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It was on the 17th. June 1871 that John Bowes and Partners
commenced to draw coal from Wardley Colliery but it has a far older
history going further back than the early 13th century and the ancient Manor House of Wardley which was built by Prior Hugh de Darlington and
occupied as a summer retreat by the monks of Jarrow. In 995, when the body of St Cuthbert was moved from Lindisfarne due to the ravages of the Danes, it is supposed by some, that Wardley is where the corpse of St Cuthbert became immovable and after three days of fasting, watching and prayers, the wandering monks received the revelation that directed them to Durham and the place where the cathedral and castle were built. When the ecclesiasticals fled Durham in 1069 with the body of St Cuthbert, they again visited the area on the way to Lindisfarne. During the time of Bishop Gallfrid in 1133 it was written that "The manor of Folauncby (Follonsby) was created out of the waste of Heworth, sixty acres being held by John de Cupum and John Heberne, at ten shillings and seven and sixpence per annum, respectively", The Priory Rolls c1264 say that Prior Hugh de Darlington "built at Wardelay a hall, a court and a chapel, which the Scots later destroyed". At this time, when Robert Stitchell was Bishop of Durham, the manor of Wardley was assigned to the Prior and his officials for use as a lodging and in which to hold meetings of the Halmote Courts which managed the affairs of the vill of Heworth and district. Before a court of this kind convened at Wardley by Prior Richard de Hotoun in the year 1296, four persons attended who were tenants of the Prior, they were named Gilbert, son of Alfred, Alicia, wife of Patricii, William son of Simon and Robertus Bercarius who were all "confirmed in their holdings and rearrangements effected in their rents and services". Later in the same session, a number of other persons, some who were described as malefactors, including Thomas the Miller of Pampeden (Pandon in Newcastle) were fined for tresspass in the wood of the Lord Prior at Heworth. Another court assembled in the same place in 1309 granted Andreae Bouennye de Araste, for a period of seven years, all the lands of the Manor of Wardley, with all its minerals and wood, together with valuable concessions in the adjoining Manor of Heworth. Extracts from the Register of Bishop Kellowe show that Wardley was a place of some importance in the year of 1313, in which William de Tanfield, on account of his age and infirmity, retired from his position as prior of Durham and accepted the cell of Jarrow with the privilege of residing in the manor-house at Wardley. During the early 1300's the Scots destroyed the Prior's House and on the site was built the Manor House of Wardley which was enclosed by a deep fosse with an earthen mound on the outer side. On the six acre site were fish ponds and gardens. Prior Robert de Walworthe visited the township in 1375, accompanied by his Bursar Sir Thomas Surtees of Dinsdale and Felling. He stayed at the Manor House at Wardley, which had been restored to its former condition. The Brandling family came into possession of the manor by 1530. The Priory Bursar recorded that year that among his purchases were three hogsheads of claret from “Radulpho Brandlynge, manerium de Wardley" at a cost of £4 15s, and some barrels of honey at a price of 25 shillings. The annual rental for the manor was £8 13s 4p. Mrs Ursula Brandling, who died September 9th 1593, bequeathed to her son Richard Brandling "various implements of husbandry, corn etc. at Wardley" In 1536 the monastic institutions were confiscated by Henry the Eighth when he broke with the Catholic Church and in 1540 the ancient abbey of Durham and its Prior was replaced be a new college of secular priests established under the style of the Dean and Chapter. All the rights, liberties, privileges and land previously held by the Prior were restored by royal grant to the Chapter. By an act of the Dean and Chapter dated July 20th 1567, the valuable tithes of the Manors of Wardley, Felling and Heworth, aggregating a sum of fifty shillings a year was annexed to the revenues of the 7th Prebendary of Durham Cathedral. By 1660 Robert Ellison (the family are remembered by Gateshead's Ellison Street where Tesco’s now stands) owned the manor and by 1730 Cuthbert Ellison held the manor which was divided into five farns: Thistley House, Ling (Lingey) House, Cowper Lane, South Wardley and Wardley Manor House Farm. The older generation of Wardley people today would know three of them as belonging to Gallon, Gillespy and Amos. The last tenant of Manor House Farm was Nick Bamling, although by then it had long since ceased to be a farm, as had Cowper Lane farm at Bill Quay. A Scotsman, Lord Rutherford, resided as a tenant of Wardley Manor in 1700 where it was set apart as a "dissenting meeting house" for the followers of the rejected Presbyterian vicar Frances Batty of Jarrow. On a 1723 Dean and Chapter Estate map, a wooden waggonway through Wardley is shown. It brought coal from Washington pits to Bill Quay staiths. In 1793 its description was "The waggonway, to Tyne at the Bill Quay is 4 miles long and three gaits is found to be a fair day's work for the horses = 24 miles, but with the branches to the different pits may be stated as 25 miles at the least. It is a wooden way, the waggons drawn by horses from Washington, the empty waggons being taken round by Hainingwood Farm". It travelled north from Gingling Gate and passed behind Lingey Farmhouse (Gillespy's) and crossed Sunderland Road at Priestley Gardens where the Washington Waggonway House once stood. The house would have been built about 1798 for a gatekeeper after the Monkwearmouth bridge had been opened and the Sunderland to Newcastle Turnpike road constructed. Known as Slater's Cottage, it was unoccupied and damaged when a tree fell on it c1914 and was demolished. The waggonway then crossed over where Kirkwood Gardens now stands and onto Station Road and down to Bill Quay staiths. It was owned by William Russell of Heworth Hall (it is now Heworth Conservative Club) and was last mentioned in the Heworth rates book in 1824. In 1821, the great land and pit owners known as "The Grand