adam Tate]

• Thew, John; Grey Horse P.H.

• Thompson, Patrick; Butcher [Also listed 1891, Weetslade Terrace shop]

• Wardle, Michael; Sub-Manager Burradon Colliery

• Younger, James; Farmer [Also listed 1891]

1900 Sep - The "Co-op" felt that a butcher's shop was required for their business and Mr Morrison's shop in Camperdown was leased. After only a few weeks this was felt to be inadequate so more land was purchased to the side of the existing store from Eustace Smith. The Co-operative Society had purchased 880 square yards more than was necessary. This land would not be utilized for some time.

1901 Dec - The Burradon and District Working Men's Social Club was opened. A photograph from around this time shows the Grey Horse to be a smaller building than the present one and also to be of stone construction. Another photo of the Halfway House, probably of the same date, shows it also to have been constructed in stone and be of a simpler design. It is also around this time that the Collier Lad became the Camperdown Inn, which possibly indicates a rebuilding of the pub into the spacious and grand building that still remains today. In the following decade both the Grey Horse and Halfway House would be rebuilt, enlarged and made grander. The owners of these pubs were responding to higher expectations from their customers and the competition they felt from each other.

1903 May 26 - The first coals were drawn from the new colliery at Weetslade [Lizzie Pit]. This pit was connected underground to Burradon Colliery.

1904 - The school was extended to be able to hold 750 pupils. This followed Balfour's education act of 1902 which took education into state control and funding. The extension is clearly visible as it was done in brick as opposed to the stonework of the original school of 1861. Two houses at the end of Middle Row were demolished to make way for the extension. However, two houses were added on to Burradon Terrace in compensation for this. These houses incorporated a proper staircase and upstairs windows.

1904 - Parliamentary Registers

Ownership Voters

OWNER; ABODE; PROPERTY

• John Anderson; Anderson's blds; houses, Andersons Buildings [north of P.M. Chapel on Burradon Road]

• Jonathon Dorricott; 3 Ivy Tce; houses, Burradon [1891 publican of Travellers Rest]

• Charles Straker; Hexham; land and buildings Burradon Farm, Burradon Colliery, Burradon Quarry

• Stephen Taylor; Taylor's blds.; houses, Burradon

• Joseph Thompson; Forest Hall; houses, Dodds buildings

• Joseph Bolton; Front St. Budn.; cottages, Weetslade Terrace [Shopkeeper]

• William Brady; Seghill; houses, Wood's Houses

• George Carr; Leeds; houses, Carr's Cottages [Front Street, Camperdown]

• John Hardy; Lamesley; houses, Rueben Terrace

• William Swanson; Gateshead; houses, four cottages Budn.

• John Younger; Burradon Farm; land

• James Younger; Burradon Farm; land

Occupation Voters

• James Younger; Burradon Farm; land and tenement

• Henry Henderson; Hillhead Farm

Buildings (Burradon)

• New Row [Strawberry Terrace?], Dorricott's Buildings [Ivy Terrace?], North Row, Farm, Post Office Row, Mean's Buildings, Anderson's Buildings, Office Row, Front Street, Bolton's Buildings, Burradon Terrace, Quality Row [formerly part of Double Row], Pit Row, Taylor's Buildings, Middle Row, Store Buildings, Quarry Cottages, Wilson's Buildings

Buildings (Camperdown)

• West Row, Short's Cottages, Weetslade Terrace, Front Row, Carr's Cottages, The Square [Wood's Buildings] Fryer's Terrace, Rueben Terrace, Chapel Cottages, Wood Houses, Wardle's Cottage, Swanson's Cottages/Weetslade Terrace, Pugh's Cottages, Burradon Crossing House

1905 Apr 29 - Rate Book for the relief of the poor in the Parish of Camperdown

PROPERTY; OWNER; GROSS RENTAL; NO. OF HOUSES

• Dents Buildings; James Dent; £9.00; 5

• Rueben Terrace; John Hardy; £10.00; 9

• Hill Head Farm; John C. Straker; £93.10s; 1; Robert Aynsley (farmer)

• Camperdown; Pugh White and others; £5.00; 6

• Halfway House (Inn); Pugh White; £66.00; 1; John Ferguson (landlord)

• House and shop; Pugh White; £12.00; 1; Thomas Fynes (keeper)

• Camperdown; Mary Dodgson; £7.00; 20

• Travellers Rest; Stephen Taylor; £30.00; 1; John Scott (landlord) [1897 landlord of Halfway House]

• Camperdown; Hugh Howard; £4.10s; 2

• Camperdown Inn; Hugh Howard; £81.00; 1 [formerly Collier Lad]; Henry Oubridge (landlord)

• House and shop; Isabella Morrison; £24.00; 1 [now a bookies on Front Street. 1897 Joseph Morrison was also publican of Collier Lad]

• Camperdown; William Brady; £8.10s; 6

• House and shop; John Hann; £14.00; 1 [beside Grey Horse]

• Grey Horse Inn; W.B. Reed and Co.; £70.00; 1; Margaret Littlefair (landlord)

• House and shop; Joseph Latimer; £30.00; 1 [Fryer's Terrace]

• Fryers Terrace; John Fryer estate; £5.10s; 8

• Fryers Terrace; Joseph Latimer; £10.00; 2

• Fryers Terrace; Burradon & Coxlodge coal Co.; £5.10s; 13

• House and shop; John Atkinson; £20.00; 1 [1897 Watchmaker and Grocer, Fryer's Terrace]

• Weetslade Terrace; Thomas Maddison; £7.10s; 3

• Weetslade Terrace; Lewis Lundi; £10.00; 10

• Weetslade Terrace; Stephen Taylor; £8.15s; 4

• House and shop; Edward Simmon; £18.00; 1

• Weetslade Terrace; John Cook; £8.00; 1 [x1897]

