View source for Heritage Centre Guide

This page is a reflection of our audio guide for the Heritage Centre exhibitions.

==Track 1 - Welcome==

Welcome to the Heritage Centre in Bellingham. If you have any questions during your visit one of our volunteers will be delighted to help you if they can.

Over the last 30 years, since 1994, we have been building up our collections focussing on the visual and oral aspects of the history of the North Tyne and Redesdale valleys since about 1800. We also cover the period during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries when the Border Reivers were active.

As you tour the heritage centre please feel free to take your own route, there is no set way to discover what we have to offer. Dotted about the centre you will see small signs with a picture of your audio device. Each sign has a number next to it. Press the number into the keypad of the audio device followed by the green button above the numbers to listen to the audio commentary associated with that part of the centre. You can rewind or skip to the end at any time and if you are not sure what to do please just ask one of our volunteer guides.

Now, take as much time as you like, look for another audio guide sign and number and see what awaits you inside.

==Track 2 - Introduction==

There are 12 areas of interest in the Heritage Centre. The areas you can see are Railways, Aural history in our telephone box, Mining, the Reiver’s corner, The Photography shop, Brownrigg school and school memorabilia, the smithy, our agriculture gallery with our aural chatterbox histories, the Northumberland mural, the seasonal exhibition area which changes 2 or three times a year, and our Shop. In addition you can visit the display and Tea rooms in the Carriages outside the centre accessible from the station platform.  Now move into the Heritage Centre itself and take any direction that suits you. Remember to look out for the signs of the audio devices which will give you the numbers to key into your audio guide to obtain more information about the exhibitions.

==Track 3 - Research Room==

This is our family research hub. Here we have a number of computers filled with information to help with family history research.

We have a  Database of 60,000 names and short details of people who once lived in the valleys. Drawn from various sources including census returns, directories, church registers, war memorials etc. these have proved very successful for people tracing their ancestors from this area.

We also have a Photographic Database, an archive of nearly 3,000 historic local photographs. Some of these photos of people, places and events date back to the nineteenth century. Provided they are free of copyright it is possible to purchase printed copies. If you would like a copy, fill in the information sheet near the computers and take to the reception desk or ask for help from one of our volunteers.

We also have the Corsenside Database an archive compiled from the burial registers and monuments for the parish of Corsenside which comprises the villages of East and West Woodburn and Ridsdale. This database is expanding all the time with new areas being included from elsewhere in the valleys.

Our latest addition in the research room is this Wiki(media) of stories, anecdotes and information about the culture and heritage of the area. 

==Track 4 - Telephone Box, Oral History==

The General Post Office Telephone Box is  our oral history centre. Before BT our telephone system was ran by the Post Office and red boxes such as these could be found in every town and village as well as dotted about the countryside..

On the inner wall of the telephone box you will find a choice of ten recordings. Dial to hear about rural life in the valleys in the first half of the twentieth century. Each recording lasts two to three minutes. Another phone can be found round the back of the box set at a height for comfortable use by someone who would prefer to sit down, or for those that might not be able to get into the telephone box.

==Track 5 - Railways==

The Railway Section shows how Bellingham and Redesmouth were served by THE BORDER COUNTIES RAILWAY which was part of the North British Railways region of our railway system. Our Heritage Centre is actually built in the Station Yard and the platform, the former Station house and the parcels shed can all be seen from the entrance door.

This railway was constructed in the 1860s and ran from Hexham in Northumberland to Riccarton Junction in Scotland as you can see on the plan on the board in the corner. In 1864 a further line ran from Redesmouth Junction to Morpeth. This was known as the Wannie Line for which there is a display and model in the second of the railway Carriages furthest from the Centre along the platform.

Both lines were closed in the 1960s.

For railway enthusiasts there are some wall boards in this section which are full of information on each of the North British Railways local stations.

There are also specialist books available in our shop covering this railway line.

When you have finished your tour of our museum and shop why not visit the original First Class HST 125 railway carriage in the station yard which is now the home of Tea on the Train. Select track 20 on your audio devices  to find out more about this.

==Track 20 - Tea on the Train==

Tea on the Train, situated next to the Station Platform just outside the Heritage Centre, is in a former first class HST 125 coach similar to those that ran on the main line from Newcastle to London and Scotland. The Centre bought it, brought it here and refurbished it in 2023 replacing two former Mark I carriages first installed in 2011. The original carriages were electrified versions, converted from the originals and they ran between Bournemouth, Poole and Swanage. The HST carriage was formally in the employ of East Midlands Railway and prior to tat Grand Central running between Sunderland and Kings Cross.

==Track 6 - Mining==

The Mining Section gives an idea of how industrialised the North Tyne valley was and there are still large reserves of coal and iron ore today, although they are no longer worked.  A coal mine was first developed at nearby Lewisburn in the 1820s, then better quality coal was found at Plashetts. Both Plashetts and Lewisburn are near Kielder Water further up the valley. Coal mining and brickworks gave work and housing to families.  This mine closed in the 1930s so the railway lost a lot of trade.

In the early nineteenth century iron ore was discovered in commercial quantities in both valleys and foundries were set up in Bellingham and Ridsdale. From 1864 ore was being supplied to Lord Armstrong's works at Elswick, Newcastle, until 1882.

If you are feeling young and energetic perhaps you might be up to exploring our mining tunnel in the centre of the mining exhibition area.

After you have visited the Heritage Centre, if you feel up to it, there is a lovely moderately energetic walk of a few miles up the Hareshaw Linn just around the corner from the Heritage Centre, ask a volunteer for a leaflet and details. Linn is the Northumberland word for a waterfall or steeply falling course of water. Apart from the spectacular waterfall at the peak of the walk there are remnants of the iron and coal mining works along the way. Before or after the walk, or both if you want, try Tea on the Train for some refreshments.

