sixty years ago. He says : — " In the year 1 744, I taught a school
at Barlow, in the parish of Ryton. My time was employed six
days in teaching the children under my care the branches of
learning I professed, and the first principles of Christianity. But T;*

Satan did not like this work ; therefore he stirred up the rector of 4 *

Ryton and his curate, with those under their influence, to prevent
me. They gave first hard words, and then hard blows. In a
little time I was summoned to appear in the Spiritual Court at
Durham, to answer for my conduct. I did not know what I had
done ; but was soon informed that I was impeached for teaching
a school without a licence ; and what was still worse, for calling
sinners to repentance, and warning the wicked to flee from the
wrath to come — an offence that cannot be overlooked by men who
know not God ! But God raised me up friends, who stood by me,
and defended my cause against all my adversaries. " Notwith-
standing the assistance which Christopher Hopper received from .*
several of the farmers in the neighbourhood, his labours did not
secure the success they deserved, and in 1746 he removed from
Barlow to Sheephill, on Derwentside.

+ John Nixon of Barlow was a devoted member of the Methodist
society. He frequently entertained John Wesley, and opened his
house for religious services. His daughter, Miss Nixon, was united
in marriage with a member of the Stephenson family of Throckley. j

The eldest son of the marriage was Alderman William E. J

Stephenson of Throckley House, and a grandson, Alderman
William Haswell Stephenson, is now (1895) for the third time.
Mayor of Newcastle. . gfa Suu, ^tlx VlSh& t^J^V^w.** >




'OfOULL UMrtA, O. J4K7K4WW ^Milji. &$ *







161



THE SPEN (High.)






i



This village, which is three miles distant from Winlaton, is
inhabited almost exclusively by the workmen of the colliery.

In the year 1370, Katherine, widow of Hugh de Fery, held four
messuages and a hundred acres in Berley and Spen, of John de
Nevill, Knt., by 3s.«rent, and suit at the Manor Court of Winlaton.
The Spen is included in the general alienation from Nevill in 1569.
William Shafto, gent, who died in 1631, held lands here; and
James Wild, who lived at the Spen about the same time as Shafto,
and married a lady of the name of Barloe, also possessed lands,
but afterwards sold them to William Tempest of Thornley.

The locality has been extensively worked for coal, which in the
early period of the coal trade was carried by wains down the
" Smeales Lane " to Derwenthaugh. The present colliery (known
as Garesfield) was opened in 1838. At the depth of 30 fathoms
the Brock well seam is wqrked. About 200 men and boys are
employed. The workmen live in houses formed of streets, and are
known as East Street, West Street, Glossop Street, Cardiff Square,
and Howard Terrace. One of the streets is known as the
"Jawblades" cottages, from two jawblades of a whale which at
one time formed a gateway near the cottages.

On the north side of the colliery, and separated by a field used
as a 4< Recreation ground," are a number of streets, known as
" Ramsay's cottages," which are modern erections for the use of the
miners. At the west end of East Street the Primitive Methodists
have a handsome chapel, erected in 1884, upon their removal from
an older building erected in 1867.

On December 17th, 1865, Matthew Atkinson murdered his wife
Ellen, at The Spen, for which he was afterwards executed at
Durham.

On the south side of the village are the commodious Board
Schools, opened in 1894,. to supply a lack of accommodation in
the old Primitive Methodist Chapel, in which the school was held.

12



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THE SPEN (Low).



This little hamlet lies about half-a-mile south of Hi§h Spen. It
consists of a farm house and a number of cottages. In the spring
of 1743, John Brown, a plain farmer, removed fromTanfield Leigh
to the above-mentioned farm house, and invited John Wesley to
his house. Christopher Hopper, in referring to this time, and
having in his mind John Brown's house at the Low Spen, says : —
44 1 then heard occasionally those preachers who I thought could
tell their story well, without stammering ; but still found much
fault with this strange method of proceeding." " The Sabbath-day
following," he says: — "Mr. Reeves (one of the earliest of the
Methodist local preachers) preached at the Low Spen at one
o'clock in the afternoon, and in the evening again, on these words :
4 And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the
greatest of these is charity.'" He further says : — ** My mouth was
stopped. I stood guilty before God. He discovered to me the
blessed plan of man's redemption through the blood of a crucified
Saviour." And thus commenced, in the house of John Brown, the
religious life of Christopher Hopper, one of the most remarkable
men in Methodist history. Soon after, John Wesley visited Low
Spen, formed a little society there, and made Christopher Hopper
a leader. The society held their religious services in John Brown's
house, and under his roof the preachers, often weather-beaten and
weary, received a welcome and found a home. For sixty-four years
John Brown continued a devoted member of the Methodist society.
St. Patrick's Church stands about half-a-mile south of High Spen,
and on the east side of Huger-gale. It is built of red bricks, and
covered with red tiles ; internally, the arrangements are neat and
unpretending, and capable of seating 200 people. A grave-yard
surrounds the edifice. The church was built in 1889, and cost
about ^500. Huger-gate leads from Beda Lodge to the Lintz
Green Station. A branch road near the church enters Smailes*
Lane, which terminates near to Rowlands Gill Station.



