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Old Marsden - the village that was |
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Looking from the Leas towards Souter Lighthouse, you may not realise that a village once stood there. The village comprised of 9 streets, 135 houses,700 people, a co-operative store, miner's institute, school,methodist church and a post office which doubled as a general shop. |
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The streets of this close knit village were called ; John St., William St., Charles St., Henry St., George St., Lindsay St., James St., Hilton St. and North Street. Some properties had 4 rooms which were used for the larger families. There were 2 roomed houses on the ground floor for the smaller families and the other properties had 3 rooms. The cooperative store had 2 houses attached, one for the manager of the grocery shop and the other for the milkman. They all had back yards, some had gardens or if they didn't have gardens they had allotments. |
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 Aeriel view of old Marsden village |
 Taken in 1968 the year the colliery closed |
 The same view 2007 |
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In the photo's above left, of Marsden colliery, you can see to the right of the picture the chapel which still stands. |
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Notice in these 2 pictures of Whitburn colliery, the stone pillar which is to the right of the picture is the connection between the 2 photos. The stone pillars now lead to the Whitburn Lodge. |
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As life in those days went, the men had to bathe in a tub in front of the fire until the pit baths were built. The sanitation was very basic in those early days, each week a horse and cart came around the village to empty the middens and then the rubbish was tipped over the cliffs into the sea. |
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| The photo to the right was taken at the foot of Marsden Rock. It is believed that all the people in the picture were working at Whitburn Colliery. The photo was kindly sent to me by Ian Stonehouse whose grandfather (Thomas Loudon, 1859-1939) and great-grandfather (George Loudon, 1828-c.1901) are in the picture. Thomas Loudon is first from the left on the back row looking out of shot, George is at the very front, seventh along from the left, with the full beard and hand in his waistcoat pocket. |
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| The picture on the left was taken in Sept 1968, you can see the pit head baths on the left, which were opposite the colliery. |  |
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| Marsden school opened in 1882 with 62 children and closed when new schools were built, in 1931. | ||||||||||||
| Looking closely at the old school photograph, you will notice the railings and school gates clearly noticeable in the 2007 photo. |  |
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| Map of old Marsden | ||||||||||||
If you have found this page interesting then why not try reading "Pictures of Old Marsden-The Village that Vanished"
published by South Tyneside Libraries and "Memories of Marsden-The Village that Vanished"
compiled and edited by Sybil Reeder and Nick Dolan.
Copyright © Lesley Boddy . All rights Reserved.
