The Friends of Houghton Hillside Cemetery - Hillside Information, Hillside Memories & Pictures of Houghton Le Spring and Other Info

General William Beckwith and his wife Priscilla Maria Beckwith and his brother John Beckwith are buried at Hillside. General Beckworth was in the Hussars in the Army. When he was a young man the Bristol riots were raging and General Beckwith and his men were called out to put the rioters down. General Beckwith and his men galloped along and chopped everyone’s heads off. He is buried along with his wife Priscilla Maria Beckwith. They lived in Hopper House in Silksworth and Lady Priscilla Beckworth was responsible of the founding of the Catholic community in Silksworth. Lady Beckworth was a Catholic and buried in a Church of England churchyard. The reason being as there was no where else to be buried. The headstone at Hillside has the Beckwith coat of arms upon it.

Beckwith Stone Found at Hillside

Edwin Place was the Sexton of Hillside. The group have received some information from Mr Place’s grandson of when he visited his grandfather at the lodge at Hillside. Mr Place’s grandson says he remembers staying with his grandparents. His grandmother would often ask him to go and get his grandfather for his supper. Mr Place’s grandson was frightened of entering the site as it was spooky. Hillside was also full of goats which of course would keep the grass down. He also hated the smell of the geraniums which were grown in greenhouses at Hillside entrance. He still associates his fear of the site with the smell of this flower.

George Wheatley was a Crimean war veteran. He died in December 1906. The name Wheatley is well known in Houghton as in that he was the founder of the sweet factory in Houghton Le Spring. He had 2 wives throughout the duration of his life. The first died in childbirth and he fathered approximately 10 children with her and he went on to father another 10 with his second wife. His second wife is buried with him at Hillside

The leg isn’t buried with him! From what is understood he was quite a colourful character. His mother in law is also buried in the grave with George and his second wife.

He was in the battle of the Alma in the siege of Sebastopol during the Crimean war, a young lad of 19 on board a ship, the cannon on the ship back fired and blew off his leg so the rest of his life he had to walk around with a wooden leg. He was pensioned out of the navy and returned to returned to

Scotland

where he ran pubs and eventually found his way to Houghton Le Spring and opened his sweet business.

Of the vaults that were blasted into the rock face Sir George Elliott’s vault is the largest. He was the local MP for NW Durham in 1870’s and his residence was at Houghton Hall. He lived in Shiney Row as a lad and his job was a trapper down the pit. He would go down the mine and open the doors when the miners came along with the tubs. He used a quarter of his wages to fund evening classes and this is how his education was paid for. He then went on and became a self made man. He was very influential as an MP and worked for the Egyptian government and advised on various financial matters. He also advised our Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli to invest in the Suez Canal which resulted in

England

having control over the shipping routes in

India

. He owned the company the Atlantic Cable Company which laid the first Atlantic cable. On a more local level he arranged for a local company to assist in the building of Big Ben. The vault dates from 1861. George Elliott’s daughter died in Houghton Le Spring. It is believed that her dress caught fire one evening when she was dressing for a party. The fire swept through Houghton Hall and she died – at quite a young age. She was the first to be buried in the vault. When her funeral took place her relatives came from far and wide. Some of the relatives were from Sedgefield and it is believed while they were at the funeral their home caught fire so if it hadn’t been for them attending the funeral they would have died in the fire.

Pictured above is a scene of how the Plateau area of Hillside looked before the headstones were removed and buried and the plateau area levelled. Before this act took place the plateau was very uneven as you can see from this picture.

THE PLATEAU HOW IT LOOKS TODAY

The original entrance to Hillside Cemetery was through the neighbouring Hillside Farm. In 1873 the rocke was blasted away and the Lych Gate and Lodge were added to the site.

The 1881 Census records that William Reid, Parish Sexton lived at the lodge with his wife and daughter.

A trade directory from 1895 records that Georeg Brown, Sexton lived at the lodge and from the late 1890's until the 1920's Edwin Place was Sexton and lived at the lodge. At the time of Edwin Place, goats were tethered at Hillside in order to keep the grass down.

