My three novels - Belle of the Back Streets, The Tuppenny Child & Pearl of Pit Lane are all set in the northeast coal mining village of Ryhope, in 1919. Ryhope is where I grew up and what's amazed me more than anything else while I've been researching the village before writing my novels, is how much I don't know about the village where I was born and bred.
With the help of Ryhope Heritage Society, of which I'm now a member, I've been trying to fill the gaps in my knowledge of Ryhope's coalmining and farming past. And today, I went on a wonderful walk with two of the historians from Ryhope Heritage Society. I saw things I'd never seen before. It's been an incredible day and I'd like to share some of it with you. I'll be going back to Ryhope same time next week to walk the length of the colliery bank and around the village green so there'll be even more photos next week.
Today, I was shown the location for the oddly named Cauld Knuckles School. I also walked the area where Irish immigrants settled, an area called Vinegar Hall. Some of Cauld Knuckles School remains, a stone wall from the 1800s, you can see in the picture above.
In the picture below, is a track which was originally the pathway to the school entrance. At the end of the track, in between the houses, is a gap where the school gates originally stood.
Here is the entrance to what was the rather grand Leechmere Hall. Only the entrance and a wall remains. Leechmere Hall was where Mr Tom Hall, one of the chiefs of the Ryhope Coal Company lived. When Ryhope Coal Company closed down in the 1960s, Leechmere Hall was turned into a convalescent home for miners. It is now a housing estate.
But what Ryhope was best known for was its coal mine. It was heavy industry on a large scale, making Ryhope Coal Company one of the most productive coal mines in the north east. It ran for over a hundred years. And now it's landscaped, nothing there.
Just a memorial to the past.
I'm giving a free guided walk around Ryhope on Saturday 14 September as part of Heritage Open Days. The walk will take in the locations used in my novels set in 1919 and booking is required.
I'm also giving a talk as part of Heritage Open Days about the farming and mining communities of old Ryhope. This takes place on Friday 13 September. No booking needed, just turn up!
You can find out all about Heritage Open Days at their website here.
__
Glenda Young
Twitter: @Flaming_Nora
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor
No comments:
Post a Comment