Allies" investigated the cost of building a railway from their colliery at Stanley to Jarrow-on-Tyne, passing through Wardley. George Stephenson's plan was accepted and the line opened on the 17th January 1826. At Springwell the waggons were transferred to a rope operated incline which took them to Springwell Bank Foot sheds at Gingling Gate. The next 4½ miles were worked by locomotives through Wardley to Jarrow staiths. This era saw the growth of the trade union movement and it was at Boldon Fell, the land behind Wardley's White Mare Pool, that tens of thousands of miners with their banners came to hear Thomas Hepburn and others speak on the 3rd March 1832 in defence of better working conditions. A similar mass meeting took place in 1844 and "The Fell" continued to hold such activity until the end of the century as a convenient assembly point for trade unionists from South Shields, Sunderland, Springwell and Gateshead. Thomas Hepburn is interred at St.Mary's Church, Heworth, and a graveside service is still held annually and attended by trade unionists and other community leaders. The Brandling Junction Railway to South Shields and Wearmouth was opened in 1839. For many years this must have been the most convenient, if not the only means of transport for Wardley people, especially when Pelaw Station was much further to the east than it is today and nearly in Wardley itself. It was outside this earlier railway station that two curling ponds were build either side of Mr.Palmers coach road and which later, probably due to warmer winters, were turned into tennis courts. During the steam train era, Pelaw Junction was a busy intersection of three lines, South Shields, Sunderland and Leamside. It was here that the North Eastern Railway built a reservoir on the Wardley side of the Junction, and in later years, a nearby row of Bowes houses was called Reservoir Street. A row of four North Eastern Cottages were beside the reservoir and at one time the Pelaw Station manager lived in one. Over the Leamside Line were two more railway cottages. In September 1885 one of the two houses was occupied by William Eastgate, a porter at the Station, his wife Mary Ann and their three children. One Friday night after leaving the Felling train at the station and after speaking to her husband who was on duty, Mrs. Eastgate tried to save a few minutes by crossing the railway lines with her children instead of using the nearby footbridge when they were hit by the Sunderland train. Mrs Eastgate and two of her children, George and Ellen, died from the terrible injuries they received in the accident. Felling Coal Company, owned by the Carr brothers, started sinking the shaft at Wardley in 1854 but work was abandoned in 1856 when they hit a large influx of water. In the colliery accounts for 1855, the Sinker's Lodge was built at a cost of £28 1s 9d and Sinker's Row, which later became part of First Street, was built The site was then bought by George Elliott, a local pit owner, and in 1862 only the Benshaim seam was being worked. The pit was then resold to John Bowes and Partners who resumed sinking to the Hutton seam around 1868 and commenced drawing coal on the 17th June 1871. Alfred Septimus Palmer, the brother of Charles Mark Palmer of Jarrow's shipyards, had arrived at Wardley three years earlier to oversee the construction work and was the manager and agent. His home "Wardley Hall" was built in 1873 and is now the British Legion Club. The house was on higher ground and the part of Sunderland Road leading to his residence has since been known as "Palmers Bank". Their father was Captain George Palmer who was a partner in the firm of Palmer, Beckwith & Co., exporters and timber merchants of Newcastle. At the beginning of the 1800's the Tyne possessed a fleet of Greenland Whalers and for many years Captain Palmer had commanded the Sunderland built whaling ship the "Cove of Cork" and in later years became the M.P. for South Shields. In the 1871 census only 35 dwelling places made of rough-hewn quarry stone are listed for Wardley Colliery and no street names existed. Over the next three years the colliery village was constructed by the owners. The houses were first built with no guttering on the front and this allowed the rain, charged with industrial additives from Felling factories, to leave a fungus having an unpleasant odour over the face of the new buildings. In March 1874 there were 632 people working at the pit and over 100 families were living in the long streets of Smokey Row and Waggonway Row. Each couple of houses at the front had a pair of ash middens with an ash pit every four houses situated midway between the two rows. You had to cross the front street to get to them. This was because the houses were built with no back door which, at the time, was probably a blessing as nearby "ran an open sewer eighteen inches wide, full of reeking filth, of the consistency of thick gruel or thin porridge.... it may be supposed that when a good rainfall happens it spreads it all over the neighbourhood in readiness for such fermentation as bright sunshine can effect". The sole supply of water for the whole of South Wardley stood in the centre of a spacious triangle bordered by Waggonway Row, the Sunderland Turnpike Road and Pump Row. One of the rows also had its middens and pigstys in this area. Unfortunatly, among this, "In a gentle hollow, to admit of a through drainage of the pig-crays and midden-steads into it, stands the village well!". It was big enough for a pit shaft and very deep. Across it were laid four big balks of wood and on this stood a pumping machine. Some of the residents complained that the "water was brackish, yellow, full of sediment and generally revolting". Any drinkable water was obtained "from the mouths of field drains". Near the pit stood a "drill-shed”. This served the people of Wardley in a number of ways and was considered an "eminently useful institution". It served as a "day school, a lecture and entertainment hall on week nights, and on Sundays it serves the turn of two or three sorts of Methodists". It was hoped that once the houses under construction were completed that the unsightly rubbish, drains, roads and so on, would be put right and look like the short row of houses near the pit (South