Post Old Railway Street Train Station

With tickets now being purchased on the trains there was no-longer need for a manned ticket station. This sounded the death Nell for staff, with a lose of probably all jobs. As you can see from the photo all the old style buildings were demolished leaving the platforms bare apart from two simple (very simple) structures. In the then passenger only station these simple buildings would be used to shelter passengers from the elements.

Jarrow Metro Station

The scene above shows yet another change to the station, gone are the poorly built shelters to be replaced by a modern rapid travel metro system with a train schedule which far out weighed the old train station time table. To be precise metro trains run every 10 minutes

Photo Taken: In the Nineteen Hundreds

Ormonde Street itself is no-longer filled with the hustle and bustle of shoppers. A new shopping centre was built at the time to the left and the rear of these building out of shot of this photograph. The old Burton building still stands today (2010) and has been re-vamped into a carpet shop.

Close by these buildings stood Jarrow’s old market square which was centred around an old Victorian theatre. The square and theatre also went under the hammer of the demolition company in the 1960′s and the area was used to build council housing. After the build completion it was given the name North Court.

Ormonde Street 2010

Now at this moment in time North Court council housing has been demolished and has made way for new private town housing. The now photo shows what is left of the council housing. Built around the same time as North court the now photo shows Ellen Court one of three tower blocks towering above the Burton building.

Ben lomond Taken some time during the 1930's

It was rented from Newcastle Breweries by Derek Armstrong, owner of both the Cavalier Club and the County Hotel. He brought the interior up to a very high standard and renamed the building to The Viking. Sadly by about 1995/6 it had fallen back in to disrepair and came close to being demolished. This is where Witherspoons stepped in, bought the property and refurbished the grand old building as well as changing the name, back to its original The Ben Lomond.

Ben Lomond, Ellison Street: Present Day 2010

Picture taken Around 1965

At this particular time Jarrow was experiencing an influx of Irish immigrants many of whom would have left their native land to find work in Jarrow. Which is not surprising when you consider Palmer Shipbuilders employed more than 80% of Jarrow’s population and had become recognised World Wide as the leading shipbuilders of their time.

An increase in the population also saw the need for more schools. The above photo is of St. Bede’s School built around 1870/1. Built as an addition to the original senior girls school, built around 1868/7 situated in Chapel Road, the addition of a new school would meet the needs of the growing Roman Catholic Community and would accommodate the Juniors and Infants.

St Bede, St Johns Terrace: Present Day 2010

The above picture show what it looks like now many years later. While St. Bede’s Church remains, gone is the old school building to be replaced with trees and shrubs. St Bede’s School was re-sited to Staple Road some five minutes walk from this location and would have been a bright new modern airy building. I say would have been because that bright new modern airy building no longer exists in this the twenty first century.

St Bede’s along with St peters and other parts of Staple Road have been demolished. St Bede’s because a past survey showed the school had serious subsidence, and St. Peters to make way for the new Tyne Tunnel Approach Road, which thankfully will take much of the heavy traffic away from inner and residential parts of Jarrow. Hopefully making the air we breath a lot more user friendly and smell free.

Hill Street: Early twentieth century

Transport links into Jarrow during this time were very poor, realising this and the need for his workers to be within reliable distance of his shipyard, workers lived in these type of terraced houses typical of those available in Jarrow in the first quarter of the twentieth century and could be found throughout Jarrow, making for perfect accommodation for most of Palmer’s 10,000 plus workforce.

These terraced buildings were poorly lit, cramped terraced houses and could be found through-out Jarrow. Then years later the 50s and 60s saw them demolished, being replaced by modern dwellings. In the distance you can see Hill Street Railway bridge, being a very low bridge many a double decker bus lost its roof.

Hill Street: Present Day

This is the same view some 50 plus years later. On the left is a modern council estate . To the right the houses built in and around the 60s has since been demolished. The trees lining the right hand side of the roadway have been allowed to grow and act as a useful screen blotting out a new industrial estate.

Again in the distance can still be seen Hill Street Railway Bridge, that particular eye sore has never changed (my personal opinion) is no different now than it was in Palmers days. even today an occasional bus has lost its roof because the driver has been unfamiliar with the route.

Old Railway Station: Newcastle to South Shield 1950's

In the picture you can see parked outside the station a three wheeled motor vehicle. Known as a Scammel truck, British Rail used these type of vehicles throughout the country to deliver goods and rail freight within there respective neighbourhood’s.

Railway Street, Metro Station: Present Day 2010

Although today it is still used as a railway station it has changed completely, gone are the old draughty Victorian buildings, to be replaced by a landscaped view with the entrance to a more up to-date user friendly station building, now being run by Nexus as a passenger link for the Tyneside Metro to Newcastle Upon Tyne, with links to Sunderland and main line stations on route.

I have found more information on Charles Palmer’s other two marriages.

