The Ladies of Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales

The ladies were Sarah Ponsonby and Eleanor Butler, who came originally from Kilkenny in Ireland, and lived a very unorthodox life together in Llangollen in Wales.  They were shunned by their families for most of their lives together.

They devoted their time to seclusion and the study of literature and languages and developing their estate and shared hobbies.

The Newby Hall Ferry Disaster, 1869

In February, 1869, a tragic accident claimed the lives of James Warriner, the gardener of Newby Hall near Boroughbridge in Yorkshire and his son Christopher Warriner, along with four prominent members of the York and Ainsty hunt. 

The other victims were, top to bottom in the following images, master of the hounds, Sir Charles Slingsby of Scriven Park near Knaresborough; Edward Lloyd of Lingcroft Lodge near York; Edmund Robinson of Thorpe Green and William Orvys, the kennel huntsman of Acomb and the hunt’s whipper-in for the day. 

 

 

 

The hunt got under way at eleven o’clock at Stainley House near Harrogate.  A short while later some hunters and horses chased a fox across a ford over the river, while the people who died, along with survivors of the resulting tragedy, headed for a ferry boat almost directly opposite Newby Hall.   James and Christopher Warriner from Skelton-on-Ure were in charge of the boat used that day to transport huntsmen and horses across the river Ure near Ripley.

Sir Charles Slingsby and his horse darted first into the boat, followed just as inelegantly by twice as many occupants as the boat was designed to carry.  Encumbered by a fast moving current and river swollen by heavy rain, the group made for the other side. 

About one third of the way across Sir Charles Slingsby’s horse kicked the mount belonging to Sir George Wombwell.  Wombwell’s horse returned the kick and caused other horses to panic and thrash around and lose their balance. 

The violent motion caused the boat to overturn, throwing its occupants into the water where the six men and eight horses died and some of the strongest swimmers escaped or were saved by spectators on the river banks.

Of the six men who died, only Charles Slingsby was seen to emerge from the water and begin swimming to safety, only to give up a short distance from the river bank.

An inquest returned a verdict of accidental death.

Walter Palmer, Lion Killer, and Edward, Prince of Wales

So the world stands aghast at Walter Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota who shot and left a lion to a slow and painful death. 

But Walter is not alone in deriving enjoyment from brutalising innocent, helpless victims like Cecil.  And at least Walter stood on his own two feet and put some energy into the kill.

Unlike the future King of England, then Edward, Prince of Wales who visited Chillingham Castle in Northumberland in 1872, at which time it was announced the Prince would commemorate his visit by killing the king bull of Chillingham’s celebrated herd. 

But unlike Walter who probably squared up to his victim, Edward lay covered in hay in a cart carrying food for the herd, waiting for helpers to bring the bull just close enough for Edward to commit the evil deed without breaking cover and risk being injured himself. 

At least Walter’s lion had some chance to retaliate and hopefully kill or disable his attacker.  And, yes, I am being sarcastic: cowardly Walter’s actions were inexcusable, though not quite so despicable as those of the future King of England.

An article in The Monthly Chronicle of North-Country Lore and Legend, published in 1889, tells us: ‘The plan, no doubt, was in accordance with courtly notions of safety, and was eminently calculated to secure the object in view; but it was scarcely a feat to warrant any unusual jubilation.  .....  A few hours after the tragedy, the carcase was brought from the scene of slaughter, and carefully deposited on the castle lawn.  The photographer was ready, the Prince not unwilling, and the result as shown in our sketch.’

That sketch is here for all to see:

Durham City - Early to Modern Day Times

Perched high on a hill overlooking the city, Durham’s Gothic cathedral has been voted top tourist destination in the UK, and finest building of its kind on the planet by American travel commentator, Bill Bryson.

A climb up the steep and winding stairs of the cathedral’s main tower is rewarded with breathtaking views over riverside walks and quaint cobbled streets sitting comfortably alongside modern bustling thoroughfares and heavy pedestrian shopping precincts.

