Haydon News - July 2000

I don’t suppose there are many people who can remember taking the Allendale train from Hexham. I certainly never did. This part of the country was a distant land in those days of my youth. I do remember standing on the platform at Derby Station watching the train depart for far away Durham and Newcastle. What a long, adventurous journey it seemed fifty years ago.

When, in my early twenties, I eventually took the A1 north the journey remained a long one. The Doncaster bypass had just been completed and work was proceeding to dual carriageway the A1 through Yorkshire. The Darlington bypass had opened too. However, the A1 still went over the old bridge at Ferrybridge and through the cutting at Ferryhill, and there were long queues at the many roundabouts en route. In County Durham they were experimenting with off-set white lines and at Gateshead there was talk of an elevated highway. The bus from Nottingham, crowded with Geordie miners returning to the North East for a weekend break from their jobs in the new Nottinghamshire collieries, took about nine hours to reach Newcastle. But not anymore, of course. Motorway, bypasses, high speed trains, have brought all places south, north, much closer.

The scenery isn’t the same either now-a-days. Except for the odd one near Doncaster, the pit heaps and mine winding gear towers have all disappeared, particularly noticeable in County Durham where the coal mining past seems to have been completely expunged from the landscape. Replacements have been found in fields of yellow rape; shining flat-roofed factories; occasional power stations and giant sized overhead gantry signs to keep you speeding on your way.

Not that it’s all bad. I can at least visit relatives in the Midlands and south rather easier, and more often, now that it’s no longer a major expedition. County Durham does look a more attractive place to live though not perhaps to those who have fond memories of past communities.

And since that last train ran from Hexham to Allendale in the early 50’s there have been developments closer to home.

Departures have included mines; the Foundry and Blacksmith; the railway sidings and loading platforms in the station yard; the station buildings; the Annual Show; Reading Room; Silver Band; Gas works; Dances and Film shows at the Town Hall; the Scotch Arms pub; Bridge End traffic lights; many shops ….

Among the arrivals having developments in Hordley Acres / Strother Close and later Greenwich and Langley Gardens, Community Centre, Health Centre, warehouses in the Station Yard, houses in the Show Field and the new road bridge across the Tyne.

Both lists could be extended as they are far from complete. They do, however, serve to illustrate that change in the village is not a new phenomenon. Some changes have been for the better, others not, but then that is often a personal view. Certainly the village will continue to change. In the last two years we have acquired a new Methodist Chapel, a new Community Centre, an all-weather floodlit football pitch and a refurbished Riverside picnic area. Plans have been put forward to develop the Foundry site and for a large housing development on the Inner Haugh. The Haydon Bridge Heritage and Economic Regeneration Scheme progresses its plans and then there are the proposals for making the village a smokeless zone. One day we may even get a bypass!

Earlier in the year the Friends of Haydon Bridge put forward a proposal for a recreational area to include a toddlers play area, bowling green, landscaped gardens and car park. The Parish Council felt they were unable to support this proposal when it was presented to them in January, as it included the possible use of Tait’s Yard for the recreational development. The Council have now been informed by Tynedale district Council that Haydon Bridge needs to develop outdoor recreational facilities particularly for the very young, as at present these are inadequate. A survey of peoples views and possible sites are likely to be sought.

The Friends Association have just conducted such a survey and, although the response was disappointing, 58 replies from close on 900 questionnaires distributed, maybe the Parish Council would find them of interest.

There will be no halting changes no matter how much we may wish things to remain as they are. We can, however, try to influence those who make the decisions. Your views are important and need to be heard. There are the opportunities, public participation at the Parsih Council meetings, public consultation meetings for the H.E.R. Scheme, talking to your local district councillors and, if all else fails, a letter to the Haydon News!

I’m sure there have been changes even in the view from the old Allendale railway, but the panorama of our part of Tynedale from the Lowgate road bridge as it crosses the long-abandoned line, remains one of the finest in the area and is certainly my favourite view of Haydon Bridge.

Matters arising from the Minutes: Riverside Opening Ceremony was most entertaining and the liquor and food provided by the Chairman was most welcome.

Heslop’s Yard: Currently there is no agreement with Mr Heslop and awaiting a decision. Money has been allocated this year but if not used will be lost. If not used might lose out in future years which would bode ill for Haydon Bridge. As of this morning no planning permission had been asked for.

