Appeals for Help from 2023

BACON Family of Church Lane - Any Info?
- 18 September 2023

   [Webmaster: Alan Jarrad had sent a Message Board item on 30 July 2023 entitled "BACON Family" that simply said "Love to know more about Bacon family of Church Lane Old Eston".
   I asked for more details and Alan responded as follows.]
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30 July 2023 - from Alan Jarrad:
   Hi, Greetings from Australia!
   Love to know more about Bacon family of Church Lane Old Eston!
   It all starts with Jane Jarrad who marries Robert Bacon 1831 Long Sutton, Lincolnshire. They had 7 children.
   One such which has come to my attention yesterday is Edward David Bacon who married Elizabeth Skeels 1863 Eston. That marriage had 8 children and I know very little about them.
   The Bacon family is a hard one to research.
   One son of later is Richard William Bacon who married Edith Blewitt in Eston.
   Photos of the Bacon Jarrad marriage are even rarer.
   I fit into this - My GG Grandfather Isaiah Jarrad is a brother to Jane Jarrad. Both are children of Robert Jarrad and Edith Southwell of Gedney Drove End fame Lincolnshire. However the Jarrad-Jarred-Jared clan as we know it in Australia are Norfolk people historically.
   Isaiah Jarrad and some of his siblings and even nephews migrated to Australia in the 1800s. Isaiah in 1850. I am a 6th generation Aussie.
   I have researched all of Jane Bacon nee Jarrads siblings - she is the last and hardest.
   Thank you for any help and taking the time - much appreciated,
   -------------- Alan Jarrad (Australia) --------------
   --------- GG Nephew of Jane Jarrad Bacon ------------
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18 September 2023 - from WebMaster:
   Thanks Alan for that Message - with the fuller details neeeded !
   So with your message I’ve set up this Appeal item to form the basis of any contributions from our readers.
   There may be someone with relevant information about the Bacon family - so let’s hope that we get answers to some of the queries set in your Message!
   The image opposite is from a postcard already displayed on our Group’s 2010 calendar. It’s shown in our Photo Galleries.
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If you have any more information or photos
relevant to this topic -
- then please Contact us   with Message Subject
"BACON Family of Church Lane" !

[Please Click on images opposite for larger image]

Eston Railway Crossing? -
- Does Anyone Remember the Local Railways?
- 3 January 2023