Row, later to be called Quality Terrace) which looked "as neat and clean as school children on Easter Sunday". There was still much concern about conditions in the village and in 1874, Dr. Cresswell, the medical officer for Heworth Local Board, reported in strong language the conditions at Wardley and the Board wrote to the owners ordering them to put the place into a sanitary state within twenty eight days. If this was not done the Local Authorities would do it without further delay and charge the owners with the expense. Ten years later, in the 1881 census, were listed Railway Row, Smokey Row, Waggonway Row, Pump Row, Reservoir Row, Palmers Row, Double Row East, Double Row West, Sinkers Row, South Row and Turnpike Row were built and the population was 1,569 (835 males and 734 females). By 1891 the streets were renamed and known as First, Second and Third Street, Reservoir Street and Quality Terrace on the north side of the colliery, Waggonway Street, Sunderland Terrace and The Square (also known as Pump Row) on the south. Wardley Colliery board school was opened in 1879 for the growing number of local children. It was originally for 180 infants but in 1908/9 an adjoining Junior School was added, with a separate entrance and playground for the boys.
News of a
great disaster at Seaham Colliery in 1880 brought another miner's
demonstration on "The Fell". Joseph Hopper, remembered by Windy Nook's
Joseph Hopper Homes, who at the time lived at 12 Palmers Row (which later
became Third Street) and worked at Wardley Colliery, urged better
ventilation and inspection of the mines and a resolution condemning night
shift as an "unnatural system" was passed. A Wardley Branch of the Durham
Franchise League was formed at a meeting in the New Connection Chapel in
October 1881 when Joseph Hopper addressed the audience on parliamentary
representation. He advocated a redistribution of seats and a revision of
the Land Acts (only home owners had the right to vote) and support for the
Northern Reform League. At a public meeting the following November,
Mr.Hopper gave a talk at Wardley on the "Protection of the Defenceless".
He was a Guardian and School Board man and had become very concerned about
the welfare of young children, pointing out that there were more laws "to
protect animals than there were for the helpless children of drunken
undutiful parents". He advocated a change in the law and that "Inspectors
of Nuisances" become "Inspectors of Health" and that it should be their
business to enquire into every case of distress and uphold the cause of
the helpless. He concluded that "a large amount of money that was now
spent in the public house would then be spent on providing food and
clothing for those who were pinched and starving" and that a new Social
Reform League be inaugurated. The motion was passed and officers elected
the following week. The time Joseph Hopper spent at Wardley was an example
of how he spent his life. His great concern was for retired mineworkers
who became homeless when they had to leave the colliery owners property.
He went on to form The Durham Aged Mineworkers Homes Association in 1896
which still exists today. They still update their property and recently
the 70 year old homes at Stirling Lane, Rowlands Gill, were demolished and
rebuilt on the same site and opened in August 1997. When he passed away he
was buried at St.Alban's Churchyard at Windy Nook. His funeral was
attended by two Members of Parliament, County Councillors, Magistrates,
and many others who wished to pay their last respects and show
appreciation of his life. John Errington was born in Haswell, Co Durham in 1855 and started down the pit at 10 years of age. When 12, a tub crushed his leg and he was unable to work for 3 years. His time was not wasted and when sufficiently recovered he was sent to school to get an education. The family moved to Shotton Colliery where he restarted work at the local mine. His intelligence was soon recognised by his fellow workmen when he was elected their checkweighman and Lodge Secretary. Later, the colliery owners said they were working at a loss and were determined to close the pit and gave notice to all employees. After some negotiations it was arranged that the colliery continue working with a 10% reduction in the men's wages. All the notices were withdrawn except Mr.Errington's. The men decided they would not start without him but he prevailed upon them, saying he was a single man without dependants while they had wives and children to provide for and that he would rather leave the colliery than be the cause of all the hardship that a stoppage would entail. His pleadings prevailed and at the age of 21, in 1876, he left Shotton Colliery to live at Wardley. He was still a marked man but, luckily, among his other accomplishments, he had a great knowledge of music and was invited to practice with the brass band. He was noticed by Mr.A.S.Palmer and was offered work on the Colliery screens. He was again appointed checkweighman in 1880, a position he held until 1904 when he left the pit to take up the position of agent for the Miners Permanent Relief Fund. It was said “he belonged to the type of trade unionist which John Wilson and Thomas Burt are such splendid examples" and that his "best energies and thoughts were devoted to the well-being of the men of Wardley during the 24 years or so that he served them as their guide and friend". As did other mining villages, Wardley built a Primitive Methodist Chapel next to the school in 1884. It was very popular among the pit folk, more so than the New Connection Methodist Chapel located in a terraced colliery owned house at 12 Second Street. They went on to build the Robert Clayton Memorial Chapel (known by local people as "the Tin Chapel") near the Miners Welfare Hall which was in 1919 to become St Aidan's Mission, an outreach of St Mary's Church at Heworth,
Beside the
pit bridge built over the Leamside railway line stands a large brick
building which has inscribed on a stone plaque in it's wall Woodbine House
1888. It is remembered by Wardleyites as the Post Office and paper shop,
which it was from 1911 until 1939. In 1886 the Post Office was located at
63 Reservoir Street and the sub-postmaster was 65 year old South Shields
born George Lovely.
