Blanchland

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Mrs Brown's shop

Mrs Brown's shop, at the far left of the picture, is where Mam used to take us for our weekly treat on a Saturday - to choose some sweets from a large selection in a line of big glass jars with ornate lids. Mrs Brown would put them in the shiny pan on her scales, adding the little bronze weights on the balance to get the exact weight, 2ozs of this and 4ozs of that and then tip them into paper bags for us. The front door opened into an ante-room with locked cupboards then you turned right into the shop. The bell at the top of the door jangled to alert her that she had a customer. The shop ...read more here
A memory of Allenheads contributed by Evelyn Jones

Our home for 3o+ years

Mam and Dad, Lizzie and Edwin Ridley, moved into Slaghill (the cottage on the right of the picture) in 1948 when I was 3 years old. Dad died there in December 1978 and Mam moved up to Chapel Cottages soon afterwards. There were 3 of us children living there originally - Margaret, Yvonne and myself. My 2 elder brothers Lloyd and Norman had already left for the Army. Maurice came along in 1950 by which time my sisters had gone to Brownrigg Camp school in Bellingham.

There was no water or electricity in the house until 1961, water came in a bucket from the iron spring on the other side of the road and the light from a parafin ...read more here
A memory of Allenheads contributed by Evelyn Jones

School Dinners

You see the wooden building in the background? This is where we went for our school dinners when I attended Allendale Junior school. We walked in pairs along the road and down the path. Earlier on we might see the cooks leaving the kitchen which was next door to Jo Bells and wheel the dinners down on a trolley. Sadly the building is no longer there, nor is the tennis court, which we played on while attending the secondary school, but the area has been re-vamped and is looking good. It is so good to see the old dinner hut again.
A memory of Allendale contributed by Sue Armstrong

Home

I lived in Allendale for the first five years of my life, unfortunately due to my parents  work situation, we had to leave the village to find work in the town; things were never the same!  We still returned to Allendale frequently to visit our relatives the Nixon's & Hutchinson's.  I still remember my childhood with fond memories & the very close friendship I had with all my cousins in Allendale at the time.  My mother Iris used to work for Tommy at the Heatherlea in the early sixties & I think my father George Garry used to work at the Dixon's Garage in Allendale as a motor mechanic & later Hexham.

Before the old brewery was redeveloped, my Nana ...read more here
A memory of Allendale contributed by Jeff Garry