• Co-op; Cramlington Co-op Society; £124.00; 1

• Burradon W.M. Club; Trustees of Club; £90.00; 1

• Front Row; Burradon & Coxlodge coal Co.; £5.00; 24

• The Square; Burradon & Coxlodge coal Co.; £5.00; 40

• West Row; Burradon & Coxlodge coal Co.; £5.00; 16

• Wood Houses; Burradon & Coxlodge coal Co.; £5.00; 8

• Chapel Cottages; Alexander Bolton; £4.00; 3

• Wagonway and siding; Seaton Burn Coal Co.; £126.00

• Camperdown; Masters of Balliol College; £18.5s

• Stable; John Bruce; £3.00

1906 - Kelly's Directory

Hazlerigge (locally called Camperdown)

• Howey, Joseph; Police Constable [Listed 1891 residing at Fryer's Terrace]

• Brown, Ralph; Grocer

• Charlton, Frances; Shopkeeper

• Cross, William; Camperdown Inn

• Ferguson, John; Halfway House Inn [Listed in 1905]

• Fynes, Thomas; Grocer [Listed in 1905, shop beside Halfway House]

• Hann, John; Grocer [Listed in 1905 shop beside Grey Horse]

• Morrison, Joseph Burn; Butcher [1905 Isabella Morrison listed as the owner in premises still in existence on Front Street]

• Musgrove, William; Greengrocer

• Scott, John; Beer Retailer [Also listed 1905, Travellers Rest]

Burradon

Average attendance at the school 450 [372 in 1897]

• Master, Thomas D. Forster

• Mistress, Miss Margaret Fryer

• Anderson, Thomas; Blacksmith [John Anderson in 1891, premises north of P.M. chapel]

• Atkinson, John; Watchmaker and Grocer

• Bolton, Alexander; Grocer and Draper [Also listed 1871]

• Longridge, Jethro; Pit Manager [Also listed 1897]

• Social Club (Michael Wardle Sec. [Also listed 1897])

• Cook, John; Grocer

• Culverson, Henry; Bootmaker

• Dent, James; Quarry Owner

• Hall, Michael; Shopkeeper and Beer Retailer

• Hardy, Elizabeth; Postmistress [Also listed 1891 Weetslade Terrace]

• Hardy, James; Joiner and Cartwright [Also listed 1891 Weetslade Terrace]

• Johnston, James; Butcher [Weetslade Terrace?]

• Littlefair, Margaret Ann; Grey Horse Inn [Also listed 1905]

• Mason, James; Cycle Repairer

• Mechanics Institute (James Littlefair Sec.)

• Smith, Ralph W; Sub Manager Colliery

• Thompson, John; Smith [site of Burradon Road garage]

• Younger, James; Farmer

1908 - A United Methodist chapel was built beside Fryer's Terrace. The United Methodist movement had been born the previous year.

1910 - Kelly's Directory

Camperdown

• Ainsley, Robert and sons; Farmer [x1905 Hillhead]

• Atkinson, John; Grocer [x1897 Watchmaker and Grocer in Burradon]

• Cook, Jane Ann; Shopkeeper [1897 John Cook a grocer in Weetslade Terrace]

• Co-operative Store (George Bolton Manager)

• Cuthbertson, Henry; Newsagent [lost a leg in a pit accident then had a barber's shop in a hut on the site of the club car park. Became a newsagent working from Norah Place]

• Dorricott, Jonathon [Travellers Rest, Listed 1897]

• Ferguson, John; Halfway House Inn

• Fynes, Emily (Miss); Grocer

• Hann, Mary; Grocer [John Hann in 1905 beside Grey Horse]

• Hardy, Alfred; Fried Fish Dealer

• Johnson, James; Butcher [Also listed 1906]

• Knox, Stephen; Hardware Dealer

• Littlefair, George; Grey Horse Inn

• Morrison, Joseph; Butcher [Also listed 1891]

• Parker, William; Camperdown Inn

• Taylor, George; Shopkeeper

• Wright, Elizabeth; Shopkeeper

Burradon

Average attendance of School 473

• Thomas D Foster, Master

• Miss Margaret Fryer, Mistress

• Anderson, Thomas; Blacksmith [Also listed 1906. John Anderson in 1891]

• Bolton, Alexander; Grocer and Draper [Also listed 1871]

• Burradon and Coxlodge Coal Co.

• Burradon and District W.M. Social Club (Edwd. Dodd Sec.)

• Cook, John; [x1897 Weetslade Road]

• Culverson, Henry; Bootmaker [Also listed 1906]

• Dent, James; Quarry Owner

• Hardy, James; Joiner and Cartwright [Also listed 1891 Weetslade Terrace]

• Johnston, James; Butcher [Also listed 1906 Weetslade Terrace]

• Littlefair, Margaret Ann; Grey Horse P.H. [also listed 1905]

• Osborne, Hugh M.B; Physician and Surgeon

• Thompson, John; Smith

• Thompson, John James; Cycle Repairer

• Wilson, William; Grocer [north end of Ivy Terrace]

• Younger, James; Farmer

1911 Sep 04 - An electric water pump was installed and started in Burradon Colliery. The water from the colliery was pumped down a gutter at the side of where the recreation ground now stands towards Burradon Terraces. The Times reported on 12th July:

"An electrification scheme is nearing completion at the Burradon Colliery, Northumberland, belonging to the Burradon and Coxlodge Coal Company (Limited), of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in which the plant, which has been supplied by Messrs. Ernest Scott and Mountain (Limited), includes a three-throw pump, with rams 10in. in diameter and 15in. stroke, arranged to deliver either 270 or 400 gallons a minute, against a head of 900ft. A three-phase slip-ring motor, working at 2,750 volts, 40 cycles, drives the pump through two reductions of gearing. Two pinions and shafts are provided of different sizes to give the required speeds on the crankshaft. The motor drives on to the pinion shafts through a flexible coupling, the pinion shaft being run between two pedestal bearings.

There are also installed two 250-h.p. slip-ring motors, arranged on one cast-iron bedplate, with an intermediate rope pulley mounted between them. Each motor drives through a flexible coupling on to the rope pulley, which is utilized to drive a ventilating fan. The ventilators of the pit will depend on this fan, and therefore the two motors have been provided so that there may always be a spare motor to be put into commission by merely inserting the pins in the flexible coupling. Two motors, each of 100-h.p. capacity, are also used for driving compressors inbye."

