Nostalgic memories of Newburn's local history

Share your own memories of Newburn and read what others have said

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our web site to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was when the photographs in our archive were taken. From brief one-liners explaining a little bit more about the image depicted, to great, in-depth accounts of a childhood when things were rather different than today (and everything inbetween!). We've had many contributors recognising themselves or loved ones in our photographs.

Why not add your memory today and become part of our Memories Community to help others in the future delve back into their past.

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Displaying Memories 41 - 50 of 58 in total

It was about 1957 and before, when the Willows was a place to picnic on a Saturday and Sunday afternoons. It was a very popular place, with the Shuggy boats and the river to play in, and there were houseboats galore tied up on the bank side. Rumour has it that there was a brothel on one of these boats. In years gone by there were ice games on the pond there, but I can't recall this, but what I ...see more
It was 1947 and I had just started school at Newburn infants, I was only four and a half, I can still remember me Ma crying when she left me, she should have been clapping her hands. There I was in a lovely knitted jumper - me Ma was a great knitter and my job was sitting in front of the coal fire holding a hank of wool, arms in rhythm with me Ma winding it into a ball. Bah, some of them hanks went on for ever. We ...see more
It was about 1956. John Sample had started to change with the times and bought himself a pick up truck, him, 'Auld Jimmy' and me went to the horse sales at Gateshead just over the bridge, and I cannot for the life of me remember if it was the High Level or the Redheugh. They went to buy a horse, which they did, and it was my job to bring him home, they bought this poor sad horse showing its bones and saddle sores, it ...see more
I used to live a few doors from auld Jimmy Sample and his wife Carrie, his son John was married to June and they lived in Francis Terrace. They had their rag and bone yard down the Winnin, anyway I would spend summer nights, weekends and holidays down there. Early morning before school I would be up knocking at Jimmy's door, out he would come with Gyp the fawn greyhound that went on the cart with him. I once saw this ...see more
Coming back to this site, I was so glad to read the memories that Jimmy Burrows has added for Newburn & Millfield. His memories was just a lttle before mine but the areas are so vivid in my mind of when I was a kid. I had 3 aunts that lived in Millfield Lane - Chrissy - married to Dicky Done, Patsy - married to John Crossan and Rita (Loretta) - married to Joe Calinski. I remember well Bernard and ...see more
This is from about the 1950s. Along Grange Road was a huge piggery and it was owned by the Liddle family, by, did it pong. Further along you came to the railway crossing with the sign STOP, LOOK, LISTEN in red, this was where the steam train leaving Newburn passed going west. Over the line was Newburn football club which used to draw a canny crowd, then further on was the Big Lamp Brewery, this was where the water ...see more
Me Da and Ma. This is about 1949. Me Da came from Clara Vale and grew up there in 1 West View (which was a small two bedroom stone cottage) with Granda and his six brothers, Billy, Bobby, Joe, twins Jim and John and Eddy who was the youngest. Me Granda was originally from Crawcrook and his name was Cecil Daniel Burrows, me Da was named after him. Me Grandma Annie, nee Parker, who I never knew, died giving birth to a ...see more
It was about 1953. Saturday afternoon was a great day down at the Imperial picture house in Newburn. Roy Rogers and Trigger, Gene Autry with his guitar and six guns, Flash Gorden with his ray gun, Batman and his cape. I remember an older lad than us called Wee Wee Reed, he had bright ginger hair, anyway Batman had been on and when we came out Wee Wee put his black Burberie mack, tied the sleeves around his neck and ran ...see more
I remember falling off a bike on Millfield Crescent when I was about 7 or 8 and I had a really bad knee injury, there was no going to hospitals in those days though, it was Kit Bateman, a first aider at the pit, who mended me and bandaged me up, I still have a big scar on me knee to this day. There were two women who lived in Francis Terrace who never saw eye to eye, Polly Kane and Hilda Robson, they would have ...see more
This is about 1951 and Millfield Lane was opposite the allotments and the clay field. On the dark nights we would tie thread to the door knockers and lead it across the road and up the bank to a grassy hollow where we could see but not be seen from the houses, then a sharp tug on the thread would bring a puzzled face to the door, a couple of knocks on the same door would have us in hysterics. Then we came up ...see more