The Six Townships Community History Group

The Baptist Yard in Bedlington contained the first Post Office for Bedlington. The photograph above shows the Victorian Post Office, situated in the towns Market Place.
Bedlington has a place in postal history as it has the earliest known recorded usage of an adhesive stamp to prepay postage. The Penny Black officially came into service on May, 6th, 1840. However someone sent a letter from London under a “Mulready” wrapper to a Mr. Blenkinsop of Bedlington four days earlier. This then made the letter the earliest known in the United Kingdom. Together with this, the Mulready wrapper was not officially valid until the same day as the Penny Black. The Mr. Blenkinsop the letter was sent to, was an engineer at the Bedlington Ironworks, and what makes the letter more intriguing is that he had died nine years earlier.
The stamp and wrapper were worth up to half a million pounds in 1991. How much today ?. With Mr. Blenkinsop not being alive when the letter was sent, it was forwarded to his family who lived in Carlisle, bearing a May, 4th, 1840 Morpeth postmark, probably adding more value to it.

The age of Sheepwash Bridge is uncertain, but to help discover it’s age, the following minute from the County Sessions book for January 12th, 1680 may assist. “S.S. Presentments ; 6. That the money levied for Sheepwash Bridge be, according to order, employed for that use only; and that speedy course may be taken, either for the building of the said bridge, or the restoring the money to the countrey, and that John Pigg may give security for the £50 he hath disposed of, unless the bridge be built.     
During the winter of 1894, Sheepwash Bridge was wrecked by a flood. The winter had been hard, with heavy snow and severe frosts. The sudden thaw saw the River Wansbeck turn into a raging torrent with the result that the weir above the bridge was breached as the flood water rushed to the sea. The bridge partially collapsed as the river rose ten feet and flooded the fields along the river bank. The Anglers Arms, Public House, at Sheepwash was flooded and six months later parts of Bothal woods were still impassible because of mud and water. The Coal Company had 246 employees living on the south side of the river and they asked for a ferry or temporary bridge to be built so that the miners could go to work. The piers of the old bridge are still in use today, as a foot bridge.

Christopher Scott ran a greengrocers business in Bedlington for 35 years, and was a popular figure in the Bedlingtonshire area. He was connected with the P.M. Church for many years and held an official position in the circuit. He was a manager of the church schools, and amongst other things, took an active part in the Sleekburn Nursing Association, holding the position of auditor.
Towards the end of 1920 he had been in failing health, which culminated in pneumonia, and died in January, 1922, at the age of 55 years.

Walter Tilley, Championship Wrestler moved to Choppington in 1930, from Ryton on Tyne. He originally worked at Greenside Colliery, but when he moved to the area he began to work at Choppington “A” pit.
When he was a young man he was always interested in weight-lifting, but eventually turned to wrestling. He became champion of the North, wrestling in the ten stone weight class and fought under the name of The Young Madrill. When he trained his diet would be sherry and eggs. His fights would either take place in the open air or on stages, it was known he held two of his fights at the Welfare Centre, Choppington, and during his career he estimated that he had between forty and fifty contests.
One of his greatest fights was against a wrestler named Joe Charnley from Lancashire. It took place in a field at Ryton and lasted three hours before being stopped and a draw declared. Walter was in bed for a total of two weeks to recover fully from the fight.
While living in Choppington Walter ran a gymnasium for many years in a hall at Guide Post Social Club, which was open for all the local lads. One of the first persons to be trained by him was Davey Armstrong, who went on and made a national name for himself.