The tower’s peak is a place to marvel at God’s creations; a spot conducive to making plans and solving problems; a retreat from everyday worries and cares.

In stark comparison, the peak is also where the privileged classes of centuries gone by witnessed brutal punishments on people forced to steal stale bread and rotting vegetables to feed their starving families, and where monks sang while watching thousands of Scottish warriors being massacred at the Battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346.

Today’s residents and visitors co-exist in peace and harmony, served by up-market shops with award-winning hospitals and schools; boasting one of the country’s most highly rated universities attracting students from all corners of the globe.

For all who visit or live there, Durham is not only an aesthetically beautiful city, but also well-endowed with renowned museums and galleries and some of the finest restaurants and wine bars in England.

Castle Eden Parish - County Durham (From a Source Dated c1891)

Castle Eden Parish, which comprises no dependent townships, is bounded on the north by Easington parish, on the west by the chapelry of Wingate (formed of portions of the parishes of Castle Eden and Kelloe), and on the south and east by Monk Hesleden. It comprises an area of 1935 acres, and its annual value is £8473. The number of inhabitants in 1801 was 362; in 1811, 257; in 1821, 281; in 1831, 260; in 1841, 558; in 1851, 491; in 1861, 535; in 1871, 693; in 1881, 880; and in 1891, 1257 souls.

 

The Hartlepool branch of the North-Eastern Railway extends into this parish, and has a station near the village. Eden is twice mentioned, under the name of Joden or Yoden, before the Conquest; and after that period it became the lordship of Robert de Brus, who granted the chapel to the monks of St. Cuthbert, with all tithes and parochial dues, upon condition that, within four years, the prior of St. Cuthbert should build a chapel within the village, and procure its consecration. This is supposed to be the origin of the parish church of Eden; and that a castle or manorial residence supplied the addition to the name. About the year 1150, William de Sancta Barbara, Bishop of Durham, demised half of the tithes of Castle Eden to Guisborough priory, and the manorial rights were bestowed upon that institution by the son of Adam de Seton. By virtue of these grants, the prior and convent of Guisborough possessed this parish till the Dissolution, after which Henry VIII., in 1512, presented to the church here as to a vicarage; but the church and manor were subsequently granted out by the Crown, and afterwards purchased from Mr. Bromley, of Warwickshire, by Rowland Burdon, Esq., and are now the property of Rowland Burdon, Esq., who is also lord of the manor.

The village of Castle Eden is situated two and a half miles from the sea, a little off the main road from Stockton to Sunderland, about fifteen miles north of the former, and twelve miles south of the latter place. It consists of about seventeen cottages, with flower gardens in front. Here is a school for girls and infants, with an average of 78 scholars.

The Parish Church, dedicated to St. James, is situated north of the village, and was erected, in 1764, by Rowland Burdon, Esq. It is a neat and commodious structure, capable of accommodating about 350 persons; and has been enlarged, and otherwise improved, at various periods. The spire contains a clock, and forms a pleasing object in the surrounding scenery. The font, an oval basin of marble, with a Bible by Baskerville, two folio Prayer Books, a silver chalice and paten, were all the gifts of the patrons. In the churchyard is a sculptured effigy of an ecclesiastic, but now much worn, which is supposed to represent one of the Setons. The living, formerly a curacy, but now a rectory, is in the patronage of Rowland Burdon, Esq. The Rector is Rev. Frederick G. J. Robinson, M.A.

The Castle, the seat and property of Major Rowland Burdon, J.P., is a noble mansion, pleasantly situated in a spacious park to the north-east of the church. Its exterior is plain, but the dimensions and arrangement of the interior are chaste and elegant, while the surrounding plantations and pleasure-grounds are extensive, and include a magnificent conservatory.

