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The first product was the slitting of
iron for nail making. Nail making continued in
Bedlington until the middle of the 19th
century. At the beginning of that century Michael
Longridge, a friend of George and Robert Stephenson,
came to the works as the manager. It was under his
direction that the works was to play an important part
in the development of the railways, namely the patenting
of a malleable iron rail in 1820, which was to replace
the cast iron short rail then in use. In addition, as
many as 215 engines were produced for locomotives at the
ironworks, before it finally closed down in 1867 due to
competition from other concerns.
By the end of the 19th
century Bedlington was becoming notable as a coalfield
village. The influential and powerful 'Bedlington Coal
Company' was founded in 1838, producing their first coal
in 1841. By 1909, there were as many as ten collieries
producing coal in the area. In 1974 the last of these
collieries ceased production.
In the centre of the village there is
one main street, 'Front Street', which is very wide and
spacious, and almost one mile in length. There is also
an 18th century market cross, in the shape of
an obelisk, which separates the West End of Front Street
from the East End.
One of the most important historic
buildings is the parish church, which is dedicated to St
Cuthbert. It is reputed that the church takes its
dedication from an event that occurred December 12th
1069. Fleeing northwards from the Conqueror's army, the
monks of Durham are said to have rested the body of St
Cuthbert in Bedlington Church. The church, originally of
Saxon design was rebuilt about a hundred years later.
Little of either the Saxon or the Norman church have
survived.
Today, Bedlington is an
attractive market town and residential area for those
who work in South Northumberland and Tyneside. The main
visitor attraction is the Bedlington Country Park.
Some
Other History
There are a number of
documents which are of interest of the village of
Bedlington during the period that the Henderson’s were
resident.
| There is a small extract of
the Bedlington St. Cuthbert's Burial Register
(1779 – 1812). Who is the one example? A John
Henderson, aged 60, who died in 1804 by drowning in the river. If we
can trace backwards this is perhaps a relative.
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| There is also an extract from
the Bedlington Overseers' of the Poor account book, 1734
to 1783. Interestingly of the £ 17.11.11 disbursed £3.18.00
was for Henderson and wife for 4 quarters. Were we a
drain on the economy in 1743?
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There follows two extracts
from Parson & White's trade directory of 1828, which
refers to the town and parish of Bedlington. Trade
directories were first produced in the 18th century but
became popular in the 19th century. They usually include
a short history of the parish, town or village followed
by a list of important people who lived or worked in the
area. These would include persons of social status, for
example, the local landowner and the vicar, followed by
a list of farmers and trades people. Directories
continued to be published at regular intervals until the
mid 20th century.
The first extract is a
detailed Description
of the village. This is very interesting and I
suggest you read as it gives an idea of the village and
a fascinating account of the demise of a sleepwalker
Cuthbert Watson!
The second is a note of the Parish Directory showing the “gentlemen” of the village, the more
important people, the vicar, a bookkeeper, the parish
clerk, governor of the workhouse (also the constable!),
the baker, corn miller, surgeon etc. Then all the lesser tradesmen, the
blacksmiths, boot and shoe makers, butchers, farmers,
grocers, joiners, milliners and tailors, nail makers and
stone masons. Also the Inns and Public Houses and
perhaps of interest is that Thomas Henderson was the
landlord of the Dunn Cow pub. The father of John
Henderson born 1818 was Thomas but he was recorded as a
labourer so unlikely to be him but perhaps a relative.
Another very interesting
document bearing in mind the Henderson family were
living there until 1853 is this Cholera Outbreak Report taken from the information sent to the
General Board of Health for Morpeth concerning the
reasons behind an outbreak of cholera in Bedlington in
1849. This is pretty frightening account of living
conditions, lack of sewerage etc but perhaps not
untypical of living conditions in the middle of the 19th
century.
To give you an idea of the
layout of the village an ordnance
map of 1860 of Bedlington is available
Photographs of Bedlington in the 19th
century and later can be found here
Some photographs of the town
in the early 20th
Century photos.
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