Blog for Ingrid Hall

The Tyne-Wear Derby: From Friendly Rivalry to Violence

9/2/2015

There are many rivalries in sport: England and Australia, Barcelona and Real Madrid, Brazil and Argentina. But arguably the fiercest of all rivalries occurs in the north-east – a rivalry that pits the black and white of Newcastle against the red and white of Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear Derby. The history of this rivalry stretches back many, many years, since the two sides first met in 1883, with many different flashpoints along the way.

Why Such a Rivalry?

As with many rivalries in sport, the rivalry between Newcastle and Sunderland stems from events outside of sport. This is because the two areas have been at loggerheads well before football was even invented. The main reason why such a schism was drawn between the two towns? The English Civil War. Royalist Newcastle was seen to have many unfair advantages over the merchants of Sunderland, causing Sunderland to become a major stronghold for Parliamentarians in the north-east. This opposition to each other continued into the Jacobite Rebellions and the rest, as they say, is history…

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Catherine Cookson – Her Life and Legacy

7/15/2015

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Catherine Cookson is a literary giant – one of the most widely read authors in the UK, with over 100 million of her books being sold throughout history. While her books are some of the most exciting, emotional and gripping to have ever been written, her own life is just as interesting – a tale of poverty, hardship, distress and incredible success.

So, the below article won’t be about her literary creations – famous characters such as Tilly Trotter and Kate Hannigan – but instead about her. From her deprived childhood in South Shields through to her local legacy, surely Cookson herself is the most interesting part of her story?

Childhood

Catherine Ann McCullen was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, in 1906. Immediately she was born into a life of poverty. She was brought up by her grandparents and lived with them alongside her sister – or who she thought was her sister. This “sister” was actually her mother, who was an alcoholic and not able to look after her child. She never knew her father, who was a gambler and bigamist.[1] As can be seen, her upbringing was hardly ideal, even for the standards of over 100 years ago.

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The Rise and Fall of the Delaval Family

5/14/2015

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Main image: “Seaton Delaval Hall – main block from N” by Alan J. White – taken by me with Canon Digital Ixus 50 camera. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seaton_Delaval_Hall_-_main_block_from_N.jpg#/media/File:Seaton_Delaval_Hall_-_main_block_from_N.jpg

The Rise and Fall of the Delaval Family

There have been many families who’ve played a large role in the history of Northumberland, but not many can match the significance of Delaval family – a name that still gains recognition in the area, even though the line died out over 200 years ago. The marks that they left not just on buildings, but on entire communities, is immense, so what better topic is there to discuss when looking at the history of the area?

A modest home and a rebuilt church don’t make a family famous though, and the Delavals certainly weren’t happy to maintain such a peripheral influence.

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The Tyne-Wear Derby: From Friendly Rivalry to Violence

Catherine Cookson – Her Life and Legacy

The Rise and Fall of the Delaval Family

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