Wardley's
other pubs were the White Mare Pool and the Railway Hotel. The "Pool" gave
its name to ale houses on this site probably from the 1650's. It was for
sale in 1807 and it was advertised in the Newcastle Chronicle on March
21st : "To be let by Proposal, and entered upon at May next, all that
capital and well accustomed Inn, at the White Mare Pool, now in the
occupation of Mr Brack Shorter, situated at the turnpike Road from
Newcastle to Sunderland and nearly at equal distance from each place, on
which road there is an improving trade by the increase of stage-coaches
etc. The tenant, if required, may be accommodated with two fields,
containing from 8 to 10 acres: and a Blacksmiths and Cartwrights shop and
forge is also attached, if required. Proposals will be received by Mr.Wm
Hodson at Follonsby". Opposite, and on the Sunderland Turnpike Road, was the Railway Hotel which was built before 1860 and named after the nearby Leamside railway line which opened in 1850. Annie McCracken remembers William Teasdale, who was the landlord in 1908, having a single storey building erected at the gable end for use as a Temperance Room for those who abstained from alcoholic drink. In its later years, the "John McCowie Lodge of the Royal Ante-Diluvian Order of Buffalo's (Wardley)" held their meetings at the Railway Hotel after holding them for many years at the White Mare Pool. The "Railway" was demolished in the late sixties when they built Felling by-pass and the Lodge moved to the Royal Turf in Felling. Over 600 people attended when the Reverend James Steel opened the two storey Miners Hall and Reading Room in August 1889. The building was burned down in January 1938 and was rebuilt the following year as a single floored welfare hall which was demolished c1990. Morgan Robinson, the sinker and undermanager of Wardley pit for 17 years, died in 1888 aged 73 years. He had been a pitman from a boy and saw the first ten ton of coal brought to the surface. This was later to rise to 1,200 tons a day. He and his wife were held in high regard by the colliery people who erected at High Usworth cemetery a headstone to his wife with the inscription "This monument was erected by the workmen of Wardley Colliery and other friends as a token of their esteem for her, and also to record their great regard and sincere sympathy for her bereaved husband". The inscription says of Morgan that he was "For 17 years viewer of Wardley Colliery, much and deservedly respected". A great tragedy occurred during a day trip to Roker by Wardley people on Saturday July 26th 1890. Five people, George and Mary Ann Knight, George Johnson and his 2 year old daughter Jane Ellen and a 29 year old man called Peter Gill, hired a boat and went out to sea and were drowned. It was assumed that when changing places, instead of passing between the occupants of the middle seat one of the men had stepped on the side and overbalanced the boat with terrible consequences. This had happened many times with inexperienced day trippers. Although it is now in poor condition, what was once a grand headstone which must have been bought by public subscription, marks the spot where they all lie in a common grave near the Church Hall south wall at St Mary's Heworth. Continuing to seek improvements to their living conditions, a deputation of Wardley miners consisting of T.Owens, R.Wood, J.Gill and G.Donnelly (who two years later became a Councillor) attended a Felling Council meeting in September 1905. They stated that their houses had smokey chimneys which among other things, spoilt all the food in the houses. There was insufficient accommodation, in some houses there were 8 or 9 of a family in 2 rooms. The deputation suggested that the owners be called upon to remedy the defects. They were told that this was not in the province of the local Authority, however, if "their medical officer certified the houses unfit for human habitation pressure could be brought to bear on the owners and, in view of the excellent work done in this direction in the past, remedial measures may fairly be expected to be secured by the Sanitary Committee to whom the matter is referred". William Hall, who was also known as Gateshead Hall, of Wardley Colliery was made a Freeman of Newcastle in June 1907. He had came to Wardley in 1870 and was back overman for over 30 years. He was well read and an ardent Liberal in politics. The colliery owners had recognised his long and faithful service and awarded him a £1 a week pension on his retirement in 1909. It was at this time that Wardley Rovers Cycling Club had its headquarters at "Woodbine House, there was a cricket club with a wooden pavilion on the Wardley Lane ground and two football teams, Wardley Athletic and Wardley United. The Wardley branch of St Johns Ambulance Association had a thriving uniform section, which was encouraged by the colliery management, and the Independent Order of