Durham Belmont

Belmont Community Centre,
Sunderland Road,
Gilesgate,
DURHAM DH1 2LL
Contact: JOHN HECKELS
Email: durham-belmontbranch@ndfhs.org.uk

Meetings on 3rd Wednesday in the month at 1.00 pm (no meeting in August – Summer Break)

Visitors are always welcome

Each meeting has a talk by an invited speaker followed by discussion and help

Reports of meetings

April 2025

Report of the meeting held Wednesday 15th April
Attended by 9 members. As the chairman and deputy chairman were both unable to be present the meeting was chaired by the speaker coordinator.

The branch welcomed back David Butler who gave an interesting talk on the history of carpet weaving in Durham. David illustrated his talk with pictures, photographs, maps, the 1851 Census and graphs showing the growth of the 3 Companies involved, Startforths, Hendersons and Mackays, the development of machinery in the factories and the jobs and homes of the early workers from 1780 to 2005.

The talk provoked some interesting discussions between members of the group and David.

March 2025

Report of the meeting held Wednesday 19th March 2025 at Belmont Community Centre
Attended by 11 members & 3 guests

The branch welcomed Peter Welsh who gave an entertaining talk on Hedworth Lambton, son of the 2nd Earl of Durham who had a distinguished naval career. He met socialite Lady Meux who financed the purchase of cannons during the Boer War. Subsequently, in her will, she left him her personal fortune on the condition he changed his name to Meux. He also commanded the Royal Yacht and later he served as equerry to both Kings Edward VII and George V. The talk was greatly enjoyed by members.

February 2025

Report of the meeting held Wednesday 19th February 2025 at Belmont Community Centre
Attended by 11 members & 3 guests

The branch welcomed back Alan Smith who gave an interesting and entertaining
talk on the history of the women’s suffrage movement which was much appreciated by
members.
The chairman reported that he didn’t feel able continue chairing the meeting and also
recording detailed minutes, particularly summarising the speaker’s talk. Despite repeated
requests for assistance, no volunteer had come forward and as a result future minutes would
only contain brief details of the talks.
The chairman reminded that early registration for the 50th Anniversary Conference was
advised as numbers are limited

January 2025

Report of the branch meeting held Wednesday 19 January 2023 at Belmont Community Centre
The meeting was attended by 9 Members.

David Hastings the Hon. Secretary of the Durham Branch of the RNLI and long-time fundraiser gave a talk on the history of lifesaving at sea, and the men (and women) who serve in the RNLI. He began with the history of the development of lifeboats from their early days as adapted fishing cobles to the modern water jet powered self-righting vessels. The RNLI was founded in 1824 and has just celebrated its bicentenary. He stressed that the organisation had always been independent of government, funded by donations, originally by wealthy benefactors but latterly by donations from the public. The crews are volunteers and have to be prepared to launch within ten minutes of receiving a call. He told many stories of bravery and how the highest honour of RNLI Gold Medal, for exceptional bravery in saving lives at sea, is regarded as the equivalent of Victoria Cross. Over their 200 year history the RNLI is estimated to have save 186,000 lives but at the cost of 805 of crew members

The chairman reported on the Trustees meeting which had been held the previous day. The So-ciety was on target to break even financially despite the additional costs involved in the move to New England House. Members were remined that end of year subscriptions were due. The preparations for the Anniversary Conference were well in hand, potential attendees were en-couraged to register to help with planning, particularly with catering.

December 2024

Report of the meeting held Wednesday 11th December 2024 at Belmont Community Centre

Attended by 8 members & 1 guest

The main business of the meeting was a members’ forum which included memories of Christmas. Two members had brought items which provoked family memories. Reminiscences included trainsets, homemade toys and how one member’s parents had arranged for a Christmas Eve meeting with “Santa” (a neighbour in disguise). One member who had grown up on a farm remembered Christmas as a normal working day but with special food.

