As I flicked through the pages of a series of books written by a relative of mine, I was reminded that in 1965, author Nancy Ridley pointed out that the inhabitants of Haydon Bridge were extremely indifferent towards their famous son, John Martin. In 1968 she repeated the observation, telling the world that insufficient recognition had been given to the artist by his native village.

Little has changed in the intervening years. A STONE PLAQUE on the gable end of the building in which he was born and TWO STREETS named after him are the only outward signs of our appreciation.

I have a feeling that if John Martin had been born in the West Country, the Yorkshire Dales or the Lake District, his life and work would have been promoted vigorously to the benefit of the tourist industry and local businesses.

John Martin’s background, his close family and his life is a remarkable story. It makes fascinating reading and provides enough material for the most demanding story tellers.

• The eldest son, born at Tow House but lived with his Grandparents at Land Ends from an early age. William became known as the ‘philosophical conqueror of all nations’ a title which he bestowed upon himself and in his adult life he became a notorious character in Newcastle. He had a mania for writing philosophical pamphlets and broadsides and published over two hundred which he sold and sent to ’the wealthy and the great’.

• There is little doubt that William had a genius for invention and one of his earlier examples was a paddle boat, made at Haydon Bridge in 1802 while visiting his parents after his discharge from the Northumberland Militia in which he served for seven years.

• In 1814 he received a silver medal and ten guineas from the Society of Arts for the invention of the spring balance, similar to those still in use today, but generally he was unable to carry through his numerous ideas to practical commercial usefulness.

• William’s peers were no such slouches in this department and throughout his adult life he harboured grievances against those whom he believed had gained fame and fortune at his expense.

• William was particularly grieved in his belief that George Stephenson stole his design for a Miner’s Safety Lamp, which was much superior to Sir Humphrey Davy’s.

• Amongst his other inventions were: a pneumatic leather jacket for life saving at sea, a metallic tin pen, a cure for dry rot in ship’s timbers, a fan ventilator for coal mines, a flying machine and a travelling machine propelled along the ground with feet. A cure for cholera and an improvement to Macadam’s method of road building.

• Perhaps William was best known nationally for his attempts to discover the cause of perpetual motion. After thirty-seven experiments, his machine which showed a pendulum moving without any apparent source of external energy, was exhibited at 28, The Haymarket, London. The Exhibition remained open for twenty-nine years.

• My research into the Martin family took me to the Bardon Mill W.I. local history event in September. I was interested to see an old photograph of ‘The Fold’, a thatched cottage standing adjacent to the tannery at Tow House and quite probably Fenwick Martin’s family home and William’s birthplace.

• I was also fortunate to meet up with David Reay, who was peering intently through a magnifying glass at his copy of the first planned horse-drawn railway from Newcastle to Carlisle. The figure engraved on the plan was that of William Martin, described as ‘the first inventor of railways’

There is some justification for William’s claim.

• In 1794 he was working at a ropery at Howdon Dock when it occurred to him that coal wagons would run with less friction if they were on cast metal rails rather than wooden rails and ‘one horse would be able to draw three or four wagons’. By 1796 he had made a model of his ‘metallic railway’. This was William’s first known invention but as with most of his later ones he received no acknowledgement, when metal rails were eventually introduced.
  

• He returned to his railway interests in later years and travelled on one of the trains which opened the Newcastle to Carlisle railway in 1838. He devised a plan for dealing with the sparks which were a source of danger to passengers in the open Third Class carriages. He advised railway engineers to make their engines sharp at the front end to cut through the air with ease. He recommended ten foot wheels, to enable the engine to go fifty miles an hour and he strongly advocated the broad gauge.
  

• William delivered numerous lectures in which he was openly hostile to scientists, such as Faraday and Newton and religious noteworthies of the day.
  

• William married in 1814 and he lived on Shields Road, Newcastle and at Wallsend. His wife died in 1832 and in his later years his eccentricity bordered on madness. He paraded through the streets of Newcastle wearing a tortoise shell mounted with brass as a hat and a medal ‘as big as a saucer’ around his neck.
  

• William Martin’s final year was spent in London living with his brother John and he died on 9^th February 1851.

• Fenwick and Isabella’s second son was born in Scotland but lived at East Land Ends from 1789 until he started his working life as a rope maker. He became an expert soldier with the Northumberland Fencibles in 1798 during the Irish rebellion and rose to become a Quarter Master Sergeant in the Grenadier Guards. He fought with the ‘Guards in Spain, Portugal and Waterloo and yet was never wounded.

• Richard wrote a book of three poems on Biblical Themes. ‘The Last Days of the Antediluvian World’ - a blank verse poem of 2600 lines divided into six books of dramatic detail, based on his own interpretation of the First Book of the Bible, Genesis VI and VII. A second poem was entitled ‘A Forlorn Hope’ and a third, ‘Ishmael’s Address To His Children’ in which he denounces biblical characters such as Abraham and Jacob.

• As a married man, Richard lived in London from 1827 and had one daughter who married a keeper of printed books at the British Museum. For many years he was sponging off his brother John, a debt which was never honoured according to John.

• Richard Martin died in London in 1837.

The editorial policy of the Haydon News is ultimately the responsibility of the Committee of the ‘Friends of Haydon Bridge’ , although day-to-day responsibility is delegated to the Editorial Committee of the Haydon News. Our intention is always to ensure that the content of the Haydon News is as fair and factually correct as possible. Any complaints concerning editorial policy should be addressed in writing to the Chairman of the ‘Friends of Haydon Bridge‘, and will be considered by and receive a formal response from the Committee of the ‘Friends of Haydon Bridge‘. Complaints other than those made above will not be entertained.

