Famous Northumbrians Trivia Quiz

Answer: St Cuthbert

St Cuthbert, who lived between 634 and 687, was born in Dunbar, Scotland. One night he had a vision of Saint Aidan and so decided to go and join a monastery. He became the prior of Melrose in 664 but, following the Synod of Whitby, was sent to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in Northumbria. He was known as a man with gifts of healing and insight.

In 676 he adopted the solitary life of a hermit and lived in a cave on one of the Farne Islands. He had a special law passed to protect the seabirds and eider ducks (now known as Cuddy's ducks after Cuthbert) which nested there.

In 684 Cuthbert was elected bishop of Lindisfarne so returned to the mainland. However after Christmas of 686 he went back to his cave on Inner Farne where he eventually died. He was buried on Lindisfarne but his remains were later removed to Durham cathedral.

Thanks to Wikipedia for biographical information.

Saints Aidan, Bede and Oswald also have association with the Northumbria region.

Answer: Bobby Charlton

Bobby Charlton (b. 11 Oct 1937) and his older brother Jackie (b. 8 May 1935) came from the coal mining "village" of Ashington in south east Northumberland. They were both part of the historic 1966 England team. Bobby was named European footballer of the year after England won the World Cup that year.

Bobby played for Manchester United for almost his entire career having signed with them at the tender age of 15. At the time of his retirement in 1970 he was England's most capped player having played 106 times for his country. He received a knighthood in 1994.

Thanks to Wikipedia for facts and figures.

The men mentioned in the wrong answers were also members of the 1966 winning squad but none of them came from Northumberland.

Answer: Rescuing shipwrecked sailors

Born in Bamburgh on the Northumberland coast in 1815, Grace Darling spent her youth in the lighthouses at Brownsman and Longstone where her father was the keeper.

In the early hours of 7 Sep 1838, the wreck of the SS Forfarshire was spotted from Longstone lighthouse. Although it had been determined that the sea was too rough for the regular lifeboat to attempt a rescue from Seahouses, Grace and her father William took out their rowing boat to try to rescue the shipwrecked sailors. All of them were safely brought to shore.

Sadly Grace died of TB only four years later aged 26 and is buried in St Aidan's churchyard in Bamburgh. If you'd like to know more about her story you can visit the RNLI Grace Darling museum in Bamburgh.

Thanks to Wikipedia for facts and figures.

Answer: Engineering

Armstrong, who was born in Newcastle in 1810, did in fact work as a solicitor for 11 years after he left school (at the wish of his father) but used his spare time to study engineering.

He developed a piston engine and in 1846 was recognised by, and became a fellow of, the Royal Society. He started to manufacture hydraulic cranes for use on the quayside and in 1847 founded Armstrong & Co for the manufacture of such hydraulic equipment. During the Crimean war he started a second company to build the mobile field gun that he had designed. In 1864 he merged these two companies. Twenty years later in 1884 his first shipyard opened.

From 1863 though, he began to be less involved in his companies and bought some land near Rothbury in Northumberland, which he had often visited as a child. He liked the area and built Cragside house on his land.

The grounds of the house contain five artificial lakes which were used for hydro-electric power and, in fact, Cragside was the first house in the world to be lit by means of hydro-electricity. Cragside is now owned by the National Trust and makes a great day out if you're in the area. The house and grounds are beautiful and the whole engineering aspect and the way that Armstrong created machines and gadgets to help with daily life, make it a very interesting visit.

In 1887 William George was made Baron Armstrong. Seven years later in 1894 he purchased Bamburgh Castle and set about restoring it. The castle is still owned by the Armstrong family.

Additional information by courtesy of Wikipedia.

Answer: Cricket

Another pair of sporting brothers from Ashington, Stephen Harmison and his younger brother, Ben, both played for Durham County Cricket Club. As a teenager Stephen did also play football for Ashington FC before deciding to concentrate on cricket.

Stephen Harmison was first selected for the England squad in May 2000 and was a test match fast bowler. In 2005 he was part of the successful team in the Ashes Test series against Australia. As a result of this he was awarded the MBE and was named as one of five cricketers of the year in "Wisden's Cricketers' Almanack" that year.

Thanks to Wikipedia for facts and figures.

Answer: Harry Hotspur

Sir Henry Percy, who was born in the 1360s, was the son of the First Earl of Northumberland. Early on in life he acquired a reputation as a warrior which is presumably where his nickname came from! He fought both the Scots and the French and was captured by the Scots at the Battle of Otterburn. He was later ransomed.

He joined his father to help depose Richard II in favour of Henry of Bolingbroke, who was to become Henry IV. In 1403, he and his uncle then led a rebellion against Henry IV! They were defeated and Harry Hotspur was killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury.

Facts and figures from Wikipedia.