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It was at the bottom of Smailes' Lane, after crossing the Shotley
Bridge turnpike, that Mr. Robert Stirling, assistant to Dr. Watson
of Burnopfield, was murdered on the ist of November, 1855. He
had been little more than a week in the service of Mr. Watson,
and was returning from visiting the patients of that gentleman,
when he was shot by s&me persons lurking near the road, his
throat cut, and his head and face frightfully injured, apparently by
the butt end of a gun. His watch, money, and lancets were taken
from his pockets, and the body was dragged through a fence and
deposited among the bushes in a plantation which covered a steep
declivity, where it was not discovered till about a week afterwards.
A considerable sensation was excited throughout the county by this
atrocious deed, and large rewards were offered for the discovery of
the perpetrators. Two men, named John Cain, the proprietor of
an illicit still in the neighbourhood, and Richard Rayne, a black-
smith at Winlaton, were apprehended on suspicion, and brought
up at the Durham Spring Assizes in 1856, but the evidence not
being complete, they were remanded to the Summer Assizes in
July of that year. After a prolonged trial, in which a variety of
circumstantial evidence was adduced on behalf of the prosecution,
a verdict of Not Guilty was returned.

Rowland Gill derives its name from Robert Rowland, who
possessed lands there in 162 1, and Gill, a north-country word for
rivulet.

About a quarter of a mile eastward of Rowlands Gill Station is
the Lily Drift, belonging to Messrs. Joseph Cowen & Co. The
workmen live in a row of houses at the west side, at the end of
which there is a neat Primitive Methodist Chapel, erected in 1883,
and capable of seating 200. The .coals are now drawn by an
endless rope to the screens at Blaydon Burn, after which they are
sent to Blaydon and conveyed by wherries to their destination.



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CHOPWELL TOWNSHIP.



This township comprises an extensive district, lying immediately
west of the High Spen and Low Spen, and stretching to Milk-
well Burn. It also extends from the Derwent on the south to
the Leadgate on the north, and contains about 3,850 acres. Popula-
tion in 180 1, 348 ; 1811,291; 1821,237; 1831,254; 1841,320;
1851,458; 1861, 563; 1871, 788; 1881, 1,614; 1891, 2,193.
Rateable value — In 1821, ^2,120 ; and in 1893, ^9,323.

Chop well, eleven miles W.S.W. from Newcastle, anciently
comprised the south-western angle of the parish of Ryton, but
the estate has now been divided into several distinct portions.

Bishop Hugh gave Chopwell to Newminster Abbey, in exchange
for Wolsingham. Surtees conjectures that the Swinburns, who
were already tenants of Chopwell under the Abbey, obtained at
the dissolution the fee-simple of the Crown or its grantees. In
1562, John Swinburne, Esq., was litigating his boundaries betwixt
the manors of Ryton and Chopwell, with Pilkington, Bishop of
Durham. In 1569, he was deeply engaged in the great northern
rebellion, fled under attainder to Fernicherst in Scotland, escaped
from thence into Flanders, was afterwards a pensioner at Madrid,
and probably died in exile. The manor of Chopwell, thus vested
in the Crown, was granted by the Queen to Sir Robert Constable,
of Flamborough, in recompense of his services as a spy and
informer. Sir William Constable, son and heir of Sir Robert, sold
the manor of Chopwell to Anthony Archer; and he immediately
conveyed to Ambrose Dudley, alderman of Newcastle, who, son
and heir, Toby Dudley, Esq., left an only daughter, Jane Dudley,
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Clavering, of AxwelL The male issue of Clavering failed in his
grandchildren, and Sarah, the sister and eventual heir of John
and Dudley Clavering, became the wife of the Lord Chancellor,
William, Earl Cowper. Earl Cowper sold Chopwell Hall, Horsegate,
and Broomfield House to Dr. Thorp, rector of Ryton, and to his
son, Robert Thorp, of Alnwick, Esq. West Chopwell and
Greenhead were purchased by Mr. John Taylor, of Swalwell ;
Leadgate and Ravenside, by Anthony Surtees of Hamsterley, Esq.;
and other portions by William Surtees, Esq., Mr. Miller, and Mr.
Robert Waugh. The mines of coal were reserved by Earl Cowper.