Inner Haugh: No satisfactory response has been forthcoming from Bellways so it is being referred to ‘Planning’ recommending refusal. Tynedale says that they have not received a response from the Parish Council!! The Clerk stated that she had handed in the Council’s response personally last week. This was the letter containing the feelings and thoughts of those present at the ‘Special Public Meeting on the evening of Thursday 16^th November. For a brief report on this meeting. ( see page 12 ).

Henshaw Parish Council: As reported in last month’s Haydon News, Julie Gibbon represents the west of Tynedale and has linked up with Cllr. Fletcher (Haydon Bridge).

Wentworth Fitness Equipment: Indications that this would be passed over to Haltwhistle Pool but Cllr. Mitchell suggested that better use would be made of it in Haydon Bridge, but where? The High School had expressed interest but what about somewhere in the village more easily accessible by all? The re-development of the Antiques Shop?

It is obvious that Haydon Bridge is in need of a Healthy Living Area / Fitness Centre but proper supervision must be provided.

Bypass: Tynedale appears to be on our side as regards this vexed issue. There seem to be moves afoot to have the scheme dropped but the Head of Planning wants it left in the Regional Plan.

Survey of Private Housing: Results of this Tynedale initiative will be circulated to all Parish Councillors. Cllr. Mitchell proposed that there should be a reasonable number of what is referred to as ‘affordable housing’. Discussion ensued over this matter but it was agreed that there should be avoidance of segregation of social groups and that there should be a range of buildings for a range of people.

Highways etc. : After the recent spell of heavy rains there are a number of areas in the parish susceptible to water lying which might very well, in freezing conditions, lead to ’ice rink’ situations. Gullies and drains should be checked and cleaned.

There would appear to be a hole at the “Anchor” end of the Old Bridge! And it is getting bigger! Any information about it?

Sign posts creating traffic hazards in various areas including John Martin Street. Any others?

Lighting: Cllr. Charlton reported that there are still some needing fixing despite requests over the last year.

Cllr. Mitchell informed the Council that the telephone number for reporting faults is now: 0800 850 029

Cllr. Mitchell also drew the Council’s attention to the fact that the County Council has made an Order prohibiting the use of a section of road at Moss Kennels Bridge.

This closure will come into force on Monday 27^th November 2000 and is scheduled to last for eight (8) weeks and is required to inhibit the use of vehicles at this section of the Military Road to enable bridge strengthening to be carried out.

Cllr. Mitchell indicated that the road closure would channel more traffic through Haydon Bridge as the alternative route eastwards would be from Twice Brewed via the C307 and C309 to Henshaw then east via the A69 through Bardon Mill and Haydon Bridge then north via the B6319 and C228 through Grindon Hill and Grindon to rejoin the B6318. Vice versa for westbound traffic

1. “General Havelock” plans an extension at the rear. No objections raised to this.

2. “Langley Castle” wishes to carry out internal alterations. No objections were raised to this.

Waste Management Initiative: All of Northumberland has been circulated with the County’s plans. There needs to be a response by 2^nd February 2001.

Any Other Business: Cllr. Charlton brought up the availablity or otherwise of suitable play areas around the village. She intends to produce a questionnaire to help formulate plans. Sites to be looked at include; Langley Gardens, Strother Close, Riverside, John Martin Close at the river end, the big field at Shaftoe Terrace, Douglas Gardens and other grassed areas around the village.

Date of next meeting: Thursday 21^st December 2000 at 7.30pm in the Community Centre.

HISTORICAL NOTES OF HAYDON BRIDGE

by Dennis Telford

It is impossible to do justice to the life of Fenwick and Isabella’s third son Jonathan, in a few paragraphs. I know of at least twelve books or pamphlets written about him, including his autobiography written when he was on the run having escaped from Gateshead Lunatic Asylum in 1821.

Jonathan supported himself during this time by selling 15000 copies of his life story, the first editions was published in 1825.

Jonathan was born at Highside near Lowgate when Fenwick worked there as a woodman. His early memories were of his mother Isabella’s instructions to her children that there was ‘a God to serve and a Hell to shun and all liars and swearers are burned in Hell with the devil and his Angels’. He was consumed by the fear of sin, believed that God visited him in his dreams and was certain that thunder storms, so prevalent in the Tyne Valley, were God’s way of punishing him personally for sins he had committed, either knowingly or unknowingly.

Perhaps it isn’t any wonder then that the little boy, tongue-tied at birth and unable to speak until he was six years old, feared Hobgoblins and ghosts at every corner like his younger brother John, and grew into an adult life of mental instability and religious mania.