In 1862 George Palmer retired from the company. The company itself was doing well and everything in the garden, so to speak was rosy, that was until April 5th 1865 When Jane his first wife died leaving her husband and 3 sons to continue life without her. In the same year as her death Charles transformed his business from Palmer brothers & Company, into a limited liability company under the name of Palmer’s Shipbuilding & Iron Company Ltd.

Following the death of his wife Jane, it would be two years later, in 1867 and six months after the death of his father George Palmer, in December 1866, Charles remarried for the second time. His bride to be this time round was Augusta Mary, the daughter of Alfred Lambert of Paris their marriage was solemnised on July 4th 1867 at St. James Piccadilly London by the Rev. A. L. Lambert uncle of the bride.

His marriage to Augusta Mary brought them two sons the first Claude Bowes Palmer born march 29th 1868 and Lionel Hugo Palmer born October 22nd 1870.

For more than 30 years Charles had served as an MP in the House of Commons so it was probably of no surprise in 1874 he was Elected Liberal member for the North Durham constituency. He held this seat until 1885 when a reorganisation of seats found him elected as the member for Jarrow He held on to this seat until his death in 1907.

However before his final day was to materialise Jarrow would achieved borough status in 1875. The first borough elections took place some two months later and Sir Charles won the poll hands down (so to speak) in the south Ward, and went on to become the first mayor of the borough. (Jarrow) He did not continue as Mayor for more than a few months of that year before he announced his retirement November 9th (1875) and at the same time Alderman Thos Sheldon was elected to the post of Mayor.

Less than a month after Sir Charles retired from his post as Mayor, sadly on December the 2nd 1875, at a young age, his second wife Augusta Mary died. She was buried in Easington cemetery. Yorkshire.

Almost two years later February 17th 1877 Sir Charles Palmer was to marry for the third time to Gertrude daughter of Jas. Montgomery Esq., J.P. of Cranford in Middlesex.

August 4th of the previous year saw the birth of their son Godfrey Mark Palmer. Almost a year to the day of the birth of his son, Charles learned of the death of his brother George.

Four months later November 5th the boilermakers employed by Palmer’s came out on strike against the proposed reduction to their wages.

July 6th 1884 saw the birth of Hilda Gertrude Montgomery Palmer only daughter of Charles Mark Palmer. From his three marriages Hilda Gertrude Montgomery was the only girl to be born into the family.

Sir Charles himself was to die some 12 years later On Tuesday June 4th 1907 a few minutes before 1:00am Charles Mark Palmer died at 37, Curzon St. London, leaving an estate of only £15,226, his then wife Gertrude, seven sons and one daughter.

Some 14 years later in mid January 1918 his third wife Gertrude Montgomery Palmer died in London.

Jarrow Bus Station: 1954

Below is what the Bus Station looks like to day, well almost to day, this shot was taken back in 2009. The main shopping precint is a few minutes walk to the right of this picture. If I remember rightly it was a lovely spring day, with the sun shining in all its glory. Its a far cry from October 5th 1936, when the marchers set out on their march to London, leaving behind their loved ones in the hope their actions would secure a better future for them all.

In the background of both pictures can be seen the steeple of Christ Church and to the foreground of the church the hospital that replaced the original built by Sir Charles Palmer of Palmer Shipbuilding and one time Mayor of Jarrow.

Bus Station Station Street: Present Day 2010

Old Grange Road: Shopping Area

The likes of George Nurse pictured above relocated to High Street some half mile from this location

Back in 2002 there was talk once again of demolishing, this time it was to the buildings that had replaced the old grange road buildings in 1963 and were later renovated in the 1980′s. It appears no one wanted to live in them because of the way they had been built. With interconnecting walkways that no longer appealed to tenants.

Grange Road, Town Houses: Present Day 2010

The picture is what it looks like today some 50+ years later. These smart new houses have taken a couple of years to complete, replacing the old shopping area and the maisonettes, built in the sixties, that no one wanted to live in. From the speed the properties sold out it would appear these houses are here to stay.

To the left and right of this picture are the tower blocks that can be seen in the picture of Borough Road.

Old West Park Jarrow fountain view 1876

The houses in the background to the right I would assume is Sussex Street. The houses in the background to the middle of the photo are no-longer there. I can only imagine that at some later stage the houses were demolished and the ground were they stood became an extension to the existing park. Even today there is an amount of land in Park Road that looks like it had been added to the original park. It would be interesting to know for sure if this did happen at some time in the original parks history.

West Park: Present Day 2010

The here and now picture shows a section of the park where I think the fountain used to stand. It is extremely hard to try and match the exact place, as you can see it looks totally different in this picture. Gone are the fountain and the greenhouse, and from the angle of the shot in the old photo I feel there should have been more park area to my right to get the same view as the old photograph. The house that stands to the back and left of the greenhouse still stands at the main gate entrance. In this shot it is screened by trees and shrubs.