The St John Ambulance Association has always had a big presence in our area. Consett Iron Company had its own members of the St John Ambulance Association primarily founded and trained by Dr George Renton who had founded the CIC Infirmary in 1878. First mention of the members of the Association can be found as early as the mid 1880's.

A while a go I started putting together a number of small articles I had found in the old newspapers relating to the area. Most are on the more macabre side or I just found strangely interesting. The following is a brief account of one such story I found recounted in a number of papers and other local documents as well as some further research.

Like many rural places Durham and Northumberland have there myths and legends, none more so than the tales of the mischievous Bogles. Creatures of folklore who, either ghost or goblin sprite, would pray upon any poor unsuspecting person who crossed their paths. The most famous of these for us in this area would be that of the Hedley Kow.

I was very lucky a few years ago to connect to a cousin of my grandfather’s family and they gifted me with a veritable treasure of family photos.

Crook Hall is a truly ancient estate having even been mentioned in the Boldon Book in 1183 in which the entry simply states “Cruketon pays four marks.” . The name of the landowner was not mentioned, but it was known at this time to belong to the ancient line of the De la Ley family who were the Lords of Witton.