Welcome to our Blog
This is place on our site for all of team to share some personal experiences and news about Northumbria and all the things we love about it. We hope you love coming back time and time again to get your Northumberland Fix.
December 22nd 2010 - Hazel Anderson
A dusk winters view over the Northumbrian counrtyside on a recent visit on our way to stay at Langley Castle hotel a couple of days before Christmas 2010. Good job I brought my snow boots, I needed them!
January 10th 2011 - Phil and Lin
We recently did a family tree for a client based in Newcastle. The family
tree was a wedding present for her brother in Canada. This is the thank you
letter we received from her:
"Phil and Lin,
Many thanks for all your hard work in researching my family tree. I mean it
very sincerely when I say it has been a pleasure to work with you. I felt
throughout that you always went the extra mile and it was apparent that you
had a real interest in the project which was lovely. Thank you so much.
P.S. this card is from Vancouver where your worked is headed. Ann"
January 25th 2011 - Phil and Lin
"The snow was lying quite deeply when an email arrived from Scotland. A lady had got in touch as she could not find her great grandmother when doing her family history. She knew when her great grandmother was born, the year she was married and the approximate place of the marriage, plus there were two children. A tragedy was uncovered as her great grandfather had been the victim of a fatal accident. The inquest gave details of what had happened to him. It was at this point that the family seemed to disappear. They wondered had she gone abroad? Many of the family had sought to find her in vain. They decided to get in touch with us.
We were up for the challenge! Could we do it? We were determined that we would give it our best shot.
The surname was the problem as we could identify the children by their christian names in the next census as one of them had a special middle name (this took hours of trawling but we were determined not to give in). From the census we discovered great grandmother had married again. The same census also revealed that there was a third child. This child was her oldest and had been staying with relatives in the previous census. Parish baptisms confirmed his identity.
Well to cut a long story short, we tracked the family, finding that tragedy occurred again as great grandmother died aged only 34. The death notice was in the local paper, and we visited her burial place for her family. The children of course, lived on and the family flourished through the generations. It was wonderful to solve the mystery, and more important, to share the outcome with great grandmother's living relatives.
The snow has now gone in Northumberland (at least for the time being). We ventured out to the beautiful Northumberland coast and attach a photograph of Bamburgh Castle in its winter glory."
Take care
Lin @ Bamburgh Castle
January 29th 2011 - Hazel Anderson
This is a photograph which always makes me smile every time, no matter how often I see it. It is placed just before the causeway to get over to holy Island and a sombre warning of checking the tides before venturing out.
February 6th 2011 - Hazel Anderson
Some Photographs from the Northumberland Area:
Peacocks who roam freely around Langley Castle
A section of the mighty' Wall' taken last summer.
"Anyone for tea?" Bamburgh Main Street
February 8th 2011 - Hazel Anderson
FAMOUS NAMES from 'The Secret Kingdom' of Northumbria
Apart from the great historical names like King Athur, Lancelot, the Venerable Bede and St. Cuthbert connected to Northumbria you will almost certainly recognize these contemporary famous names. They are from all walks of life but the one thing they all have in common is that they all originate from this amazing area.
Here are just a few;
'Sting' - Musician /Rock star
Rowan Atkinson - Actor/writer/comedian (Mr. Bean)
Ridley Scott - Movie Director (Alien/Blade Runner/Thelma and Louise/Gladiator)
Tony Scott - Movie Director (Top Gun/True Romance/Man on Fire)
Brian Ferry - Lead singer/Roxy Music
Eric Burdon/ Alan Price / Chas chandler - Musicians /The Animals
Sir Bobby Charlton - Sports legend / The football World Cup winning team member of 1966
Jackie Charlton - Sports legend / The football World Cup winning team member 1966 ( All the more remarkable as they are brothers)
Sir Earl Grey - Prime Minister 1830-1834 (also the namesake of Earl Grey tea.)
Sir Anthony Eden - Prime Minister 1955 -1957 (Successor to Winston Churchill and a decedent of the Grey family)
George Stevenson - Inventor of the first steam locomotive engine for the railways 'The Rocket'.
Lord Armstrong - Inventor /scientist/engineer and industrialist. Best known for his home (Cragside) to be the first in the world to be powered by electricity.
Joseph Swan - One of the inventors of the light bulb.
April 23rd 2011 - Hazel Anderson
A sunny day just a few weeks ago at Lord Armstrongs' "Cragside" now owned by the National Trust. Apart from this beautiful property being the first in the world using hydro electricity what I also find fascinating are the "The Turkish Bath rooms".They consist of a suite of rooms including a steam bath, cold plunge, hot bath and shower water closets and a changing room. Used for the first time in November 1870.Part of Armstrongs innovation for central heating of the whole house cleverly placed between chambers with huge water pipe coils and warmed through the walls on two sides. Of course Armstrong had another reason to go to so much effort. He wanted his oriental guests feel "at home" with the elaborate bathing set up with the view to winning huge contracts from Japanese/Burmese/Chinese arms ministers. It worked!
May 1st 2011 - Hazel Anderson
Some pictures from Northumberland in early summer
Some of our guests enjoying a morning at Bamburgh Castle
Tulips in bloom in April in Alnwick Gardens
More Glorious Tuplis at Alnwick Gardens
A hearty Northumbrian breakfast in Eshott Hall
The Kitchen at Cragside
June 4th 2011 - Hazel Anderson
Chillingham Castle really lives up to it's reputation as the most haunted castle in England. We heard ghost stories around the fire in the great hall and all our photographs had strange "orbs" on. Spooky!!!
This is the inner courtyard, I would not like to stay here overnight........not for the feint hearted!
