Mr Robert Clark was a member of a family who had been farmers on the Morpeth Castle estate of the Earle of Carlisle for 300 years.
His father, grandfather and great grandfather were tenants of Park House Farm, which formed part of what was known as the Great East Park of the Barons of Morpeth.
They were not only farmers, but also did a large business as timber merchants when wood was in great demand for ship building at Blyth, and on the banks of the Tyne.
They purchased extensively in oak and other timbers whose bark was in demand for tanning, a trade that was of great extent and importance in Morpeth for centuries.
They also did a big business in brushwood or undergrowth of plantations and copses, as the dressed rods of hazel and others were in great demand at the collieries and wharves for the making of "corves", in which coal was raised from the pits and lowered into the ships.
Mr Clark left the Park House in 1872, and settled in Bullers Green, Morpeth, where for some time he continued to buy and sell timber.
Clark's wood wagons were a well-known feature in the trade of Morpeth, and a wide district lying north, south and east of the town.
He prided himself on the quality of his horses and on the steadiness of the wagoner's he employed. Though their work in woods and along rough ways was often highly dangerous, no serious accident ever happened to them.
For more than 30 years he farmed a considerable acreage in what was formerly the West Park of Morpeth Castle, in connection with which he had a dairy of fine shorthorns. That he gave up, but only relinquished his holding on February 12, 1907, and at the end of February, 1907, his horses, wagons and farm implements were sold by Messrs Robert Donkin and Son.
Mr Clark was in poor health then, and sadly passed away at his home in Bullers Green at the age of 77. His wife eventually died too, in 1915.
Following on from last week, we now look at Longhirst Church. After the Lawson family settled at Longhirst in the early 1800s, one of their sons, Edward, became a clergyman, and for 23 years he lived and worked among the people of the village.
He finally decided to provide them with a church of their own, for they had always belonged to the parish of Bothal, and had to walk to church there.
Work was started on this new church in 1873, and in the following year it was completed and named the Church of St John the Evangelist. In 1876, when the Rev A Field was vicar, the church was consecrated by the Bishop of Durham.
THERE has been a church at Bothal, near Morpeth, since early Saxon times, and some stones used in the first building, as well as three stone coffins of the period, can still be seen.
One of these coffins is considered unique, as it is only large enough for a child, and there is little evidence that ordinary Saxon children were buried in the same manner as adults.
An early Norman church at Bothal is believed to have been destroyed by raiding Scots in 1138, and the early English building which replaced it suffered a similar fate at the hands of Scots king William the Lion and his men in 1174.
I thought it would be interesting to read some remarkable historic records in connection with our local area.
Strongman William Carr
June 1, 1819: There were 67 vessels in Blyth. "A dinner was given by the owners of Cowpen Colliery at Mr Bowers to all the captains in the harbour, and the afternoon was spent in the most agreeable manner."
Edward Main of Straker Terrace, Longhirst, near Morpeth, told his memories of old Ashington when he left work aged 65.
Early tradesmen from Ashington pit, 1923. Edward Main could well have known these men
He retired from Ashington Colliery in 1942 after 54 years of underground work.
With the death of Philip Joisce, of Northwoods Works, Stobswood, near Morpeth, in March 1979, the North East lost one of its most talented, inventive and original minds.
He was well-known to a wide circle of local farmers, businessmen and fellow engineers for his expertise with all kinds of machinery.
King Edward IV School, Morpeth
Born in 1911 in Hartford Road, Bedlington, and educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Morpeth, from 1924-26, he gained his Higher National Certificate in electrical engineering at Rutherford College, Newcastle.
To Southerners, these towers were often a mystery, but not always so to those who belonged to Northumberland.
In recent research, we find that two lists of Pele Towers were prepared, one in 1415 and another in 1541, and in 1415 there were 115, whilst the number had increased considerably by the later date.
The reason they were built was the great antipathy which existed between the Scots and the English.
In times previous to the reigns of Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III, that antipathy was not so strong, although there was a national feeling, but afterwards raids from each side of the Border were frequent, and whilst great castles were built as a national protection, the Pele Towers were raised by the smaller people, not only for the defence of cattle and stock, but for the defence of their own lives.
The two groups of Northumberland miners who formed the North East's secret army of resistance fighters were a hardened bunch who were very skilled at what they did, whether it was fieldcraft, training exercises or the important task of protecting the Royal family.
Their exploits sprang readily to mind for Robert Charlton Hall, who led the Bedlington miners.
"On one occasion when we saw a rabbit in a field rubbing his whiskers, Tommy, a leading poacher, said 'D'ye want that rabbit, Sor?' then off he went on his stomach.
The North East's secret army of resistance fighters undertook vital tasks in testing the defences of airfields and Army headquarters throughout the invasion scare years of 1940-41.
But their pledge of secrecy concealed another, more unusual, role. At least two Northumberland groups, composed entirely of Bedlington and Berwick miners, formed the Royal family's personal bodyguard during residence at Balmoral. Their task: to fight off German paratroopers who may have landed with orders to kidnap or even kill the king, queen and the two princesses.
One was formed of Scremerston men headed by Lambert Carmichael. He performed two periods of duty at Balmoral and recalled that the Queen had a good memory. "She recognised me the second time as 'the Tweedside farmer'."
For those of us fairly new to Morpeth it is difficult to imagine the town without its modern amenities. We might think of it as a quaint place to live or work, with its traditional market town air - but for those who grew up in its streets, Morpeth isn't half the town it used to be.
Bridge Street, Morpeth, 1904
The following gives a fascinating glimpse into the past, and reveals a great deal about old Morpeth, and what made it so special and why people look back with happy memories to those days.
Morpeth Links
John Dawson - Local history tales
Wildlife - With Conservation Officer Kevin O'Hara
Ian Lavery - Updates from the MP for Wansbeck
Ray Purvis - Through the seasons at Wallington
DAWN Advice - Liz Chadwick from the advice charity
Robson and Prescott Vets - Pet advice
Morpeth Lions Club - By Lion Simon Pringle
Wendy Errington - Volunteering at Wallington
Andrew Gibson - Fishing and photography
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