Bill Scott was the grave digger in the 1930's and he also resided in the lodge. It is understood that Bill was a drinker but not in public houses. Instead his wife would make home brew in the cellar of the lodge. One day a shelf collapsed and Mrs Scott cut her hands and knees. Unfortunately she contracted blood poisoning and died.

Mr Ely looked after the cemetery in the 1940's and older residents of Houghton have recollections of him chasing mischevious children away from the site. From the late 1950's until early 1960's Mr & Mrs Green occupied the lodge. Unfortunately it was vacant by 1964 and it now lies derelect. All that remains today is the outer wall which can be seen from the roadway.

The Lych Gate was damaged in the 1960s during a road traffic accident. Sunderland Street became a dead end when the A690 was opened and the Lych Gate soon became overgrown and covered in ivy as Hillside seemed to become forgotton about. The entrance to Hillside was no longer easily accessible and its visitors few and far between.

Once the Friends Group was formed the ivy was once again removed from the Lych Gate and the damage caused in the road traffic accident revealled to the group. However the damage was restored when the Lych Gate and Railings were restored in 2006/7 by the group as part of their Back to Life project. There are pictures of the restored gate and railings on the page within this site headed projects past and present.

The air raid shelter is located just within the entrance of the site. It was recently re-painted before Open Day 2008. Of late it has been used by the night visitors to the site to shelter in. It has also had a fire lit inside and the charcoal remenents still remain there. It has also been subjected to large amounts of graffitti which included posters stating 'Your Country Needs You' and 'Join the RAF' which encouraged more graffitti in the way of spray painted Nazi signs. The group did discuss the possibility of demolishing it before they were aware of what it actually was however these plans have since been put on hold until the group can obtain more information about it. For the time being the posters have been removed and the outside repainted to make it look more presentable!

Pictured above is the Air Raid Shelter before it was painted in readiness of Open Day 2008

COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES

Until 1962 the there were 4 war graves located at Hillside. However due to the site becoming overgrown and neglected the War Graves Commission decided to move the headstones and they were re-located at the municipal cemetery on Durham Road, Houghton Le Spring.

Frederick Henry Place

Pictured above are Hannah Dawson, nee Finch (at the back) Hannah's daughter Lydia (to the left) with her baby Dorothy on her knee and Mary Finch, nee Ramshaw (to the right). Sadly the baby died not long after the picture was taken.

JAMES & MARY FINCH

JAMES & MARY'S FINAL RESTING PLACE

James Finch was born in 1836 in West Boldon, Tyne & Wear, or County Durham as it was then. He was the eldest son of Samuel Finch and Hannah Kirk. His wife Mary Ramshaw was born in East Herrington in 1845 and they married in 1865. They had ten children between the years 1865 and 1881. Throughout his working life he was employed in Agriculture and it was his trade that brought him to live at Houghton Le Spring. Sadly in 1888 he died, after being kicked by a horse although the death certificate states pneumonia. An extract from James’ son’s inquest states that his father met his end after being ‘kicked by a horse’. Mary continued to live in Houghton after James’ death and brought up their children. Mary died in January 1923 and was laid to rest at Hillside with her husband James.

The headstone you will note states that Mary's name is Mary Moore Finch. After some research it transpired that in 1902 Mary remarried a man named Thomas Moor who was the brother of George Moor of Great Eppletom Farm. Thomas was as his family described him a bit 'of a jack the lad'. Unfortunately the marriage between Mary and Thomas was short lived and after the marriage ceremony it is believed that they took one look at each, decided it was a mistake and went their separate ways. The marriage never to be discussed again within the family. Although they did not live together as husband and wife when Mary died legally she was still Mary Moor and not Mary Finch and had to be registered as Mary Moor. So it appears her family slotted the Moore name into the middle of her name to merely acknowledge that this was her legal name. The spelling is infact incorrect - her legal name was Moor and the headstone shows Moore. (If you have any interest regarding genealogy regarding the Finch's please contact Janice as both herself and Brenda have carried out extensive research into this family as both are descendants of Samuel Finch)

SAMUEL FINCH 1810-1901

Samuel Finch was born on 3rd December 1810 and was one of 7 children of Samuel Finch and Sarah Richardson. Samuel married Hannah Kirk on 19th December 1835 at St Nicholas's Church in Boldon. They had 9 children and lived at various locations around the North East of England. They did however eventually settle in Houghton Le Spring.

