A harsh lesson in fire safety

While the new buildings were under construction, a temporary academy was set up for the first pupils in a large house at Middleton One Row, with a big wooden section added to it. The blaze broke out at 4am in the timber part, which was destroyed along with the desks, other furniture and books. Luckily all the pupils were away on holiday. But the outbreak demonstrated the risk of having such a building in an isolated spot.

The equivalent of dialling 999 was to rouse a messenger, saddle a horse, put him on it, and tell him to ride five miles to Darlington to summon the fire brigade. The horse-drawn fire tender arrived at 6am, by which time the flames had been put out by a team of local men who ran with buckets of water to tackle the blaze and were praised for their efforts.

But they could not stop the fire spreading into the house and destroying the headmaster’s study as well as other rooms. One man called Gillespie was hailed as a hero as he ran from room to room saving items by thowing them out of windows.

New quarters had to be found when the pupils returned from holiday, and lessons were disrupted. The main school, next to the Bowes Museum, was completed the following year at a cost of £32,000. It had space for 300 boarders and 50 day boys. It had 15 acres of land for sports fields, and a large playground that included a fives court. It had rooms for 11 assistant masters and 40 servants, as well as a house for the headmaster, the first one being the Reverend FL Brereton. Most of the money came from Benjamin Flounders, of Yarm, a member of the Society of Friends. His cash was linked to the St John’s Charity, of Barnard Castle, plus subscriptions raised in the North- East counties.

The initial fees for boys living in County Durham, North Yorkshire and Northumberland were £31 a year for boarders and £6 for day boys. Those from elsewhere had to pay £38 to board or £8 for day classes.

There were scholarships worth £10, £20 and £40 to attract the brightest pupils from primary schools in the region.

The school had the latest facilities, with a well-equipped laboratory, gymnasium, sanatorium and hospital. It has always had excellent educational and sporting results.

One of its most famous pupils, and later a master, was the mountaineer Bentley Beetham, who was in a team which made an unsuccessful attempt to climb Everest in 1924. Pupils in modern times include Kevin Whately, award-winning actor of Lewis fame; and Glenn Hugill, producer of TV’s Deal or No Deal and reputed to be its mysterious Banker. The school has also produced international rugby players Rory and Tony Underwood and Rob Andrew.

The man himself, William Gladstone, who served four terms as Prime Minister

MANY towns all over Britain have roads named after William Gladstone, who served four periods as Prime Minister between 1868 and 1894.

He was the leading Liberal of his era, and has been hailed by many as one of the nation’s greatest premiers. It is hardly surprising that Gladstone Street became a feature in many places as a way of honouring him.

But what about Gladstone Street in Crook? A lot of folk must have assumed over the years that its name was decided as a tribute to the famous politician, who lived from 1809 to 1898. But according to Edward Lloyd’s 1916 history book, this road of terraced houses, leading from the town centre, was named after a racehorse.

It won a major race at the time the street was being built. Perhaps the bosses of the building company had a connection with the horse, or maybe the workers won a handy packet of money on it.

Possibly those who decided the name were Conservatives who opposed Gladstone and felt it would be fun to honour a racehorse rather than him.

He was often known as the GOM, for Grand Old Man. But the Conservative leader, Benjamin Disraeli, claimed it should stand for God’s Only Mistake. Gladstone was not a favourite of Queen Victoria, who once said: “He always addresses me as if I were a public meeting.”

So she may have had a quiet chortle if she heard why Crook’s Gladstone Street got its name.

Kevin Whately

MISS Sophia Michell must have been well satisfied with the way she was looked after by her butler, James Gaster.

When she died, at Grove Park in Barnard Castle, in 1910, she left him £500 along with a property she owned at 9 Edward Street in the town and her grandfather’s clock.

That would make him fairly well off in that era, and probably ensured him another well-paid position as butler to a wealthy figure. Miss Michell was the only surviving child of John Michell, of Forcett Park. Her will showed she was worth £5,327. She also left £500 apiece to Mary Sophia Hood and Eleanor Stanton. There were bequests of £50 each to her servant James Stephenson, her bailiff Jonathan Robinson (who also received a cottage at Forcett) and Sirol Gastor.

All her staff were given a year’s wages. There was also £50 for the vicar and churchwardens at Forcett for keeping the churchyard in order.

But she stated that it was not to be grazed by sheep. The residue of her estate was left to Percy Palmer.

POSTMEN were so popular in the dales in the past that they usually received festive gifts from their customers, and a larger present when they retired or departed.

It was not common for inside mail staff to be honoured in this way, but an exception was made for Henry Copeland, a clerk at Staindrop post office. He was such a helpful and cheerful fellow, always eager to do all he could to assist the public, that when he decided to leave to start a new life overseas, villagers felt he deserved special thanks.

As he was preparing to set sail for South Africa in 1890 they had a whipround which raised £16, a considerable sum in that era. They also arranged for an artist to produce a handsome testimonial on vellum, pointing out how admirable he had been behind the counter and how keenly he would be missed. There was a big turnout at the national school when gifts were handed over.

Bentley Beetham

The vicar, the Reverend Harry Lipscombe, said Henry’s civility to everyone, and the painstaking way he carried out his duties, would serve him well in his work anywhere in the world.

There were warm tributes from the headmaster, Joseph Lax, who had known him since he was a small pupil, and from the senior local policeman, Sergeant Daley, who had known him for a long time as a well-behaved youngster.

Others who joined in the chorus of praise were the assistant overseer, waywarden, relieving officer and village businessmen. It was an example of how friendly service in a post office, shop or other public building is appreciated by the public.

Henry told them all he would spend the money wisely to get his new life established, but would keep the testimonial and read it regularly to remind him of his happy time in Staindrop.

ALL the flooding down south lately is probably far worse than that which afflicted the dales for two years after 1814. There was so much rain that much of the land became waterlogged and the corn crop was ruined for two successive seasons.

This resulted in flour being declared of unsound quality and it was impossible for anyone to make a proper loaf of bread. The poorest families suffered most as they depended on home-made bread for a large proportion of their diet.

One scribe in Barnard Castle said dough was kneaded thinly and baked on a frying pan. It turned into nothing more than hard burnt skins which enclosed a watery, glutinous mush. It was hardly edible, but hard-up folk had to subsist on it during the two years because they were unable to bake normal bread.

Glenn Hugill

Those who were better-off could afford higher-quality flour and bread brought in at high prices from elsewhere in the region.