   [Webmaster: Desmond Small had sent a Message Board item on 26 December 2022 entitled "Railway Crossing at Eston" that included the following query.]
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26 December 2022 - from Desmond Small:
   I was born in Church Lane Ormesby 1951 and when I was 6 my dad Dr. W.A.W. Small had a house built in Normanby No. 51 High Street.
   Every morning the steam train hauling (I think) coal to the brickworks used to cross the bridge over the main road two doors down.
   The reason for my contact is that I have very hazy memories about the fact that at Flatts Lane the line branched and whilst one continued up to the brickworks the other headed to Eston.
   I am hoping some of your members might be able to confirm that there was a level crossing beyond the Eston Square, near the hospital that then led down to Grangetown.
   I know there was an earlier incline plane to take ironstone and iron ore from the mines in Eston Hills down to the docks but think that in later years this may have been developed for locomotives?
   Best Regards,
---- Desmond Small (Newcastle Emlyn, Ceredigion, Wales) ----
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3 January 2023 - from WebMaster:
   Thanks Des for that Message - good questions !
   So with your message I’ve set up this Appeal item to form the basis for contributions from our readers.
   From our archive of photos I have found some relevant images which are displayed here (more to come!).
   There must be many with memories of the railway so I hope that we get answers to some of the queries set in your Message!
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3 January 2023 - from Sylvia Fairbrass:
   I think I can help.
   See extract opposite taken from Ian Crow's research which his brother Robin handed to me after Ian's death. He seemed to be in the process of writing a book I think - this relevant chapter named: "Brickworks Line & Three Stations".
   It might be worth putting his full article of 24 pages on the website credited to him. [Webmaster: will try to do this]
   Desmond is right to remember the level crossing and the 3 branch lines in West Street, Normanby:-
   - one branched left to terminate at the Normanby coal depot
   - one terminated at Eston Station in Station Road, Eston
   - 3rd branched right to the Normanby & Ormesby Brickworks.
   However there was a separate railway for the Eston mines which terminated at Eston where the California Club and the Miners Arms now stand.
   There was no connection between the two even though they were only a few hundred yards apart.
   Hope this helps.
   Best regards
------- Sylvia Fairbrass (Normanby LHG member) -------
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4 January 2023 - from WebMaster:
   Thanks Sylvia for the very rapid response!
   Shown opposite are a map and image showing the Normanby Flatts Lane level-crossing (Click on these for larger images)
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4 January 2023 - from Joan:
   Steam engines hauled coal for domestic use to Eston via Normanby in the 1950s.   Coal was transported to a coal depot near the original Eston station [closed in 1929] - this depot was used by Co-op and Norman Simpson – the latter was our coal man.
   Opposite is a map from Teesside Archives dated 1940 which shows this site.   I got this map as part of one of my 'Lock-down projects' called "High Street, Eston" and it shows the site of a war-time shelter.
   I cannot recall a level crossing being anywhere in Eston.
   For years I imagined there should have been a level crossing on the Eston High Street, where the Trustee Incline (Whale Hill end of High Street) came out onto the road, but found out that the ore wagons went under the road!!
   Regards
------- Joan Outhwaite (Normanby LHG member) -------
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16 January 2023 - from Joan:
   Opposite is a map which is dated 1930s (?) and shows the site which I for many years wrongly believed should have been a level crossing [on Eston High Street].
   I have highlighted Trustee Incline - the railway wagons came down here [loaded with ironstone from Eston Mines] and went presumably to the 'crusher' in Grangetown [Ironworks].
   Regards
------- Joan Outhwaite (Normanby LHG member) -------
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20 January 2023 - from WebMaster:
   Thanks Joan for those informed answers!
   Shown opposite is an image of a wider map view of Eston which shows how close the railway branch lines came to each other - but without connecting.
   A 2014 exhibition by Eston Residents Association had a display which said:- "Eston Railway station was built in 1850 to link the mine tramways to the main line 2 miles away. The lines originally ran through Eston High Street, but the station was closed in 1929 to passenger traffic"
   However there is no evidence (maps or records) to show that there was ever such a link through Eston Square! If anyone has such evidence then do please Contact us !
   The image opposite was sent to me several years ago by our group’s former Chairman the late Tom Towers. The text below the image shows that Tom was quite convinced that the Eston Mines railway went under a bridge carrying Eston High Street.
   I’ve added some other relevant images also Tom Towers.
   (Click on these for larger images)
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26 January 2023 - from Sheila Nicholson:
   In the mid 1950s I lived at 87 Park Avenue, Teesville.
   The railway line from Normanby went behind the houses of Park Avenue.   Steam trains were still operating at this time and we used to go to a fence near to our house to wave to the Engine Driver who would blow his whistle and wave back!
   The line then went [northwards] to South Bank with a level crossing at the bottom of Aire Street where my Nana lived.
   The Normanby brick works manufactured refactory bricks which are used to reline furnaces - perhaps that is where the line went next and what it carried?
   Regards
------- Sheila Nicholson (Normanby LHG member) -------
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30 January 2023 - from WebMaster:
   Thanks Sheila for those Memories!
   The line stopped carrying passengers in 1929 and was freight-only until 1964 (see replies above) so would have transported refractory bricks from the Normanby brick-works to the river side iron-works.
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If you have any more information or photos
relevant to this topic -
- then please Contact us   with Message Subject
"Eston Railway Crossing?" !

[Please Click on images opposite for larger image]

Appeals for Help from 2022

Normanby "Brown Jug" ? -
- Does Anyone Remember This Small Pub?
- 30 April 2022

   [Webmaster: Keith had sent a Message Board item on 2 April 2022 entitled "Normanby Chapels and Village Memories" that included the following query.]
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5 April 2022 - Keith Thompson:
   One thing I'm puzzling over: in my mind there was a small pub round the corner from Jackson Hardware Store heading to Lambton Street effectively half way between the Lambton and the Cleveland, called the Brown Jug - am I dreaming?
Regards,
   - - - - - Keith Thompson - - - - - - - - -
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5 June 2022 - from Tom Suffell:
   Unless I am also going mad the Brown Jug was and is in Eston on William Street. It’s currently closed and for sale.
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9 Jan 2023 - from WebMaster:
   Thanks Tom for your response.
   My apologies for not previously updating this Appeal - I mislaid your email.
   Looks like Keith Thompson had got the location (or name?) wrong!
   After your assistance I found the for-sale information online.
   This showed the Brown Jug for sale in Eston in William Street (off the High Street) which used to lead onto a West Street.
      So hopefully Tom you are not going mad!
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If you have any more information
regarding this query -
- then please contact us   with Message Subject
"Normanby Brown Jug" !

Appeals for Help from 2021

Snowdon Family of Ormesby -
- Does Anyone Have Any Information?
- 20 January 2021