Rechabites had an active children’s group called "The Hope of Wardley". The sinking of nearby Follonsby Colliery started on the 30th September 1907 by Bowes and Partners and Follonsby Terrace was built and temporarily housed the sinkers. The East Boldon firm of sinkers, James Johnson and Sons Ltd, originally built 8 houses in the Terrace when they were awarded the contract on Nov.7th 1907. Bricklayers were paid at the hourly rate of is per hour (5p) and labourers 8d an hour (just over 3p an hour). The houses were completed by August 1908 and cost £1,806 13s or approximately £225 18s per house. In later years, a larger, bay windowed house was built on both ends of the street, they housed the pit manager and the colliery engineer. The pit was in operation by Oct.1912 but, sadly, Wardley Colliery had closed on 30th December, stunning the local community which depended on it for a living. Luckily, many were to find work 9 months later at Follonsby which, in later years, became known as Wardley No.1 pit. There is an inscription on the Methodist Church organ in Thorne Avenue which is dedicated to the 37 men"of this Church and village who fell and served in the Great War 1914-1918". They included Richard Harker, Thomas Laing and George Dale, surnames that would be recognised around the Wardley area today. A "War Hero's Fund" was set up and its treasurer was Councillor Tom Smith and a well attended special meeting was held in the Miners Welfare Hall on May 23rd where it was unanimously decided that 2p a week should be deducted weekly from the men’s wages for the duration of the war, and such a period after the war as determined by a special meeting. Presentations were given to some of the men on September 15th when a large company of workmen, officials and friends assembled at the Miners Hall to present gold watches and gold alberts with appendage to their fellow workmen who had gained military honours for distinguished service in France. P.O. William Brown, R.N.D., was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He rallied the infantry and greatly assisted in saving the situation at a critical time. He displayed great courage and determination throughout the operation. P.O. John Walker R.N.D., was awarded the Military Medal. During an attack on the Arras section on April 23rd, all the officers had fallen and he took charge of the company and secured the objective, vis the village of Gavrelle. Private John Felton, N.F. was awarded the Military Medal. During an attack on Somme on July 1st 1916, his company ran short of ammunition. Although wounded in the left shoulder, he ran across open ground exposed to heavy fire and twice succeeded in bringing supplies of ammunition and thereby saving the position. He was afterwards also wounded in the right thigh. Private John Clough R.A.M.C. was awarded the Military Medal. During an attack on September 1916 he rendered First Aid and brought in wounded comrades from the front under continuous enemy shell fire. Others who gained distinction for meritorious service were Sargent Robert Wray Smith R.A.M.C., Military Medal and P.O. William Punton R.N.D. Distinguished Service Medal. In 1913 George Harvey arrived at Wardley from Pelton Fell and became the checkweighman (elected March 1913) and union representative of the workmen. He was an ardent supporter of the 1917 Russian revolution and I am told, upstairs in the Miners Hall, the walls were decorated in classical revolutionary socialist murals. It was upon Harvey's and the Lodge's suggestion in 1922 that May Day in the area would be celebrated with processions and meetings. A radical figure of the time, the communist M.P. for North Battersea, the Indian Shapurji Saklatvala, was invited to speak to one of their open air public meetings. It was at this time, along with a number of other mining communities in the district, that Wardley earned the nickname "Little Moscow”. Using scrap from a local shipyard and what could be salvaged from the pit yard, an "Ivy Leaf Club" was built after the Great War by the "Wardley Branch of Discharged and Demobilised Soldiers and Sailors" beside the school and close to the reservoir. Shortly afterwards, in 1921, it became the British Legion. Some of its founders were Llewellyn Green, he remained its secretary for over 25 years, and Thomas (Topper) Simpson who was Chairman for 16 years. The Legion moved to "Woodbine House" after the Post Office went to West Crescent in 1939 and moved again in 1955 to Wardley Hall (known locally as Palmers Hall) where they are today.
The
Co-operative store was opened in 1922 next to St Aidan's Chapel, its
manager was Arthur Charlton. Other members of staff were Jasper Patterson,
Arthur Smith, Logan Gray and Meg Barnes was the cashier. In 1930, Jimmy
Knox was transferred from Felling Shore and became manager. Mr.Charlton
moved to the newly built Co-op store at the bottom of The Drive at Heworth.