The Dene.  Great improvements have been effected here of late years, and Castle Eden Dene has been rendered one of the most romantic spots in the north of England. A recent writer, speaking of the dene, says,

" A winding and safe road, throughout the whole extent of the defile, serves admirably the purpose of displaying its endless beauties to the many hundred visitors who, during the summer, are admitted by the liberal proprietor to the enjoyments of this magnificent region, containing some of the finest scenery in the County of Durham. Seen from the upper part of the dene, not far from where a stream of water springs from the crevice of a rock, and, forming a natural cascade, falls into the Gunner's Pool, the road can be traced to a considerable distance through the valley below. Snake-like, and in broad coils, it rushes down the deep/sides towards the bottom of the dell, which is too much steeped in gloom to reveal its own secrets. Here and there the road is seen for a moment to right itself upon a level in the shape of a platform, or to wind round a steep bank covered with brushwood; but it soon again takes a downward course, and proceeds to its destination, caves gloomy and unfathomable ; masses of rock, detached and rolled down precipices among which a stream of water frets and murmurs—and trees of every species that place themselves in the soil of Great Britain." 

A tubular bridge has been placed across Gunner's Pool, rustic bridges erected, the grounds laid out, and many improvements effected by the owner, Mr. Burdon.

Castle Eden Colliery in this township is the property of the Castle Eden Coal Company, Limited, and was sunk in 1840. The following seams have been proved here in descending order: Five Quarter, 4 feet; Main Coal, 4 feet 3 inches; Low Main, 3 feet 6 inches; Hutton, 3 feet 2 inches; and the Harvey, at a depth of 194 fathoms, 1 foot 8 inches. At present the Five Quarter, Main Coal, and Low Main Seams are being worked, the latter most extensively; and the average output is above 1000 tons per day, the greater portion of which is shipped at the Hartlepools as best household coal, the small coals being converted into coke. This colliery affords employment to men and boys, all of whom reside in the village of Castle Eden Colliery.

Foundry is the name of a village in this parish, about three-quarters of a mile south­west of Castle Eden, and derives its name from the Engine Works (Messrs. Richardson's) which were first started here, but afterwards removed to Hartlepool.

The National School (boys) is chiefly supported by Rowland Burdon, Esq., and has accommodation for 100, with an average attendance of 70.

Castle Eden Police Station and Court House adjoins the school, in which the Petty Sessions for the South Division of Easington ward are held fortnightly on Saturdays. The police force consists of one superintendent, four sergeants, and twenty constables. In this village is a cattle auction mart, at which sales are held once a fortnight, on Mondays, from December until June. Castle Eden railway station is on the Hartlepool and Ferryhill branch of the North-Eastern Railway.

Factory is a group of houses about half-a-mile west of Castle Eden, and is so called from an extensive cotton mill which was formerly in operation here. Close by is the extensive brewery of Messrs. Nimmo & Sons. About half-a-mile distant is Wellfield Station, a junction on the Sunderland and Hartlepool branch of the North-Eastern Railway.

Rowland Burdon, a man of conspicuous ability, was born at Castle Eden in 1757. He was remarkable alike for his inventive powers, public spirit, and practical benevolence. He designed and built the high-level bridge which crosses the Wear at Sunderland, and amongst other works of public utility, caused the high road from Thirsk to Newcastle to be constructed. He represented the county of Durham in Parliament from 1790 to 1806. Whilst possessing great force and firmness of character, he was no less remarkable for his self-denying disposition and works of unpretending benevolence. On his retirement from Parliamentary life, he devoted his energies to the service and welfare of his poorer neighbours, and ended a life of usefulness, September 17, 1838.

Thirteen Amazing Facts About the Titanic

Many myths and rumours surround the night the Titanic went down after colliding with an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland on April 14th, 1912.

Some of those tales have been discredited, others hold a grain of truth, but none are as incredible as the following proven facts about the Titanic.