One member mentioned a recent television programme about the severe winter of 1947 and his own memories. Some members also recounted their own experiences. They agreed that despite the record snowfall the school never closed

The Chairman updated members of the final programme for the 50 Anniversary Conference with a theme of mining. The booking form is in the Journal and early booking is advised. For a branch display he proposed to use a book of maps showing locations of all mines in Durham over the centuries to produce a display of “The Contracting Coalfield”. He had also photographed around 40 colliery banners which had been on display at Durham Cathedral. He had made a video displaying them on a loop which he proposed to play on a laptop. The meeting approved both suggestions

November 2024

Report of the meeting held Wednesday 20th November 2024 Belmont Community Centre

Attended by 10 members & 1 guests

In the absence of the Chairman, who was indisposed, the meeting was conducted by the Deputy Chairman.

Dave Shotten returned to the branch to give a talk on “The Lost Treasures of St Cuthbert”. His talk started with a picture of St Aethewold’s Cross. Aethewold was a disciple and assistant to St. Cuthbert and the last bishop of Lindisfarne to be revered as a saint. He bound the loose manuscripts of the Lindisfarne Gospels. His relics were transported, with those of Cuthbert, from Lindisfarne to Durham. From Alfred the Great to the Reformation, Durham Cathedral had rented St. Cuthbert’s Banner to the king. This contributed to the Cathedral’s great wealth. The banner was loaned to the rebels in the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536. Later, Henry the Eighth wanted it destroyed, so he appointed William Edward Whittingham to do so. Whittingham was an English Puritan, a Marian exile and translator of the Geneva Bible. He became Dean of Durham, but, in 1579, action was started to deprive him of all holy orders on account of his Presbyterian ordination. He died in 1579 before the process was completed. The head of Cuthbert’s statue was removed by Whittingham and his wife Catherine burnt the banner in the 1560s..

The acting chairman relayed a message from the chairman about the 50th Anniversary 2025 conference. It is confirmed for Saturday 14th June 2025 at Brunswick Methodist Hall; The theme is mining with two speakers. The cost is £10 and the booking form will be in the next edition of The Journal and online. Numbers are limited so prompt application is advised.

Branches are invited to contribute a display. In the absence of volunteers, the chairman suggested displaying a series of maps showing locations of all mines in Durham over the centuries. He also suggested a cycling video of photographs of mining banners. The meeting liked both ideas.

October 2024

Report of the meeting held Wednesday 16th October 2024 Belmont Community Centre. Attended by 9 members & 4 guests

Ben Haddon returned to the branch to give a talk on life in the 1960s from his own perspective of growing up in Newcastle. Life in the 1950s had been grim but there was rapid change at the beginning of the sixties with the advent new housing and domestic advances such as washing machines, fridges, colour television. He also mentioned things that were then common, but seen no more such as jumble sales, cigarette advertising etc. He discussed the advent of a new category of “teenagers” and their lives including working as a paper boy, school life, dances and the Beatles. He also talked about some of the momentous events of the decade, how everyone remembered where they heard about the Kennedy assassination, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the building of the Berlin Wall. The talk was greatly enjoyed by members and prompted much discussion and reminiscences which could have continued much longer had time been available.

The Chairman reported on the Branch Representatives’ meeting on 4th October. There had been considerable discussion on the subject of the planning of the Society Anniversary Conference to be held in June 2025. It was suggested that the proposed subject of “Mining” was too restrictive, not reflecting the wider interests and the story of the Society itself. Further discussion was postponed until the conference planning group meeting on 29th October. Most branches also outlined their plans for individual branch displays at the conference. However, the Chairman advised the meeting that he did not think the Durham/Belmont branch would be able to mount a display due to a lack of a volunteers to take on the task.

The Chairman then raised the issue of a branch display for the Anniversary Conference. One suggestion that had been raised previously was a display focussing on miners’ banners, received some support, but no volunteer came forward to coordinate such an effort. The Chairman concluded that therefore the branch would not be able to mount a display at the conference.