1914 Mar 02 - The first steam bus ran from the Camperdown Hotel to the tram interchange at Benton a few miles to the South. The trams ran into Newcastle. Tickets could be purchased from Harry Anderson, the local shopkeeper and businessman. It was a multi-function vehicle carrying mostly passengers at weekends and goods during the week.

1915 Apr 15 - A German zeppelin, this being wartime,  flew over the SE of Northumberland including  Burradon, which caused a certain amount of panic.

1915 Nov 06 - The shopkeeper and lay preacher Alex Bolton died. A memorial in his honour was unveiled in the United Methodist Church on March 4th of the following year. The article below appeared in the Morpeth Herald during 1904 and refers to Lay Preacher and shop owner of Burradon Alexander Bolton. A well-known local character he owned a shop and post office on Burradon Road near the school - now a men's hairdresser. His son Joseph took over the business shortly after this date and was still listed on trade directories in 1938. He became a business owner after being blacklisted from working in the collieries. He wasn't the only one in the Northern Coal District to follow this course.

Ordnance Survey c1915

• Reservoir - Smaller than on the 1894 map to make way for railway sidings which run to the power station

• Recreation Ground - In existence by 1894 as a football field. Now expanded

• Strawberry Terrace - first recording; 7 dwellings

• Mission Chapel - 1894; Church of the Good Shepherd [an Anglican chapel-of-ease]. This map indicates a building to the east of the church which was not present in 1894

• Infant School - In existence by 1894; on this map the building has been enlarged from 1894

Burradon Road N-S

• School - 1861; extended in brick 1904

• Ivy Terrace - first recording on this map; 14 dwellings and 1 shop now known as the North end of Burradon Road

• Morris's Buildings - first recording although probably late 1890s; 2 dwellings

• Co-op Buildings - 1897

• United Methodist Church - 1908

Camperdown NE-SW

• Garden Terrace - first recording on this map; replaced Wood's Buildings; Still in existence at the South end of Front Street

• Atkin Street - first recording on this map

• Rueben Terrace - first recording on this map; 10 dwellings

Recreation

In a similar situation as is experienced today recreational clubs sprang up in Burradon as small groups of residents came together to share a common interest and then add an element of competition to the activity. The club or event would be funded by a small subscription, some fundraising and maybe a grant from an outside body, or the coalowners.

The colliery housing built in the period following the 1860s often featured a large garden. Allotments are also shown in a field near the village of Camperdown on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map of c1858. Mineworkers were enthusiastic gardeners. But this was not just about subsistence. They organised competitions and shows to display the quality of their produce. Of course, there was always the pub on weekends.

However, this activity was not organised sufficiently to be mentioned in the local newspapers until later in the 19th century. Brass band competitions were first briefly mentioned in the 1850s. They continued to grow in number and attendees. Colliery brass band started appearing on the lists of entrants by 1872 and in 1876 Burradon Brass Band is mentioned as one of the competitors. Brass bands played an important part of most colliery activities up until the closures of the 1960s-1980s. It was a great honour for any pitman to be selected to play for the village.

The 2nd edition Ordnance Survey mapping of c.1895 shows a recreation ground of five acres on the land immediately north of the school. In fact, it is in the same place that it is today, but only occupying about a third of the size. The map also shows an oval-shaped running/cycling track. It is not clear who financed the purchase of the land at this time, although a mechanic's institute, which had some recreational function, was also built. This was financed from a number of sources, but a subscription was paid to use the facilities.

From the 1890s the Morpeth Herald was carrying almost weekly reports from sporting events and clubs, social gatherings and various shows. These included running, cycling and quoits. A gala in the 1890s featured many organised sports including wrestling. Rowing had been a hugely popular sport, both with competitors and spectators, during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Burradon is not mentioned in connection with this sport, not being on a river of course, although residents would have walked to Newcastle and Blyth to watch regattas. Association football quickly became popular after the 1880s, quickly overtaking rowing as the working-men's passion and Burradon had a team which was frequently reported on in the press. Sometimes this reporting was for all the wrong reasons. The games could often become violent, near riotous, with referees assaulted. It was speculated this was down to the high stakes involved. Gambling went hand-in-hand with organised sport, even at this local, grass roots level.

The Co-operative society opened a large store at Burradon in 1896, the Society being owned by members who were residents of the villages. This had a concert room upstairs which was the venue of many home-grown productions and concerts, including pantomimes.

By the 1920s there was a greater awareness and collaboration from the coal owners and the state towards the benefits of better welfare in the mining communities. It resulted in the formation of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation. Better and more organised recreation provision occurred soon after. Ralph Wilson tells of the enlargement of the recreation ground and formation of a bowling club in an article:

In 1924 a group of miners from Burradon and Weetslade collieries held a meeting with union officials, the colliery management and the welfare committee and following discussions it was agreed to improve the recreational facilities for the benefit of the employees of the colliery.

11.56 acres of land were purchased from Will Younger and the funds to create the welfare were provided by a weekly levy from the miners, the miner's welfare fund and a grant from the colliery fund.

The purchase of the freehold was completed on 31 March 1925 for £1,156.10 and the agreement included a clause which stated the land was to be used for the sole purpose of recreation and pleasure.

Commercial landscapers were appointed to prepare and layout the welfare facilities, which included the relocation of the football pitch, installation of the tennis courts, putting green, band stand, cricket pitch, children's playground, bowling green and pavilion.

The drainage for the bowling green was formed with a thick bed of ashes removed from the local ash heap from the household "middens". The top soil was taken from a hump in a local field and then a high quality sea washed Warkworth turf was laid. The area was contained by the construction of a sand stone wall.

Competitive bowling commenced in 1926 following the end of the General Strike and the completion of the facilities and during the subsequent years produced an active membership.

Approximately 1933, a ladies team was established and as a consequence of the high demand a second bowling green was provided which was subsequently converted into a putting green. Competitive bowling was restricted during the war, however, in 1944 Burradon was a founder member of the newly formed Northumberland Bowling Association (3 a side). Unfortunately, during the inaugural season Burradon and Blyth both dropped out of the league due to transport difficulties, however, both teams rejoined at the start of the 1945 season.

