More W.I. drama from Nunthorpe and Great Smeaton

I think this must date from the 1930s as some of the names are the same as those listed in the WI concert of 1936.

Women's Institute drama at the Nunthorpe Institute, December 1936

Appearing in Wrong Numbers by Essex Dane, Mrs Biddlecombe and the Furriners by Geoffrey Whitworth and Symphony in Illusion by James Wallace Bell were:

Mrs H Chester
Mrs J J Hyde
Mrs H Ward
Miss Prince
Mrs G P Cook
Mrs J Ballingall
Mrs H Stubbs
Mrs MacGillivray
Mrs A Whinney
Mrs J Borrow
Mr H Chester
Mrs H Belk
Mrs Hedley

The married women are probably listed under their husbands' names; 'Mrs H Stubbs' certainly indicates Mary Stubbs, wife of Hugh.

The Nunthorpe Institute

An interesting item for those who remember the original Nunthorpe Institute, which was erected in 1920 in Connaught Road.  It had previously been an Army Hut in Stewart Park. 

The costs were met by setting up a limited company and issuing shares:

Share certificate for the Nunthorpe Institute

John Vaughan, ironmaster

Middlesbrough commemorated the great ironmaster John Vaughan some fifteen years after his death by erecting a statue:

Medal to commemorate unveiling of statue of John Vaughan

At the base of the statue are the words:

John Vaughan
1799-1868
Mayor of Middlesbrough 1855
Discovered ironstone in the
Cleveland Hills, founder of the iron
trade in Cleveland, partner in
Bolckow, Vaughan & Co. Ltd., who built
one of the first iron works in
Middlesbrough in 1840

Reverse of the medal

For more details on the statue, including photographs of the panels depicting mining and industry, visit the Hidden Teesside website.

There is a portrait of John Vaughan in Middlesbrough Town Hall - but you can look at it on the BBC's Your Paintings website.

Update to Christmas Greeting 1914

I've just added a transcription of the names of the men listed in the Roll of Honour in the Christmas Card from the Heaton Road Baptist Church - to make the post easier to find for anybody who might be out there searching for information on a particular name.

The Lily Pond in Stewart Park

An old postcard:

The Middlesbrough Opera House for sale, 1907

I found this amongst my old papers:

It has two rather nice sketches "for purposes of illustration only, and their accuracy in points of detail is not guaranteed":

The Particulars show that:

The Theatre, designed from Plans prepared by Messrs Hope & Maxwell, Newcastle-on-Tyne, the well-known Theatrical Architects, was erected in 1903, and is a Building with a commanding appearance.  It is well built, and has a frontage to Linthorpe Road of 100 feet and to Southfield Road of 152 feet 6 inches, and an area of 1,750 square yards or thereabouts.  The premises are built with Accrington bricks and artificial stone dressing, and are in a thorough state of repair.

The position is a most central one, on a splendid site in two of the principal thoroughfares of Middlesbrough, and a population of about 250,000 is resident within a radius of 4 miles, with an excellent tram and train service to all parts.

It had a holding capacity of 3,300 persons, with 10 Private Boxes, Orchestra Stalls, Dress Circle, Upper Circle, Pit Stalls, Pit, Amphitheatre, Gallery and Standing Room.  There were two Foyers "of ample dimensions" with "hand-painted and elaborately decorated ceilings and mosaic pavements".  There were six Cloak Rooms and four Saloon Bars.  It was lit throughout by Electricity, and had Gas laid on in case of emergency. 

There is a Glass Verandah covering the Entrances and Exits and Shops on the Linthorpe Road side, which is continued to the Grand Entrance in Southfield Road, forming an excellent protection in wet weather to those waiting admittance.

The Chocolate Machines annexed to the seats, and their contents, are not the property of the Vendor, and are not included in the Sale; these Machines are the property of the Theatres' Sweetmeat Automatic Co., Ltd ...

Sadly, this grand building was being sold by the Receiver appointed by the Debenture Holders of the Middlesbrough Grand Opera House Company Ltd.