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February 6. — A grand subterranean ball was given to the workmen and others employed at Gosforth colliery, on account of the coal having been won on the Saturday (January 31st) previous. The ball room, which was situated at the depth of nearly 1,100 feet below the surface of the earth, was in the shape of an L, whose width was fifteen feet, base twenty-two feet, and perpendicular forty-eight feet. Seats were placed on the sides of the room, the floor was flagged, and the whole place was brilliantly illuminated with lamps and candles. The company began to assemble and descend about half-past nine on the morning, and continued to do so till one in the afternoon. Immediately on their arrival at the bottom of the shaft, they proceeded to the face, that is the extremity of the drift, where each person hewed a piece of coal as a remembrance of the descent, and returned to enjoy the pleasures of the ball-room. As soon as the guests had descended, dancing commenced, and was continued without intermission till three o'clock in the afternoon, when all ascended once more to the upper regions in safety, much pleased and gratified with the amusements in which they had partaken. The Coxlodge band was in attendance, cold punch, malt liquor, and biscuits of all kinds were in abundance. There were present between 200 and 300 persons, nearly one-half of whom were females. [LHTB]

April 28. — Sunderland and its neighbourhood were visited by an awful storm of thunder and lightning, accompanied with a high wind. Part of the gable-end of a house in the High-street, belonging to Mr. Michael Reed, was blown down with a tremendous crash, on the roof of a public-house, occupied by Mrs. Thompson, which it stove in, and did considerable damage. The sloop Bee, of Blyth, laden with limestone, from Sunderland to Blyth, was obliged to put back for Sunderland (which place she left in time morning), having lost the whole of her canvass at sea, in a most tremendous gale of wind at N.E. and by E. On returning, she struck upon the bar, drove amongst the frame-work, and soon after went to pieces. Great praise was due to Mr. Martin Douglas, coal-fitter, and others, for their exertions in saving the crew. The schooner George and Henrys, of Sunderland, laden with lime, for Scotland, went to sea the same time as the Bee, and was obliged to put back. She made for the harbour, when, there not being sufficient water for her, she struck upon the bar and sprung a leak; the water then getting to the lime, she took fire, and afterwards drove up into the harbour mouth, where she sunk. [LRS]

May 13. — About twelve o'clock at night, an explosion took place at Killingworth West Moor pit, which did considerable damage to the shaft. One boy was so severely burnt that he died in a day or two after. Had the misfortune happened two hours later, the loss of life would have been very considerable as the men would then have been in the mine. [LHTB]

June 25. — An explosion of inflammable air took place in the Dorothea pit, Newbottle colliery, the property of Lord Durham, whereby Robert Gardner lost his life. One other man was in the mine at the time the accident happened, who escaped with very little injury. After the first alarm had subsided, Mr. John Harrison, the head resident viewer for the colliery, accompanied by five or six assistants, descended the shaft in order to search for Gardner; but when they had proceeded some distance into the workings, another explosion occurred. Mr. H. had his head cut in several places, and his hands were severely burnt, but the rest of the men were very little injured. No particular account can be given of the cause which led to this unfortunate accident, as the party with whom it originated paid the forfeit of his life. Gardner’s body, it was thought probable might never be found, as during the first twenty-four hours, explosions took place every one or two hours, which convinced the most scientific viewers in the neighbourhood, that the mine was on fire, and in consequence the pit was closed up so as to exclude the air. It was also found necessary to cease working another pit called the Margaret, which communicated with the Dorothea. [LHTB]

July 26. — His royal highness the duke de Chartres and suite arrived at Newcastle on the evening of this day (Sunday) from Edinburgh. His royal highness was abroad as early as seven o'clock the next morning, taking a survey of the town. Isaac Cookson, jun., esq., the French vice-consul, waited upon the duke, and accompanied him to the Guildhall, the Mansion-house, and other public places, after which his royal highness took his departure for Sunderland, wither he was accompanied by Mr. Cookson, having previously descended one of the coal pits in the neighbourhood, the interior of which he examined with much attention. The steam engine being one of 220 horses' power, particularly arrested the attention of his royal highness. At Sunderland he examined the bridge, pier, &c. [LRS]

August 31. — At a meeting of the coal trade at Newcastle, it was determined to re-establish the vends, or regulations for apportioning each colliery's sale on the rivers Tyne and Wear, and they commenced accordingly on the following day. [LHTB]

