Welcome to the Heritage Centre Bellingham's WIKI pages

Here we present stories and memories from the present and past describing the heritage and history of the area.

If you have any additions or corrections please email info@bellingham-heritage.org.uk, thank you.

Accuracy

We have taken every care to ensure accuracy of this wiki content for the Heritage Centre. Where possible sources of information are referenced. However, as is inevitable in the collection of people's memories and even in documented 'evidence' such as newspaper articles, the accuracy of information can vary and even stray towards the anecdotal. Please bear this in mind when using this wiki.

If you find any information which you think may be inaccurate we would be pleased to hear from you at info@bellingham-heritage.org.uk. Please let us know the corrected information and sources if at all possible. Thank you.

Census Data and Family History Research

We have made use of UK Census data and other records to help create this Wiki. Much of this is due to the endeavours of Rob Tindall and Stan Owen. For a brief explanation of UK Census Data see our page on this subject.

If you are using this site for family history research purposes there are a number of things you could try:

1. Use the search box on a full or partial name - try surnames first. Our main biographical pages use the format Surname, Forename e.g. 'Scott, Jane'. Other references within pages will use the more common terminology 'Jane Scott'.
2. Go the the People Category page where there is an alphabetically sorted list go biography entries. We have endeavoured to use married names but have created cross-link entries from maiden names as much as possible so you can look for e.g. 'Scott, Jane' (note the comma) or 'Jane Scott' (note lack of comma). Both will take you to a full biography.
3. If you have an address search on that e.g. 'Cruddas Terrace' or more specifically '1 Cruddas Terrace' (no commas).

Disambiguation

In the case of family history particularly locally, you will often come across several individuals with the same name e.g. George Armstrong. On this WIKI we differentiate these common names in the following manner.

1. The first instance of the name encountered in our research will be recorded under the page 'Armstrong, George'.
2. This will not always be the oldest recorded instance - just the one we first came across.
3. Subsequent variations of the name will use the birth year to differentiate the page title e.g. 'Armstrong, George b1879' or 'Maughan, Elizabeth (Born 1859)' or just a range of dates e.g., 'Short, John (1842 - 1910?)'. Our apologies for the inconsistencies.
4. Further methods will be used to differentiate beyond that as required.
5. If you are therefore searching for 'George Armstrong' it is suggested you use the People Category to look for and examine all instances of 'Armstrong, George' until you are satisfied you have found what you want.

Thanks and Acknowledgements

A number of people have helped significantly to get this WIKI Started:

• Rob Tindall. Rob has conducted extensive census research for this WIKI and is responsible for the original names database at the Heritage Centre.
• Stan Owen. Stan has contributed images from his Collier collection, research from Census information and newspaper archives. He has extensive local knowledge built up since the creation of the Heritage Centre.
• Dr Clive Dalton. Born and bred in Bellingham before going to work in agricultural research in New Zealand. Clive has an extensive knowledge of the area in the past as well as any. many anecdotes about people, place and activity. A valuable source of social history.
• Steve Gibbon who provided the technical expertise to build this wiki, edit, manage and maintain it.

My thanks and acknowledgments to them for their significant efforts and research and in some cases prodigious memories.

Categories

The following categories are utilised on this Wiki:

• Businesses
• Churches
• Exhibitions
• Heritage Walks and Drives
• Occupations
• People
• Places
• Schools
• Songs and Poems
• Streets and Premises

Most Recent Pages

25 January 2026

• 18:0318:03, 25 January 2026 EdiaWiki:Gadget-bhc-accessibility.css (hist | edit) [10,251 bytes] Steve (talk | contribs) (Created page with "→========================================================= Accessibility launcher + menu (bottom-right icon) =========================================================: :root{ --a11y-bg: #111827; →dark slate: --a11y-border: #374151; --a11y-fg: #ffffff; --a11y-focus: #FFBF47; →strong focus outline: --a11y-link-underline: #1D4ED8; →underline color (non-contrast mode): --a11y-menu-width: 340px; } /* Floating accessibility icon...")
• 18:0318:03, 25 January 2026 EdiaWiki:Gadget-bhc-accessibility.js (hist | edit) [15,163 bytes] Steve (talk | contribs) (Created page with "(() => { "use strict"; // ------------------------------------------------------------------- // Cookie helpers // ------------------------------------------------------------------- const COOKIE_PREFIX = "a11y_"; function setCookie(name, value, days = 365) { const exp = new Date(); exp.setTime(exp.getTime() + days * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000); document.cookie = `${encodeURIComponent(COOKIE_PREFIX + name)}=${encodeURIComponent(String(value))}; expires...")
• 17:5717:57, 25 January 2026 Accessibility (hist | edit) [8,977 bytes] Steve (talk | contribs) (Created page with "The help page for the Accessibility Gadget. tbc")

21 December 2025

• 14:1514:15, 21 December 2025 Anderson, Michael (hist | edit) [5,896 bytes] Steve (talk | contribs) (Initial article from the November 2025 newsletter)
• 14:0214:02, 21 December 2025 Teaching at Bellingham Council School in 1943 (hist | edit) [6,698 bytes] Steve (talk | contribs) (Initial article from the September 2025 Newsletter, itself a reprint from 1996)
• 13:5913:59, 21 December 2025 Bell, Thomas JP (hist | edit) [878 bytes] Steve (talk | contribs) (Created from the September 2025 Newsletter article)
• 13:4913:49, 21 December 2025 Woodruff, Dorothy (hist | edit) [7,600 bytes] Steve (talk | contribs) (Initial Article taken from the May 2025 Heritage Centre Newsletter)
• 12:0012:00, 21 December 2025 Unknown poem (hist | edit) [437 bytes] Steve (talk | contribs) (Article by Clive Dalton)
• 11:5111:51, 21 December 2025 Shops and Businesses in Wark (North Tyne) 1940s-1960s (hist | edit) [7,720 bytes] Steve (talk | contribs) (Initial article from Clive Dalton and others)
• 11:2711:27, 21 December 2025 Nicknames (hist | edit) [1,890 bytes] Steve (talk | contribs) (First draft from information provided by Clive Dalton)
• 10:5410:54, 21 December 2025 Bellingham (North Tyne) War Memorials (hist | edit) [11,599 bytes] Steve (talk | contribs) (Created page with "From an article by Donald Clegg and Clive Dalton originally on the Woolshed blog website 2015. ==The Boer War== Wikipedia provides a full history of the first Anglo Boer or Transvaal war from Dec 1880 to March 1881, and the second Anglo Boer war from October 1889 to May 1902. The plaque on the memorial to the Bellingham men states that they lost their lives in 1900, 1901 and 1902. # [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Boer_War The First Boer War] # [https://en.wikip...")