==Track 7 - Reiver's Corner== 
		
This is the Reiver’s Corner. Reiving is an ancient word meaning thieving or stealing. The wild and dangerous reivers played an important part in the history of this area in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Our Reiver’s Corner tells us something of this history. Their homes were strongholds called bastles from which they set out, wearing the clothing and carrying the weapons you see in this exhibition. Reivers stole cattle and sheep – usually coming from over the border in what is Scotland.

Do you have a reiver surname?  Could your ancestors have dwelt around here? Press the button on the map in the corner to light up where they probably lived. If you do have a reiver’s surname you might like to visit our family research area to find out more about your ancestors.

==Track 8 - Photograpy, Walter Percy Collier's Shop== 
		
Walter Percy Collier’s Photography Shop was the home for his work between 1912 and 1937 while he lived in Bellingham touring the district on his bike or motorbike taking hundreds of photos which now show us what the North Tyne and Rede valleys - and much of Northumberland – actually looked like in those days.  

He made many of the photos into postcards.  There were not only scenic views, but also pictures of family groups, weddings, sporting events and the whole variety of everyday life.  We have set out to show what his shop and darkroom would have looked like and all the cameras and equipment are the real thing not reproductions.

Just opposite there is a collection of slightly more recent cameras some of which you may handle and examine. How things have moved on, and of course you are now much more likely to take a very quick picture on your smartphone rather than an actual camera!

A series of books containing many of the photographs taken by Collier, and a biography are available in our Shop. 

==Track 9 - School Memorabilia and Brownrigg School exhibition==
		
Welcome to our School Memorabilia and Brownrigg School exhibition. The blackboard, the teacher’s desk, some pupils’ desks and other items have all come from local sources – village schools as they were called then. Feel free to sit at a desk or stand at the teachers desk at the front of the class. Try on the teachers gown or cap. But behave, this was a time when corporal punishment was common and if you misbehaved you may have had a belt or cane taken to your bare skin.

There is a board commemorating the time when BROWNRIGG SCHOOL was active. It began in the 1930s as part of the Camp School movement then it became  a school for evacuees from Tyneside during  World War Two. After that, between  1945 and 1985, it changed to become a co-educational school and outdoor centre  for children drawn from all over Northumberland. There are many former pupils  who return here to Bellingham when reunions are organised every few years.

There is an illustrated history of elementary schools in our valleys displayed for sale in the shop.

==Track 10 - the Two World Wars==
		
In this area there is a collection of material associated with Bellingham during World War One and Two and on the wall there are a number of plaques awarded to villagers for their war efforts in supporting various branches of the armed forces. Nearby you will also find an air raid siren – feel free to use it and wake up the Heritage Centre.		

==Track 11- the Smithy==
		
The Smithy, the common name for the Village Blacksmith. The blacksmith would make horse shoes and fit them to the horses, he would make and repair some farming equipment and generally work in anything metal. Our forge in the centre of the exhibition was donated to the Centre by Mr Grimwood the smith at Stannersburn which is a small village further up the valley.  

This small village in North Tynedale had a working smithy from at least 1834 and it was in daily use right up to the 1970s. Mr Grimwood  also gave us about 500 tools, many of which he had, himself, made for special jobs. We also have a few bottle of his beer which is kept to cool him down from all the very hot work. Can you spot them?

We were unable to create a working forge but the video, which operates five times each hour, shows some of the everyday work of a typical smith.

==Track 12 - Farming== 
		
The is the first of our two Agricultural Galleries and gives you some idea of the most important industry for centuries in the North Tyne and Rede valleys which was FARMING.

Arable farming was only a small part of the work of farmers and shepherds in the Border area. The series of displays include some chatterboxes which play oral recordings lasting about 3 minutes each. They are of farming memories from the first half of the twentieth century. Start these by pressing the red button: to stop press the red button again.

Around the corner is the tractor shed with the grey fergie one of the earliest mass-produced tractors which brought about a revolution in farming methods.

==Track 13 - the Northumbria Mural==
		
Local artist Rachel Pearson has created a unique mural of Northumberland. It depicts her vivid and colourful interpretation of many aspects of Northumberland’s history and legend.

There is a visual guide on the chairs nearby to help you to identify the pictorial cameos.

==Track 14 - The Mart==
		
Our second of two Agricultural Galleries features the other important farming activity 
and which  also made use of the railway - THE MART which is the local name for the farmers market where animals and goods were bought and sold.

Bellingham Mart closed in 2004.

==Track 15 - Seasonal Exhibitions==

This area houses our Gallery for seasonal Exhibitions and changes 2 or 3 times a year. Please come back and visit the centre another time as there will be something completely different here the next time you visit.

==Track 16 - The Safe==

Here is a safe with treasure inside for you to keep if you can solve the code.

==Thank You for Your Visit==

It is also time to fold the quiz and post it in the big red pillar box.

We would like you to sign the visitors book – we love to know where you are from. Your comments are appreciated and we take on board many visitors’ suggestions each year.

We would appreciate any donation as the Centre is run entirely by volunteers and our only income comes from such donations, membership fees and grants for special items of expenditure.

As you leave please leave this audio guide at the reception desk and we thank you for visiting and hope you had an enjoyable time.

As you leave you will also pass through our Shop which supports the museum and is staffed by our volunteers. We stock a range of books relating to the local area and walking and cycling guides.

We have Ordnance Survey maps, books about local history – particularly the Border Reivers – and the railways as well as books about our local photographer W P Collier.

All our shop profits go into helping to develop the museum. 
[[Category:Exhibitions]]