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March 3. — The official opening of that stupendous undertaking — the Jarrow Docks — took place this afternoon, on a scale of magnificence and splendour which has seldom, if ever, been witnessed on either side of the Tyne. Precisely at a quarter-past twelve a special train, for the conveyance of those gentlemen who had to take part in the ceremony, left the Central Station, at Newcastle. Amongst the passengers were the Right Hon. Lord Ravensworth, the Right Hon. the Earl of Carlisle, Sir William George Armstrong, the Mayor of Newcastle (Joseph Laycock, esq.), the Mayor of Gateshead (W. Brown, esq.), the Chairman and Directors of the North-Eastern Railway Company, and several of the shareholders and their friends. On the train approaching its destination the vessels at anchor in the river presented an unusually gay appearance, displaying a profusion of flags from the bulwark to the main truck. On the arrival of the train at the high station the company formed in procession, led by the Right Hon. Lord Ravensworth and the Right Hon. the Earl of Carlisle, and proceeded in that order down to the jetty of the docks, headed by the splendid band of the Rifle Brigade, then stationed at the Newcastle Barracks, which played the familiar local air "The Keel Row." On arriving at the jetty the Vanguard steamer was in readiness to receive the gentlemen who formed the procession. In addition to the noble lords on board the Vanguard the following directors were also present :– W. C. Copperthwaite, esq., of Malton ; George Dodsworth, esq., Clifton, York ; James Hartley, esq., Sunderland ; W. R. Hunter, esq., Newcastle; James Kitson, esq., Leeds; C. G. Maclean, esq., Leeds; N. Plews, esq., Darlington; James Pulliene, esq., Bedale; C. H. Seymour, esq., York; W. L. Wharton, esq., Dryburn ; R. Williamson, esq., Scarborough. Amongst the general company were G. J. Fenwick, esq., William Woods, esq., William Hunter, esq., Thomas Bourne, esq., William Weallens, esq., Christian Allhusen, esq., T. E. Harrison, esq., A. C. Sheriff, esq., John Cleghorn, esq., Hedworth Williamson, esq., John Hope, esq., Edmund Crawshay, esq., T. C. Meek, esq., C. Bramwell, esq., Gibson Kyle, esq., R. W. Henly, esq., Captain Herd, R.N., R. Hodgson, esq., W. Hunter, esq., Thomas Young, esq., J. Straker, esq., A. C. Stevenson, esq., John Jobling, esq., H. T. Meynell, esq., &c., &c. On entering the dock the procession was welcomed by a salute of sixteen guns, which was fired in rapid succession, amidst the cheers of thousands of spectators, who covered every available spot where a view could be obtained. After sailing round and surveying the entire (locks, the steamers returned to the jetty, and disembarked their passengers, who proceeded to inspect the various works and enormous capabilities of this gigantic undertaking, all the arrangements of which have been most admirably carried out, according to designs, by T. E. Harrison, esq., the engineer of the company, under the personal inspection of Robert Hodgson, esq., C. E. With a view to give the coals abundant and rapid access to the docks, five substantial viaducts span the old road at the south-east bend of the slake, mind connect the various lines of the North-Eastern Railway with so many means of access to the dock, where the coal waggons are run on to a stupendous suit of jetties, in the construction of which upwards of 400,000 feet of timber had been employed : there being four jetties, extending considerably into the dock, each having a shipping spout at the end and four at each side, so that thirty-six vessels can be in process of loading at the same time. The standage for waggons is equal to twenty-five miles of railway, and with these combined facilities from 12,000 to 15,000 tons may be shipped in a day. In the evening a numerous and influential party of the shareholders and gentry of the neighbourhood celebrated the opening by a sumptuous banquet at Mr. T. B. Jeffrey's, the Central Station Hotel. Mr. H. S. Thompson presided, and Mr. Leeman occupied the vice-chair. [LRF]

March 15. — A most appalling catastrophe occurred this day in North Shields. The Waterworks Company had arranged for a supply of water from a spring in South Preston New Pit, and Mr. Robert Wilson, foreman to Messrs. Heppell and Landells, engine builders, and Mr. Procter, foreman to the waterworks, descended the pit, in a cage, to arrange about the requisite machinery for pumping the water. John Herdman, the banksman, had forgotten that the cage and gone down, and, while talking to some cartmen, pushed a tub to the top of the shaft. He then saw the cage was not there, and tried to prevent the tub from falling into the pit, but it overmastered him, and they were both precipitated to the bottom. They fell upon Mr. Wilson and killed him on the spot. The tub also struck Mr. Procter, breaking his thighs, and otherwise seriously injuring him. Herdman’s back was broken by the fall, and he died a few days afterwards. [LRF]

September 20. — One of the boilers at Kelloe Colliery, near Durham, exploded with tremendous force this afternoon, causing a great amount of damage, and involving the loss of three lives, besides seriously endangering several others. On the removal of the debris the dead bodies of two unfortunate men, named John Mavin and John Falshaw, were discovered in the fire holes, scalded and mutilated fearfully. A third man, named John Henderson, a mason, was so severely injured, by a large stone falling upon him, that he died shortly after. At the time of the explosion there were 250 men and boys in the pit, with whom all communication was cut off for hours, and it was not until eleven o'clock at night that the machinery was so far restored as to enable them to be brought to bank. [LRF]

December 26. — A testimonial, consisting of an elegant gilt French clock, a silver spirit stand and salver, together with a gold watch and chain (for Mrs. Southern), were presented to G. W. Southern, esq., on the occasion of his leaving his situation as viewer of the collieries belonging to J. Bowes, esq., and Partners, to undertake a similar one at the collieries of the Marchioness of Londonderry. The testimonial bore the following inscription "Presented to George William Southern, esq., by the agents of Springwell, Kibblesworth, Mount Moor, and Shipcote Collieries, and other friends, as a token of the high respect and esteem in which he was held by them while viewer at the above named collieries. December 26, 1859." [LRF]

 

 

 

• LRF — Local Records or Historical Register of Remarkable Events by T. Fordyce, published in 1867