Later staff members were Tommy Knott, Billy Brass, Billy West, Ralph
"Chilly" Thompson, Jasper Patterson and Ria Gage. Albert Lamb brought the
Co-op butchers horse and cart around the pit village. Prior to its
arrival, Wardley had a fair number of "house shops" and wooden
constructions such as Simpson's in Reservoir Street, Peter Blands in First
Street; he later had a wooden hut next to a fish and chip shop opposite
the school, Tommy Moore's butchers shop, Halliday's chip shop and Arthur
Gemma's were at the bottom of Waggonway Street. Elijah Ashman's fish and
chip shop was opposite Pump Row behind Ellison's shop which Jimmy Ellison
had built in 1911. Felling U.D.C. annual report for 1919 said there was a great need for houses with more bedroom accommodation at Wardley, out of 316 houses 122 consisted of two roomed houses and much overcrowding prevailed. It was decided to make larger accommodation from the back to back houses in Second Street by knocking down the dividing wall. New accommodation of 24 houses with three bedrooms was built in 1922 and named West Crescent to temporarily re-house the tenants while alterations took place. The following year a further 18 homes in three small terraces was built. The Joyce family were one of the first to move into these new houses along with those of Chisholm, Irons, Salkirk, Guardhouse, Buck, Watson and Davidson. After this "The Crescent" was considered a place where the pit officials lived and also the local policeman. In the 50's Anderson's fish and chip shop opened at the end of the Crescent and later the land and building were used for "A & M Partners" a road construction equipment business. In 1970, J.Murphy and Son applied for permission to erect a single story building on the site for use as a welding school but it was rejected by Felling Planning Committee due to the close proximity of houses. A children’s play area was built between the Co-op store and the Bowes railway line about 1926-27. It contained swings, slide, seesaw, an ocean wave (also called a tea pot lid) and a joy wheel, which was also named a "Big Lizzie". I'm told that at the opening ceremony the adults enjoyed themselves more than the children and that one of the ladies, Mrs.Dowd, broke a leg trying out the "Ocean Wave". The rest of the welfare ground, with its bowling green, tennis courts, football and cricket pitch was completed around the same time. During the 1926 national strike many miners from outside the area came to hear trade union and socialist leaders speak at Wardley and had pitched their tents in the field which later became the welfare ground.
Towards the end of the 1920's the Air Ministry was encouraging local
authorities around the country to consider the importance of air travel.
Many of the regions local authorities came together to discuss the
options. Among them were Felling, Washington and Whickham Urban District
Councils, Jarrow Borough and South Shields Rural District. An initial list
of five sites was considered and finally whittled down to one, which was
the
White Mare Pool, Wardley.
A triangular piece of land about 200 acres was chosen. The northern
boundary was Leam Lane, the southern Follonsby Lane and the eastern, the
tracks of Leamside Railway Line. Development costs were estimated at
£24,058, which would be shared out, for example Gateshead paying £4,063
and South Shields £5,020 18s. In 1930 as the plans became firmer, rivalry
set in. Sunderland pulled out and championed the use of Usworth and
Newcastle began to make alternative plans for an aerodrome at Brunton. The
big guns of Durham County Council came in to support the White Mare Pool
and the wrangling continued until 1939. The Silver Jubilee celebrations were held on both sides of the colliery in May 1935 (the Bowes Pontop railway line was a distinct division through the village and separated it into "wor side" and "yon side"). About 160 children sat down to tea on the green in the Square. The chief organiser of the fete was Mrs. Jas Ovington and the tea was provided by friends and neighbours, milk from the local farmers and the popular ice cream man, Louie Fuzaro presented each child with an ice cream sandwich. A week later, on May 18th, the British Legion concert hall was used to entertain 253 children to a splendid tea, fun and sports was organised by Messrs D.Ball, Johnson and Hardy. The following Tuesday evening 133 mothers were entertained to a social evening in the Miners Hall, then 31 of "our own auld folks" from 70-90 years of age and all the widows were provided with a high tea and social evening in the Legion concert hall organised by Mrs.Coulson and Mrs.McVeigh. Singing competitions were conducted by Mr.D.Ball. Felling's oldest lady, 94 year old Wardley resident Mary Moralee passed away at her son's home at 11 Quality Terrace in January 1937. She was a native of Houghton-le-Spring and remembered walking from Houghton to Durham in a snow storm to see the last public execution. She often walked from Wardley to Sunderland and said "what is wrong with young people today is that they don't walk enough". She had been a resident of Wardley for 46 years where her husband William had been one of the oldest employees at the colliery. On the morning of January 5th 1938 a fire destroyed the Miners Welfare Hall and house. Only the furious barking of George and Jean Harvey's two dogs saved their lives. The building was gutted and all the Lodge books and the Lenin banner were lost. The banner was one of considerable distinction, unfurled in 1927 by A.J.Cook, a miner from Wales and General Secretary of the Mining Federation of G.B, and it bore the portraits of Lenin, Keir Hardy, James Connolly, A.J.Cook and George Harvey. In addition, Mr.Harvey lost his life time collection of first edition books, antiques, fossils