September 2024

Report of the meeting held Wednesday 18 September 2024 at Belmont Community Centre

Unfortunately, the scheduled speaker, Dave Shotten, had a technical issue with his laptop and was unable to give his presentation. Fortunately, the chairman was able to bring forward the presentation he was scheduled to give at the November meeting. He told of how a chance glimpse of the statue of a rugby player on the way to a rugby match had led him to research the statues of local sculptor Ray Lonsdale, best known for his “Tommy” statue at Seaham. This had led to a tour of all the public statues listed by Ray on his website, located in the North East, Yorkshire, Midlands, North West and Scotland. As well as showing photographs of the statues, he told the stories behind then and how they came to be in their present locations.

One of the members was able to update the story with a photograph she had taken of the latest statue only recently installed at Brandon.

The Chairman confirmed that the Research centre at New England House was fully operational and updated members on planning for the Anniversary Conference in June 2025.

July 2024

The meeting was attended by 11 members and 3 guests.

Olly Burton who gave an interesting talk “Glorious Woodwork” about aspects of woodwork in
Durham Cathedral. Olly has been a volunteer in the Cathedral for many years. He began with
the structural role of woodwork, including its role in construction of the stone arches and the fact
that the two towers originally had wooden spires. He mentioned problems with wood were it was
susceptible to decay, insect attack and, with reference to York and Notre Dam, it readily burns.

He then discussed the artistic woodwork, including the font canopy, organ and many carvings.
He noted that Bishop Cousins was responsible that most of the current woodwork, after the
battle of Dunbar in 1650, when Scottish prisoners were imprisoned in the cathedral and used
the woodwork as firewood. The only woodwork which had survived was the 600-year-old clock,
probably because it incorporated a thistle!

The Chairman reported on the 2024 AGM held the previous Saturday and that, following its
relocation to New England House, the Research Centre would reopen on Monday 22nd July.
He also remined members of planning for a 50th Anniversary Conference to be held in June
2025.

June 2024

The meeting was attended by 13 members and 3 guests.

The speaker was Brian Young who gave a fascinating insight into the history of metal mining in
the Durham Dales. He noted that recorded mining of metal ores dated back to the 11th century,
but almost certainly occurred long before then with copper ores during the bronze age. So
predating coal mining in the region. Early recorded mining in the Wolsingham area was for iron
ores, later lead became of more importance. Several other metals were also mined including
silver which was a by product of copper production. The industry reached its peak during the
18th & 19th centuries but eventually declined as prices fell on world markets. Brian discussed
the hazardous nature of the industry at a time of little regard for modern ideas of “health and
safety”. He also showed how the modern landscape of Weardale reflected the hundreds of
years of activity in the industry. He ended his talk by showing pictures of many of the beautiful
crystals of various ores which had been found in the region and now exhibited in geological
displays in museums, including the British Museum.

Several members had attended the opening weekend of the County Archives facilities at “The
Story” and reported their experiences in accessing records. The facilities appeared promising
but it was clear that much work need to be done to restore access to the records which had
been previously available. However, subsequently a message was received from the search
room supervisor that “We anticipate that the full range of parishes that we previously had on
microfilm will be available by mid-July and our new viewing system will offer a more user friendly and enhanced way of viewing the registers.

May 2024

Report of the meeting held Wednesday 15th May 2024 at Belmont Community Centre
The meeting was attended by 15 members and 5 guests.
The speaker was Jane Guilliford Lowes who had previously give two talks based on books she
had authored. On this occasion she used the examples of her own books to discuss how she
wrote family history to make it interesting to the reader. She advised on starting with something
to draw the reader in such as an object, a place, domestic or industrial life at the time. She
emphasised the need to focus the story and not try to include everyone. She also discussed the
various formats now available to everyone to get their story to a wider audience, Members were
greatly interested as was shown by the many questions raised.
The Chairman reported on the progress of the move of the Research Centre to New England
House. He also that the Society was looking to branches to support planning for the 50th
Anniversary of the Society. He asked for a volunteer to come forward to join the Anniversary
Planning Committee. No volunteer was forthcoming.

April 2024

Report of the meeting held Wednesday 17 March 2024 at Belmont Community Centre

The meeting was attended by 12 members and 7 guests.

The speaker was John North who gave an interesting and informative talk “The North East Coast Exhibition” about the Exhibition held in Newcastle in 1929. Much enjoyed by members.

Last updated 15th May 2025