Bellingham Meeting Places

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* Content provided by Stan Owen 01/05/2023

Where people Met for Official Functions in Bellingham

Town Hall

Petty sessions, last Saturday in each month at 11 a.m. These were later transferred to a new

Court House

(behind the Police Station which is now the Veterinary Practice) which is recorded in the 1906 Kelly directory and lasted until 1990.

Black Bull

Black Bull County Court, on Thursdays in January, April, July and October.

Workhouse Board Room aka (?) Council Room

Bellingham Union, every alternate Saturday, 11 a.m. winter, 2 p.m. summer. This was also the meeting place for a number of local officials and small committees: Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Rural Sanitary Authority, Medical, Relieving and Vaccination Officers, School Attendance Officer and Committee.

Registrar of Marriages

Northumberland, Whittaker’s Directory, 1855 Edward Milburn (1798-1884) of Bimmer Hill and later Hareshaw House was a farmer and registrar of marriages.

Northumberland, Kelly’s Directory, 1879 Edward Milburn (1798-1884) of Bimmer Hill and later Hareshaw House was a farmer and registrar of marriages.

Northumberland, Kelly’s Directory, 1890 Matthew Milburn (1827-1918) of Hareshaw House was a farmer and registrar of marriages. It is likely that he succeeded his father, Edward Milburn, before or on his death in 1884.

Northumberland, Kelly’s Directory, 1914 William Riddle (1853-1924) of Blakelaw; deputy Edward Milburn, Hareshaw House, son of Matthew Milburn.

Northumberland, Kelly’s Directory, 1921 Walter Percy Collier (1875-1937) of Pinch Me Ne’er, photographer, who had a little shop in Lock-Up Lane.

Bellingham Court House

05/08/1911 The court house in Bellingham was saved by local residents who controlled a fire which destroyed an adjoining building. 06/10/1990 Bellingham court house was to be closed five years after losing its own independent bench of magistrates. 17/11/1990 It looked almost certain that Bellingham would lose its monthly magistrates court sitting.

Bellingham Workhouse

The old Union Workhouse was built in 1839 to accommodate 60 persons. It was the home of the Bellingham Rural District Council from 1923 until 1973 when that Council amalgamated with the new Tynedale District Council which holds their meetings in Hexham. The building then housed the library, the surgery, hairdressers and the Tourist Information Office. Accessibility issues led to the relocation of these amenities and, after extensive refurbishment, the building opened in 2019, as the Fountain Cottage Café and B&B.