Fenwick and Isabella moved with their family to the cottage at East Land Ends when Jonathan was seven years old. He spent much of his time at the farm of an uncle near the Roman Wall where he could ‘retreat into solitude and meditate on the goodness of God’ and wander by himself in the woods where he would ‘give praise to God for all his mercies’.

From 1804 following an apprenticeship as a tanner, Jonathan was press-ganged into the Navy where he spent six years and his escapades, including various attempts to desert, make remarkable reading.

After leaving the Navy, Jonathan was married and in 1814 he had a son whom he named Richard after his elder brother. Between 1814 and 1818 he appears to have been obsessed with a personal crusade to reform the Church of England on his own Methodist and Wesleyan principles. This culminated in his confinement in West Auckland and Gateshead Asylums for threatening to shoot Dr. Edward Legge, the Bishop of Oxford, and from Gateshead he made his sensational escape through the Asylum roof.

From 27^th December 1829 to 16^th January 1829 Jonathan wrote four warnings to the clergy of York in protest against what he perceived as their degenerate and frivolous lives. He informed them that unless they repented of their excesses, that is their bottles of wine, downy beds, roast beef, plum puddings and card playing, ‘your great Churches and Minsters will come rattling down’.

On Sunday 1^st February 1829 Jonathan went first to a Methodist Chapel to pray and then to York Minster where he hid until everyone had left. When the great doors were closed for the night, he used an old razor to cut away velvet and gold tasselling and the fringe from the Bishop’s pew which he heaped up beside the woodwork of the choir stalls, then striking his flint, he set fire to them.

Jonathan had done ‘the job that the Lord had bidden (him) to do’. From that day Jonathan Martin, who had lived his early life at Hexham and Haydon Bridge, became famous as the man who set fire to York Minster. The fire burned for twenty-four hours. It completely destroyed the 14^th century woodwork, the roof of the Choir, the sixty-six stalls, the Galleries, the ‘finest organ in England’ and its valuable collection of music, the Pulpit and the Archbishop’s throne. Fortunately the Great East Window of the Minster was spared.

It is recorded that at the height of the fire a lady was heard to say, ‘what a subject for John Martin to paint!’ Little did she know that what she was witnessing was the work of John Martin’s brother.

A reward of £100 was offered for his capture and Jonathan was apprehended on Friday 6^th February four miles from Hexham, between Acomb Fell and the Military Road, at a friend’s and distant relative’s house, Edward Kell of Codlaw Hill.

At his subsequent trial his brother John undertook the whole of the expense of his defence.

On Tuesday 31^st March 1829 it took the jury just seven minutes to find Jonathan Martin guilty of setting fire to York Mister while in an unsound state of mind. Or more accurately, ‘Not guilty on the grounds of insanity’

Jonathan was taken to the Criminal Lunatic Asylum in St George’s Field, Lambeth, popularly known as Bedlam, where he remained until his death nine years later on 26^th May 1838.

The final sad post-script to Jonathan Martin’s life concerns his son Richard. As a fifteen year old he moved into his uncle John’s home when his father was arrested for the crime at York Minster. He stayed there and was educated along with John’s own six children for eight years. Richard became an artist in his own right and had two paintings hung in the Royal Academy.

On Sunday 5^th August 1838 three months after his father died, the poor boy went out of his mind and committed suicide, ‘cutting his throat with a razor in a dreadful manner!’

At every turn in this Haydon Bridge family’s story, I am faced with another fascinating, if in this case gory, event.

The difficulty in summarising the lives of Fenwick and Isabella’s sons is deciding what to leave out. No such problem exists with their sister Ann. Biographers have seen fit to disregard her almost entirely. A great pity really, her views as an unremarkable member of an otherwise remarkable Haydon Bridge family would have been enlightening to say the least.

In 1776 Richard Thompson and his wife Ann (nee Ridley) left the family home at East Land Ends in response to the Duke of Argyle’s request for English farmers to move to Scotland to teach the Highlanders husbandry and how to cultivate the soil. Isabella was at her parent’s home at Kilmichael on the south end of Kintyre, when she gave birth to Ann. At the time, Fenwick was giving fencing lessons at the ‘Chancellor’s Head’ Public House in Newgate Street at Newcastle.

The family returned to Haydon Bridge and the six year old Ann would be at home at East Land Ends with her brothers when the youngest son John was born in 1789.

