Have Fun Exploring North Northumberland's Heritage

This weekend (9-11 September) is Heritage Open Days in England. There are a number of events taking place in Berwick and North Northumberland which may be of interest. This includes the Ravensdowne and Greenses Walks.  The following is a selective list:

Friday 9 September

Berwick
Georgian Berwick – a walk down Ravensdowne led by Linda Bankier.
Find out about the people who lived there in the past and how the street developed. Starts 2.30 pm at the Parade Car Park.
Booking via Berwick Tourist Information (01670) 622155 or email Berwick.tic@activenorthumberland.gov.uk

Saturday 10 September

 Berwick
The Greenses -  walk around the Greenses area of Berwick.
Come and find out about the people who lived there and the nature of the community. Starts 10.30am at the corner of Bell Tower Place and the High Greens.
Booking via Berwick Tourist Information (01670) 622155 or email Berwick.tic@activenorthumberland.gov.uk

A Hint of History at Spittal Point - an historical walk around Spittal.
Starts 1pm at Carr Rock.

Berwick Castle Tour  - find out about the history of Berwick Castle.
Starts 9.30am and 1.30pm. Meet at Railway Street.

From Ditch to Bastion – Find out about Berwick’s medieval defences.
Starts 11.30am and 3.30pm at entrance to Berwick Holiday Camp.

Masonic Hall – find out about the history of the building, situated in the Parade and erected in 1872.
Open 10am-4pm.
 
The Trewe Description of Her Majesties Towne of Barwick – a walk led by Catherine Kent around Elizabethan Berwick finding out about the town’s 16th century buildings and inhabitants. Starts 2.30pm at The Louvre, Bankhill.

Georgian Berwick  - a walk down Ravensdowne led by Linda Bankier.
Find out about the people who lived there in the past and how the street developed. Starts 2.30pm at the Parade Car Park.
Booking via Berwick Tourist Information (01670) 622155 or email Berwick.tic@activenorthumberland.gov.uk

Belford
Belford Hidden History Museum Open Day – come and visit the museum and find out about the area in 1916; Middleton Hall and the suicide at the Blue Bell.
Open 10am-4pm.

Sunday 11 September

 Belford
Belford Hidden History Museum Open Day – come and visit the museum and find out about the area in 1916; Middleton Hall and the suicide at the Blue Bell.
Open 10am-4pm.

Berwick
Archaeology and Artichokes – Discover some of Berwick’s history at the Lion’s Allotments. Starts 12.30pm and 4pm at the Allotments on the Walls.

 The Tower Tour – Find out about 500 years of Berwick’s history in 500 yards.
Starts 10am and 11.30am at Ness Gate.

 The Trewe Description of Her Majesties Towne of Barwick – a walk led by Catherine Kent around Elizabethan Berwick finding out about the town’s 16th century buildings and inhabitants.
Starts 2.30pm at The Louvre, Bankhill.

Branxton
Flodden Battlefield Walk – guided walk over the battlefield at Flodden.
Starts 2pm at the car park opposite Branxton Church

 The Battle of Flodden – come and find out about the documentary evidence which exists about the Battle of Flodden; the work of Tillvas, enjoy some children’s activities or try your hand at reading old handwriting.
From 11am to 3.30pm in Branxton Village Hall.

Full list of Heritage Open Days events in Northumberland and the rest of England

Dorothy Young of the Greenses, Berwick; Who Emigrated to Canada

From Margaret Dougherty, a descendant of the Youngs of the Greenses:

My grandmother, Dorothy Young (1889-1967), set out from Berwick-upon-Tweed on her own for Canada as an 18-year old girl looking for adventure in September 1908. Perhaps you see something familiar in her features in this photo of her when she was about 30.

Dorothy Young (1889-1967)

Dorothy was the second eldest daughter of Robert Alexander Young (1854-1915) and Isabella Knox (1862-1937) of the Greenses. She originally went to Canada for a nanny position in small-town Ontario, but quickly grew bored with that, and for a time worked as a cook in a Northern Ontario lumber camp where she was the only woman, before settling in Montreal by 1911, where she worked as a servant. There, she was part of a circle of other Berwick immigrants, as I’ve found in news items in old issues of the Berwick Advertiser.

I have documented my grandmother’s lineage, which in addition to Young and Knox, includes Patterson/Pattison, Wedderburn/Weatherburn, Cowe, Clark, Melvin/Milvin, Edminson, Brack, Johnson, How and Spiers ancestors.

Dorothy returned to England in August 1915 to marry my grandfather, John Matheson, in London, while he was on a short leave from the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

They had met in Montreal, where John had emigrated in 1909 from Aviemore, Scotland. She remained in Berwick throughout the First World War, seeing my grandfather when he had leave. My mother, Isobel Young Matheson, was born in Berwick in May 1919. In August of that year, my grandmother and mother sailed for Montreal. Dorothy never returned to Berwick, but exchanged many letters with her mother and sisters.