October 10. — A petrified or fossil tree was found in the stone quarry at Wide-open, near Gosforth, about five miles from Newcastle, at the depth of 42 feet from the surface, and 5 feet from the bed of the stone. It was 72 feet in length, and 4 feet 9 inches in girth at the lower extremity. Its horizontal exceeded its vertical diameter in the proportion of 17 to 10. Its position was nearly horizontal, the knots, &c., retained their original appearance; it was partially hollow and crystalized; its longitudinal separations were precisely those of wood rent by powerful external pressure. The fossil stem of the tree was found at the depth of 48 fathoms above the coal in the workings of Killingworth Colliery, near Newcastle, in September, 1830. A representation of this tree is given in the first volume of the "Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle." Another fossil tree was found in a quarry at Heworth, near Newcastle. Other fine specimens of similar fossil remains have been found in the quarries on the sea coast at Cresswell, in Northumberland; one of which is preserved in the conservatory at Cresswell House. Its dimensions are, viz. :– 5 feet in height, girth at the top 4 feet 10 inches, at the middle 5 feet 10½ inches, near the bottom 5 feet 7 inches, and at the bottom 7 feet 6 inches. This was drawn and etched by Mr. Thomas Sopwith, of Newcastle, for the Rev. John Hodgson’s History of Northumberland. [LRS]

October 13. — During the night, there was a strong gale accompanied by a heavy and long-continued rain. The river Tees was swollen to a height not exceeded within the memory of the oldest inhabitant of Barnardcastle. The river Tyne was alarmingly swollen on the following morning, overflowing all the low lands in its vicinity, and penetrating the cellars on the Quay-side and the Close, in Newcastle, occasioning a considerable loss of goods and liquors. A great many sheep and a few cattle were on the island called the King’s-meadows, in the river Tyne, at the commencement, on the Tuesday evening, but were fortunately got off during the night and the next morning. About four o’clock in the afternoon of Wednes day, a valuable horse belonging to Messrs. Robert and William Wheatley, cart-owners, Newcastle, was lost by falling over the Quay, opposite to the Custom-house, while attached to a cart. The tide at this time had extended considerably over the Quay, and to keep some iron (in progress of delivery) dry, the cart had been backed close to the vessel, which, either from the force of the current, or the pressure of the cart, (containing 22 bundles of hoop iron) sheered off from the Quay, and the cart and the horse were precipitated into the river between the Quay and the vessel, where the poor animal struggled about ten minutes, during which time every effort was made for his release, but without success. The whole of the scaffolding put up for the landing of stones to be used in erecting the south abutements of Scotswood bridge, over the Tyne, was carried away, and the timber dispersed over the adjacent fields. Some pieces reached Swalwell, Dunston, &c., and even got as far inland as the turnpike road on that side of the water. The communicating gangway from the north pier to the piling scaffold, was also entirely driven down, and the scaffolding itself so materially damaged and shifted from its level, that the whole was obliged to be taken down. The men employed in the erection of the bridge had some very narrow escapes whilst engaged in picking up the floating rafters. The flood made a breach in every part of the line of road reaching from the south pier to Blaydon, being all embankment and not finished, which in that early state of the work was very considerable. Several sheep and one or two asses, were said to have floated down the Derwent, a small tributary stream running through Swalwell, but which on this occasion, rushed down with astonishing strength and rapidity. By this alarming visitation, Mr. Thomas Potts, a farmer of Newburn, lost a bay mare and a fine young horse. He was attempting to ford the river with a cart, a short way from his own residence, but the rush of the water increasing at the moment, the animals were carried off their feet, and Mr. Potts thrown into the stream; his progress was fortunately stopped by the whirling of an eddy round a quay near his farm, from whence his barnman succeeded in rescuing him, though in a very exhausted condition. Some cattle belonging to Mr. Ramsay, on Derwent-haugh, were in great danger during the Wednesday — a danger that became no less imminent to the men employed to turn them off, before they could be brought to swim for that purpose. A keel that was taking the turn of the river, between Stella and Lemington, was driven with great force on the eastern hank; and most of the houses on both sides of the river, had their lower apartments flooded, and parts of their furniture either damaged or destroyed: a desk-bed was caught by a keelman named Curry, at Blaydon. An old woman was said to have been drowned near Wylam. There had not been so high a flood in the Tyne since December 30th, 1815, though its effects were comparatively trifling. As stated before, the river Tees rose to an unusual height; at Barnardcastle it flooded many of the houses, particularly at Bridgegate, where, during the night, it swept away furniture, clothes, &c., from the inhabitants. The new bridge, building across the river at Whorlton, was entirely carried away, to the ruin of the unfortunate builders. See June 9th, 1829. At Hexham, the whole of the Tyne-green was overflown, and the lower rooms of many houses were under water. But, deplorable as the effects of the storm were inland, they were trivial compared with the devastation on the coast. During the Tuesday, above one hundred and fifty light colliers had arrived safely in Sunderland harbour, and several sailed again loaden, with a fine north west wind and a smooth sea; but during the night, the wind having shifted to the north-east, a most tremendous sea came on, and morning presented one of the most awful spectacles witnessed there for many years. Day-light discovered four vessels lying on their broadsides on the south rocks, and by three o’clock, p.m., there were fifteen vessels on shore and wrecked between the south pier and Hendon. About four o’clock, the Eleanor, of Monkwearmouth, which had sailed the day before for the northward, in putting back, sunk off the mouth of the harbour, and all on board perished, consisting of a father and son named Hills, and two seamen, in sight of some thousands of spectators, unable to render the slightest assistance. The brig, Thos. Fenwick, of Shields, sunk in deep water off Sunderland, after having been abandoned by her crew. The William and Clio of Sunderland, with four other vessels, went on shore on Stranton sands, near Hartlepool. The sea was heavier at Blyth, than had been known for upwards of twenty years; however, it did but partial damage, although, at one time, the houses at Cowpen Quay were nearly inundated by the dyke giving way. A small vessel, laden with corn, &c., struck on the rocks near Marsden, between Shields and Sunderland; she went to pieces, and all on board consisting of eight persons perished. They were seen to suffer by some pilots, who were not able to render them any assistance. [LRS]