The Editorial Committee reserves the right to decide which letters are to be published, and to alter or shorten letters when necessary. Anonymous letters will NOT be published. A nom-de-plume may be used provided that the Editorial Committee has been advised of the writer’s name and address.

Since the last edition of the Haydon News, the Bowls club has played away matches at Slaggyford and Alston. We enjoyed close encounters in all of these matches although we were on the losing side each time.

The Alston match was difficult after we lost a lot of ground in the first round of games. We fought back well with some convincing team victories, but home advantage was always with Alston and we returned home without a win, but with a smile on our faces.

However, after almost beating Slaggyford at their place, they came to the Community Centre on Thursday 19^th October for a re-match. This was an extremely close match with only a few points being the deficit one way or the other all night. Going into the final game of the evening, the home side had a 50 - 48 lead. Unfortunately for Haydon Bridge, the visitors came out on top at the death and won the match 59 - 55.

The social side of the evening was just as enjoyable. We all had a lovely supper and a cup of tea. I usually eat too much which makes it difficult to bowl, but we all did just as well with full bellies.

As a club, Haydon Bridge have made steady progress since getting back into business after a year out with the re-building of the Community Centre. A few players were lost during that period of time and we have managed to find some replacements who have come in and are enjoying themselves. They are all keen to help the club progress and win some matches.

The club have held a coffee morning in the Community Centre which was well attended. This raised £20 for the Bowl funds. I would like to thank everybody who helped organise the morning and pour the tea, do the raffle etc, as well as those of you who attended. The money raised was very much appreciated by the club.

If you would like to play Carpet Bowls just come along to the Haydon Bridge Community Centre at 7.00pm on a Thursday night. We’ll make you very welcome and will show you the basics of playing the game. If you have never played before, don’t worry, everyone of us was at that stage at one time. We have a sociable and friendly set of members who will encourage you. Playing bowls provides good socialisation. Come and have a cup of tea and a game of bowls.

Langley W.I. warmly welcomed visiting members from Corbridge and Catton to their sixty-fifth birthday party

During the business meeting the President, Mary Nagel, read out a letter from Clarence House thanking us for the birthday card sent to Her Majesty the Queen Mother on the occasion of her one hundredth birthday. She also congratulated the Domino team on its recent success.

The speaker was Mr Peter Athay who presented readings of his own poetry and played his own compositions on his violin. His theme was ‘Farming’. This he explained is where his roots are. The poems were reflections of his life and of the things he holds dear to him. He grew up on the land. His poems are his impression of country life years ago and his music his interpretation of the people and characters he knew. Great interest was added to his delightful performance by the dialect which he described as North Northumberland and the Borders.

The competition of a floral arrangement in a wine glass was won first by Peggy Daker and second, Muriel Brown.

I am reliably informed that on a summer’s evening in 1988, the Lounge in the Haydon Hotel was the venue for an impromptu music session which will be forever in the memory of those who were there.

I was so disappointed to return from holiday to find that I had missed this special occasion, but now we can all listen to the wonderful whistle playing which so enthralled the Haydon ‘residents’ that August evening.

Bob Ballantine was born in 1928 at Simonburn. He went to Hexham Grammar School and worked at Spadeadam before moving, in 1961, to his present home in Australia. Bob recently sent a tape of his performance on a local radio show ‘down under‘, to his sister Joan who lives in our village. A CD/Tape has been produced from Bob’s recordings, in which he plays traditional Northumbrian tunes including those written by his father, and it is available from Joan (Benson) 57 Ratcliffe Road and GoJo records, Hexham.

A more significant Haydon Bridge connection is the musical partnership between Bob and Joan’s father, Billy Ballantine, a fine self-taught piccolo player, and Jimmy Hunter, one of our own fine instrumentalists of the early and mid 1900’s. Jimmy lived at ‘Standalone’ and played the mouth organ.

My first recollection of hearing Jimmy Hunter play was on a radio programme, maybe “Wot cheor Geordie”. But of course many of our older Haydon News readers will have earlier memories of his playing at dances, concerts and informal gatherings during his life in the Tyne Valleys.

My own record collection includes recordings at Haydon Bridge in 1954 in which Jimmy and Billy Ballantine play together. The recordings were made by the BBC to document the traditional music of the North East of England and also include Tom Hunter (Fiddle) and Jake Hutton (Fiddle) and his son Joe.

Tom Hunter’s son, Peter, farms at Coastley of course and can recall many stories about our music makers of the 1950’s. Peter himself played the accordion in his early years but sadly cannot be persuaded to give the box and airing now!

Joe Hutton was born at ‘Rock House’ south of Haltwhistle and became the leading Northumbrian piper of his day. Incidentally, Joe’s cousin, George, has moved to our village and is now a committed Haydonian, although I understand that his concertina is gathering dust on top of the wardrobe!

The printed sleeve notes on the 1954 recordings inform us that, “not a lot is known about …. Jimmy Hunter”. He played for local concerts in the war years and also broadcast with Willie Walker and his band! Jimmy was a woodman on the Whinnetley and Tedcastle estates and further research may provide material for a future issue of the Haydon News. Any relevant information and anecdotes from readers will be welcomed.

How fortunate that the wonderful playing of these traditional musicians of yesteryears was recorded for posterity. I never tire of listening to our North East musical heritage, especially when played (or sung) by those who lived in our Tyne Valleys. A heritage so ably kept alive locally by our own present day players including Henry Robson (accordion) who’s father ‘Young Harry’ was another fine player of the piccolo when living at ‘Town Shields’, Francis Templar (pipes), David Reay (mouth organ) as of course on the other side of the world, Bob Ballantine.