and what was considered the finest collection of books on the mining community in the North of England. Follonsby Colliery closed in October 1938 and the miners' leader George Harvey, his wife Jean, the famous "Harvey's goats" and other pets moved to a new home at Castle Street, Fatfield, where George found employment at Harraton Colliery. He died aged 63 years of a heart attack late one night in May 1949 at the pit office working on union books. It was a fitting end for a much respected man who dedicated his life to the welfare of those who worked and lived in the mining community. He is remembered in Wardley by Harvey Crescent which runs between Thorne and Cripps Avenue. In March 1939 Felling U.D.C. received a communication from the Secretary of the Durham Coal Owners Association relating to the Welfare Recreation Ground consisting of a football ground (with pavilion), cricket ground (with pavilion), 1 bowling green, 4 tennis courts, 1 putting course and a childcare area with equipment. It stated that the Association was willing to hand over the ground without payment as there was little prospect of the colliery being re-opened. Councillor Tom Smith said that the Wardley Welfare was ready for use and that it would cost the council nothing, only its maintenance. The report was adopted and the local authorities have since run the grounds, but the tennis courts, bowling green, changing rooms and the entertainment’s of the original children’s play area have long since gone. Clearance orders were proposed for much of Wardley in 1936. First, Second, Third and Reservoir Street and Sunderland Terrace, the odd numbers of Waggonway Street (Smokey Row) as well as the ten white cottages at the White Mare Pool were scheduled for demolition and most were gone by July 1939. The majority of the residents were re-housed nearby on a new council estate in 1938 which people now refer to as "old Wardley". At the time it was the new estate with indoor flush toilets and bath with running hot water from its own taps. It replaced the tin tub in front of the coal fire where pots of water were heated. Electricity was also in the new houses. Mena Cowell, who lived for over thirty years in Waggonway Street, recollected arriving at her newly built home, standing on a chair and putting a match to the electric light bulb! She had forgotten they were not gas lamps. Before the start of World War Two, Wardley and Follonsby Collieries were re-opened by the Washington Coal Company, although old Wardley pit's new lease of life must have been short lived as it is recorded as being opened again in 1947.
Like
other villages, Wardley suffered it's
war
casualties in this second great
conflict. Some of those lost on active service were Robert Chisholm, First
Class Stoker, presumed lost at sea on March 4th 1942 on HMS Ann King,
Flying Officer Raymond Hodgson Killed August 20th 1944, John Kenny, killed
at Salerno September 22nd 1944, Jack Dixon killed September 22nd 1944,
Private Bill Urwin killed in action in Italy November 16th 1944, 16th
Battalion D.L.I., Thomas Robinson (R.N.V.R.) died August 24th 1944, Flight
Sargent James Lynch Selkirk, A.F.V.R. lost over Germany on December 2nd
1943, Mr. Morrison, a teacher at Wardley school, was killed in the armed
forces, Tommy Robinson, and there were many others who gave the ultimate
sacrifice. Wardley was fortunate that only one bomb ever fell near houses
in the area. It landed near the line north of Sunderland road railway
crossing in Gillespy's field and no one was hurt. In January 1948 it was confirmed that 30 aluminium bungalows (pre-fabs) would be supplied by Messrs Blackburn of Dumbarton. They would be delivered in March and it was resolved to build 22 pre-fabs at West Crescent which would be named Smith Villas (named after Councillor Tom Smith) and 8 near Waggonway Street to be named Joyce Villas (after Councillor Anthony Joyce). They were completed by the middle of May and were a vast improvement on the colliery houses with indoor toilet and bathroom and an unheard of "fridge". The "pre-fabs" were meant to be temporary accommodation and Joyce Villas last occupants left around 1968 and Smith Villas were gone by the early 1970's, Work commenced on the building of 70 houses on a new estate on December 7th 1949 which was to be called the "Ellen Wilkinson Estate" after the Jarrow Labour MP and the streets to be named after prominent Labour Party members. The Council also honoured its own Councillor Oliver Henderson and town clerk Mr.T.Myridden Baker with street names. The Ministry of Health approved the expenditure of £163,818 2s 4d for the erection of a further 132 homes in December 1950. By April the following year 32 houses had been occupied and after laying the footpaths another 50 would be handed over. When Wardley Colliery Co-op Store closed c1952 it moved to new premises at Keir Hardy Avenue on the Estate and Billy Brass was the manager. Other shops were Wilf Ward's (newsagent), Heworth Post Office, previously at Heworth village, (postmistress Mary Smith), Dick Loft (mens hairdresser) and Roy Burns (radio and TV.) After having been linked to Jarrow since Anglo-Saxon times there were considerable electoral boundary changes in February 1955 when the whole of Felling, including Wardley, was transferred from Jarrow to Gateshead East. Decisions were made in early 1996 to transfer the Wrekendyke ward, which includes Wardley, back into the Jarrow constituency at the General Election on May 1st 1997, Other boundary changes had taken place and Gateshead East without Wrekendyke was to be known as "Washington West and Gateshead East". A cul-de-sac of 12 homes was built in 1955 at "old" Wardley, as it has now become known and named Standfield Gardens. Some families moved there in December 1955. Directly