*  In 1898, Morgan Robertson wrote a novel called 'Futility'.  Like the Titanic, the fictional ship was the biggest of its day and sank after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.  The imaginary disaster happened in April, the same month the Titanic went down.  Like the Titanic, the ship in Robertson’s novel was believed to be unsinkable, and for both ships the massive death count was blamed on a shortage of lifeboats.  Even more astonishing is the fact that Robertson called his ship the Titan.

*   In 1886, London’s Pall Mall Gazette published a story about the sinking of a large ship in which many people died due to a shortage of lifeboats.  The writer, William T. Stead, prophesied that a similar event could happen if shipping lines continued their widespread practice of sending ships to sea with too few lifeboats.  The article was entitled ‘How the Mail Steamer Went Down in the Mid Atlantic, By a Survivor’.

The author, a spiritualist, lived to see his prediction come true but failed to record the event.  Stead died on board the Titanic while travelling to a business meeting in New York.

* The Titanic was designed to carry more than twice the number of lifeboats present on the ship’s fateful maiden voyage.  It was subsequently discovered that all but twenty lifeboats had been removed from the ship to give passengers an unrestricted view of the sea around them.

*  Although the Titanic had four funnels, only three were functional, the fourth funnel was to make the ship look more imposing and longer than the three funnel ships of the day.

*   The massive pull of the Titanic as she set sail from Southampton caused the mooring ropes to snap on the S. S. New York berthed close by.  Tugboats were dispatched to the scene to prevent the two ships colliding.  Many people consider the near collision a premonition of the much greater tragedy about to unfold.

*  At least six ice warnings were sent to the Titanic’s wireless room on the day of the disaster.  All went unheeded because the Titanic’s wireless operator was busy processing messages on behalf of first class passengers.

*  In the mad panic following Captain Smith’s order to abandon ship, lifeboats were put to sea with many of their seats empty.  One of the first lifeboats to leave the Titanic carried less than half its potential passenger count.

*  There were many dogs on the Titanic, but no cats.  Most ships carried cats to control vermin and bring good luck.  The absence of cats was cited as a bad omen by newspaper journalists in the months following the tragedy.

*  It has always been considered lucky to break a bottle of champagne on the bow of a ship during the launching ceremony.  The Titanic did not receive this traditional blessing.

*  When the decision was made to evacuate the Titanic, the captain ordered women and children to board the lifeboats first.  The story goes that several men took seats in the lifeboats while women and children were standing close by.  Irishman, Daniel Buckley, is thought to have been disguised as a woman to claim his seat.

*   More than three hundred passengers and crew put on lifejackets and jumped overboard to avoid being sucked down into the ocean with the Titanic.  Charles Joughin was the only person to survive the icy waters.  A chef on the Titanic, Joughin had been drinking heavily as the disaster unfolded.  It is believed the alcohol in his bloodstream may have helped maintain his body temperature until rescue ships arrived.

*  Only one child travelling first class died on the Titanic compared to almost fifty children from steerage.

*  The band played ‘Songe d’Automne’ as the ship went down, not ‘Nearer My God To Thee’ as was widely reported at the time.  The band played until the last few minutes before the ship upturned and began its descent to the ocean floor.  None of the band members survived.

Those are just thirteen strange but true stories surrounding the Titanic disaster, equal to the number of newly married couples celebrating their honeymoons on board.

The Secret Language of Flowers

The early Victorians were not renowned for public displays of love and affection and would go to great lengths to woo a lover without letting the world know their secret.  So alongside secret assignations and letters despatched by personal courier, Victorian men and women would express their emotions by sending flowers with specific meanings.

Since ancient times, every different species of flower has conveyed a message all of its own.  The jonquil flower, for example, is a request for love to be reciprocated, and the jasmine speaks of elegance and grace.  Candytuft indicates indifference, and rather than propose marriage in person the Victorian male might send his lover a multi-colored pink and white rose.  