The next we hear about her is as Mrs Atkinson who, when widowed, lived with her brother John in London from 1833 to 1848. Ann’s only child was a daughter who married a Henry Warren, who was President of the Water Colour Society from 1839 to 1873.

It is interesting that all the Martin family eventually ended up in London. Quite unusual I guess, for a family from Haydon Bridge in the mid 1800’s when men and women seldom moved further afield than farms and hamlets within their local parish. And especially so for a family who lived in serious poverty for so many of their early years due to the roving disposition of their father Fenwick.

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I was most interested to read about Jimmy Hunter in the October edition of the Haydon News, but there is one of his attributes, that you may not have been aware; he was a very good cricketer. As I recall, Jimmy bowled leg breaks and was a very knowledgeable player.

I remember in the 1930’s when Curly Kirsopp’s team played the Reading Room in the final of the Knockout Competition. My father captained the latter team, including Jimmy, who were victorious. Two other splendid sportsmen whom I recall were George “Puddy” Brown and Billy Cooper.

Two talented men in your article were the father and son, Billy and Bob Ballantine. Bob was in the same form as I was when I joined Hexham Grammar School in September 1939 and I can vouch for all you say about Billy and Bob. I have lost touch with Bob, but I can remember that he was in the Regular Army in the 1950’s.

My musical notes last month struck a chord with a number of readers who worked with Jimmy Hunter or enjoyed listening to him playing the mouth organ.

One of our oldest residents, Mrs Florie Clarke, has clear memories of Jimmy when he lived at “Standalone” and she lived at Whinnetley.

Maurice Cousin tells me that as a boy his first musical instrument, after the comb and tissue paper, was one of Jimmy Hunter’s mouth organs! And on a personal note I have been reminded that “Standalone” was at one time the Telford family home and my great, great Grandfather (George) was born there in 1791.

The responses to the article also included a letter from an ex-Haydonian who keeps in touch with the village where he was born, through the Haydon News. (see page 6)

Ridley was born in 1928 at 25 Ratcliffe Road next to the building that was the old “Black Bull” public house. From there the family moved to 69 Victoria Terrace, a property which Lawson Robley has put so much work into renovating in recent months. Sid Thompson, Willie Rogan and John Milburn also lived on the terrace at that time and to the west would be Charlie McKay’s garage.

Ridley’s next move was to the Reading Room where his father was Secretary and then. In 1941, the short distance down the Eiland to the Old Gas Works house of which he has many happy memories.

In 1948 the Coats’ family moved to Fourstones from the Gas Works house, just before it was washed into the Tyne as our river changed its course. A few stones still remain of what was once a lovely riverside cottage. Maybe in time the site could be added to the recently opened Picnic Area.

Ridley Coats’ last memories of his time in our area, before he moved to Cheshire, are of walking down the Newbrough road with Stan, Willie, Nelson and Edwin Bowman who lived at The Island.

Oh, and by the way Ridley! I passed on your kind regards to “Joe Wiggie’s Lad” over a pint or two of Theakstones last night!!!

I’m trying to restore contact with Michael Leppington whom I last knew as a school friend on the train to QEHS (Hexham) in 1955 – 1956 when we were both 16!

He was the younger son of the then Station Master at Haydon Bridge and I believe took a job in Newcastle. He must now be 61.

If anyone can update me on the current whereabouts of the Leppington family please drop me a line at the address shown below.

I compiled a nostalgic recall of QEHS in the 50’s -”Hope of Our Sins” for the school’s 400th Anniversary in 1999 and from the boys’ school viewpoint.

My Haydon Bridge contemporaries ( I lived in Haltwhistle) in the 1950’s were, Alan Thompson, David Routledge and Michael Leppington.

The Prize Bingo held on Saturday, 11^th November at the W.M.C. was very well supported with over £1,000 being raised.

Well done to John and Paula Kirkup for organising this event. Also for organising the Sponsored Walk which took place in July, which raised £2,000. Half of which was donated to the Macmillan Nurses Trust during the Prize Bingo.

A huge cheque was presented to Helen Wyllie, representing the Charity from one of the village’s junior footballers, Jonathon Eames.

The enigmatic Raymond Henderson, Scout Leader – 1^st Haydon Bridge Scout Group has successfully clocked up 25 years Adult Service.

Beginning his Scouting in the village Troop at the age of ten, Raymond ascended through the ranks, from Scout to Patrol Leader to Venture Scout. Spending a number of years assisting Scout Leader John Dixon before introducing his own brand of leadership.