I am still looking for any descendants of Dorothy’s siblings who stayed in England: Margaret Knox Young who married a distant cousin, George Young; Henry, Robert, William and Peter. Dorothy’s sisters Lizzie, Aggie and Izzie came to Canada as well, but Aggie and Izzie ultimately returned to Berwick, I believe.

After my mother died in 1979, we lost touch with her Berwick roots.
If you have any information about these, please add a comment below.

German Prisoners at Stobs Internment Camp (near Hawick) in Global Context, 1914-1919

During World War I, Stobs military training ground near Hawick was used as a mass internment camp for 4,500 prisoners; German civilian ‘enemy aliens’ who had settled in Britain before 1914 and were considered potential spies, civilian passengers and sailors from captured enemy ships, and military prisoners-of-war captured in Europe or at sea.

Stobs was the parent camp for a network of further facilities across Scotland and Northern England.

Although the majority of internees were German, there were some Austrians and some Turks.

There’s a free conference next summer about the Stobs camp, an opportunity to hear experts who have researched Stobs as well as camps in England, the Isle of Man, Ireland and others around the world, to see camp artefacts and perhaps to identify them, and visit the site with the Council’s archaeology officer, Dr Christopher Bowles.

If you have family members that worked at Stobs, or you’re descended from someone who was interned in one of the camps, I think you’ll find this conference especially interesting. Dr Bowles would also like to hear from anyone that has memorabilia relating to the camp.

Provisional programme.

The conference is on 18th and 19th June 2016 at Hawick. If you would like to attend, I suggest you register now at archives@scotborders.gov.uk

Free Access to Ancestry's Midlands Collection until Saturday

To mark the Who Do You Think You Are ? Live show in Birmingham, Ancestry is providing free access to its Midlands Collection.  Don't delay, the offer ends on Saturday, 18th April !

As usual, you'll need to register or log in.

Which Berwick ?

Berwick-upon-Tweed town centre from the Elizabethan Ramparts

I was talking to Linda Bankier of Berwick Record Office about other places named Berwick and she told me some interesting stories about the confusion with the other Berwick in England, the place in East Sussex as well as some of the people who think that Berwick is still in Berwickshire (in Scotland).

We see Berwick-upon-Tweed called Berwick-on-Tweed, and most often Berwick but there are other places named Berwick in the world.

There's:
Berwick, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Berwick, Louisiana, USA
Berwick, Maine, USA
Berwick, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Berwick, New Brunswick, Canada
Berwick, Nova Scotia, Canada
Berwick, Ontario, Canada
Berwick, Otago, New Zealand
Berwick, Pennsylvania, USA
Berwick, South Africa
Berwick, Sussex, England
North Berwick, Scotland




Find A Grave says that Berwick, Louisiana, USA was named after Thomas Berwick (1740-1792), a surveyor from Pennsylvania and Wikipedia states that he was the first white settler to trek through the wilderness in that part of America.

According to the town history of Berwick, Nova Scotia, Canada, it's named after Berwick-upon-Tweed, the bear on the Canadian town's arms being taken from Berwick-upon-Tweed's arms.

Berwick, Pennsylvania is a twin town of Berwick-upon-Tweed and is named after Berwick-upon-Tweed.

According to Wikipedia, the Berwick suburb of Melbourne is named after Berwick-upon-Tweed, as was Berwick, Maine (perhaps due to the transported Scots prisoners of war from the Battle of Dunbar in 1650 ?)



The origins of Berwick, Sussex, England and North Berwick, Scotland suggest that like Berwick-upon-Tweed, the name Berwick is derived from the old English words 'bere' meaning barley and 'wic' meaning farmstead or settlement.

I'm disappointed that I haven't managed to find out about why these places were named Berwick:
Berwick, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Berwick, New Brunswick, Canada
Berwick, Ontario, Canada
Berwick, Otago, New Zealand
Berwick, South Africa
but I hope you'll leave me a comment below or send me a tweet @Berwick900.

I've probably left out several other places named Berwick and if that's the case, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Ancestry Offers Free Access at Easter between 18 April and 21 April

To celebrate Easter, Ancestry are offering free access to some of their collections at Easter (from 00:00 on 18 April until 23:59 on 21 April).

You'll need to be registered to take advantage of the offer and be signed in when you search.

The collections are:

    1901 Scotland Census
    1901 Wales Census
    1911 Channel Islands Census
    1911 Channel Islands Census Summary Books
    1911 England Census
    1911 England Census Summary Books
    1911 Isle of Man Census
    1911 Isle of Man Census Summary Books
    1911 Wales Census Updated!
    1911 Wales Census Summary Books Free Index
    British Army WWI Medal Rolls Index Cards, 1914-1920
    British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920
    British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
    England & Wales, Birth Index, 1916-2005
    England & Wales, Death Index, 1916-2007
    England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 Free Index
    England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837-1915 Free Index
    England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837-1915 Free Index
    England & Wales, Marriage Index, 1916-2005
    England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966

Access Ancestry's Easter offer and find your Berwick-upon-Tweed, Tweedmouth and Spittal connections !