In the reign of James I., John Lyons of Bradley, Esq., receiver
of the revenues, being a defaulter to the Crown, an extent was
issued against his estate in Chopwell, "the East Wood, Moor
Close, Deane, and the Carres." When Chopwell was granted to
Sir Robert Constable, this portion, which is of considerable extent,
was reserved. The present landowners are J. C. F. Cookson,
Esq., William Tudor Thorp, Esq., Miss Surtees, Mrs. Liddle,
Consett Iron Company, and the Commissioners of Woods and
Forests.

After leaving Rowlands Gill Station, on the Consett branch of
the North-Eastern Railway, and advancing westward for about a
mile, Chopwell Woods are reached. These woods are what remain
of the ancient forest which extended from Axwell Park to
Allenheads. About a mile north-west of Rowlands Gill is Victoria
Garesfield, a modern colliery village, surrounded by woods and
charming scenery. Large quantities of coke are also produced
there by Messrs. Priestman. The seams of coal worked are the
Brockwell and Three-Quarter. A pleasant walk of a mile-and-a-half
on the Shotley Bridge turnpike, through the forest, brings the
visitor to Lintz Ford. A road branching northward, known as
Huger Gate, leads to Bede Lodge and the Spen. Half a mile
southward is the Lintz Green Station. Branching off the Shotley
Bridge turnpike, past the houses occupied by the workmen at Lintz
Ford Paper Mills, you are in the heart of the forest. The scenery
is of a quiet and gentle character. The Derwent flows through
the woods on the south side, and occasionally the banks of the
channel rise precipitously, which darken the otherwise crystal
waters. Walking in a north-westerly direction for a mile and a half,
the Tongue Burn is reached before it meets the Derwent. Along-



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side of the burn stands the Carr farm, which in the time of
James I. formed that part of the Chopwell estate known as " The
Carrs." Advancing northward about a mile through the forest, you
reach Heavy Gate and Horse Gate, two old roads which, in the
17 th century, were used as "^always" to Stella. At the west side
of Horsegate is Horsegate farm, which is an old building with a
nailed to every door. If the existence of horse-shoes
the doors of farms and cottages in this thinly-populated
evidence of the belief in witchcraft, that belief must
liled extensively in former times, as nearly every door
s guarded by a horse-shoe. A pleasant walk from
>e, through the woods, brings you to Chopwell Church,
small edifice standing on the north side of the road,
lopwell Hall. The church was erected in 1843. ^ n
side is Chopwell Hall, which is to-day what it always has
arge farm-house. On the west side of Chopwell Hall
ill Wood farm, and in the distance westward are the
i, Greenhead, and Ashtree farms. Chopwell Mill, which
of Chopwell Wood farm, is an old-fashioned building ;
the water mill has disappeared, and only the mill-race, on the west
side of the farm, is now to be seen. Westward from the " Mill "
is Newhouse farm, near to Milkwell Burn, the birthplace of Joseph
Bulman, a well-known local poet.
(^Joseph Bulman, son of Thomas Bulman, was born June nth,
1833. His father was farm bailiff for R. Surtees, Esq., and also
rented Newhouse farm under the same gentleman for a great
number of years. He had a family of ten children, of whom
Joseph was the youngest, and who, in early life, exhibited signs of
a delicate constitution, and not being likely to obtain his livelihood
by hard work, was put to school until he became a very good
scholar, and was very expert in land surveying, in which employ-
ment he had a good deal of practice in assisting his father on Mr.
Surtees' estates. On March 5th, 1852, he obtained a situation on
the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, at Hexham station, After
spending a few years at Hexham, he was removed, by the wish of
the directors, to the audit office at Newcastle, and subsequently
from that to the manager's office, and was entrusted with the
collection of the Company's accounts, a situation of some trust.
At length he had an offer of a situation in the Union Bank at

uMf J2£UM~ SUtyL J***>± (Ufonfri4rt& Ku, &w»un.



