I heard the story about Queen Victoria having the train curtains closed as
referring to not wanting to see the Black Country. This gives it the
characteristics of a folk tale that people adapt to their own locality
Peter King
49, Stourbridge Road,
Hagley,
Stourbridge
West Midlands
DY9 0QS
01562-720368
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-----Original Message-----
From: From: Local-History list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Roger Fern
Sent: 04 May 2008 22:53
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Urban legends
A little while ago, talking about the Nore Gun, Frank Sharman told us
about his grandfather, and the chap setting the time on the parish
church clock. He said "I now find that this story is told in many other
places". Another term for this phenomenon might be "urban legends".
There are 2 that I know of in (and around) Newcastle:
1. A maker of some sort (an artist or a builder) makes/creates/builds
something, and realises -- too late -- that something in the design is
"wrong" in some way. Mortified, he commits suicide. This used to be
told about a barley-sugar (twisted) chimney on a rope-works (now all
demolished) in City Road, Newcastle. The builder "realised" that the
thread of the barley-sugar twist was "the wrong way round". It is also
told about the equestrian statue of the Marquis of Londonderry in Durham
Market Place -- the artist "realised" that the horse didn't have a
tongue. The late Dr Gibby of Durham looked carefully, using opera
glasses, and could definitely see a tongue, which was only just visible
because the horse (not surprisingly) had a bit in its mouth. He also
found that the artist didn't die till some years later. Does this story
occur anywhere else?
2. A more specific one, about Queen Victoria. She is alleged to have
disliked Newcastle, and ordered that the blinds on the Royal train were
to be pulled down whenever she passed through, because she didn't want
to see it. I have seen this story told about Dudley (West Midlands).
Is it told about anywhere else? Did she hate lots of towns? Or is it
an urban legend? Three further comments:
(a) the story about N'cle is that there was a banquet for her when she
opened the Central Station (1849), and someone sent the bill to
Buckingham Palace (there *may* have been a row over payment for the
banquet, but if there was it was probably between the Corporation and
the railway company).
(b) She passed through N'cle in 1854, just after the Great Fire, which
devastated a lot of the riverside area, on both the Ncle & Gateshead
banks. She asked for the train to be stopped specially on the High
Level Bridge, so that she could view the devastation. So, on that
occasion at least, she DID look at Ncle. (She also sent £100 to the
relief fund.)
(c) A very obvious thought has passed through my head while typing all
this to bother you with: she may have had the blinds pulled down
whenever going through ANY built-up area, simply for common or garden
privacy -- no question of "we are not amused".
Thanks for reading this far.
Roger Fern.
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Roger Fern, Newcastle upon Tyne.
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