“We gratefully appreciate all he’s done for the young people of Haydon Bridge” - Hadrian District.

LANGLEY WOMEN'S INSTITUTE

Langley W. I. welcomed Mrs Elsa Jackson who gave an excellent talk on ‘Corn Dollies’ which she has been making for some twenty years. She explained that she obtains her corn from an organic farm in Suffolk. The corn must be grown in this way otherwise the stalks split when bent. They must also be boiled for half an hour to make them more pliable. Describing the history of the corn dolly, incidentally not a dolly at all, she went on to explain that they are of pagan origin. For example, Ceres was the Roman god who looked after the harvest, hence the derivation of the word ‘cereal’. Mrs Jackson listed other countries with other gods.

Different shaped corn dollies have different names; the Yorkshire Drop, Cambridge Bell and Umbrella, Somerset Bell and the Hereford Lantern. One of the best known is Cornucopia, the Horn of Plenty. There is a great deal of symbolism involved. Known as a fertility symbol, apparently there is no truth in the saying that buying a corn dolly leads to pregnancy!

At the business meeting which followed, plans were discussed for the Christmas Party and the forthcoming Pie & Pea supper. The Domino teams’ next game will be against Rochester.

The competition for a Peg Doll was won by Peggy Daker and Myra Bowen. The raffle was won by Margaret Dodd.

At the November meeting of the group, Mrs P. Stewart was wished a very happy birthday.

A discussion followed regarding the times of future meetings. It was decided and carried unanimously, that during the winter months, the times should be changed from 7.00pm to 9.00pm in the evenings to 2.00pm to 4.00pm in the afternoons.

Plans were then made for the forthcoming Christmas Party. This will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday 6th December when there will be a pool table and the sharing of small gifts.

After refreshments and the tray raffle, the evening passed pleasantly with Card Bingo.

The Over Sixties meet on the second Wednesday of every month at the Community centre. New members are warmly welcomed.

It was bound to happen sometime to somebody! It was Connie and Pearson’s bad luck to stand in the dog muck while getting into their car recently behind the Community Centre and carry it onto the carpets.

If the security light had been working the chance is it would not have happened!

My apologies to some of our dancers who have had to move their seats. As you know the audio system was playing up at the bottom of the hall due I think to some interference from the street lights. Things seem OK now that I have moved to the other end of the hall.

At the moment Daph is putting us through our paces with the “Sizzlers Samba”.

Len and Doreen, Jim and Lily Hannant have been visiting us lately. Len is recovering from a prolonged illness. Some of you will remember that it was Len who got me into all this.

The Chairman outlined the reasons for the meeting explaining that a very large plan had been submitted for house building on the Inner Haugh. Half of the available field would be used in the first instance with 54 houses being built. Forty-four (44) for Private Houses and ten (10) through the Home Housing Association. More to follow on the other half of the field.

The public is entitled to make its feelings known over this issue, hence this meeting.

There were queries raised about access to this site seeing that housing had been refused here 25 years ago for exactly this reason. How could it be allowed now? Cllr. Charlton indicated that as there had been little development over the years this application had been received. However, she did say that it would have been much better to build a few houses at a time rather than a huge batch all at once.

Could the present sewerage systems cope? Serious doubts were raised as even now there are problems requiring clearing out every couple of weeks and there is a smell. It has been blocked on the estate before. When Langley Gardens were built a new pumping station had been planned but not built. Various fundings seem to have been lost over the years resulting in little or no work being done to rectify recurring problems.

Cllr. Parkin felt that the development was not appropriate in this conservation area and queries were raised as to the access to the riverside walk.

Those present felt that more housing was needed, but maybe only ten. Brown field sites and Tait’s Yard were discussed but Cllr. Faulks pointed out that Bellways were only interested in the most profitable site.

There are problems with flooding and it was stated that the word Inner Haugh actually means ‘flood plain’.

Some residents have already written to Tynedale with their objections. Cllr. Faulks said that the Parish Council would write a letter explaining the outcome of this meeting.

Cllr. Faulks thanked the public for their attendance saying that their concerns would be aired vis a vis sewerage problems, access to highways, the flood plain argument, house style and other matters raised during the course of the meeting.

Late last month Haydon Bridge recorded their first win of the season. This came in the home match against Allendale. As you will know by now that many of our results go against us, this was therefore a truly great night for all who took part on the winning team. The final score was 72 – 62 to Haydon Bridge.