   I have been researching my Family History and through this discovered your website.
   It has been informative and fascinating with lots of potentially relevant data although I have yet to make a positive link between the Snowdons of my family and those listed on your site.
   I do however have evidence from a census that the Snowdon of my family was a farmer born in Ormesby before moving to Newcastle about 1820-30.
   It appears that his father was a brewer.
With all best wishes,
   - - - - - Philip Bridge (London) - - - - - - - - -
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20 Jan 2021 - from WebMaster:
   Pleased that you have found our website so interesting. Hope that you enjoy visiting our area sometime.    Can you please send us some more details of your Ormesby Snowdons - that may help clarify your query before I send it on to our members!
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25 March 2021 - from Philip Bridge:
   After various distractions by the 'stuff' of life I have completed and attach the synopsis of the history of my relation
Robert Paul Snowdon    b.1740 Ormesby.
   If you have any further details in your archives regarding Robert and particularly his predecessors I would be very grateful.
   I am descended from his son James. However an added complication in this tree is that Robert's grandson, also James, married the daughter of Robert's son Henry. What a complex web they wove!
   Unfortunately I have not found much detail following Robert leaving Ormesby and reaching Newcastle. Given he is listed as a 'person of independent means' and retired farmer, I presume he made money each time he moved farms, if that is what he did.
   Many thanks for your offer of help. Take care,
   - - - - - Philip Bridge (London) - - - - - - - - -
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29 Mar 2021 - from WebMaster:
   Thanks Philip for your queries.
   Does anyone have more information about the Snowdon family of Ormesby?
   Is there a link of this family to the Snowdon family of Old Eston?
   The Eston family has been traced back to Elizabethan times!
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If you have any more information
regarding these queries -
- then please contact us   with Message Subject
"Snowdons of Ormesby" !

Appeals for Help from 2020

Normanby Fish Man -
- Does Anyone Remember Him?
- 9 April 2020

   I was born in Normanby in the Mill House, Cleveland Street (1955) and remember getting fish deliveries by horse and cart.
   Have you any information on who the fish man was and how long he did it for?
   I seem to remember he traveled miles.
   Going out to see the horse made my day.
Regards,
   ------------------ John Stoddart ------------------
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2 May 2020 - from WebMaster:
   Thanks John - I’ve forwarded your enquiry to the members of our Group which should prompt some answers to be added here !
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2 May 2020 - from Kester Marsh (group member):
   In the late 1950s a big guy with a really red ruddy face and white coat on a horse and cart came weekly from Guisbrough and down Flatts Lane.
   My Gran bought fantastic fish off him for my lunch (I was at school).
   The horse did not need to be told where to stop as it did the round so often.
   I had skate and halibut off him but remember the cod steaks best - they were really tasty with the big bone still running down the centre.
   Don’t know where he went after Flatts Lane but it was down West street.
   Hope this helps.
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2 May 2020 - from Jack Ryan (group member):
   I presume we’re talking about Harold Bowers who came from Guisborough as far as I know.
   He came on his cart, painted red and yellow, down Flatts Lane on a Tuesday and Friday in all weathers.
   First stop was at the corner of South Park Ave and then he came to Thompson’s corner (West Street end of Patten Street) where his horse got its nose-bag while he was serving with his scales and weights.
   He always seemed very old to me in his brown "shopkeeper’s" coat, weathered cheeks and white hair!
   We had his fish most Fridays when I was a kid in the 60s.
   Regards.
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3 May 2020 - from Jack Ryan (group member):
   I had a look on ancestry.co.uk and on the 1939 register found that Harold Bowers was living in Guisborough but was a cattle drover at the time. He was born in 1908 and died in 1975.
   There is a family tree on there with a couple of really nice pics of him on his cart and selling fish.
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3 May 2020 - from John Coverdale (group member):
   I’m really pleased to read the details of "Rosey" Bowers as we called him, possibly because of his complexion.
   Somewhere in my untidy boxes I have a beautiful colour photo of Rosey with his grey Cob and immaculate flat cart taken outside of the Cleveland Inn on Cleveland St.
   Whenever I passed by the main entrance to Gisborough Hall I looked at the field opposite to see if the Cob was grazing there. In cold weather he/she was well covered in a good sheet and showed the excellent care received from the hardy old man. They were obviously good friends !
   Another recollection, of which I am far from proud, was the Summer’s evening when I was driving to Skelton in a Lotus Elan (a real flyer), and playing at Stirling Moss, hurtled through the several corners approaching Pinchinthorpe only to see Rosey’s cart plodding back to Guisborough a hundred feet ahead. I trampled on the anchors violently and came to a halt without having to swerve. Even now, the memory gives me the shivers. By the grace of God.... honestly.
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10 May 2020 - from WebMaster:
   Thanks everybody for all your comments.
   They reminded me to have a look through our archive of photographs and eventually I found the three shown opposite !
       (Click on each of these photos for a larger image!)
   Does anyone recognise where the middle photo was taken?
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30 Jan 2021 - from WebMaster:
   My apologies to all for the delay adding this to our website.
   I just have not had enough time to work on it.
   Hope that you find it of interest and it stirs memories!
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21 Feb 2022 - from Sylvia Fairbrass (group member):
  The middle photo was taken of the bottom block of Lambton Street, just up from Kenny’s shop.
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If you have any more information or memories of
our Normanby Fish Man Harry Bowers -
- then please contact us  !