On April 20th 1939 work commenced on the building of the Welfare Hall. This finally opened on December 30th 1939 and was opened by James Bowman and James Taylor the colliery manager. It took over a lot of the functions once held in the Co-operative Hall, which was then converted to other uses.

The growing of vegetables remained a popular pastime throughout the mining districts until recent times. Every village would have their leek and vegetable show once a year. It was highly contested and quite a bit of prize money was often involved. The show lasted all weekend and into Monday. Many workmen took the Monday off work and it became a bit of a de facto bank holiday.

1919 Apr 22 - Electric cutters were first used in Burradon pit to drill holes.

1919 Oct 17 - Burradon pit heap was on fire causing the closure of the colliery. Work did not resume until November.

1920 Mar 01 - The allotments at the rear of Burradon Terraces were acquired by the residents.

1921 - A war memorial was commissioned in the form of a cottage for a village nurse. 1921 was the year of a long-running and bitter miner's strike and saw a rise in self-help and benevolent schemes, although there had long been a tradition of the mineworkers pooling their resources for mutual benefit. A district nurse of the Burradon and WestMoor Nursing Association, named Younger, was listed on the 1921 census.

1921 Mar 09 - The Victoria Picture House, a small cinema,  was opened. This was located to the west of West Row.

1921 May 15 - Burradon Brass Band gave a concert in Gosforth Park in aid of the Soup Kitchen.

1921 May 16 - The Corporation bus route was extended to run from Newcastle to Seaton Sluice via Burradon. A steam bus had first started operations through the community in 1914, but this was the first proper, petrol-engined  bus service.  At first the buses were slow and uncomfortable, but the service rapidly improved.

1921 June Census - This was delayed due to the miner’s strike. There was a population in the community of 2192 persons in 502 dwellings, an average of 4.37. 603 worked at Burradon Colliery, 82 at the Lizzie Pit in Weetslade. 56 were employed at other collieries eg Dudley, Seaton Burn, Seghill and one miner at Netherton. 909 persons had been born outside of the community and 54 were lodgers or visitors on that night.

Although the petrol bus service was new, people were travelling a distance to get to employment, especially younger members of families, with Newcastle being the most popular destination. Some found work as shop assistants in neighbouring villages eg Cramlington. Among the occupations outside of the village were:

• Shop Assistant, Newcastle

• Bookkeeper (2), Newcastle

• Typist, Newcastle

• Steam Raiser for NER, Heaton Sheds

• Wireless Operator for Marconi

• Building Workers (2)

• Chartered Accountant, West Moor

• Fish Shop Assistant, Cramlington (Fish and chips had become very popular since the turn of the century and would become the staple dish of the working class, even being protected during the war)

• Tailoress (2), Heaton

• Agent/Clerk for Mr Richardson, Forest Hall

• General Labourer, Newcastle Corporation

• Leeds Utd footballer

• Electrician, Newcastle

• Insurance Agent for Co-op, Cramlington

• Dressmaker, Longbenton

• Shorthand Typist, Newcastle

• Dressmaker, Longbenton

• Motor Mechanic, Newcastle

• Joiner for McAlpine Builders, Cramlington

• Bricklayer, Gosforth

The newish power sub-station at the junction of the farm track and Burradon Road had 2 electrical engineers and their families living there. 3 Teachers and a school caretaker lived in the community as did a caretaker for the mechanics institute. Railway cottage beside the road and rail crossing was still in existence, being occupied by a plate layer from the Seaton Burn Coal Co. Atkin Street had been recently built and was occupied entirely by persons working for the Seaton Burn Coal Co, som at Dinnington Colliery which was five miles away. Which leaves an intriguing question of why SBCC used this housing at this location and how the workforce travelled to their employment? Pit Row was no longer in use as dwelling, except for one end cottage which was occupied by a police constable and on the night of the census 2 visitors. The other cottages were now being used as a colliery ambulance room and lamp cabin etc.

Notable Surnames still residing in the village that were present in 1861 include: Carr, Urwin, Maddox, Pease, Kirtley, Beadling, Bolton, Younger. Notable surnames that continued throughout the 20th century to reside in Burradon: Carr, Atkins, Guthrie, Gascoigne, Proctor, Stoves, Kennedy, Little, Meek, Saint, Dixon, Cuthbertson, Air, Morrison, Dodds, Dunn, Ternent, Mullen, Littlefair, Anderson, Means, Younger, Gallon, Stafford, Wilson, Hunter.

1921 Jul 06 - Burradon Colliery was put back to work after a thirteen week strike by the miners.

1921 - Kelly's Directory of Northumberland

Burradon Commercial

• Ainsley, William; Grocer and Beer Retailer [Fryer's Terrace, see below farmers of Hillhead]

• Anderson, Henry; Cartage Contractor [1910 Thomas Anderson, Blacksmith and 1891 John Anderson, Blacksmith]

• Atkinson, John; Shopkeeper [ Also listed in 1897 Watchmaker and Grocer]

• Bolton, Joseph; Grocer and Draper [1910 and since 1871 Alexander Bolton, Grocer and Draper on Burradon Road just north of the school]

• Burradon and Coxlodge Coal Company

• Social Club (Wm Nicholson Sec.]

• Cook, John; Grocer [1897 Weetslade Terrace]

• Cramlington and District Co-op Society

• Hardy, Mary (Mrs); Stationer and Post Office [1891 James Hardy, Joiner and Cartwright, Weetslade Terrace]

• Kell, Edward William; Carpenter and Joiner

• Mechanics Institute (James Littlefair Sec.)