Although flowers had been used in coded messages for many thousands of years, it wasn’t until the latter part of Queen Victoria’s reign that flowers came to be used for most types of communication, not just messages of love, and a whole new secret language was created and called “Floriography” - the language of flowers.  Floriography wasn’t just the language of common folk and even Queen Victoria herself is known to have used flowers to pass messages to loved ones.

The first book about the language of flowers, written by Madame Charlotte de la Tour in 1819, was called “Le Language Des Fleur” - the language of flowers.

Madame De La Tour’s book was followed by numerous publications attempting to explain the language of flowers and telling how:

*  Bittersweet means truth.

*  A red chrysanthemum is an expression of true love.

*  A white chrysanthemum speaks of honesty and truth.

*  Marigold is a sign of contentment.

*  The narcissi implies self-love and vanity.

*  Nasturtium is an indication of patriotism.

However, it isn’t just individual species of flower that communicate unspoken messages.  The number and color of blooms can also have their own special meanings.  Nine hundred and ninety-nine roses represents eternal love, for example, and a white violet symbolises modesty and candour.

Floriography has never truly gone out of fashion, especially in the Middle East and some parts of Asia where flowers are still used to pass secret messages to loved ones.  In the United States and Great Britain, several businesses have grown around the concept of using flowers to deliver secret messages, and offering a massive range of greetings cards and floral gifts conveying many different messages of friendship of love.

So next time someone sends you flowers, instead of admiring the fragrance and looking for a vase, try working out any hidden message the gift might convey.

The Baydale Banks Tragedy

Blackwell, near Darlington,  once more popularly known as ‘Baydale’ was the scene of a gruesome murder which is little known about today.

The victim was Christopher Simpson, an elderly labourer from Thornaby, who was murdered at Baydale Banks Head on the night of 5th June, 1624.  Simpson’s body was found the following morning and quickly attracted local residents to the view the body and share their experiences of when and with whom the victim was last seen.  Suspicion fell immediately on Ralph Simpson, the dead man’s nephew, who lived in Aldbrough in Richmondshire.  It appears the only evidence for Ralph Simpson having committed the murder was that he was the last person known to have seen the murdered man.

The accused man was quickly arrested and taken to the scene, as was the local coroner, and a hasty inquest was held on the spot.   Ralph Simpson was found guilty at the scene of the murder and executed soon afterwards.

An Obsession Called ‘Rubik’s Cube’

Rubik’s Cube was invented by Professor Emo Rubik in 1974, and was originally called ‘Buvuos Kocka’ - The Magic Cube.  Rubik worked in the Department of Interior Design at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts in Budapest, and designed the Cube as a teaching aid for three-dimensional geometry.

Taken fresh out of its original packaging, Rubik’s invention has sides individually colored green, white, yellow, blue, orange, and red.  It takes just seconds to twist the Cube and scatter the colors across all sides, and can lead to months of frustration for newcomers attempting to solve the puzzle.  

With just one way to return the puzzle to its original state, and more than forty-three quintillion ways to fail, the Cube became a worldwide obsession that has led to a recognised form of repetitive strain injury known as ‘Cubist’s Thumb’.

The first Rubik’s Cube went on sale in Hungary in 1977, and was launched on the worldwide market four years later by Hungarian actress, Zsa Zsa Gabor, at a lavish party in Hollywood.

Rubik’s invention won the German ‘Game of the Year’ award in 1980, and went on to sell more than 350 million units worldwide.  Within a few years, Rubik’s puzzle was a popular pastime in one out of every three American homes.

Unfortunately, for some people the Cube was more than just a satisfying pastime, and has been associated with mental breakdowns and marriage breakups.   In 1981, for instance, a German woman sued for divorce, citing the Rubik’s Cube as co-respondent, and claiming her husband came to bed too exhausted from playing with his Cube to even give her a cuddle.

