Sunderland

Antiquarian Society

NEWSLETTER November 2010

Holey Rock c.1905

Antiquarian News

The Society’s membership continues to grow, locally, nationally and overseas. The research mornings at the Minster are very well attended so do please come along – assistance and guidance is always at hand. The monthly evening talks are also being well attended. The society’s website goes from strength to strength and can be accessed at:

www.sunderland-antiquarians.org The site has a ‘Members Only’ area which current members can log in to with their password. Non-members do not have access to this part of the site. Any members who have not yet received their password should simply send an email to the Secretary of the society at P11cur@aol.com and a password will duly be issued. New articles, photos and features are being uploaded into this area on a weekly basis so do keep accessing this part of the website.

Forthcoming Lectures

9th Nov ‘The Forgotten stones: The Romans In South Hylton’ by Alan Richardson 14th December: Christmas Buffet: ‘Old film footage of Sunderland’ - This will take place in the Clock Tower Restaurant in The Minster and entry for this has to be ticket-only - these are now available from the

Society Secretary £8 each

9th January ‘The Old pubs of Bishopwearmouth’ by Ron Lawson Our illustrated monthly lectures all take place in The Minster Vestry (with the exception of the Christmas evening) and last approx one hour (doors open 7.30pm with coffee being served in the Minster Clock Tower Restaurant, if required). Non-members are always very welcome.

Fortnightly Research Mornings The Society’s archives at The Minster continue to be open for research fortnightly on Saturday mornings 10a.m.-noon – 6th and 20th November, 4th and 18 December. Please note that we will be closed on New Years Day. Re-commencing 2011 on 8th and 22nd Jan, 5th February….. Non-members are most welcome.

Can You Help?? Since launching their website last year, the Sunderland Antiquarian Society has

received dozens of enquiries from those searching for long lost Sunderland

ancestors. From as far afield as Australia and the United States, amateur

genealogists have been reunited with their elusive Wearside grandparents.

One query, however, has proved to

be a little tricky and the society is asking its members for their help. Mrs Jean

Hodgson, who lives in Cramlington, can trace her great grandfather back to one of

the town’s oldest pubs. Robert Dobson was licensee of the Regale Tavern (pictured

left) in East Hendon Road during the latter years of the 19th century, and was no

doubt kept extremely busy with the many dockers who frequented this popular

hostelry, slaking their thirsts after a long hard shift. As well as the Regale, other

members of the family also ran the Colliery House in Sheepfolds, and the Fleece in

Cousin Street.

In 1909, Robert’s daughter Elizabeth married a

Boer War veteran called Hugh Gallagher. Hugh

had twice been wounded during the South African

conflict; on the last occasion his wounds being so

serious that he nearly lost his life.

Despite his near death experience, in 1914, Hugh

proudly volunteered for armed service again,

when war with Germany loomed large on the

horizon. Perhaps because of his age, or the fact

that he had been seriously injured in the past,

Hugh was posted to the Motor Cycle Brigade, and

thankfully served out the First World War near to

home. As Hugh did not serve abroad, he was not

awarded a medal to go with those he won during

the Boer war.

At the end of the war, Hugh returned to his trade

as a coal trimmer at Hendon Dock, but tragedy

would strike in the spring of 1921, when he was

involved in an accident that would prematurely

take this brave man’s life. After a fall in the Docks,

the wound that Hugh had sustained in Africa

opened up again, with terrible consequences.

Robert Dobson The Regale

Although Hugh was quickly rushed to the Sunderland Infirmary, there was nothing

that surgeons could do to save his life. He died on 21st April 1921.

Mrs Hodgson has been able to send us some of her treasured photographs, one

showing Hugh in his Cycle Brigade Uniform, the other showing the Sunderland

survivors of the Boer war, proudly displaying their medals during a ceremony in

Mowbray Park.

Hendon Docks pre 1921

Do any members of the society have knowledge of the Motor Cycle Brigade, or the

Boer war medal ceremony? Perhaps someone has ancestors who feature on the

photograph.

If anyone can help with information that would assist Mrs Hodgson and open more

doors in her ancestor search – (contact Norman Kirtlan on 0191 4168840) or drop

him a line at the Antiquarian Society Headquarters in Sunderland Minster.

Above: Sunderland medal winners of the Boer War. (Hugh Gallagher back right)

When Karel McChambell recently contacted the Antiquarian Society for help with

tracing his Sunderland grandparents, he got an unexpected surprise! Recently

discovered legal documents in our archives showed that Karel’s ancestors,

William and Thomas Burn, were leading lights in the town, and may have history

going back into the 1600s.

