A Town Walk – through the past, shops, Reivers, streams and Pigs
On Thursday 31st August a town walk organised by the library was led by Maureen and Lorna along Westgate from the library and main street as far as the Wappings. Everyone, new to the town or born there, would have learned something from these two lovely ladies and we had great fun on the walk as well to make this a great experience, finishing with coffee at the Centre of Britain Hotel.
Living in the area for only 30 years meant I learned a lot. I provide some brief notes below but the topic deserves a much more extensive record with a lot more pictures so I will look to do this in the winter with possibly a dedicated website.
So the first thing I learned was the derivation of the name Wappings – Saxon for a wet place. In fact, the Wappings at Haltwhistle is the site of a stream, now culverted under the road and house on the South side.
We started at the library, once the Mechanics Institute for the improvement of the education of miner’s (and others) children. Here the original façade still exists with the new modern library behind it.
The next building on the same side of the road is the Methodist Church (see more about this in the main text above) where I was surprised to learn that the basement could hold up to 200 children. The basement is no longer used.
In Scarth’s Yard there is a Nissan Hut – the last from the PoW Camp at Featherstone. At the entrance to the yard there is a loading bay on the right which was once the loading bay for Oliver and Snowdens Agricultural Merchants.
The shop currently available to rent which was previously Kasteale café used to be Normans Butchers. It was closed on Mondays as that was killing day in the days before animals had to be taken to an abattoir.
The antique shop used to be a Greengrocers and then a Post Office. Tynerede Accountants used to be the gent’s hairdressers. The current opticians on the corner was Boots the Chemist ran by Mr. Watson.
Next to the opticians is Aesica Road (named after the route the roman fort at Aesica?). This was formerly Physic Lane (so called because of the chemists) and before that Quaker Lane (Editor: Is there a link to a quaker meeting house in the road?).
Crossing Aesica Road brought us to a unique gate post made of clay leftovers from the pottery up the burn in years gone by. There is an even more unique pottery structure in the garden nearby, but we could not see that on the day.
Further along is the current Post Office which in the past had been Timothy Whites the Chemist then Bells (Was everyone ill? We seem to have been blessed with Chemists!)
Standing opposite what is now Karbon homes we learned that these premises used to be a coffee shop and butchers then hairdressers. Look up in any town to see the windows and building facades – this helps date the premises. Haltwhistle had two major expansions in Georgian and Victorian times and the windows help date the buildings. There was a window tax at one time and to reduce the tax burden people often bricked up windows. You can still see evidence of this today.
Armstrong’s on the South side of the road was previously Bells Bicycle Hire and boarding rooms. Armstrong’s on the South side was the gentleman’s store whilst Armstrong’s on the North side (now the café and Partnership Office) was the ladies store with Bridal Wear on the top floor. The name Armstrong is a corruption of the Viking name for strong arm. As an aside the Vikings would not live in Carlisle which they thought to be an evil place, so they lived in villages nearby (‘out by’) which took Viking name endings such as Upperby
The Cumberland Building Society used to be Miligans.
Look up again at the roof of the buildings. Prior to the railways coming which enabled the transport of slate for roofs most roof construction was of stone. Look at the roof of the old Jethros and the Haltwhistle Tandoori for evidence of stone roofs.
In the marketplace in 1590 a local girl was hung for marrying a Scotsman.
We passed the previous premises of Foster and Robisons (haberdashery) and Walter Willsons (supermarket chain, now the new Jethros).
Looking opposite at the lane to the Black Bull we see a cobbled lane with larger sets running as tracks in the lane. These were of the harder wearing Whin Sill stone which gave better grip to the cartwheels. The Whin Sill had been too hard for the Romans to use so this is a relatively ‘modern’ use of the stone.
In front of what used to be the Blacksmiths there is a stone ‘wheel’ set in the ground. This used to function as the form to make the iron rims for cartwheels. Peek in the building which used to be the Blacksmiths and you can still see the tools hanging from the forge.
The town clock above Billy Bells was erected by the Carnival committee 1954 nearly 70 years ago.
The current Laundrette used to be a wallpaper and paint business (the owner also owned the Gem cinema when it closed) and before that another optician.
There is a tunnel between the Centre of Britain Hotel and the Manor House then the Church as these all used to be fortified Bastles or buildings and this provided a means of escape. The entrance to the tunnel is viewable in the Centre of Britain hotel. The Manor House used to provide stabling for stagecoaches through the arch to what was Heads and Tails. Heads and Tails used to be Murrays the ‘pop’ factory. There was a Drapery at what is now the Old Drapery Self Catering accommodation.
The fish and chip shop used to be a Fruit and Veg shop.
This area has the highest concentration of Bastles and Towers anywhere in the country. These include the Centre of Britain (look to the roof to see the corner of the Tower, see inside to see the staircase within the two-metre-thick walls and look at the East end of the roof to see the cannons embedded on the side of the roof wall), The Lucky Palace and the Manor House.
The Centre of Britain used to be the Red Lion.
At the corner of St. James Lane (used to be known as Squashy Eels Lane) there was a pie shop at one time.
We moved on to the Wappings. Wappings beck used to be open and forded where the road now is and just a few years further North you can see where it was channelled into the edge of the road.
Here on the first day of Spring there was a ‘Hiring’s Fair’. A straw in your mouth meant you were already spoken for. People used to travel up from London to hire maids etc. No. 2 on the south side opposite the Comrades used to be a General Dealer and Sweet Shop. The Treatment Room was a paper shop.
MW Bells garage was Potts Garage with the house to the west being the parts shop.
The magnificent building now housing Georgie Girl Hairdressers was the Town Hall and Police Station with cells. The Blue Bell pub was opposite now a private house. ‘Taliare’ was Taylors House.
The end cottage to the East of the Town Hall was a butcher. Crescent Cottage was a slaughterhouse and the grassy bank near to Hillside Cottage was where the pigs were held awaiting slaughter.
Here ended the walk (another part to be arranged for a future date) and we finally learned that Northumberland has the largest number of prehistoric forts in England.
Thanks to Lorna and Maureen for a very interesting and informative guided walk.
[Category:Heritage Walks]