In 1982, the first annual International Rubik’s Championships were held in Budapest to determine the world’s fastest ‘cuber’ as hobbyists came to be known.  Soon afterwards, numerous competitions were held all over the world to award prizes for speed and some more unusual challenges.  The World Cube Association, for example, hosts several offbeat competitions, one where contestants have to solve Rubik’s Cube using only one hand, another using just the feet.  There is even a competition to find the fastest person to solve the puzzle blindfolded.

Winner of the first official speed championship, Minh Thai, solved the puzzle in just 23 seconds.  In 2011, the world record dropped to 5.66 seconds.

From a basic puzzle, Rubik’s Cube has been used for many different purposes by academics, artists, and politicians.

Tom Davis, for instance, a research associate at Stanford University, says the Cube can be used to make mathematics more interesting for students of all ages.

As Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1992, John Major used the Cube on television to demonstrate complex political negotiations.  In 1981, a special Cube was issued to commemorate the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

For its unique shape and stunning color combination, Rubik’s invention has inspired artists worldwide to create popular public works of art, such as the prominent Cube structure on the North Campus of the University of Michigan, and Tony Rosenthal’s spinning Alamo Cube in New York City.

So Rubik’s Cube is no longer just a puzzle, but part of our international heritage, having earned a place in the ‘Oxford English Dictionary’, and a permanent spot in the New York Museum of Modern Art.

Leap Year: Time for Women to Propose Marriage to Their Men

Girls, have you been waiting years for your boyfriend to propose marriage?  Do you wish there was a way to speed things up?

If so, wish no more, because in a leap year it’s perfectly acceptable for a woman to propose marriage to her man, and a man can even be fined for refusing!

‘Leap year’ describes a year with one extra day, on February 29th, and occurring every four years.  The extra day was introduced in ancient times when academics first realised the sun took slightly more than a year to revolve around the earth.  So the extra day was designed to match the calendar year to the sun’s circumference of our planet.

That extra day was tagged on to the last month of the year, then February, so extending February’s twenty-eight days to twenty-nine.  
February 29th became known as ‘leap day’, and spawned numerous myths and legends since its introduction more than two thousand years ago.

One such legend tells how St. Bridget approached St. Patrick and asked him to allow women to propose marriage to their men, mainly because a high proportion of Irish women had waited years for a man to propose to them, and a good many had died without ever being asked.

St. Patrick agreed and declared that women could propose marriage to men on one day every four years.  Hence the reason leap day, February 29th, became the allotted time for tradition to be overturned and for women to propose to their men.

History insists that St. Patrick ordained just one day - leap day - for the special event, while many women who’ve taken the plunge and proposed to their men say the rule applies throughout a leap year.

Well they would, wouldn’t they, if they’re having a tough time summoning up courage to propose to their men, or they haven’t decided which man to ask?

Or maybe they’re just worried what their men’s reaction might be, and fear they’ll be rejected and forced to look elsewhere for a husband.

Now you know it can be done, and with a leap day looming, it’s time to plan for the big event in expectation of a resounding “Yes” to your question.

So let us look at how and where to propose to your man, and how to make sure your proposal is accepted.

These tips will help:

*  Do you know how your man might react to your proposal?  Might he be shocked into submission, and might he regret his decision later? Will he welcome not having to pop the question himself?  Or will he be up in arms that you’ve broken with tradition and made him the laughing stock of his family and friends?  If you think he might be astounded or hurt, try dropping a few hints about marriage instead and hope he will propose to you.

*  If you think he’ll be embarrassed, avoid handing over a diamond ring in front of his workmates, and propose somewhere quiet instead.  Try the bedroom, for example, or go down on one knee in an empty room in the college library.  If he says “no”, you won’t be embarrassed; if he says “yes”, you’ll know it wasn’t to please your family and friends.

*  Is he ready for marriage, or might your question lead to a refusal he never gets round to retracting?  If you’re not sure what his answer will be, try talking about friends who are getting married, make a big thing of celebrities tying the knot, study his reaction and interpret scorn as a sign you shouldn’t propose, and a warm smile as a signal you should.