Appeals for Help from 2019

Normanby Patent Slag Manure -
- Does Anyone Have Any Information?
- 10 April 2019  

   I found an advert in the Gardener's Chronicle May 22, 1897 which refers to £50 in prizes for the best 12 potatoes or 6 turnips grown using Normanby patent slag manure, applicants to apply to the Normanby Iron-works co. Middlesbrough exhibits for the Stokesley Show.
   Does anyone in your group have any information on the patent manure?
Regards,
  -------------Helen Bynum (near Beccles, Suffolk)--------------
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12 April 2019 - from WebMaster:
  Thanks Helen for your query which I copied to our Group.
  This should prompt some answers to be reported here!
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12 April 2019 - from Sylvia Fairbrass (Normanby LHG):
  My husband Norman remembers being asked to collect a bag of slag fertilizer from the works for one of his workmates many years ago.
  He said it was just like crushed slag, a very fine grey sand.
  He cannot remember what it was called but it was for use on his allotment.
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13 April 2019 - Alan Middletion (Normanby LHG):
  I am not a gardener but seem to remember when working for Ghana Manganese, my mine gardener used some of the ground ore as a fertiliser.
  Why this is relevant is that for many years this manganese ore was exported from the port of Takoradi to the 'Merchant Furnaces' at Grangetown.
  Manganese was added to steel to make it harder.
  It could be the ground slag (furnace waste) contained small amounts of unrecovered manganese and the gardeners recognised a business opportunity knowing that manganese was an essential mineral for good plant growth.
  Perhaps the term slag 'manure' was a shorthand for 'man'ganese!!
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14 April 2019 - from Joan Outhwaite (Normanby LHG):
  I have frequently come across “slag manure” in my researches so I have a few notes about it.
  One of the main ingredients was lime which is still used as a fertilizer.
  Large quantities of slag manure was shipped from Middlesbrough docks to Europe in the late 19th century. There were a number of steelworks locally who were producing the manure, it appears to have been quite profitable.
  The steelworks producing the manure were all around the UK.
  Steel works on Teesside produced much steel so there would have been a great deal of slag - far too much to convert it all into fertilizer. So the various local steel plants dumped their slag in Grangetown & South Bank - the villages ended up with very high slag heaps and it wasn’t till many years later other uses of slag were discovered.
  An advertisement from the Daily Gazette dated 3rd May 1895 is shown opposite (Click on it for larger image)
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16 April 2019 - from Walter Severs (Normanby LHG):
  In 1897 South Bank was known as ’South Bank in Normanby’ - hence the ironworks were known as ’Normanby Ironworks’.
  The ’slagmanure’ would be ground slag from the production of basic iron & steel process. A ’basic slag’ processimg plant was operating at Lackenby Works during its relatively recent lifetime. The product ’basic slag’ was sold commercially.
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16 April 2019 - from Helen Bynum:
Dear All,
  Thanks very much for all your help with my slag manure enquiry. I’m very grateful.
  I’m planning a day at the British Library to trawl through the newspapers.
  I will also look into the Lackenby works.
  Now I need to find out about allotments and agricultural shows!
  Best wishes, Helen Bynum (near Beccles, Suffolk)
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If you have any more information
regarding this topic -
- then please contact us  !

Eston County Modern School Dinner Ladies -
- Does Anyone Have Any Information?
- 26 January 2019

  Amongst some photos given to our group by Ann Collins was the one shown opposite. (Click on it for larger image)
  Written on the back of this photo is:-
"Eston County Modern School
Dinner Ladies
Back Row - with Glasses - Mrs Evelyn Miller"

Those Dinner Ladies identified so far are:
Back Row:
1.---???--- 2.Mrs Evelyn Miller
Front Row:
1.Minnie Duncan 2.---???--- 3.---???--- 4.---???---
5.Mrs ??? Garriock or Dunn?.
Can you name those unidentified or confirm/correct the names given above?    Do you have any stories to tell?
  --------Sylvia Fairbrass (Normanby LHG)--------
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4 March 2019 - from Eric Barker:
Dear All,
  The lady on the far right rings bells with me and ’Mrs Dunn’ seems to match her.
  Regards, Eric Barker (Stoke)
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If you have any more information
regarding this photo -
- then please contact us  !

Appeals for Help from 2018

Normanby School Dinners and Logbook -
- Does Anyone Have Any Information?
- 20 February 2018

A couple of questions for your group:-
1. I went to Normanby School from 1942-ish to 1946.
  We walked the distance from home in Eston each day.
  BUT did we walk home and back (over 1 mile each way) and have time to eat lunch during dinner hour?
  Or were there school meals available?
  We often walked back at home time with our teacher Mrs. Cooper (nee Ethel Bonas, I believe).

2. Why is the Normanby school log book not to be found in Cleveland Archives?
  The Eston log book is available there.
Best Regards,
  --------Ron Kerrison (Danby, Nr.Whitby, N.Yorkshire)--------
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22 February 2018 - from WebMaster:
  Thanks Jim for your queries.
  This should prompt some answers to be reported here!
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8 March 2018 - reply from member Joan Outhwaite:
  In later years - yes, we walked from Eston to Normanby each day, but I think we would have stayed at school for our lunch in a building over the High Street from the school.
  The teacher Mrs Cooper lived on High Street, Eston between Wesleyan Chapel & Christ Church.
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26 March 2018 - from WebMaster:
  One of our group's members said that when the school closed the log-book was held by someone for safekeeping.
  If anyone knows who has the log-book then please let us know!
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7 April 2018 - reply from John Bean:
  I attended Normanby Junior School, leaving in 1944, and also lived in Eston.
  I am sure that there were no school dinners on site and we had to walk to and from home to have our lunch.
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If you have any more information
regarding these queries -
- then please contact us  !

