Owen, Stan
| Stan Owen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born: | 20th September 1951 |
| Coventry | |
| Resident: | Coventry and Haydon Bridge |
| Key facts: | Founder member of the Heritage Centre in 1993 as volunteer and later as a committee member. Main player in production of seasonal exhibitions and expert on W P Collier. Font of all knowledge for the North Tyne and Redesdale areas. Author of many books and pamphlets relating to the heritage of the area. |
| Trustee | |
In Stan Owen's own words in 2022.
“The author came to Northumberland during Easter 1976 to visit Hadrian’s Wall and thought that he could do it all in a week. Twenty years later, he realises that there is still much that he has not done. To remind him of Northumberland when he was in Coventry, he began to collect postcards and soon discovered W. P. Collier. He decided to find out more about him. The author lived in Coventry and was Head of Classics at King Edward’s School in Birmingham.”
Such were the words that greeted the reader of Northumbrian Heritage, the first book on W. P. Collier published in 1996. It had all started three years earlier when "BELLINGHAM IN DAYS GONE BY" caught my eye in the Hexham Courant of 8th January 1993 with eight photographs dating from the early years of the 20th century. These were some of the hundreds of pictures that, while going through the effects of three elderly aunts, Jim and Dorothy Bell had discovered and had put on display in Bellingham Library. I knew that many of these had been taken by W. P. Collier and was determined to see the exhibition, which was to end on 15th January. I got a day off work and met Dorothy in the Library. I remember returning home to Coventry and thinking “Something’s going to happen” and I was right. Dorothy was forming a plan. On 10th June 1994, the new Heritage Centre opened at Shellcroft in a former garage showroom.
The Heritage Centre steadily grew, and Dorothy was often “underwhelmed” by boxes of cameras that I sent to her house to stock Collier’s Corner. All of this had to be packed up at the end of 1999 for the move to the Station Yard. She often wondered where I was, forgetting, perhaps, that I had a job in Birmingham, fitting in teaching with preparing new material on W. P. Collier. More time became available after I retired in 2010 and, as I got more involved with the Heritage Centre and took more responsibility for seasonal displays, a base in Northumberland became vital. Staying at the Bowes Hotel in Bardon Mill was a delightful home from home for 40 years, but it was no good for storage.
It was when I was invited to become a Trustee in 2016 that I bought the cottage in Haydon Bridge that I had known for 40 years. This has enabled me to prepare and, more importantly, store the material for the ‘Seasonals’. Great fun! To date, over 400 pictures and hundreds of artefacts are in the “deep storage” area. In another area, similar collections are ready to emerge when their turn for going on display arrives. My home in Coventry is where displays are born and stored before the journey to Northumberland.
My favourite displays have included the Border Counties Railway, the First World War and the Forestry. Displays this year (2022) (postponed because of Covid) are the 160th anniversary of Plashetts Colliery and the 40th anniversary of Kielder Water. I like anniversaries. And it was good to have been able to meet Bill Sewell and reprint his fine work on the North British Railway in Northumberland not long before his death. Future displays include the centenary of the LNER (2023), the Kielder photography of Valdemars Blankenburgs (2024) and the 150th anniversary of the birth of W. P. Collier (2025). And there will always be space for a spontaneous display, as happened for the Edible England weekend last September (2021).
Over the last 28 years, the Heritage Centre has seen many changes. But one thing has remained unchanged – the enthusiasm of the Volunteers, Committee Members and Trustees and their pride in the Heritage Centre. They have given their time, energy and skills to ensure that the Heritage Centre maintains its success. Stan Owen
As usual Stan modestly undersells his significant and ongoing contribution to the Heritage Centre, writes Steve Gibbon, Chairman of Trustees in 2024.
No public, Friend or volunteer enquiry is too trivial for Stan. All are interesting and fascinating and contribute to Stan’s continually increasing in-depth knowledge of all things and people in the area. Stan is a tremendous asset to the Centre and our visitors, and it is hard to imagine us functioning without him.
Apart from his prodigious knowledge and diligence Stan’s planning and attention to detail in the production of our seasonal exhibitions is second to none. Not many of you may realise just how much effort goes into these. Stan has exhibitions planned many years in advance – we are currently planned to beyond 2026 – and he thoroughly researches each subject and backs it up with objects, images and information from his own collection (which is substantial). Everyone benefits from this. A recent simple example is the lady from Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, who recently contacted me about Plashetts, having seen Stan’s article in the Hexham Courant about our new exhibition. Not only can Stan add to her family history research but in return we are being offered images of Plashetts past which will further enhance our collections. Without this knowledge and hard work, we would stand still in terms of our knowledge.
Let us not forget that Stan has been undertaking this task for our benefit and his own pleasure for many years – longer, in fact, than the Heritage Centre has been in existence.
We owe a great debt of gratitude to a selfless and committed man, thank you on all our behalf.