One of the legal documents, a transfer agreement dated 1802, showed that the

Burns were negotiating with the well-known Tyzack family, to rent out the Crown

Glass Bottle Works in Southwick.

Glass bottle making was one of the principle industries on the Wear, and up until

the mid 19th century, glass manufacturers thrived at either side of the river.

Karel’s link to the rich and famous could go back even further, as in 1771, Charles

Burn(e), a wealthy master mariner, was living at 111 High Street, the former

seaside home of Lord Lambton.

Enquiries continue, and Karel is holding his breath for more revelations about his

Sunderland ancestors.

One of our members, Mrs. E. Andrews, worked for many years at the old

Havelock Hospital in Hylton Road and is now researching the history of the

building. She would love to hear of the experiences from any former

patients of the hospital. If you can help please contact her on email:

e.andrews737@ntlworld.com

The society’s archives are packed with documents, maps and photographs that may be of

assistance to members in their family or subject research. Where we are able, we will

provide help and assistance for research. Contact our map archivist, Norman Kirtlan, email:

oldsunderland@yahoo.co.uk or our Chairman, Douglas Smith, email:

douglassmith2007@aol.com

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The Story of Fulwell Mill

Fulwell Mill, a Grade II listed building and the most complete windmill north of Humberside,

opened in 1808 and occupies a commanding position on the northern outskirts of Sunderland. It

was built for Matthew Swan, a man of diverse business interests who lived nearby and owned

much of the land in the neighbourhood, including a limestone quarry from which the material

for the mill was dug.

The mill dominated the small village of Fulwell located on lower ground to the east, a

community that had existed for several centuries and which, from the 1150s (at the latest) until

the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s, had belonged to the monks of Durham

Cathedral Priory.

Shortly after Fulwell Mill was built, the census of 1811 recorded that the township’s

population was only 145 strong and it remained in three figures for several decades thereafter—

the first census to record over a thousand inhabitants was that of 1891. Fulwell was one of

Sunderland’s satellite communities and only became part of the town in 1928.

Fulwell Mill was built to grind corn (the main cereal was wheat) and remained in the

hands of Swan’s descendants until the 1880s when it passed to the Church Commissioners.

Several years later, in 1905, a gas engine was installed and as this provided the power for the

mill, its sails were made redundant.

By this date the number of windmills grinding corn was in sharp decline. One reason

for this was the introduction of steam-powered mills, which ground large quantities of imported

grain at ports. Moreover, in the subsequent First World War flour milling standards were set by

law and so many millers were compelled to only grind animal feed. By 1919 the number of

corn mills in England (which had numbered into the thousands during the 19th century) had

dropped to about 350, and totalled around 50 by 1946. Fulwell Mill was still in operation at that

date, albeit grinding animal feed, but the end was in sight and the last miller retired in 1949.

Thereafter, someone else ground animal feed on a part-time basis until 1956.

By this time, Fulwell Mill had recently passed into the hands of Sunderland

Corporation, which fitted four dummy sails in 1955 to enhance the mill’s appearance. The mill

subsequently experienced several phases of restoration work. The most recent and extensive

programme was headed by Sunderland council’s environment team with the aim of returning

the mill to full working order—producing wholemeal flour—and making it an educational

centre. Among those involved in the task were volunteer members of the general public. Part of

the £700,000 funding for the scheme came from a Heritage Lottery grant of £287,000, and

£250,000 from the European Regional Development Fund. Of the project, William Ault,

Sunderland council’s Environment Director, was quoted as saying in the Sunderland Echo of

18 August 1999: ‘We are delighted to have secured funding to restore this magnificent

landmark back to its authentic working order.’

Restoration work was completed in 2001 and on 29 June the site was visited by a

delegation of local dignitaries, one of whom, Councillor Colin Anderson (the leader of

Sunderland City Council) performed the opening ceremony.

In the following day’s Sunderland Echo, 59-year-old Alastair Yule, a member of our

society, who had been appointed Fulwell Mill’s resident miller—with a residence above the

Visitors’ Centre—commented as follows: ‘It’s really the challenge of bringing a historic

building like this back into community use that attracted me to the job.’