• Thompson, John; Smith [Also listed in 1906 now a car repair workshop at entrance to recreation ground]

• Thompson, John James; Confectioner [Also listed in 1910 Cycle Repairer just north of the school]

• Wilson, William; Grocer [Also listed in 1910]

• Younger, William; Farmer

• Ainsley, Robert and Sons; Farmers [Also listed in 1905 Hillhead]

• Cook, Jane Ann (Mrs); Shopkeeper [Also listed in 1910]

• Cuthbertson, Henry; Newsagent [Also listed in 1910 from a house on Front Street. A former barber after having been severely disabled in a pit accident]

• Ferguson Hannah (Mrs); Halfway House [Also listed in 1905-10 John Ferguson]

• Fynes, Thomas and Co; Grocers [1910 Emily Fynes (miss)]

• Ludkin, Hannah (Mrs); Shopkeeper

• Midwood, Joshua; Shopkeeper

• Morrison, Joseph Burn; Butcher [Also listed in 1891 Front Street, now a bookies]

• Oubridge, Henry; Camperdown Inn [Also listed in 1905]

• Patterson, Robert; Shopkeeper

• Saint, Joseph W; General Dealer

• Tyson, Thomas W; Grey Horse Inn

• Elizabeth Hardy, Sub-Postmistress

1923 Jan 15 - The building of Ethel Street in Dudley was completed. This had been commissioned by Burradon Colliery.

1923 Feb 12 - Thomas Gray became the manager of the Co-op.

1923 Sep 15 - The gutter carrying water from the colliery going past Burradon Terraces to the burn at Annitsford was piped in.

1925 May 09 - Aged miner's homes in Dudley were completed and began to be occupied.

1925 - Kelly's Directory of Northumberland

Councillors of Longbenton UDC Burradon Ward

• G. Bell

• T. Haswell

• R.E. Shillaw

• Master of School, William Robert Hindmarsh

• Mistress of School, Miss Margaret Fryer [Also listed in 1910]

• Correspondent, Joseph Bormond

Burradon Commercial

• Anderson, Henry; Cartage Contractor Also listed in 1921]

• Bolton, Joseph; Grocer and Post Office [Also listed in 1910; premises on Burradon Road now a men's hairdressers]

• Burradon and Coxlodge Coal Company

• Social Club (Wm Nicholson Sec.]

• Cook, Michael; Grocer [1897-1921 John Cook, Weetslade Terrace just south of Butcher's (Clough's) shop]

• Cramlington and District Co-op Society

• Latimer, Mary Jane (Mrs); Grocer and Beer Retailer [Fryer's Terrace]

• Mechanics Institute (James Littlefair Sec.)

• Means, Robert; Shopkeeper

• Newcastle Electric Supply Company [1st mention]

• Thompson, John; Smith [Also listed in 1906 now a car repair workshop at entrance to recreation ground]

• Thompson, Elizabeth (Mrs); Confectioner [1921 John James Thompson, just north of the school]

• Wilson, William; Grocer [Also listed in 1910]

• Younger, William; Farmer; Telephone Dudley 3

Camperdown Commercial

• Box, James; Camperdown Inn

• Cuthbertson, Margaret (Mrs); Newsagent [1910-21 Henry Cuthbertson]

• Fynes, Thomas and Co; Grocers [Also listed in 1921; 1910 Emily Fynes (miss)]

• Hann, Mary (Mrs); and Sons; Grocers [Also listed in 1910; shop beside Grey Horse]

• Hill, George; Shopkeeper

• Ludkin, Jane (Mrs) and Co; Shopkeeper [1921 Hannah Ludkin]

• Midwood, Joshua; Shopkeeper [Also listed in 1921]

• Moore, Thomas; Travellers Rest PH

• Morrison, Joseph; Butcher [Also listed in 1891 Front Street, now a bookies]

• Ord, John William; Farmer; Telephone Benton 139 [Hillhead]

• Oubridge, Henry; Camperdown Inn [Also listed in 1905]

• Pickering, Joseph; Grey Horse Inn

• Saint, Joseph W; General Dealer [Also listed in 1921]

• Victoria Picture House Company [1st mention]

1931 - Population 2273; 503 dwellings 4.52 person per dwelling. The population in 1901 was 2157.

1931 Jun - The road leading past Office Row was laid with tarmac.

1931 Jun - A road was constructed linking Annitsford with Seghill. This was opened by Stan Seymour the ex Newcastle Utd footballer and later to be the Chairman of the club.

1931 - Parliamentary Register, Borough of Wallsend, Burradon Ward

• Anderson's Buildings 1-11; Annitsford Terrace 1-14; Atkin Street 1-13; Bolton's Buildings 1-3, Joseph Bolton, Shopkeeper [Also listed in 1925];Burradon Farm, William Younger; Burradon Farm Cottages 1-6; Burradon Terrace 1-22; Camperdown Avenue 1-12; Co-operative Buildings; Double Row 1-14; Front Street, including: Railway Cottage, Grey Horse Inn, Joseph Pickering Landlord [x1925], Camperdown Hotel, George Robson Landlord, Travellers Rest, Robert Nixon Landlord, Rose View; Fryer's Terrace 2-20; Garden Terrace 1-12; Hedley's Buildings 1-7; Hillhead Farm, John Ord, Farmer living at Forest Hall; Hillhead Engine Cottage [the engine was marked as disused on a 1915 map, but the cottage remained in existence for a time afterwards]; Ivy Terrace 1-29; Mean's Buildings 1-11; Middle Row 1-49 missing the even numbers; Norah Place 1-6; North Row 2-54 missing the odd numbers; Office Row 1-40, John Templeton in Office House; Park View 1-10; Nurse's Home, Annie Alice Ions, Nurse; Post Office Row 1-10; Power Station, Thomas Henry Pickard;Quality Row 1-7; Quarry Row 1-5; Quarry Cottage; Rueben Terrace 1-10; Short's Buildings 1-8; Station Road, including: Halfway House, Arthur Barker, Landlord; Strawberry Terrace 1-7; Taylor's Buildings 1-6; Thompson's Buildings 1-3; Weetslade Terrace 1-31; West Row 1-32; West View 1-7; White's Buildings 1-4; Wilson's Buildings 1-2.

Photographs from the 1920s show Lane Row still extant, but it is missing from the above list and can be presumed to have been demolished shortly before 1931.