Throughout his life Samuel was employed as an agricultural labourer or a similar occupation. This was a trade which was handed down to his sons and grandsons.

Sadly in May 1867, Samuels wife Hannah died and was laid to rest at Hillside. Samuel remained a widower for 17 years, but in July 1884 he married Mary Embercox. She was also a widow and this was a marriage that was to only last 4 years as Mary died in December 1888 and she was also laid to rest at Hillside.

After Mary's death, records available shows that Samuel lived with his daughter Margaret and her family at Newbottle. However by 1901 Samuel was resident at the Workhouse in Houghton Le Spring. A sad turn of events given how many children and grandchildren he would have had. In 1901 he was the eldest inmate at the workhouse. Later in 1901 Samuel died and on 16th August 1901 was laid to rest at Hillside Cemetery. His death was registered by Edward Foster, Master of the Workhouse. It is believed that he was interred in the workhouse section of Hillside.

Pictured above is a view of the pathway leading to the Workhouse area.

BROKEN HEADSTONES

BROKEN IRVING STONE

A short while ago it came to the Friends attention that several of the re-erected headstones had been pushed over. One of the stones, the Irving one picture above, has also broken in half. Enquries have been made with the council who have assured the group that it was not their doing therefore the Friends are at a loss as to who has done such a terrible thing.

Pictured above is the Turner stone which is one of the only headstones still standing on the plateau. The picture was taken on a bitter cold winters day.

Around the same time as fallen headstones were discovered the group also discovered the ever increasing numbers of mole hills. These have always been present at Hillside however more recently the are not only increasing in number but also in size!! The picture above shows the size of the hills at Hillside.

HILLSIDE PLANS

Pictured above is a copy of the grave plan of the extension of Hillside. You will note that some of the graves have been identified but alot have not. Photos are also attached where available. Unfortunately these plans have been mislaid and therefore further work cannot be carried out in this respect.

EDWARD FORSTER

Edward Forster, Master of the Workhouse which was located in Houghton Le Spring is interred at Hillside. Edward was born in 1845 in Simonburn, Northumberland and was the 2nd son of John & Mary Forster. He married Margaret Ann Coulson in 1875 and soon after they moved to Houghton le Spring. The couple lived in Sunderland Street in 1881 and Edward was employed as a Coachman. Between 1881 and 1891 Edward became Master at the workhouse. He reigned there until 1903 when sadly he died at the age 58 years and was buried at Hillside along the pathside leading towards the extension.

HILLSIDE MEMORIES

The group recently received a telephone call from Mrs Irene Thirkell (nee Nicholson) who is the cousin of Edward & George Bray. Mrs Thirkell remembers going with her Aunt Bella (Edward & George's mother) to tend the grave at Hillside when she stayed with her Aunt at her home in Newbottle. The group already knew that Edward was sadly killed at the Colliery in 1913 aged 16 and his brother George lost his life in France during World War I in 1916. However, at the time of Georges death Mrs Thirkell's own mother was pregnant and when the child was born he was named George Bray Nicholson, Sadly Mrs Thirkell's brother also lost his life during World War II.

Upon the details supplied by Mrs Thirkell some extra research was carried out and discovered that Edward and George were the sons of James and Isabella Bray. In 1901 the family lived in Derwent Street, Bishopwearmouth, Sunderland. James was by occupation a Gardener and originated in Scotland. Isabella originated in Ryhope. George was born around 1896 in Sunderland and Edward around 1898 and was also born in Sunderland. James & Isabella also had a daughter, Martha born around 1900 in Gosforth, Northumberland.