opposite, on an open space in Lingey gardens, around the same time was built a small co-operative store and next to it a general dealers shop managed by former Sunderland footballer Tommy Reynolds, and in later years by Keith Welsh and Tommy Stott. In 1956 the old Methodist Chapel closed and moved to Thorne Avenue and Waggonway Street, still with its dry ash middens, and Quality Terrace were demolished the following year. The Colliery Band, after having produced many excellent performances under the conductorship of Tommy Pickering and Newton Lisgo, was disbanded around 1961. After 81 years of educating the pit children, Wardley Colliery School taught its last class in 1968. Old Wardley pit closed a year later, followed by Follonsby in 1974. The Black Bull public house was built on the corner of Lingey Lane and Turfside around 1956/57. Its licence had been transferred from the old Black Bull which had been located on the right hand side of Low Heworth Lane going down to the Tyne where, in Heworth townships early years, many homes and people were located. Work commenced on the Felling By-pass in 1959 and it reached Wardley about 1966/7 when the allotments at Sunderland Road, the Railway Hotel and the Old White Mare Pool Bridge were demolished. In 1968, to relieve heavy congestion on the Great North Road, the Black Fell-White Mare Pool motorway was started. The estimated cost was £3,316,196 and would link the Birtley by-pass to the Tyne Tunnel. By 1970 Wardley was having serious subsidence trouble from a seam of the old Wardley Colliery which ran right through the estate. It had been affecting homes for the last 10 years and four houses had already been demolished and others were standing empty. In Wreken Gardens 80 year old Llewellyn Green's dining table was based on an incline and neighbour Mrs. Norah West said she was kept awake at night by cracking noises. Her kitchen had also began to slope, the sitting room and upstairs walls were cracking and doors would swing open or were jammed. No compensation was available from the NCB until they were of the opinion that subsidence was completed but the Council took a sympathetic view towards compensating those who were constantly redecorating their council homes due to the trouble. Two Wardley people were mentioned in the 1970 Queens Birthday Honours List. Not only had this never happened before to anyone in the area but they were also neighbours across the street in West Crescent and shared a party line on the telephone. Mary Ann Joyce, who was 65, had started nursing at Sunderland General Hospital in 1929, received the MBE and Sid Rutherford, an instructor at the Government Training Centre at Green Lane, Felling, was awarded the BEM. In March 1973 Felling Council were in dispute with Mr. William Sandy of Lodge House. For 2 years the council had tried to prevent Mr.Sandy from obstructing the entrance to Wardley Lane. It had at one time been the main road through Wardley Colliery where the Post Office, Miners Welfare Hall, St.Aidan's Church and the Co-op store had stood. Surprisingly, both Lodge House and Woodbine House have this land on their deeds so it appears for 100 years the inhabitants of Wardley were all trespassers! A 1919 survey map shows a small right of way public footpath on the railway side. This may have been the original pedestrian route until it became acceptable practice at the time to use the road to the post office, church and miners welfare hall. The road is now fenced off with a small access gate for pedestrians The Wardley pit heap was levelled down and spread over as far as the old railway track to Jarrow, covering the site of Quality Terrace and its allotments. Although "Wardley Bridge" was the original route of Wardley Lane, going down Quality Terrace and past Manor House Farm to Bill Quay and Hebburn, it now led nowhere and it was demolished around 1990. Wardley Lane from Bill Quay is. now diverted to the old pit bridge which was closed to heavy traffic in the summer of 1982 when the bridge began to crack and became unsafe. To accommodate heavy traffic to the area British Rail agreed to improve the Wardley Lane Bridge over the Sunderland line and the county council to upgrade the track up to the bridge from the Bill Quay entrance due to damage of vehicle suspension and exhausts. Wardley Lane from Sunderland Road entrance ends as a bus terminus behind Joyce Close. Reclamation work was carried out in late 1980 and early 1981 along the old Ouston to Pelaw Main mineral line, which closed in 1959. It was filled in and the zig zag pedestrian footbridge at the bottom of Kirkwood Gardens was removed as it was no longer used and in a dangerous condition.
Many new
private housing estates have sprung up in the district since the 1960's.
South Wardley Farm was sold and the South Wardley Estate built in 1961.
Wardley Park Estate opposite the Black Bull was built by J.H.Fisher and
Co. Ltd. in 1966/7. It was designed for complete pedestrian segregation
and was an entirely new approach in housing layout and design.
There are a
few of Wardley's old buildings which can still be seen. Wardley Hall
(1874), now the British Legion Club, with Palmers coach road which is now
a bridal way between the Broadlands and Parklands Estate, Woodbine House
(1888) next to it is Lodge House (1939), Wardley Hall Cottages (1904),
Ellison's shop (1911) now
stands as a pretty white house at the entrance to Wardley Lane, Follonsby
Terrace (1908), South Wardley farm buildings, including its "gin-gan"
still stand, although it is now only used for stabling horses. Some of the
Bowes Railway Line is now a pedestrian walkway although the part through
Wardley Colliery is not yet done and the old railway sleepers can still be
seen together with the crossing gate at Wardley Lane. (1996) |