Appeals for Help from 2016

Photo of Brass Band in Front of Hills -
- Does Anyone Have Any Information?
- 19 May 2016

  John Bean (Thirsk) sent us the photograph opposite which he thought might of interest. (Click on it for larger image)
  He had made enquiries to the Eston Residents Association several years ago but receivd no reply.
  John has no idea when or where the photo was taken.
  But he thinks it must have a connection with this area as the hill in the background has the outline of the Eston Hills.   Also on the reverse of the photo is printed -
      "S.Kruger, Photographer, South Eston, Middlesbrough"
  John does not remember ever hearing any mention of a band in Eston, but there seems to have been one!
  Perhaps it was a visiting band - but the location for the photo seems strange?
  If it was an Eston band then a question arises - the men would have been manual workers and so poorly paid - their instruments would not have been cheap even in those days - so who paid for the instruments?
  Probably the band was supported by a large organisation and so John supposes it was the mines and associated steelworks.
  John guesses that the date of the photo is late 19th century when many bands were supported by industrial groups.

  So John asks whether anyone can identify the band or the location or add to his thoughts?
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6 December 2016 - from Webmaster:
  First my apologies for not listing this Appeal on our website until over 6 months after John raised it in May.
  I did circulate an enlargement of John’s photo with his queries at our group’s May meeting.
  Unfortunately no-one recognised the band - but several thought the hills in the background were probably our Eston Hills!
  There could be some houses on the left of the picture (though might just be markings on the photo). If so someone thought it may well have been taken below the Eston Hills nearer Eston rather than from Normanby.
  Some of the instruments are most unusual - does anyone know what they are?
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1 January 2017 - Reply received from Jim Stone:
  I have been around brass music for 70 years and still play the euphonium and baritone but nowadays mainly to amuse myself.
  Apparently there was a band in Normanby in the 1870s so this photo might be significant - Normanby Brass Band is listed on the Internet Bandsman's Everything Within website (ibew.org.uk).
  There were also two brass bands in Eston ie Eston Miners Old and Eston Miners.
  The IBEW website says:-
  "Eston Miners' Old Brass Band (Middlesbrough) was active from the 1880s to the 1920s. It took part in the ceremony to lay the foundation stones of the Normanby Methodist Church on Saturday June 30th, 1900."
  The photo shows what I would call a traditional Village Band or some might say a Scratch Band. They have obviously marched to the hills as the bass drummer has a carrying halter strapped under his coat and the event might be to provide music for a church picnic or Sunday school treat. Who knows?
  The instruments I see as left to right:
    1.tenor horn/baritone,   2.valve trombone, 3.ophicleide,
    4.cornet,      5.cornet?,        6.cornet,
    7,(boy),        8.(bystander),          9.cornet,
    10.flute or fife?,      11.????,          12.clarinet Eb? or oboe?,
    13.side drum,    14.trumpet/long cornet?,      15.euphonium,
    16.althorn?,    17.Eb? Bass or bombardon,    18.bass drum.