1932 Jan 08 - Colliery Guardian

"About 15 more miners have been restarted at the Burradon Old pit, owned by the Hazelrigg and Burradon Coal Co., Ltd. The pit, which normally employs about 600 men and lads, was closed down some time ago, but was partially reopened about six weeks ago. About 200 men and lads are now employed."

This was a time of a great recession. The Burradon Union Lodge meeting minutes throughout 1931 mention much discussion of how to help unemployed members including the supply of privilege coals and the complaint that some workers were doing overtime whilst others were on the dole. The  colliery also had an agreement in place with the Union for joint inspections of the workings. A Union official from Burradon had been forbidden from taking part in an inspection because he was at that time not employed by the colliery.

1932 Jan 31 - A small fire occurred at the Mechanic's Institute, reported in the Colliery Guardian to have caused damage worth £1000 [About £64,000 in 2018]

1933 Oct 03 - Lamps were installed and lit on Burradon Bank towards Annitsford.

1934 Apr 14 - The Science and Art of Mining Magazine: Seghill And Burradon Changes

"Changing to the grid electric supply service has involved the whole of the motors at Seghill Colliery being changed. Burradon Colliery having gone over from steam power to electricity, a new winding house has been built, and the most up-to-date winder installed with 575 h.p. motor."

1934 Aug 24 - The Colliery Guardian

The recession was still having a great effect.

"Notices served on 200 miners at the Lizzie pit, Weetslade (Northumberland) have expired, but, owing to a work-sharing scheme introduced by the management, 150 are being retained. Most of them were employed in the Gosforth Drift seam, which has been affected with gas. One hundred miners have been transferred to the Burradon Old pit, while another 50 are being absorbed in other parts of the Lizzie pit. Both collieries are owned by the Burradon Coal Co."

1935 - Longbenton Urban District Council starts to build housing on a field to the south of Camperdown Front Street (Bell Grove).

1935 - Kelly's Directory of Northumberland. See 1938 entry for commercial inhabitants, as there was no change from this year.

1936 Oct 23 - The Colliery Guardian

"When summonses against 694 miners were due to be heard at the Moothall Police Court, Newcastle-on-Tyne, on October 13, for illegally laying the Burradon pit idle, it was announced that an amicable settlement had been reached outside the court. Mr. Frank J. Lambert, for the Hazelrigg and Burradon Coal Co., Ltd., said summonses against 15 men had been withdrawn, while it was agreed that damages due from 79 youths under 21 years of age should be borne by the adults. Each of the 600 men will pay 8s. 8d. damages and 4s. costs, making a total of £380, by instalments of 1s. 6d. weekly, which will be kept off the paynotes. Mr. Lambert explained that the men had been summoned following a stoppage over three men who claimed payment for work to which they were not entitled. The summonses were for breach of contract on September 5, 6 and 7. With the aid of Mr. F. M. Robinson (for the men), an amicable settlement had been reached. The men realised they were at fault and agreed to pay the amount claimed."

1936 Jul 01 - The United Bus Company (red buses) took over operations from the Corporation buses (blue buses). Services ran via Burradon from Newcastle and Longbenton to Cramlington and Seaton Sluice.

1936 Oct 26 - Construction was begun on a new road linking Burradon and Dudley. This was opened on June 21 1937.

1936 - New outside lavatories were installed at Burradon Terrace. These were flush toilets.

1937 Jan - The power sub-station and flats beside it, at the end of the farm track, were pulled down and a smaller power station built in their place.

1937 Sep 03 - Colliery Guardian

"Putters at Hazlerigg, Burradon and Weetslade Collieries had handed in notices in connection with a wage dispute, withdrew them pending negotiations"

1937 Oct 03 - Miss Margaret Fryer, the long-time mistress of Burradon school, died at Middlesborough.

1937 Nov 05 - The colliery started to pay its workforce every Friday instead of fortnightly, as had been the long-standing custom. The week without pay had been known as baff week.

1938 Feb 28 - A fire occurred in the billiards room of the Mechanic's Institute.

1938 Jun 18 - The back lane of Burradon Terraces was paved.

1938 Sep 17 - The community was fitted with gas masks in preparation for the expected war.

1938 Nov 23 - Dr. John Dagg was appointed as the community G.P. This came about because of the death three months earlier of Dr. Roberts. Dr. Dagg operated from a wooden structure on Burradon Road. He lived at Forest Hall. Dr. White had been an interim replacement.

1938 - Miners were given the right to their first paid holidays of three days.

1938 - Robson and Jessie Campbell bought the shop which became the long-standing and recently closed Post Office. Rington's tea could be bought from here as the usual method of supply, a cart, did not visit Burradon.

1938 - Kelly's Directory of Northumberland

Burradon Commercial

• Anderson, Henry; Cartage Contractor; TN Dudley 11 [x1921]

• Bolton, Joseph; Grocer and Post Office [Also listed 1910; premises on Burradon Road now a men's hairdressers]

• Social Club (James Stringer Sec.)

• Caller, Edward; Shopkeeper

• Cramlington and District Co-op Society

• Hazlerigg and Coxlodge Coal Company; TN Dudley 35

• Mechanics Institute (Isaac Tomlinson Sec.)

• Newcastle Electric Supply Company [Also listed in 1925]

• Robson, Geo Wm; Newsagent [wooden hut beside railway line on what is now the Millennium Green]

• Thompson Bros; Grocers; TN Dudley 39 [various Thompsons trading in Burradon since 1905]

• Thompson, Edward; Shopkeeper

• Wears, Samuel; Grocer

• Wilson, William; Grocer [Also listed in 1910; at the end of Ivy Terrace and possibly at a later date became a draper]

• Younger, William; Farmer; Telephone Dudley 3

• Camperdown Commercial

• Bolton, Geo; Shopkeeper [was previously a manager of the Co-op until the 1926 strike when he was dismissed for giving too much unrecoverable credit]

• Camperdown Hotel; Henry Oubridge [Also listed in 1905]

• Charlton, Mary Ann (Mrs); Shopkeeper

• Grey Horse Inn; John Johnson Hetherington

• Hann, William; Grocer; TN Dudley 40 [various members of this family since 1910; shop beside Grey Horse]

• Langley, Jessie (Mrs); Shopkeeper [former post office on Weetslade Terrace North End]

• Morrison, Joseph; Butcher [Also listed in 1891; Front Street, now a bookies]

• Ord, John William; Farmer; Telephone Benton 139 [Also listed in 1925;  Hillhead Farm]

• Patterson, Robert S; Shopkeeper

• Rogerson, Maggie May (Mrs); Shopkeeper

• Saint, Joseph W; General Dealer [Also listed 1921 premises on Station Road]

• Travellers Rest Public House; T. Wilkinson

• Victoria Picture House Company [Also listed 1925]

• Wilson, Thomas; Shopkeeper 

1939 - William Sanderson is listed on the Parliamentary register as being the farmer of Hillhead.