In November the club tried hard to keep up the winning formula with away matches at Corbridge and Bellingham. It is fair to say that we were not at our best at Corbridge and were beaten by a team who played better on the night. During the Bellingham match, we played a lot of good bowls with every player contributing, and we put up a strong challenge. We were leading by a couple of points at the halfway stage and there was never any more than three or four points between the two teams until late in the match. Bellingham, however, came out on top at ‘the death’ and took victory. It is fair to say that a high percentage of our defeats have come ‘right at the wire’ when it could have gone either way.

When this happens and luck is against us we just put it down to experience and get on with the next match. Each fixture is a good social occasion and that is what matters.

I cannot stress enough how much new members are appreciated at the club. We are improving all the time and I have every faith that we will be winning matches more regularly in the very near future. If you are interested, come along to the Community Centre on a Thursday night at 7.00pm.

In last month’s article, I made the mistake of stating that £20 was raised for the club from a coffee morning. However, the money actually went to the Community Centre.

Three community workshop sessions have been held in the Community Centre to discuss the second phase of the H.E.R. scheme.

The first phases, regarding improvements to the Old Bridge, is going ahead – well eventually!

Improvements to Church Street were the main focus of the consultation meetings for the second phase.

The initial meeting was entitled, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. A small but enthusiastic team of residents and local authority officers worked in three groups to discuss and list the good and bad points of Church Street, and its buildings and landscaping. The groups then focused on what they saw as the main opportunities for improvement. Several ideas were suggested.

Following this initial meeting, Michael Drage, the architect and design consultant working on the scheme, produced a design options drawing based on these ideas.

The second meeting, “Examining the Options”, gave the groups present the chance to discuss the initial design ideas and note their comments. Taking these comments into account finalised plans were prepared with budget costings ( see below and over the page )

The final meeting gave the groups the opportunity to discuss the plans, and consider priorities in case all the work cannot be afforded at the outset.

*Church Street*	*Budget Costs Summary*	Percentage of Total
BRIDGE END / POST OFFICE CORNER ( Paving, railings, feature )	£24,980	13%
OLD BRIDGE ( Surfacing, floodlighting )	£12,000	6%
CHURCH STREET SURFACING ( including Parking Bays )	£51,000	27%
CHURCHYARD ( Wall repairs, seats, path, floodlighting )	£12,100	6%
GENERAL STREET WORKS ( Electricity cables, tree work, lighting etc. )	£52,190	28%
BUILDINGS ( Houses, Church, pub, shops )	£32,500	17%
STREET END (NORTH) (Seats, planting, stone walls )	£ 3,600	2%
TOTALS excludes fees, overheads and VAT	£188,37	100%

JOHN MARTIN’s birthplace was visited on 1^st November by the children of Class 4 from Shaftoe Trust First School, together with Mrs Cox and helpers. The children walked along Lands End Road to Macdonald’s farm and were kindly allowed to view the cottage, and take in the lovely Tyne Valley countryside. Back at school Sian Bowen helped the children to paint dramatic pictures in the John Martin style and Jill Henderson inspired them to write poems titled “Solitude”.

The Geordie Music Evening took place on 3^rd November at the ‘Haydon Hotel‘. The guest singer–songwriter was Johnny Handle and together with Henry Robson and Dennis Oselton on accordions, Denis Telford singing, this turned into a very lively and entertaining night.

The Local Artists Exhibition was held on 5th November in the Methodist Church. The sixty exhibits were most interesting and showed the wealth of artistic talent in our community. This was officially opened by Mrs Enid Garrow who really helped to get the exhibition off to a memorable start, or was it a memorable hat!!!

The John Martin Night on 15^th November started with a computerised slide show with music, created by Stan “Mitch” Mitchell. A very informative and well researched talk and slide show followed by Gail-Nina Anderson, cultural historian. Afterwards there were John Martin prints and paintings to view, books and a John Martin Website created by Henry Swaddle.

The Storytelling Night on 23^rd November at the ‘General Havelock’ with Chris Bostock and Malcolm Green will have taken place.

The Grand Finale on 26^th November, Prize Giving to the Youth Group children and the launch of the Souvenir Brochure will also have taken place.

There is a long list of people to thank for all their support and help for the Festival. Thank you all very much. It has been hard work but much fun.

We hope the Festival has been enjoyed by our community and has added to the Millennium celebrations.

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HISTORICAL NOTES OF HAYDON BRIDGE

by Dennis Telford

LANGLEY WOMEN'S INSTITUTE

Haydon Bridge Over 60’s Club