  I hope that my information is of benefit to someone in your group and I enjoy looking at your excellent website.
      ---------Regards, Jim Stone (Redcar)----------
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from WebMaster: thanks Jim for your useful comments.
  Perhaps the photo was taken after the ceremony laying the foundation stone of our Normanby Methodist Church?
  Wonder if there was a newspaper report?
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22 March 2017 - Reply received from Eric Barker:
  My grandad Isaac Atkinson Barker played trombone in the band pictured in the Pancrack film ''A Century in Stone''.
  In your Message Board I see mention of a band photo in Jim Stones message of 1 January 2017 - but cannot see it!
  Keep up the good work. I am still following your website.       -----------Regards, Eric Barker (Stoke)-----------
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from WebMaster: Thanks Eric for sending that information.
  I have fixed the display issue of the band photo on our Message Board - sorry about that!   However you can display a larger version of this photo via that on this Appeals page (but not on the Message Board pages - a technical problem! Problem since resolved - so can now display large versions of the small images on the Message Board!).
  I hope you can then confirm whether he is your grandfather?
  The only player identified as a trombonist (by Jim Stone) is reasonably clear for a scan from what was such a small photo.
  Apparently there were a few brass-bands in the Eston-Normanby area.  Do you know which band your grandad played in?
  Can you please send us any extra info on your grandad that we could add to our website?
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11 April 2017 - Follow up by Eric Barker:
  I can now see the picture on the Appeals page and my grandfather is not on that one.
  I always assumed (rightly or wrongly) that the band that my grandad played in was the Eston Miner’s "Silver" band.
  I attach a couple of photos of two silver bands showing my grandad.  (Click on these for larger images)
  The first picture (see opposite) shows my grandfather Isaac Atkinson Barker and his trombone in the middle at the front between the red lines.   This is actually a snip from the Pancrack film "A Century in Stone"   where the speaker says
"we used to go onto the hills to watch the siver miners band...".   So I assume that it is not a brass band.
  The second photo opposite shows my grandfather again - this time just to the left of the bass drum.   Judging by his medals this is obviously post-WW1.   The large house behind could be Wilton Castle.
-----------Regards, Eric Barker (Stoke)-----------
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12 April 2017 - from WebMaster:
  We eventually found a newspaper report about the ceremony to lay the original chapel foundation stone in the
North-Eastern Daily Gazette of 2 July 1900
  Unfortunately there are no photographs!
  But there are three possibly relevant references:
  "A deputation, accompanied by the Eston Miners’ Old Brass Band, met Mr. and Mrs A. E. Pease at Normanby and the party proceeded to the site of the new chapel where a short devotional service was held."
  "[Mr.Pease saying] ...he hardly expected to be welcomed by the Eston Band"
  "At the conclusion of the ceremony a public tea was held in an adjoining field"
  So it is possible that the old photograph was taken of the Eston Miners’ Old Brass Band in the field after the ceremony - but we’ll probably never know for sure!
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25 February 2018 - Follow up by Ron Kerrison:
  My father, Tom Kerrison, wrote many notes on his life in Eston, including names of musicians in his various band photographs.
  His writing deteriorated as he approached his 98th birthday (as did his memory perhaps) but on the reverse of his photo of the Eston Miners Silver Band he wrote the names of those he knew.
    [Click on our photo shown opposite for larger image]
  The order of names may be incorrect.
BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:-
  1.Reuben English, 2.Taff Seymour, 3.Shep Meadows,
  4.Bill Armstrong, 5.'Spot' Blot, 6.Bill (box hat),
  7.Tommy Dixon, 8.Dan Kilvington,
  9.(don't know first-name) King,
  10.(another?) Tommy Dixon (Wesley Y.C.)
MIDDLE ROW LEFT TO RIGHT:-
  1.Drummer Tewson, 2.(don't know), 3.Nesbet,
  4.(don't know), 5.Jack Chapman (-leader),
  6.Charlie 'Digby' Kay, (no record of the rest!)
FRONT ROW LEFT TO RIGHT:
  1.Nelson, 2.Jack Colman, 3.IKE BARKER,
  4.Topsy Cook (trombone), 5.(don't know), 6.Arty Allday,
  7.Billy Colman (I think!).

  'Spot' was the nickname for many of the Blott families in California, Eston.   In fact Tom's 'marra' or co-worker in the pit was always called 'Spot'.   He lived in East Row, California and was married to nurse Blott a popular local nurse.
Best Regards,
--------Ron Kerrison (Danby, Nr.Whitby, N.Yorkshire)--------
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WebMaster (28 February 2018):
  Thanks Ron for relating your dad's notes - if only more people wrote details on the back of their photos!
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If you have any more information
regarding this photo or local bands -
- then please contact us  !

Photos of Normanby Brickyards Employees -
- Does Anyone Have Any Names or Information?
- 1 Aug 2016

  Group Member Sylvia Fairbrass displayed some of her research work on the Normanby Brickyards at our recent annual exhibition.
  Sylvia is continuing her researches and would welcome any more information, photographs, documents. etc that anyone can provide on the brickyards and workers.
  Meanwhile can anyone put names to those in photos opposite?
          (Click on photos opposite for larger images)

  The middle photograph shows a group of workers from the Ormesby Brickworks.
  Names of only two of the men are known:
    Centre-left: Bill Graham
    Front Row 3rd from left: Taddy Bean

  Do you know any other names or when the photo was taken?


  The bottom photo (loaned by Dorothy Watson the daughter of Bill Graham) shows employees of Steetley at a Presentation of Long Service Awards.
  Does anyone know when or where this took place?
Back Row L-R:
David Flynn, Arthur Middlemiss, ???, ???, ???,
Nevil Aungiers ("Clark Gable"), Jack Brewer, ???, ???,
Jack Barker (glasses), ???, ???.
Front Row L-R:
Bill Graham, ???, ???, ???
  Do you know any of the missing names?

If you have any more information for Sylvia -
- then please contact us  !

Appeals for Help from 2015

Find at Normanby School -
          - Does Anyone Recognise This?
- 15 Sep 2015

  Harry Greenmon is trying to confirm the origins of this stone and sent the photo (taken by Barbara Greenmon) to some of our Group’s members. (Click on photo opposite for larger image)
  Harry said that there has been a lot of work carried out at the Normanby Primary School on Flatts Lane over the last 9 months or so.
  When the pond was drained they found this interesting carved stone which Harry believes originally came from the former Normanby School on the High Street now the Jennings.
  Can anyone confirm that?

  The stone is nearly 6 ft long and the inscription reads:

MAS????   HOUSE
ERECTED BY SUBSCRIPTION 1862
PROMOTED BY REVD.W.WARD-JACKSON PATRON
AND REVD.THOS.IRVIN INCUMBENT.

