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May 15. — The inhabitants of Alnwick and its vicinity were gratified by the completion of an undertaking hitherto unattempted in that quarter, viz, the delivering of coals at Alnwick, from Shilbottle colliery, by wagons conveyed along a metal railroad. [LHTB]

May 17. — The opening of the wagon-way from Bewicke main to the river Tyne took place, on which occasion every road leading to it was crowded with passengers at an early hour, and before eleven o’clock, about ten thousand people were assembled. About this time, four wagons of small coals were brought up the first plane by the steam-engine, to the great admiration of the spectators; but owing to some unexplained circumstance, the four wagons of best coals intended for the Tyne, did not start till a much later hour. As soon as the wagons reached the summit of the second and highest plane, up which they went with surprising velocity and regularity, the British flag was hoisted at Ayton cottage ; and the event was announced by a discharge of six pieces of cannon, which were answered by an equal number from the Ann and Isabella, his majesty’s armed ship on the Tyne, and from Deptford-house, the residence of Mr. Cooke. Immediately on the wagons reaching the first plane, about four hundred gentlemen sat down to dinner, in a tent fitted up for the occasion. An excellent military band attended. In the evening, in order to prove the excellence of the level railway, six men, without horses, took with the greatest ease four laden wagons, with each ten men on the top, from Ayton cottage to the Tyne ; and the first coals being put on board the Ann and Isabella, the discharges of artillery were repeated. [LHTB]

September 14. — An explosion took place in Killingworth colliery, by which unfortunate occurrence twelve human beings lost their lives. [LRS]

October. — At the binding of the colliers, which took place at this time, in the month of October, the owners by a previous agreement among themselves, but which had not been made known to the men, proposed that the men should be engaged for a quarter, or a year and a quarter, which would bring the binding to the latter end of December, or beginning of January, to which the men agreed; but upon mature deliberation they found that they had done wrong, and, accordingly, on the 16th of October, 1810, a meeting of delegates was held at Long Benton, when it was resolved by a majority that a strike should take place, unless the owners would agree to continue the binding from the 18th of October, as usual. This not being complied with, the men accordingly struck after that day, and as the delegates from the different collieries held frequent meetings, both in the counties of Durham and of Northumberland, they were hunted out by the owners and magistrates assisted by the military, and committed to prison until the prisons could contain no more. To such an extent were the old gaol and house of correction at Durham filled, that for fear of infection, several were removed to the stables and the stable-yard of the Bishop of Durham, where they were guarded by the Durham volunteers, and constables, and afterwards by the royal Caermarthenshire militia. Fresh seizures continued to be made, the number in the bishop’s stables amounted to about three hundred. Finding that this mode of procedure only made the matter worse, the rev. W. Nesfield, a magistrate, and captain Davis, of the Caermarthenshire militia, undertook to compromise the difference. They made application to the prisoners in the bishop’s stables, whom they considered the leading men, but who refused to have anything to do in the matter, leaving it entirely to their partners at liberty, who settled it by removing the time of binding to the 5th of April, as at present. In the course of this strike of about seven weeks, several other things were brought forward, particularly the fines for deficient measure and foul coals. Mr. Nesfield having pledged himself that these things should be rectified after the pits had again commenced working and previous to the binding, he by advertisement called a meeting of the trade to be held at Chester-le-street on the morning of December the 20th, "and that two men from each colliery be directed to attend." This was objected to by Mr. Martindale, the clerk to the coal trade on the river Wear, "lest such meeting should hazard a recurrence of the late disturbances," and "that the river Wear does not in itself constitute the coal trade, but that the rivers Tyne, Hartley, Blyth, and Cowpen, form also a principal part thereof," &c. This being also inserted in the papers, with Mr. Nesfield’s answer to the objections contained therein, he by another advertisement dated December the 26th, and addressed "to the coal owners of the rivers Tyne and Wear, and of Hartley, Blyth, and Cowpen," called a meeting to be held at the same place on the 3rd of January, 1811, when printed "Proposals for regulating the contracts between the coal owners and their pitmen on the rivers Tyne and Wear, and of Hartley, Blyth, and Cowpen, submitted to their consideration, at a special meeting held at Chester-le-street, on Thursday, the 3rd of January, 1811, by the Rev. William Nesfield, one of his Majesty’s Justices of the peace for the county of Durham," were agreed to by the coal-owners, and have been the basis of the agreements ever since.

By the words "binding time" is meant the day from which the contract is made in one year until the same day in the next year, when it expires. The time when it is made is uncertain — sometimes a month or six weeks before the old contract ceases. Previous to 1810, when there was a great scarcity of pitmen, a bounty called "binding money" was given, which at some collieries was as high as twenty guineas a man, but which is now entirely done away. The binding money in 1800 was from 10 to 12 guineas a man. In 1804, from 18 to 20 guineas. In 1809, five guineas, and by Mr. Nesfield’s proposals it was to be the same as in the year preceding. [LHTB]

 

 

 

• LHTB — Local Historian's Table Book of Remarkable Occurrences Connected with the Counties of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Northumberland and Durham by M.A. Richardson. Published in five volumes in 1844.
• LRS — Local Records or Historical Register of Remarkable Events by John Sykes, published in 1833 in two volumes