167

Newcastle, and from thence to their office at Sunderland, to which
place he removed. About this time his health began to give way,
and no sooner had he removed to Sunderland, than evident
symptoms of a disease set in which compelled him to give up his
situation at the bank. He removed to Ryton for a suitable
residence, as he thought, where he began to sink fast under the
unmitigated effects of consumption, and died on 5th April, r°*~
H is poe ms were published in 1861. Several of them were
duced while following his regular duties, and others were
written during his illness, and finished while he had very
strength.

His poem, "On Passing Newhouse," his birthplace,
charming description of the old homestead : —

Once more I climb the old oak stile,

And tread the grassy green,
Where first the gazing sun on me

Did cast his radiant beam.
I pass the well-remembered cot,

My first, bright sunny home,
Where life's rough tempest harm'd me not,

Nor care could near me come ;
Where all was innocence, joy, and mirth :
The dearest, choicest spot on earth

Yonder stands the Scotch fir clump,

Beneath whose ample shade
Old Nanny's lambs did racing jump,

And judding, gambolling, play'd.
The old pit-hole with rashes grown ;

The well so cooling, clear ;
The hurdle gate and grassy lawn,

Yes, all these yet are here :
To each some story does belong,
Of deeds performed in days byegone.

There is at Newhouse a commanding view of the country south
of the Derwent, which Bulman describes in picturesque language : —

The eye can wander far from here,

Can view the stretching plain,
The pretty hamlets far and near,

And fields of waving grain.



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Wild Derwenfs waters, shining bright,

Like glittering silver lies ;
While Pontop's tree-capp'd towering height

Seems propping up the skies :
Frowning at its neighbour still,
The sunny, airy, Ash-tree hill.

The following verse has reference to Chopwell woods : —

O how I love that wild, wild wood,

It's shaggy, briary glens :
It's nut-bush hills, where secret brood,

The robins, tits, and wrens.
Where woodcock, wild duck, and heron,

Haunt the lonely dells ;
Adown yon holly banks whereon

The blackbird's music swells,
Where songbirds make the welkin ring,
And squirrels high, so fearless spring.

Bulman's poems, "On Leaving Milk well Burn, " and "Sighing
of the Breezes," are worthy of high praise. They were published
in 1861.

On the south side of Newhouse farm is

This hamlet is situated on the south-west of Chopwell, and
alongside of the Derwent. Nearly the whole of the village has
been erected during the last thirty years. The estate of Blackhall
was held under the Crown grantees by the Rutherford family, when
the Dudleys of Newcastle purchased Chopwell. A feud took place
between these two families in 16 15, and which probably arose from
some contention respecting rents and boundaries. The conse-
quences were " John Rutheforth, or Rudderford, Gent., of Wren's
Nest ; Charles Rutheforth, of the Blackhall ; Hugh and Gaven
Rutheforth, and William Shafto, were outlawed for forcibly entering
into the manor of Chopwell, with intention to kill Ambrose
Dudley, Esq., George GifFord, and others, at a place called
Westwood, in which affray William Shafto struck George Gifford a
mortal wound in the thigh, of which he soon died, with an iron



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lance." The Rutherfords fled from the face of the law. The
Bishop, to whom the forfeiture accrued, granted their interest in
the Blackhall to Sir Philip Constable of Everingham (15th April,
1 615), who in the same year conveyed it to William Carr of Cocken.
The above Charles Rutherford married Margaret, daughter of
Thomas Swinburn of Capheaton ; but from an entry in the Ryton
register, it would seem that he had returned when the storm was
over, and died in his old habitation. Blackhall and Milkwell
Burn were purchased, in 1626, by Anthony Surtees.

Anthony Surtees was the son of Cuthbert Surtees of Ebchester.
Robert, son of Anthony, married, in 1663, Isabella Newton, from
whom descended the family of Surtees of Hamsterly Hall.

Although Blackhall Mill is on the north side of the Derwent,
only a part of the village is in Chopwell. The Derwent is the
boundary until it reaches "The Ship" public-house, when an
imaginary line runs along the west side of the house to a hedge
about forty yards on the north side. From this point the line runs
westward till it reaches the old Smelt Mill, where the Derwent is
again the boundary. Several old houses, and one of the old Smelt
Mills arrest the attention of the visitor. Seventy years ago, Isaac
Cookson, Esq., employed a number of workmen in the manufacture
of German steel. Forges and smelt mills have existed on the
Derwent, at Blackhall Mill, from an early period. There is a
tradition that the colonists came from Solingen, a small city on the
WifFer, in the Duchy of Berg, which had long been noted for its
fine elastic sword blades. At the present time Derwent Cote and
Swalwell are the only places on the Derwent where steel is forged,

About a quarter of a mile west of Blackhall Mill, is the Milkwell
Burn, which flows into the Derwent, and which is the south-western
boundary of the old parish of Ryton.