  It was suggested that the incomplete top words could be "MASTER’S HOUSE".    Harry measured it and confirmed the missing letters would fit perfectly.
  The date matches when the Normanby School Master’s house was built in 1862 (see Article Normanby Time Line ).
  [WebMaster: was this the house which can be seen on the right of the photo opposite?   Or was it at the back?]

  Harry has talked to the headmaster and they plan to have the stone cleaned up and put on permanent display in the primary school grounds on Flatts Lane.

  If you have any more information about this particular stone (especially where it was originally located) -
          - then please contact us  !
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Reply from Brenda Wheatley (nee Marshall):
  I was at the primary school in the 1950s.   I remember a plaque with the name Ward-Jackson on it.   This was on the wall of the school building by the play-ground.   But I think this one was smaller and squarer than that just found.
  Does anyone else remember this smaller stone?
  Was this smaller one for when the school was built in 1843?
  What happened to it when the school was demolished?
         If you remember - please contact us  !

Appeals for Help from 2014

Boundary Marker Stone -
          - What Do the Letters Represent?
- 22 Sep 2014

  Bill Cole is trying to identify the meaning of the letters on a stone found on the bridle path between Flatts Lane and Ormesby Bank.
  The stone is on the Christ Church parish boundary line so appears to be a boundary marker.
  The letters are:    N L    B D
  Bill took the 1st photo in 2010 & the 2nd photo just last week (September 2014).
  Bill assures us that there is one stone only. The only difference is it is four years from one photo to other.
  If you have any more information about this stone and what the letters & markings stand for then please contact us!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  Answer: Our thanks to John Hunter for solving this appeal after being contacted by Amanda Proud (our Publicity Officer).   John's hobby is to document boundary stones and crosses in our area.   John says that the letters stand for "Normanby Local Board District" - the 1895 six inches to mile OS Map has lettering that shows our area as under the "Normanby LBD".
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
from Webmaster: One wonders why a boundary stone should be placed on the bridle way?
  If you have any more information about this particular stone or of any similar marker stones in Normanby area then please contact us  !

Appeals for Help from 2013

Watson's Yard - Where Was It?
- 19 Sep 2013

  Janet Sabourin contacted us saying that her great-great-grandmother Hannah Stork White is shown on the 1911 Census and it gives her mailing address as Watson's Yard, Normanby.
  Janet asked if anyone can tell her anything about the street or maybe has photos of it?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Response from Webmaster:
  Watson's Yard does not appear to be on any maps we have.
  The initial thoughts of our Archivist Sylvia were that it was in the Dixon St, Laird St, Mason St area - as they were the only enclosed yard areas she knew of.
  Then we seem to have mislaid Janet's query - our apologies to Janet for not following up properly.

February 2015 from WebMaster:
  I have now checked on the 1911 census (on Ancestry) and found the following:-
- in the Enumerators Summary Book it has:
Page 7 Sched 162 1 Lambton Street--Private House--
           --Mr.Fawcett--6males 2females
Page 7 Sched 163 Lambton Street Watson's Yard--Cottage--
           --Mr.White--1male 1 female
Page 8 Sched 164 3 Lambton Street--Private House--
           --Mr.Todd--1male 1 female

- in the Census Form Address sheet:
  1 Watson's Yard, Lambton Street, Normanby RSO, Yorks.

  So - Watson's Yard was definitely in/off Lambton St - and using No.1 suggests there may have been others too?
  Must be small as called a cottage rather than a Private House (and only 2 'pentioners' in it).

  On a post-1945 map that our former-chairman Tom Towers sent me I can see Lambton St No.3 & No.5 but not No.1.
  No.3 is at the High St end of the terrace of Lambton St (opposite the Woodman) and there seem to be some buildings between No.3 and the corner shop No.27 High St.
  Were these v.small house(s) off the back of the High St?

  But as this map is after 1945 it will be worth looking at a large scale map dated around 1911.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  If anyone has any more information about Watson's Yard or even photos then please contact us  !

Appeals for Help from 2012

Walter Baker of Normanby Closed -
          - Re-opened as Beever's Furniture Shop
- 7 Jun 2012

  This notable local furniture company sadly closed its Normanby store after 75 years of trading - another victim of the current recession.
  The business relocated from Southbank in 1965 to the former Forum Cinema  in Normanby.
  We thank the company and staff for all their contribution to our community and wish all well for their future.
  This closure was a sad loss to the shopping facilities of Normanby.   But fortunately the store has since re-opened as Beever's furniture shop - welcome news.
  If you have any interesting memories, photographs or memorabilia of the Walter Baker store (or the Forum Cinema) then please contact us  !

Appeals for Help from 2011

Mystery of the Normanby Hall Stones - 19 Jul 2011

  Veronica Fegan & Kester Marsh appeal for information that anyone can unearth about the stones in the photographs opposite.