Finally, if your man does refuse your hand in marriage, take comfort from a condition laid down by St. Patrick when he agreed women could propose to men, being that any man who refuses a lady’s proposal must pay a heavy fine or buy her an expensive garment.  In many countries, even today, the appropriate penalty is a pair of gloves.

Those gloves, by the way, are to hide the absence of an engagement ring, and prevent embarrassment for the lady so spurned!

George and Robert Stephenson - Miners and Railway Engineers Their Association with Wylam, Dewley Burn, Newburn

George Stephenson, railway engineer, was born on 9th June, 1781, in Wylam, a small colliery village about eight miles from Newcastle-upon-Tyne.  His father, a pitman, worked at Wylam Colliery until George was about eight years of age when the family moved to Dewley Burn Colliery where his father worked down the mine and the son earned a few pennies each day picking brass nuggets from piles of coal.

When George was about fifteen years of age, the coal had depleted at Dewley Burn and the family moved to Jolly’s Close, near Newburn.    Soon afterwards, George Stephenson joined his father at the mine, working as a fireman at Newburn Colliery.

Cuddy Alder’s Goose Pies - How a Monument to Cuthbert Alder Came to Be Erected at Long Benton Church

In March, 1709, a strike by keelmen on the Tyne caused many men and their families to go without food for several weeks and brought many to the brink of death from starvation.  Some strikers and unemployed men heard about Cuthbert Alder, who lived near Long Benton and had a larder well stacked with food for the coming Christmas festivities.

When Alder’s house at Low Weetslade was besieged late at night, the attackers met with opposition much greater than they expected of the elderly gentleman.

Calling her an ‘Amazonian servant’, a contemporaneous newspaper account tells how a female servant in the Alder household fought and kept the intruders at bay for several minutes until her arm was broken and the men immediately set their attentions on removing Mr. Alder from the passage leading through to the larder.  Witnesses told how the attackers were inflamed by having met such opposition from a mere woman and were intent on despatching the house owner with haste.

Then one of the crowd recalled a kindness previously received from Mr. Alder and decided to intervene to prevent the slaughter.  The repentant robber had been in Alder’s home some time previously, by invitation, and knew of a shortcut to the larder which he revealed to his fellow intruders who then ran quickly to the spot where the Alder’s family’s Christmas fare lay waiting.

When police failed to determine the identity of the robbers, Mr. Alder took it upon himself to find and apprehend the villains.  By chance, he entered a shop at Newcastle Quay, where he received change including a silver coin recognised from the robbery.  The shop owner recalled the person who paid with the coin and following a few additional lucky breaks, Alder found and alerted the police to several of the raiders at his home.

Soon afterwards two of the ringleaders were hanged from gallows erected on Newcastle Town Moor despite no executions having taken place at the scene for more than thirty years.

Mr. Alder received a reward for bringing the burglars to justice.  The reward was donated to the poor in the form of a purchase made by Alder of four acres of land known as Dacre’s close, situated in the township of Murton and parish of Tynemouth.   By will, on 23rd May, 1736, Mr. Alder bequeathed the land to the use of the poor of the parish.  Upon his death a few months later, Alder’s remains were buried on the west side of the porch of Long Benton Church and a monument erected to his memory.

Castle Eden

“The village of Castle Eden, formerly called South Eden, is situated between Stockton and Sunderland, in the County of Durham.”  That is how Castle Eden was described in The Monthly Chronicle of North-Country Lore and Legend in October, 1888, where we discover the village was also previously known as ‘Yoden’ and ‘Jodene’.

Here are more things you might like to know about the village:

A pile of broken rocks found lying close to Gunner’s Pool (so called because a Gunner drowned there many years ago) is believed to have been placed there by the devil who was helping to build Durham Cathedral.  Legend tells how the devil had collected the stones from Castle Eden Dene and placed them in an apron he was wearing to transport the stones to Durham.  When his apron broke under the weight of the stones, the contents fell out and were left in the Dene.