Half a mile north of the Derwent, on the side of the Burn, is
Blackhall, at one time the seat of the Rutherfords. Blackhall
probably obtained its name from its situation on the edge of what
was anciently the Black Moor, on the west side. The Hall is an
old stone building, bearing traces of former elegance and import-
ance. At present it is occupied by several tenants. On the east
side of the Hall is Blackhall farm, formerly connected with the Hall.

On the north of Blackhall is Ravenside, and north of Ravenside
is Ash Tree, both of which are agricultural districts.



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AXWELL PARK.



This beautiful modern seat of the Claverings lies in Winlaton
township, and north of the Derwent. It stands open, but not
unsheltered, in the midst of a soft wooded park, which slopes
gently to the Derwent, and is diversified by beautiful swells and
undulations of ground. A number of deer add to the simple and
rural beauties of the scene. The southern view overlooks the rich
enclosures and hanging woods of Gibside. The east front
commands a prospect of Derwent Bridge, and extends over part of
the Vale of Tyne, the shipping at Newcastle quay, and the heights
of Gateshead.

The name Axwell is probably derived from ak = oak, and sheals —
sheds ; sheds made from branches of oak trees. The Claverings
transferred the name from their estate on the south side of
the Derwent, to the park which now surrounds their present
beautiful residence. On the plan of the Winlaton lordship (dated
1632), there is a mansion on Springhill, which is about one
hundred yards west of the present hall. Surtees states that
Whitehouse, the former seat of the Claverings, stood about half a
mile west of Axwell Hall. Surtees was evidently mistaken in the
site of Whitehouse, as the house on Springhill was undoubtedly the
Whitehouse of the Claverings. The father of Mr. Ralph Norton, the
late agent to the Axwell estate, was present at the demolition of the
old hall, after which the site was planted with trees. Whitehouse
was surrounded by a small park comprising 30 acres. On the
north side of the park was Newfield, 53 acres ; on the west the
Hagg, 150 acres; on the east Lady Close, 6 acres; and



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the Black Meres — lakes or ponds — 24 acres; and on, the
south Broom Close, 40 acres. On the erection of Axwell Hall, all
the above-mentioned parcels of land were enclosed in the new park.
Axwell Hall was built by Sir Thomas Clavering, from the designs
of Payne, and is considered by professional men to be one of that
eminent architect's happiest efforts. Bishop Pococke, who visited
Gibside in the year 1760, says : — " We came about two miles to
Whickham, and saw on the left Sir Thomas Clavering's fine large
house, the shell of which is just finished in hewn freestone." From
what the bishop says, we may conclude that the Claverings made
Axwell Hall their residence about the year 1761. The entrance
into the mansion is by a hall, on the right of which, to the east,
is the ante-chamber, or common dining-room ; in the centre of
the east front is the best dining-room ; in the south-west angle,
and on the left of the hall, is the withdrawing room ; and in the
centre of the building are the staircases ; in the north-east angle
is a small study ; beyond that, and on one side of the common
passage, is a small room or office for business ; and on the opposite
side of the same passage is the steward's office ; in the north-west
angle, is the housekeeper's room, which serves also as a dining-room
for the upper domestics ; in the intermediate part of the west front
is the kitchen, taking in a part of the subterraneous storey, and
rising as high as the mezzanine, the roof being substantially arched
to prevent any disagreeable smells. The mezzanine storey is con-
tinued over the before-mentioned part of the building and through
the north front, in the centre of which is a passage to the laundry,
and other subordinate offices, which, on account of the natural
situation of the ground, are built above the level of the house, but
entirely out of sight This mezzanine affords six good rooms for
the upper servants of the family and those belonging to visitors.
In the centre of the upper landing of the great stairs is the
entrance to the ante-chamber; in the south-east angle is Lady
Clavering's dressing room, which commands most beautiful views
of Newcastle and the village of Whickham ; in the centre of the
east front, are the principal family apartments, including two
dressing-rooms; a bed-room and dressing-room occupy the
south-west angle; in the intermediate part of the west front is
another bedroom and a dressing-room; and in the north-west
angle is a single bedchamber. The attic storey contains four bed-



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rooms, with dressing-rooms to each, and three single bedrooms.
The Hall is roofed with slates. The handsome porch, which forms
the principal entrance, was built about twenty years after the