Fulwell Mill is a tower mill and thus has a fixed body—only the cap (the uppermost part

of the structure) rotates. This is also true of smock mills, but whereas the latter have bodies

made of wood, tower mills are either constructed of brick or stone, and Fulwell was one of

several tower mills constructed in the vicinity of Sunderland. In the mid 1790s, for instance, a

stone tower mill was built at Whitburn, while another tower mill, again of stone, was

constructed on Cleadon Hill in the early 1820s. Cleadon Mill, which enjoys the finest setting of

the three, is now ruinous (it remained in operation until the late 19th century) but Whitburn

Mill, which also fell into disuse in the second half of the 19th century, benefited from

restoration work undertaken by South Tyneside Council in 1991-2.

The design of Fulwell Mill has been described as unique, for the tower stands on a

cylindrical base (of attractively weathered magnesian limestone) which has a significantly

greater diameter than the tower, thereby forming a reefing stage. However, some former

windmills in the neighbourhood also had such bases, as can be seen on a map of Wearside

drawn by John Rain in the 1780s.

At Fulwell, the base supports a tapering tower of three storeys crowned by a

hemispherical cap, and the tower is likewise built of magnesian limestone. It was covered by

waterproof cement in the 1980s— which spoilt the mill’s appearance—but this was removed

during the programme of restoration that led to the mill’s reopening in 2001.

The base of the windmill has two storeys. The ground, or entrance floor, contains some

items on display (including a millstone) and was the place to which grain was brought by local

farmers and corn merchants and stored, prior to being lifted up the mill to be ground. The

lifting process was done by the sack hoist, by means of which sacks of grain (which could

weigh about 120kg in the early 19th century) were lifted up to the top floor of the tower

through a series of self-closing trap doors.

From the entrance floor, one ascends a steep wooden flight of steps to the next storey,

the miller’s floor. This contains a pearl barley machine, which removed the husk from barley

and polished the grain to produce barley used for soups. Other machinery was once also housed

at this level, including equipment that cleaned corn intended for bread making. Furthermore,

there are two alcoves located within the thickness of the reefing stage. The first, on the north

side of the windmill, served as a workshop where the miller carried out repairs to tools and

equipment; the second alcove, off the west side of the floor, has a fireplace and was a little

office where he dealt with his accounts and order books.

The next storey, the first located in the tower, houses the great spur wheel (which

among other things indirectly drives a millstone on the floor above) and is known as the

machinery floor. Here, the miller controlled most of the processing.

At this level, two doors give access to the reefing stage where, by using weights, the

shutters of the sails are controlled. If weights are absent in a bucket suspended on a chain, the

shutters are open and so the wind passes through them. On the other hand, applying weights

closes the shutters and enables the wind to turn the sails.

Above lies the stone floor. This contains a pair of millstones (originally there were three

sets) enclosed in a wooden casing. Grain from the floor above is dropped via a chute to

equipment that feeds it into the centre of the millstones, the uppermost of which, the ‘runner’

stone, revolves whereas its companion is stationary. As the top stone turns, the grain works its

way towards the outer edges of the millstones and emerges as ground flour.

From the stone floor one climbs to the bin floor, where grain destined for grinding was

stored in wooden bins. Today, only one bin is in use. From this level, one can enjoy panoramic

views of Sunderland and its environs. Moreover, visitors can also look up into the cap, which

houses the mechanism that harnesses wind power to drive the mill’s machinery.

Fulwell Mill is owned and run by the City of Sunderland and is the only working

windmill in the North East of England.

Glenn Dodds

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Recent Donations

Alan Rowntree – Books: 1) My Memories of Grangetown. 2) It All happened In Sunderland 1753-1857

David Shield: Book: Saxon Saints, Aelfric and the Fuller Brooch

W. Swanson Printed copy of Town Hall 1886-1890 Foundation Stone

D.W.Smith Book: School of Musketry 1915, St Matthews Silksworth Monumental Inscriptions,

St. Peters, Monkwearmouth, Monumental Inscriptions

Maurice Murray Wearside At War pub 1984

D. Stafford History of St Peters photographed and mounted by Ron Lawson

David Bridge Book: Civil War Battles around Sunderland

Colin Brown: Papers: Wearside Sail Making Bill 1939, Dobbin Engineering Bill 1940, Indenture

Apprenticeships 1795

Jack Curtis Photo: Royal Rovers Presentation Cup 1898-1906. Sunderland’s Only Animal VC

Winner

Janette Scurfield Map: 1861 Ordnance Survey

Alan Lee Engineering Illustrated Tower 12.5.39

Sidney Booth Sepia Picture – 18th Century Hylton Castle

Ian Lawson Book: Miners and Mining. Flashback: Story of 1939-85

Chris Mullen Personal Archives of his life in Parliament

Roker c.1903

High St West just below Mackie’s Corner – note the policeman on a bicycle