_Depending on the company you're in or who you are trying to impress, the
pronunciation of this village's name can, and has, varied over the
years.
'Camboys' is popular. 'Cambwa' (as the French) has been heard, but as the famed bell ringers of the place will tell you, 'Cammus' is the name.
Ancient maps give varying titles but 'Camus' is the oldest found and 'Cambhouse' and Kamhus' are popular too. It is possible the name is derived from 'cambion', a place or house used for trading. Alternatively 'camus' is a bend or crook and could refer to the bay. The present 'Cambois' is on most maps from 1700 onwards and this is probably from the adoption of the Gaelic spelling.
Cambois covers a two mile stretch along the coast from the estuaries of the River Blyth in the south to the Wansbeck in the north. The ancient history of the township centres around the north end and there is evidence of a chapel there in 1204.
We know the monks of Newminster traveled to Cambois to indulge in the salt making at the Link End. They established the chapel with a hospice on the site of the Cambois farm. On the links adjacent, an ancient burial ground was discovered during the First World War (1915).
Before the advent of the colliery in the 1860's, the township consisted of two hamlets, two miles apart. On the links between, few habitations existed, the most important being Gee's House at the junction of Sleekburn Road and the links road.
Cambois is an ancient settlement out on an eastern limb of the Shire with the North Sea lapping its banks. Many Cambois folk had strong Blyth connections, it being only a ferry-ride away across the River Blyth. As with most Bedlingtonshire villages Cambois relied heavily on coal for its survival. When the Shire was acquired by the Church of Durham in the tenth century Cambois was part of the ceding.
There is evidence of 'scratch' mining of coal in Cambois from the fifteenth century but the first deep mine was sunk in 1783 near Gee's House. The owners were Messrs Garry & Waller. They were declared bankrupt in 1789 and the pit closed.
In 1862 work began on the site of what was to become Cambois Colliery and on 14th November 1866 a local newspaper reported: 'The protracted labours of Cambois Colliery sinkers were crowned with success on Monday last (9th) when they found a capital seam of coal 5 feet thick at 636 feet deep. As soon as the pit is got into proper working order, there will be employment for hundreds of men and another mining pit village will be seen rising up at the mouth of the Wansbeck.'
Cambois Colliery closed the week ending 20th April 1968 when the week's output was 1,213tons 6cwts. This ended 102 years of production, the most successful year being 1956 when 436,268 tons were produced.
Although part of Bedlingtonshire, Cambois could rightly claim, in the mid 1930's, to be a very self-contained community. The place had a population of 5,613 at the Census and most of that number knew everybody else.
They had Blyth Store, Cambois Store, The 'Tute' (Institute), The Club (Jimmy Morris was secretary), The Willick, Dr Lowery, Billy Robertson the newsagent and Mrs Thompson who had the 'bullet' shop in Ridley Terrace.
Apart from these there were small cottage industries like Joe Robinson the cobbler and Henry Riches the fruiterer. Others dealt in general goods from their houses and this all made Cambois a smashing place to live.
They had their football, rowing and bowling clubs; the ladies had a swimming club. There was always something for youngsters to do.
Trips away were organised, before and after the war, by Tommy Raws. Sometimes the wives were asked, but if they weren't and it was a 'stag' do, it wasn't unheard of for the men to be locked in the cree on their return, until they were sober.
Jack Long was another organiser, famous for his Blackpool outings and Tommy Sharp regularly organised weeks away at Ayr (Butlin's) after the war.
For many Cambois folk, it was heartbreaking to see the demise of their village in the 1970's. A comment was heard in the club one night that the local council had done in a short time what Hitler couldn't do in six years - flatten Cambois.
'Camboys' is popular. 'Cambwa' (as the French) has been heard, but as the famed bell ringers of the place will tell you, 'Cammus' is the name.
Ancient maps give varying titles but 'Camus' is the oldest found and 'Cambhouse' and Kamhus' are popular too. It is possible the name is derived from 'cambion', a place or house used for trading. Alternatively 'camus' is a bend or crook and could refer to the bay. The present 'Cambois' is on most maps from 1700 onwards and this is probably from the adoption of the Gaelic spelling.
Cambois covers a two mile stretch along the coast from the estuaries of the River Blyth in the south to the Wansbeck in the north. The ancient history of the township centres around the north end and there is evidence of a chapel there in 1204.
We know the monks of Newminster traveled to Cambois to indulge in the salt making at the Link End. They established the chapel with a hospice on the site of the Cambois farm. On the links adjacent, an ancient burial ground was discovered during the First World War (1915).
Before the advent of the colliery in the 1860's, the township consisted of two hamlets, two miles apart. On the links between, few habitations existed, the most important being Gee's House at the junction of Sleekburn Road and the links road.
Cambois is an ancient settlement out on an eastern limb of the Shire with the North Sea lapping its banks. Many Cambois folk had strong Blyth connections, it being only a ferry-ride away across the River Blyth. As with most Bedlingtonshire villages Cambois relied heavily on coal for its survival. When the Shire was acquired by the Church of Durham in the tenth century Cambois was part of the ceding.
There is evidence of 'scratch' mining of coal in Cambois from the fifteenth century but the first deep mine was sunk in 1783 near Gee's House. The owners were Messrs Garry & Waller. They were declared bankrupt in 1789 and the pit closed.
In 1862 work began on the site of what was to become Cambois Colliery and on 14th November 1866 a local newspaper reported: 'The protracted labours of Cambois Colliery sinkers were crowned with success on Monday last (9th) when they found a capital seam of coal 5 feet thick at 636 feet deep. As soon as the pit is got into proper working order, there will be employment for hundreds of men and another mining pit village will be seen rising up at the mouth of the Wansbeck.'
Cambois Colliery closed the week ending 20th April 1968 when the week's output was 1,213tons 6cwts. This ended 102 years of production, the most successful year being 1956 when 436,268 tons were produced.
Although part of Bedlingtonshire, Cambois could rightly claim, in the mid 1930's, to be a very self-contained community. The place had a population of 5,613 at the Census and most of that number knew everybody else.
They had Blyth Store, Cambois Store, The 'Tute' (Institute), The Club (Jimmy Morris was secretary), The Willick, Dr Lowery, Billy Robertson the newsagent and Mrs Thompson who had the 'bullet' shop in Ridley Terrace.
Apart from these there were small cottage industries like Joe Robinson the cobbler and Henry Riches the fruiterer. Others dealt in general goods from their houses and this all made Cambois a smashing place to live.
They had their football, rowing and bowling clubs; the ladies had a swimming club. There was always something for youngsters to do.
Trips away were organised, before and after the war, by Tommy Raws. Sometimes the wives were asked, but if they weren't and it was a 'stag' do, it wasn't unheard of for the men to be locked in the cree on their return, until they were sober.
Jack Long was another organiser, famous for his Blackpool outings and Tommy Sharp regularly organised weeks away at Ayr (Butlin's) after the war.
For many Cambois folk, it was heartbreaking to see the demise of their village in the 1970's. A comment was heard in the club one night that the local council had done in a short time what Hitler couldn't do in six years - flatten Cambois.