1939 Apr 20 - Work commenced on the building of the Welfare Hall. This finally opened on December 30 1939 and was opened by James Bowman and James Taylor the colliery manager. The cost was £40,000 [About £2million today].

1939 Apr - Tenants were given the keys for the newly completed housing of Allanville.

1939 - Miners were now to be allowed one weeks' paid holiday.

1939 Aug 21 - The older children from Burradon were now to attend the school at Dudley.

1939 Sep - The Co-operative "store" was altered. The offices that had previously been at the front of the building were moved to the rear. The first floor hall was given over to a furniture department as the newly-built Welfare Hall now provided recreational functions, such as dancing.

1940 Oct 05 - The chimney at Weetslade Colliery was demolished as a more modern means of pit ventilation was implemented. 

1940 Dec 31 - The chimney at Burradon Colliery was demolished.

1941 Jul 12 - The cage at Burradon Colliery was accidentally hoisted up to the pulley wheels, causing damage to the pit shaft. The underground workers had to escape via Weetslade pit.

1941 Aug 25 - A canteen for Burradon Colliery was opened in the pit manager's house. Mrs Saint was the manageress.

1941 Sep 01 - Bombs landed in Ethel Street destroying houses and killing two men.

1943 Feb 11 - Enemy incendiary bombs were dropped on a field at the end of Burradon Road, known as Gallow Hill, setting the farmer's haystack ablaze.

1946 - The blacksmith's workshop on Burradon Road was listed in the Parliamentary registers as a Cottage Filling Station. It was still known by this name in 1951, but by 1969 it was listed as a garage owned by John Cattle. Whether it still served fuel is not known. Charles Gill is the tenant of Hillhead Farm.

The Miners Union

The Burradon Lodge banner was commissioned in the early 1950s. It displayed triumphalist slogans of the newly-won socialist aspirations and nationalisation of the pits. One of the slogans was Five Day Week. The reduction of the working week from six days to five had been a much debated desire of the mineworkers. It was achieved in the time shortly after the pits were taken into public ownership in January 1947.

One of the first broadcasts of the newly-created National Coal Board's film unit "The Mining Review" was a debate held by some miners on the merits of the five-day-week.  

 The British Film Institute gave a synopsis of this film on their website:

"Britain's mines were nationalised on 1 January 1947, though it quickly became apparent that this made no appreciable difference to the working conditions of the ordinary miner. As a result, there were frequent disagreements between the National Union of Mineworkers and the National Coal Board regarding working hours.

This item from the very first Mining Review compilation would have been made and shown in the early part of the year. It depicts a group of miners sitting in a pub after hours, debating the merits of a five day working week, and reaching universal agreement that this was not only desirable for the health of the miners, but it would probably improve absenteeism and even productivity...

The delivery is more than a little stilted, but this paradoxically adds to the impression of realism: these are clearly genuine miners, not actors.

Given that this film seems to firmly endorse the NUM line, it is intriguing to note that it was sponsored by the National Coal Board. But by capitulating to the demand for a five-day week - indeed, encouraging the idea via films like this - the NCB could stave off more drastic action, and a formal agreement was duly concluded with the NUM in May 1947."

It could be presumed that the mines being taken under public ownership and it being the Labour Party forming the government of the country negotiations would be easier. But the author of the above has probably summed it up correctly when he hints that talks could be difficult with frequent disagreements.

The five day week was still the subject of much discussion and disagreement during the State of the Nation debate in the House of Commons on the 6th August 1947. This was to a backdrop of the country, led by Prime Minister Clement Atlee, being heavily in debt to Canada and the USA, having taken an emergency loan to buy time to rebalance the economy and boost production. There was a great need for increased production in all manner of industries, where there was now a lack of skills, lack of machinery, spare parts and a lack of housing to attract labour. The country was too heavily dependant on foreign imports and was no longer able to afford them. Attlee was being criticised by the opposition for his heavy subsidies which they said were pernicious. They were also critical of Britain's workforce who it was felt were work-shy and not doing their bit to help the country recover. The opposition felt that it was the wrong time to introduce a five-day week when increased output was needed. Attlee had to concede that an agreement had been reached for Saturday working when need arose. Interestingly, in the late 1980s I once interviewed an elderly ex-miner of Burradon Colliery, Bill Wardle, who told me nationalisation had been very welcome. Previously the miners had been on piece work and had worked hard to earn a basic pay. After vesting day they didn't push themselves any harder than they had to.

The matter was once again debated in Parliament on 12 February 1948 when the Prime Minister had to defend that there wasn't enough production and more man hours were needed. However Atlee stated that even if there was a seven day week the demand could still not be satisfied.

The National Union of Mineworkers have this to say on the five day week on their website:

"Vesting Day, January 1, 1947, saw the nationalisation of Britain's coal industry. Mining communities believed this marked the winning of an epic struggle for decent wages, family security and public ownership of a vital resource.

On Vesting Day, miners and their families marched in thousands behind banners and colliery bands to the pit heads. They cheered. and some openly wept, as the blue and white flag of the National Coal Board was unfurled above them. They crowded round the unveiled plaques which proclaimed:

'This colliery is now managed by the National Coal Board on behalf of the people.'

The five-day week was won at last in the famous Agreement of 1947, while miners wages began to rise steadily, by 1950, they were at the top of the industrial wages league, in startling contrast to the starvation pay of pre-war private enterprise.