  Veronica Fegan lives in the Mount and bought the woodland at the rear of their property some 23 years ago.
  She found two sandstone headstones with initials on them which they now have in their garden and which always prove a talking point with visitors.  (1st 2 photos shown opposite)
  Veronica wanted to know more of their history and looked into it a little at the time.
  She does not believe them to be for human graves but maybe for horses as their property is roughly where the stables of Normanby Hall were in the late 1800s.
  The initials are ARJ dated 10th February 1863 and WWJ.   ARJ may be for A Ralph Jackson and WWJ for William Ward Jackson but no date on this one as it is incomplete.

  Kester Marsh has also found a similar stone in his garden in Hollywalk Close (see 3rd photo opposite).
  The inscription is worn - below the obvious L J there is a row of smaller letters with only perhaps a J visible. There could be a further letter between the upper L & J.
  The stone measures 32" above the ground level, 14" across and 7" deep.
  Someone with a good metal detector might find something under the original position of the stone?   Kester says a 'stone' is shown on a 1927 map and he would like to believe it is for the Poverina Horse - but he will keep an open mind!

  The 1948 Estate Map produced for the sale of the Ward Jackson Normanby Estate in 1948 also shows a 'Stone'.
  Veronica believes the area adjoining the Mount was the stables area of the Normanby Hall and it stretched along Hollywalk Avenue and Hollywalk Close.   So there may be similar stones in other gardens too.


  If anyone can suggest who or what these mystery stones were intended for please contact us  !

Normanby Miners - who are they? - 11 Jul 2011

  Joan Outhwaite displayed this interesting photograph at the group's recent exhibition hoping for any names of these miners.
  The photo was taken either in 1888 (when Cargo Fleet Iron Co took over the Normanby mine) or in 1899 when the mine closed.
  This photo might have been a "goodbye gift" - no redundancy money then!  So there may be a number of copies of this photo around.
  Joan knows the names of only two of the miners -
-Robert Smith (Joan's great grandfather) standing 3rd left.
-William Barker (Robert's brother-in-law) seated 2nd left.
  But who are the others? Can you put a name to any of the men?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
17 February 2014 - Reply received from Eric Barker the great grandson of William Barker.
  Eric had a copy of the same photo as Joan with the date 1888 on the back.
  This confirmed Joan's 1st choice of date when Cargo Fleet Iron Co took over the Normanby mine.
  Furthermore Eric sent us a copy of the back cover of a booklet "Cleveland Ironstone Mining" by John S Owen.   This had the same photo with six extra names.
  This new information plus a larger photo have been added to a new article by Eric "Normanby Ironstone Mine".
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From WebMaster: Thanks for the feedback Eric!

Please contact us  if you can help add any more names!

Saint Helen's Church - Photos Wanted - 30 Apr 2011

  The church is being rebuilt at the Beamish Open-air Museum (see article "Saint Helen's Church Rebuilding" ).
  Unfortunately much of the church was vandalized or lost before it was dismantled and moved to storage at Beamish.
  So any photos of the church which we could borrow or copy could be a great help, particularly of the areas destroyed by fire or vandals.   Any pre-fire close-up views of practically anything could add details that will help the rebuild be as accurate as possible.

Please contact us  if you can help!

Saint Helen's Church - Any Stones in Your Garden? - 30 Apr 2011

  As described in the article "Saint Helen's Church Rebuilding"  many parts of the church were removed before it was taken to Beamish.
  We therefore appeal to local people to look in their gardens and see if they can find any sandstone blocks which may originate from the Church.
  It would be fantastic to replace as much of the original fabric as possible.
  And does anyone know where the font went?

Please contact us  if you can help!

Dixon Street - 14 Mar 2011

  Dixon Street is one of the first rows of houses built around 1854/5 as shown on a building plans we have found.
  The photo shown opposite is the only one we have of Dixon Street.  The streets were demolished in 1979.
  What we wanted to know is which way is the photo facing - towards Cleveland Street or Parrington Street?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  Answer: After further investigation we think that the photo was taken from the Parrington Street end looking towards Cleveland Street.
  Old maps show Dixon Street (no house numbers shown) had 6 houses along the north side with the two end ones being slightly larger (possibly shops?).  On the maps it seems that the whole length of the south side of the street is taken up by just 2 buildings with small buildings (sheds?) between them.  So the 6 houses in the photo are on the north side.  And their numbers could be 1,3,5,7,9,11 - which would match with the possible number 11 on the nearest door in the photo.  Hence photo taken from the Parrington Street end looking towards Cleveland Street.

  Can anyone confirm this?  Do you remember any corner shops in Dixon Street?  What were the buildings opposite the 6 houses?

Please contact us  if you can help!

Laird Street - 14 Mar 2011

  Does anyone have photos of Laird Street which ran parallel with High Street, Dixon and Mason Streets.

Please contact us  if you can help!

Family History - 10 Mar 2011

  We are unable to undertake family tree researches for others but if you have done any family tree research on your Normanby ancestors then we would be interested in your findings
             - so please contact us  !