IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Woodvale Gardens, WYLAM, NE41 8ER

Algernon seems to have been a common name in these parts. The son of Charles Algernon Parsons, inventor of the steam turbine was Algernon George Parsons (b. 1886). He was killed in action during World War I in 1918, aged 31. Algernon was also a common family name of the Percy family, Dukes of Northumberland. Edward Algernon Blackett was the grandson of Christopher Blackett (1751-1829) owner of Wylam Colliery and major figure in development of the steam locomotive.

Engine Dene is an open space in the north part of Wylam village. See description here Image

Engine Dene and the adjoining 'Brick Field' were once the site of a clay pit used for brick making in Victorian times. Brick makers were employed by the Blackett estate to manufacture bricks and tiles for use in the village. They were paid the equivalent of 4p for every 100 bricks produced and one man could make about 1000 bricks in a day. The Dene used to run down to the Wylam Iron Works and much of it was left as landscaped open space when the housing estate was built.

Like Florist Hall these houses (Florist Cottages) are stone built and presumably much earlier than many of the surrounding houses on the estate. Florist (or Florists') Hall is one of the few buildings in Wylam on the first edition OS map and is located behind the cottages. "At a short distance from the colliery stands Florists' Hall, with its extensive garden, containing near seven acres of land, and which is famed for producing the best and earliest strawberries in the north. It is the property of Mrs. Hall, of Newcastle." Eneas Mackenzie (1825).

Use of the rainbow symbol during the Coranavirus outbreak is described here Image

The only church in Northumberland dedicated to St Oswin who was King of Deira from 644 to 651. Deira was the southern half of Northumbria which extended from the Humber to the Tees with its capital in York. Oswin's cousin, Oswy, ruled over Bernicia, which was the adjoining northern part of Northumbria. The church has no great antiquity, its foundation stone was laid by Mrs Richard Clayton of Wylam Hall on 1st January 1885. It was paid for by George and William Hedley, sons of William Hedley who had became manager of Wylam Colliery in 1805, and was closely involved in the development of the early steam locomotives. The church is described here http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1044959&resourceID=5

Francis Frith has a similar view taken c1950 www.francisfrith.com/wylam/photos/from-the-north-c1950_W397001/ The large building to the left of St Oswin's Church tower is the Wylam Institute. To its left is the Old Colliery School on Woodcroft Road.

The lychgate is described here Image Latin words carved on the interior panelling are in memory of Richard Clayton who lived at Wylam Hall and died in 1903. His wife continued to live at the Hall until 1909, then moved to 'Elmfield' at the corner of Station Road and Wylam Wood Road. There is also a memorial window to him in St Oswin's Church Image as he was instrumental in the campaign to have it built, avoiding the need for villagers to travel to St Mary’s in Ovingham. The church was completed in 1886, funded by George and William Hedley, in memory of their parents, William Hedley, the pioneering railway engineer, and his wife Francis. Hexham Courant, 15th January 2009: http://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/Church-is-symbol-of-a-strength-of-community-f98646b7-7f10-4d62-86c6-626612805f7a-ds