Edward was sadly killed at Houghton Colliery on 20th January 1913. He was employed as a driver and was killed whilst driving out with the last two tubs. He was aged just 16 years. The family at the time lived at 45 Edwin Street, Houghton Le Spring.

His brother George, served in the Durham Light Infantry and died on 7th March 1916 aged 21 years. He is remembered in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery. The family lived at the time at 4 East Row, New Herrington.

Pictured above are the flowers recently left at Edward Brays grave. They have been put there by Mrs Thirkell after discovering the whereabouts of her cousins grave.

PICTURES OF HOUGHTON LE SPRING & OTHER INFORMATION RELATING TO HOUGHTON LE SPRING

The parish of Houghton Le Spring formerly included the chapelries of Hetton Le Hole, Painshaw & West Rainton. In the 1820’s Houghton Le Spring was one of the largest parishes in England. By 1856 some of the chapelries which initially made up the parish of Houghton Le Spring had developed in their own right but Houghton Le Spring still included the townships of East & Middle Herrington, West Herrington, Morton Grange, Newbottle and Warden Law.

By an order in council dated 15th May 1838 West Rainton & Painshaw (Penshaw) became parishes in their own right and again by an order of the council in February 1847 Hetton-Le-Hole became its own parish.

For a very long time the church in Houghton Le Spring, St Michael & All Angels was the only parish church in its surrounding area therefore people travelled from far and wide to have their children baptised, to be married and also to bury their dead.

However as the coal industry grew the surrounding villages increased in size and eventually the villages acquired churches of their own and became parishes in their own right.

Pictured above is a view of Sunderland Street. This is the street which leads to Hillside and part of it is still in existance today. The picture is actually a postcard and the rear of the postcard can be seen to the right above. Its date was July 1906 and was forwarded to someone in Devon.

Pictured above is a view of Church Street which is found to the left of St Michael & All Angels Church, Houghton Le Spring.

The church of St Michael & All Angels is dedicated to St Michael and is a large cruciform structure with a low tower rising from the intersection of the naïve and transepts. The church itself stems back to Norman times and has over the years been extended immensely. In 2008 the church underwent a major re-vamp when some of the old Roman remains of the church were discovered.

In the times of Rector John Grey MA he replaced all the windows with stained glass. The large stain glass window which can be found in the alter area of the church was donated by Sir George Elliot then the MP of Houghton Le Spring. The window shows all noteworthy people of Houghton Le Spring of years gone by. Sir George Elliott is actually pictured in the stain glass window. He is featured in a gold coloured cloak and is the only one without a halo as he is the only living person featured.

Pictured above: The window donated by George Elliott - can you spot him?

Above are two pictures of St Michael & All Angels Church. The one to the left is taken around 1960's and the one to the right is a very early view with a date unknown.

The interior of St Michaels how it used to look and how it looks now.

Sir Bernard Gilpin another of Houghton’s famous rectors in buried within the south transept of the church. As well as being known as the Apostle of the North he was also the founder of the Kepier Grammar School which is located to the rear of St Michael & All Angels Church. Together with John Heath, Gilpin founded the school and it was established in 1574. The school greatly improved the education in Houghton at the time. Whellans directory shows that the cost of the school was; boarders under the age of 13—35 guineas, over the age of 13—40 guineas, tuition fees– 8 guineas, however modern languages with the exception of German were extra.

Since the re-vamp of the church in 2008 a heritage section has now been opened housing information about St Michaels and Houghton Le Spring. It also has several photos of past Rectors of Houghton Le Spring.

Pictured above is the outside of St Michael & All Angels Church, Houghton Le Spring

Pictured above is how the Rectory Park looked in days gone by. The newly formed group The Friends of Houghton Le Spring Rectory Park are now trying to restore the park to its former glory.

Two views of the Market Place, Houghton Le Spring around 1890's.

Above is a copied newspaper cutting recently loaned to the group. The top picture shows the outside of Hillside Cemetery and also Houghton Cut. The bottom picture shows the Broadway. Can anyone put any dates to these pictures??