October 27. — The Stockton and Darlington railway company, opened the new branch of the railroad, from Darlington to Croft. A liberal invitation to the neighbouring gentlemen having been given by the company, numerous coaches drawn by one horse each and crowded with thirty to fifty passengers on each coach, as well as carrying many appropriate banners, had an imposing effect. These coaches were followed by a train of wagons, laden with coals from every different mine, for the supply of the North Riding of Yorkshire. The procession was truly interesting. [LRS]

December 3. — At Willington colliery, near Newcastle, four men lost their lives by an explosion, accompanied by a rush of water from some old workings. [LHTB]

December 3. — An unfortunate accident happened at Willington colliery, near Newcastle, by which four men lost their lives by an explosion accompanied by a rush of water from some old workings, [LRS]

December 8. — During the night, as Ralph HasweIl, engineman, was guarding the rope at Winter's-lane engine, on the Hetton Company's railway, he by some means slipt his foot, and came in contact with the drum on which the rope is wound, when the first turn of the rope passed over his right arm, and the next turn over his right foot. In this awful situation he had to remain a considerable time, till at length another workman came to his assistance and stopped the engine, but not before nearly 400 fathoms of rope were wound over his arm and legs! Fortunately the rope never passed over his head, or he must have been crushed to death. Upwards of an hour elapsed before he could be extricated, and what was astonishing he was not much hurt, excepting his right arm, which was a good deal crushed. [LHTB]

December 19. — About nine o’clock at night, a pitman, named Joseph Gardner, was found in the centre of a large water wheel attached to the mustard manufactory in Pandon-dean, Newcastle, in a very perilous situation. Mrs. Hedley, who resided on the premises, thinking she heard a noise in the mill, took a light and proceeded to the spot; on asking if any one was there, a faint voice replied, "Yes, I’m in the wheel." Assistance was immediately procured, and the poor fellow was dragged out with great difficulty through the machinery, dripping with wet, and leaving his hat and one of his shoes in the dam, which were got out the next morning. His situation was truly dangerous; for had the wheel once turned round, which the weight of his body on either side would have effected, he must have fallen into the dam beneath, containing five or six fect depth of water, or had be remained much longer exposed to the wet and cold, it was likely he would have perished, as he was very much exhausted when found. He had been drinking at the head of the Side, and went home to supper with a man and a woman; they were in another house, but he could not tell where: he had had 13 or 14 shillings, but only twopence when found. He could not tell how he got into the wheel. [LRS]

 

 

 

• 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