Henry VIII was of course a king (famed for his six wives), Henry Purcell was a composer and Harry Ramsden was the founder of a chain of fish and chip restaurants.

Answer: The Royal Navy

Cuthbert, 1st Baron Collingwood, was born in Newcastle in 1748 and first went to sea, aged 11, under the command of his cousin on HMS Shannon. Nearly twenty years later, in 1777, he first met Nelson and succeeded him as commander of HMS Badger.

Collingwood served in the West Indies and off the Spanish coast and, after being made a rear admiral in 1799, he spent time in the Mediterranean. He took part in the Battle of Trafalgar and after Nelson's death there he assumed supreme command.

When he was not at sea, Collingwood spent his time at Collingwood House in Oldgate, Morpeth (from 1791 - 1810). The house, still named Collingwood House, is close to the River Wansbeck, which must have appealed to a man of the sea.

Collingwood died of cancer and is buried side-by-side with Nelson in St Paul's Cathedral, London.

Extra information from Wikipedia.

Answer: Translate the Bible into Chinese

Robert Morrison was born on 5 January 1782 to Scottish Presbyterian parents who were living in Bullers Green, Morpeth. His parents were devout Christians and brought him up with a great love for, and knowledge of, the Bible. By the age of 19, he knew that he wanted to become a missionary so started studying Greek, Latin and Hebrew as well as systematic theology under a Newcastle minister. He later trained as a Congregational minister and then in 1804 joined the London Missionary Society. Whilst there it was decided that he would go to serve in China.

Morrison shared lodgings in London with a young Chinese man, who began to teach him the language. In 1807 Morrison arrived in Macau and from there went to Guangzhou (Canton). His years in China were fraught with all kinds of difficulties such as sickness, hostility and poverty but he worked hard at mastering the language and produced a Chinese grammar and dictionary, as well as translating the Bible.

In 1817, the University of Glasgow made him a Doctor of Divinity and, when he made a visit to England in 1824, he was made a fellow of the Royal Society. He returned to China in 1826 with his second wife and children and worked there until his death in 1834. He is buried in the private Protestant Cemetery in Macau.

Thanks to Wikipedia for facts concerning Robert Morrison's life.

I have no idea if anyone knows who bought the first ticket for the Titanic or who rode the first pennyfarthing in Newcastle! The first observed, unassisted channel swimmer though was Captain Matthew Webb in August 1875 but he wasn't a Northumbrian, he was a Shropshire lad.

Answer: Emily Wilding Davison

On 4 June 1913, an event happened that brought shock to a day at the races. Suffragette Emily Wilding Davison stepped out in front of the king's horse at the Epsom Derby. She was trampled and knocked unconscious and died four days later due to a fractured skull.

Emily was born in Blackheath, London on 11 Oct 1872. She studied English language and literature at St Hugh's College, Oxford and obtained a first class honours degree, although at that time women weren't admitted to degrees at Oxford. She went on to become a teacher.

In 1906, she joined the WSPU and became involved in militant suffragette activity including going on hunger strike while she was in Strangeways prison. On 13 July 1911, she hid in a cupboard in the Palace of Westminster so that she could legitimately claim the House of Commons as her place of residence. That year she also planted a bomb at the house of David Lloyd George (who was at that time the Chancellor of the Exchequer) causing severe damage.

Following her death, Emily was buried in Morpeth, as she and her mother had lived in nearby Longhorsley. Many suffragettes and supporters came from all over the country to her funeral.

Every year on International Women's Day a service is held in St Mary's church and Emily Wilding Davison is remembered.

Additional information from Wikipedia.

The wrong answers were all well known suffragettes as well, Christabel Pankhurst being the daughter of WSPU leader Emmeline Pankhurst.

Answer: Jackie Milburn

"Wor Jackie" (as Jackie Milburn is known) sadly died of lung cancer in 1988. That year a new stand at St James' Park was named after him and two statues of him were commissioned. One statue can be found at St James' Park and the other one can be visited as you shop on Ashington High Street.

Jackie Milburn was born into a footballing family on 11 May 1924 and was related to Jackie and Bobby Charlton. Working as a fitter (repairing heavy machinery) he found himself in a reserved occupation during WW2 and so was able to sign with Newcastle United in 1943. Apparently he arrived at St James' Park with borrowed boots!

He spent his career playing mainly for NUFC and also made 13 appearances for England. On retiring he briefly managed Ipswich Town and then returned to Tyneside as a sports' reporter for "The News of the World". He died aged 64 in his hometown of Ashington.

Thanks to Wikipedia for additional facts and figures.

Jackie Charlton was also from Ashington (as mentioned) but Bobby Robson was a "southerner" coming from County Durham. Alan Shearer is a Newcastle lad but only has the honour of a bar at St James' Park named after him and not a stand!