On 3 July 1882 the log book for Port Clarence School recorded that “owing to the boat race between Laycock and Boyd on the Tees 24 children are absent”. The event that this relates to was reported in newspapers, nationally, in terms equal to the modern day Oxford versus Cambridge boat race.
The race in question was between two celebrity scullers. Elias Laycock of Sydney, Australia and Robert Watson Boyd of Middlesbrough. The race from Newport landing to Middlesbrough Docks was for £200 a-side and £50 expenses ( a huge sum of money in 1882). Rail companies laid on excursions from as far as Tyneside and Scarborough. It was reported the slag heaps along the River Tees were crowded with people.
The outcome of the race was a victory for Elias Laycock. The outcome for the 24 absent children is lost to history.
Robert Watson Boyd was born in Gateshead on September 20th 1854. In May 1877 he won the Championship Of England by beating John Higgins of Shadwell in a race on the Thames. Boyd held the title until October 1877, when he was defeated in a rematch with John Higgins again on the Thames. In 1878 Boyd moved to Middlesbrough and married Hannah Bell, whose parents ran the Alexandra Hotel, Middlesbrough. By 1882 Boyd was landlord of The Shakespeare Hotel, Middlesbrough. On April 3rd 1882 he rowed against the Canadian Edward Hanlan on the Thames for the Championship of The World. But suffered a defeat.
Sadly Robert Watson died on 1st July 1887 aged just 33 and is buried in Linthorpe Cemetery. The grave is inscribed with rowing oars and the words Ex-Champion Sculler of England. Unusually the grave is shared with a Samuel Suffell, who Boyd’s widow married in 1889. Tragedy struck Hannah again when Samuel Suffell died on 1st June 1890..
This School was opened in 1877 inside the Bell Brothers Clarence Iron Works. Prior to this in 1876 Bell Brothers had put a proposal to Billingham parish to build a Board School between Port Clarence and Haverton Hill, which Bell Brothers would pay for. Billingham residents raised objections to the Board School and thus the school was subsequently built inside an industrial complex. At this date the governments role in education was in its infancy. Most schools were constructed and run by religious organisations or charities. This school was a National School and the log book for the school still exists, it makes interesting reading.
National Schools were set up by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education. These schools were to provide elementary education in accordance with the teaching of the Church Of England. They were government funded by annual grants based on attendance and exam results. At the time this was the only school for the residents of Port Clarence, however the population of Port Clarence was a mixture of Protestant, Irish Roman Catholics and Wesleyans. This subsequently led to a number of conflicts on religious grounds.
If this is the school that was situated in the area of the Clarence Iron Works it probably ceased to be a school around 1909. This is when High Clarence school was built.
Bell Brothers Ltd had built a number of houses within these iron works (later known as Clarence Old Cottages) to house their workers. They also built a school and reading rooms. Eventually Bell Brothers built more houses for there workers outside of the iron works midway between Port Clarence and Haverton Hill which became Clarence New Cottages.
Minnie Horton relates a story in her book “The Story Of Cleveland” of a time when children living at the New cottages still had to attend the old school. The journey to the school involved walking through the works and crossing a series of railway lines. One morning a group of children crossing the lines were hit by a train. Three were hurt including May Appleton who lost a leg.
My mother lived in Church Street at Port Clarence. Would Church Street be in these iron works. The name of my grandfather was Frederick White.
Regards
NORMAN CROSBY
Two photographs of the old school at Port Clarence c1983.
On 3 July 1882 the log book for Port Clarence School recorded that “owing to the boat race between Laycock and Boyd on the Tees 24 children are absent”. The event that this relates to was reported in newspapers, nationally, in terms equal to the modern day Oxford versus Cambridge boat race.
The race in question was between two celebrity scullers. Elias Laycock of Sydney, Australia and Robert Watson Boyd of Middlesbrough. The race from Newport landing to Middlesbrough Docks was for £200 a-side and £50 expenses ( a huge sum of money in 1882). Rail companies laid on excursions from as far as Tyneside and Scarborough. It was reported the slag heaps along the River Tees were crowded with people.
The outcome of the race was a victory for Elias Laycock. The outcome for the 24 absent children is lost to history.
Robert Watson Boyd was born in Gateshead on September 20th 1854. In May 1877 he won the Championship Of England by beating John Higgins of Shadwell in a race on the Thames. Boyd held the title until October 1877, when he was defeated in a rematch with John Higgins again on the Thames. In 1878 Boyd moved to Middlesbrough and married Hannah Bell, whose parents ran the Alexandra Hotel, Middlesbrough. By 1882 Boyd was landlord of The Shakespeare Hotel, Middlesbrough. On April 3rd 1882 he rowed against the Canadian Edward Hanlan on the Thames for the Championship of The World. But suffered a defeat.
Sadly Robert Watson died on 1st July 1887 aged just 33 and is buried in Linthorpe Cemetery. The grave is inscribed with rowing oars and the words Ex-Champion Sculler of England. Unusually the grave is shared with a Samuel Suffell, who Boyd’s widow married in 1889. Tragedy struck Hannah again when Samuel Suffell died on 1st June 1890..
This School was opened in 1877 inside the Bell Brothers Clarence Iron Works. Prior to this in 1876 Bell Brothers had put a proposal to Billingham parish to build a Board School between Port Clarence and Haverton Hill, which Bell Brothers would pay for. Billingham residents raised objections to the Board School and thus the school was subsequently built inside an industrial complex. At this date the governments role in education was in its infancy. Most schools were constructed and run by religious organisations or charities. This school was a National School and the log book for the school still exists, it makes interesting reading.
National Schools were set up by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education. These schools were to provide elementary education in accordance with the teaching of the Church Of England. They were government funded by annual grants based on attendance and exam results. At the time this was the only school for the residents of Port Clarence, however the population of Port Clarence was a mixture of Protestant, Irish Roman Catholics and Wesleyans. This subsequently led to a number of conflicts on religious grounds.
If this is the school that was situated in the area of the Clarence Iron Works it probably ceased to be a school around 1909. This is when High Clarence school was built.
Bell Brothers Ltd had built a number of houses within these iron works (later known as Clarence Old Cottages) to house their workers. They also built a school and reading rooms. Eventually Bell Brothers built more houses for there workers outside of the iron works midway between Port Clarence and Haverton Hill which became Clarence New Cottages.
Minnie Horton relates a story in her book “The Story Of Cleveland” of a time when children living at the New cottages still had to attend the old school. The journey to the school involved walking through the works and crossing a series of railway lines. One morning a group of children crossing the lines were hit by a train. Three were hurt including May Appleton who lost a leg.
My mother lived in Church Street at Port Clarence. Would Church Street be in these iron works. The name of my grandfather was Frederick White.
Regards
NORMAN CROSBY
This had once been part of a housing community in the middle of Bells Iron Works.
You can just make this out in the centre of this photo http://picturestocktonarchive.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/bells-iron-works-c1920s/
and the demise of the housing http://picturestocktonarchive.wordpress.com/2004/08/24/demolition-of-housing-c1930/
I guess it became part of whatever works were around it.
http://picturestocktonarchive.wordpress.com/2006/06/13/port-clarence-1983/