MEMORIES 559 told of the ancient tradition of apple wassailing, as they now do at Hurworth Grange and also, we learn from the BBC’s Countryfile, at Seaham. The idea is to make as much noise as possible to wake the trees up after winter to guarantee a good crop.
READ HERE about the Hurworth apple wassail
We said that in the old days, after their wassailing the Hurworth wassailers could have gone to a pub that stood by Croft bridge that was called the Pig and Whistle. This was the nickname for a pub that had a hospitable sign showing a lass proffering a glass, and goes to back to Old Norse words: “pika” meant “girl”, and “whistle” came from “wassail” which meant merriment.
All that was missing from the article was a picture of the Pig and Whistle, which The Northern Echo’s wonderful photo archive has just yielded up when we were looking for something.
The old smithy on the Durham bank of Croft bridge. The sign points north to Darlington (3.5 miles) and Newcastle (35.5 miles)
The picture is dated May 3, 1939, and it shows the Pig and Whistle on the bridge end. By the time the picture was taken, the pub had closed but a blacksmith still operated from the building, doing running repairs for travellers using the Great North Road – in wintry conditions, for example, he’d sharpen the horses’ shoes so they didn’t slip on the icy road.
Just beside the smithy, where the gas lamp is in the picture, had been the tollkeeper’s house. From about 1745, there was a gate across the bridge on the Hurworth side and travellers had to pay a toll to cross. It was obviously a busy crossing point because in 1753, the tollkeeper’s house was washed away by a flood along with £50 takings (that’d be worth about £12,000 in today’s values).
The house was rebuilt after the flood and it continued to collect money until the toll was abolished and it was demolished in 1871.
Looking towards Croft bridge with the Comet hotel on the left hand side of the road and the outline of the Pig and Whistle in the centre behind the pole
The smithy in the old Pig and Whistle building was demolished immediately after the picture was taken.
On its site in the early 1960s, a block of public toilets was built to cater for the daytrippers in their motor cars who visited the riverbank. The toilets remain, but haven’t been open for many years.
An early 1960s aerial picture of Croft bridge, with the site of the Pig and Whistle at the bottom of the picture
A CURIOUS thing on Croft bridge takes us back to the article a couple of weeks ago about the old oil lampholder that can be seen, looking like a netball hoop, on the front cover of Jane Hatcher’s new book, Richmondians (below).
The oil lamp sat inside the hooplike holder. The wick would have burned plant oil – rapeseed, hemp or camelina – and mirrors would have reflected the light down to the ground.
Richmond was a very early adopter of gas lights, and so by 1821 it’s expensive oil lamps were replaced. However, on Green Bridge over the Swale, you can still see a metal post about a metre high which once held an oil lamp.
On our travels recently, we’ve spotted a very impressive netball hoop suspended above the main entrance to Leyburn’s town hall, which was built in 1856. Is this the last surviving oil lamp holder in our area (below)?
But rising from the parapet of Croft bridge is another curious iron holder (below). It is square, unlike the round hoops of North Yorkshire. What was its purpose? Did it once hold an oil lamp?
And do you know of any other surviving oil lamp holders?
If you can tell us about any old iron, please email chris.lloyd@nne.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here