Soon, however, hopes and dreams began to sour as miners became increasingly aware that private ownership has been replaced by State rather than common ownership. It was now apparent that control and management of the industry had been left in the hands of those who had previously been either managers or actual owners of private mines."

1951 Sep 23 - A purpose-built colliery canteen and baths was opened on land opposite Office Row.

1951 Oct 01 - An explosion occurred at Weetslade Colliery killing five men. The bodies were not recovered for over a year.

1952 Jan 19 - Festival Cottages, on the site of Lane Row, were officially opened on this day.

1952 Dec 22 - Burradon Terraces were modernised by installing hot and cold water provision and new fireplaces.

1953 - Miners were given a fortnight's paid holiday.

1953 Jan 15 - The post office was transferred to its present location on Burradon Road, which was under the ownership of the Campbells.

1955 Jan 14 - The installation of electric lighting was completed in the colliery-owned houses. The work had been carried out by colliery electricians. Prior to this, the houses had been lit by gas lamps.

1958 Oct - The Victoria Picture House closed.

1960-62 - Housing on Burradon Road (Mean's Arch) was demolished.

1960 - Electric street lighting was installed along Burradon Bank towards Annitsford and also installed within the power station.

1961 - Electric street lighting was installed on the road from Burradon to Dudley.

1961 Apr 22 - A tea room was built onto the Welfare Hall and was officially opened on this day.

1962 Jan 17 - Tenants were given the keys to new bungalows on Weetslade Terrace.

1964 - Robert Parker became the manager of the Co-op.

1964 Apr 05 - A new "United" bus service was started from Morpeth to Whitley Bay via Burradon.

1966 May 29 - The long-standing headmaster of Burradon School, Robert Hindmarch, died aged 86 years.

1966 - The two houses at the end of Front Street, Camperdown, opposite the Halfway House, were demolished.

1966 - Weetslade Colliery was closed, one year after having a new shaft installed at the cost of one million pounds.

1968 Jul 08 - Tenants were given keys to the first of the houses of Shillaw Place and Means Drive which were built to replace the soon to be demolished colliery rows.

1968 Aug 22 - A ceremony was held to celebrate the building of the 3000th house by Longbenton Urban District Council. This was 85 Means Drive, the keys of which were handed to Mr A. Wardle the chairman of the Council.

1960s - The site of the former Hill Head Farm was taken over by the Local Authority during the time of the erection of Killingworth township. A large portion of the land was used to create a tree and shrub nursery and was instrumental in supplying the new Killingworth Township development. A depot was also built on this site - almost identically on the site of the old farmhouse - which had a building comprising: toilets, offices, men's room and an area for tractors, and other vehicles to be parked overnight. A fenced off area surrounding the depot was a storage place for raw materials - gravel, cement, playground equipment etc., and also the trees and shrubs. Work squads were based here for both playground maintenance and the shrub nursery. In 1980, the nursery was described as holding annually more than £40,000 of stock.

1969 Jun 27 - The postmistress, Dorothy Shanks, died. She had previously worked for Joseph Bolton when he was the postmaster and took over his business on his death. The post office was relocated to its present position after this date, ran by Frank Maughan.

1971 - Population 1590. In 1931 there were 2273 persons.

1973 Sep 06 - The Co-op reopened, after a refit, to become a self-service outlet.

1975 Nov 05 - Burradon Colliery closed.

1976 Jul 01 - North Tyneside Council approved a recommendation from the Recreation and Amenities Committee to purchase the Burradon Miner's Welfare (recreation) Ground from the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation. The Ground had previously been administered and financed by the workforce of the colliery, but this had closed the previous year.

1977 Jul 14 - This piece on the closure of the Seaton Burn Wagonway appeared in the Evening Chronicle: "The line running through Burradon was closed down this week. This is a two mile stretch of track which runs from Hollwell junction to the Washery at Weetslade. It was most recently used to carry coals from Eccles colliery, Backworth to the Washery. The closure of Burradon and Havannah collieries meant the closure of the line was inevitable..."

1979 - The pavilion in the recreation grounds, for keeping rackets and golf clubs etc, was pulled down.

1979 - Strawberry Terrace was renovated and relived in.

1980 - The power station, United Methodist chapel and pit baths were demolished.

1981 Feb 17 - The Evening Chronicle reported on a public meeting to be held to discuss the future of the recreation (Welfare) ground and hall.

1981 - Population 1680 (up 5.66% on 1971) in 577 dwellings; 2.91 persons per dwelling.

1981 Jun 10 - A ceremony was held on Kirklands estate where Wimpey were building 106 partnership homes, to hand over the first keys to Mr John Bailey and wife Gladys. [The partnership was between the council and private builders where first time buyers could purchase their houses at a special discount rate.] EC

1983 Nov 10 - The long-standing doctor to the community, John Dagg, died this day.

1984 Jan 20 - The Primitive Methodist chapel on Burradon Road was demolished and the construction of houses on the site was quickly begun.

1984 Feb - Norah Place, on Camperdown's Front Street, was renovated and reoccupied.

1984 Jul 07 - This piece entitled "Life on the Farm" was featured in the Evening Chronicle: "Farmer Will Younger is opening up the farm to the public next week. Visitors can see machinery, go round cowsheds and pick strawberries."

1984 - The housing of Cheviot Grange was erected by building firm Barratt.

1989 - An application was made to North Tyneside Council to dump building waste on the site of the colliery by W and M Thompson Ltd, who had purchased the site. Villagers, headed by Tony Isbister, thought that this may pose a danger and spread vermin and got up a petition to stop the proposal. North Tyneside Council turned down the application and instead balloted the villagers as to the future of the pit site. 61% of those who returned their ballot paper were in favour of a reclamation scheme involving the creation of a woodland and some land being returned to agricultural use.

Approx Line of 90 Fathom Dyke and Outcrop at Cullercoats

Coal Drops on the Tyne

Horse-Drawn Wagonway at Wideopen Colliery

Pit Row Housing

The Seaton Burn Wagonway Tunnels and Cutting