St.Johns Church

[Brian Turnbull]

My ggrandfather John Turnbull married Frances Telford at St. John the Baptist Church in Newcastle upon Tyne 14. April 1856. He was a potter and both parties were said to be "of this parish" on the certificate.
Were there any potteries in the vicinity of the Church at that time and can anyone tell me what the name of the district is please?

[geordie2]

Not of direct help but a fascinating extract from the book "Beyond the Grave" a study of Newcastle burial grounds by Alan Morgan courtesy of

John Woodger invented the kipper after the wooden shed in which he had stored some salted herring caught fire. He discovered that the rescued fish were extremely tasty and, with his brothers, opened a curing yard in North Shields and a shop in Northumberland Street. Eventually his business spread down the east coast to great Yarmouth. He died in 1876 and is buried in St John’s cemetery.

Also in St John’s cemetery is the memorial to the 38 men and boys who were killed in 1925, when water from old workings broke into the Montagu View Pit at Scotswood. The sudden inrush of water submerged all escape routes and many miners were drowned. It was seven weeks before the first of the bodies was recovered and a further five months before the last victim was removed from the pit. The main funeral took place in heavy rain on 24 May, when 50,000 lined the 2.5 mile route to the cemetery.

Other tragic deaths are described in Beyond the Grave, but there is one miraculous recovery. In 1757, there was funeral in St John’s church for a 14 year old boy called Thomas Matfield (or Matfin). As the pall bearers carried the coffin down the aisle. Thomas’s fellow pupils from St John’s charity school started to sing the funeral hymn. As their shrill voices reverberated around the church, the pallbearers felt something move in the coffin. Terrified they demanded that the coffin be opened, and they discovered that young Thomas was beginning to stir from a coma. He was taken home, given a glass of cherry brandy and put to bed. He did die, but not until he was 77, after a long life as a Keelman. He was buried in All Saints churchyard.

[GordonBell]

Brian - St John's Church is in the south of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne at the junction of Grainger St and Westgate Road and close to the Central Station. Just to the east of the city were a number of potteries, one of the largest being Maling which was based at Ford Pottery.

Many of the potteries congregated around the Ouseburn. A map of the city from that time will message=Brian - St John's Church is in the south of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne at the junction of Grainger St and Westgate Road and close to the Central Station. Just to the east of the city were a number of potteries, one of the largest being Maling which was based at Ford Pottery.

Many of the potteries congregated around the Ouseburn. A map of the city from that time will show the extent of the pottery industry in the area. I believe that the Ford pottery was one of the largest in the UK.

Alan Godfrey Maps produce reasonably priced detailed maps of the area from the late 19th century. The area that covers the potteries will be on the Byker and Gateshead East sheets.

Good luck.

[Brian Turnbull]

Thanks for the info Gordon, I will see what I can find from the info you have given me.
Brian

[philan]

John Turnbull was my great great grandfather and all I knew about him was that he was a potter and married a Frances Telford so I was very interested to find out more about where he came from. I have a copy of the birth certificate of their daughter, Margaret Isabella, who was born in Adelaide, South Australia on Dec.24, 1857. I don't know when they came out to Australia but all the descendants in this line lived in Adelaide until we moved to Victoria in the 1970's. It was great to hear where John and Frances were married and I wondered whether you had managed to find out anything about the potteries as the messages were a few years old. Very keen to find out anything more about them,

Ann Romain

[Brian Turnbull]

philan.
It looks as it is the same family and I have quite a bit of information on them. John Turnbull and Frances Telford were married in Newcastle upon Tyne in April 1856. They emigrated to Australia and arrived in Adelaide in Nov 1856 on the "Lord Hungerford".
If you can send contact details in a private message, I will let you know what I have.
Brian Turnbull.