Grandma Baggott’s Journal – Part 1: A Victorian Childhood in Newcastle upon Tyne
- Deborah Ismay
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
As family historians, one of the most rewarding parts of our work is uncovering not just names and dates, but the voices and experiences of those who came before us.
Recently, we worked with two sisters in the United States whose family story began here in the North East of England. Their grandparents 'Grandpa and Grandma Baggott' emigrated from Newcastle upon Tyne in 1921, taking their nine surviving children with them to begin a new life across the Atlantic.
Grandma Baggott wrote a remarkable journal in the 1950s. Within its pages, she recorded vivid memories of her Victorian childhood and of raising a family in Newcastle upon Tyne — a rare, first-hand glimpse into everyday life more than a century ago.
In this first instalment, we explore her childhood recollections. A second part will follow, focusing on her life as a wife and mother of eleven in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1900s.
Grandma Baggott began life as Mary Ann 'Polly' Wells. She was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1877, the youngest daughter of a tailor, Thomas Wells (1832–1895), and his wife, Martha Simpson (Pace) Wells (1837–1904). Polly was one of fourteen siblings — a large, bustling household by any standard.
Childhood Home
Polly grew up in No. 33 Sunderland Street in the Westgate area of Newcastle’s city centre, then home mainly to tradesmen and merchant families.
The house had two storeys, with bedrooms upstairs. On the ground floor was a front parlour — seldom used — and a back parlour, where her father and older siblings would gather in the evenings. A large front kitchen held a huge open fireplace with a steel fender, while a smaller back kitchen was used for laundry
A photograph of No. 26 Sunderland Street, taken around 1935 (opposite), gives us a sense of what Polly’s home must have looked like.
Compared with the crowded courts in other parts of the city centre, it seems a step up.
Polly remembered the street as
“cobblestone and very quiet,” with her house fronted by “a rod iron railing all around it, a flagged path of stone led to the house, big stone steps to the front door. A brass knocker, brass letter box and brass door handles and they were polished every morning and the stone steps brushed and washed.”
Polly’s childhood home has long since disappeared. In the 1930s the neighbourhood was swept up in the city’s slum-clearance programme, when streets of old terraced housing were condemned under what was known as Blandford Street Clearance Order No. 1. This was part of a national drive, following the Housing Act of 1930, which called on local councils to pull down homes deemed unhealthy or unsafe and to move families into new housing elsewhere.
Childhood Entertainment
Entertainment was simple but memorable. Polly recalled the sights and sounds that brightened Newcastle’s streets at the weekend:
“Saturday was a good day. At twelve o’clock the Punch & Judy Show came and took its stand in one of the streets about ten minutes away. It was a square where a monument of George Stephenson was erected. What fun we had. The man had one show, then came round with the hat for money, of course we rarely had any, but we stayed for two shows. Mother always knew where we were and we were ready for a nice slice of bread and jam when we got back.”
“The German Band came into the street to play. Then the organ grinder with his organ on his back and the monkey with his little red cap which he would take off and bow when anyone gave him a penny. The big Hurdy Gurdy came also. We kiddies used to run round and round and Maggie Murphy’s Home, East Side West Side was played.”
Winter evenings were full of homemade fun:
“On fun winter nights, we toasted chestnuts and roasted apples and played shows. We had a collection of old dress clothes and old slippers. We always had another one or two boys and girls in from the neighbourhood. We acted all sort of plays. We had an old long fur coat with a hood, which always served for the Queen’s robe. We hardly spent a penny yet we had fun".
Seaside Holidays at Cullercoats
Every summer, Polly and her two youngest brothers spent several weeks at the coast, in the care of an older sister.
“I loved summer days. We spent a few weeks down at the seaside. We were sent out every morning to play on the sands. When noontime came she [her sister] used to come to the cliff top and call us for dinner. We knew all the fisherman and watched them go out and come in, mend their nets, and also knew their wives. We knew all the caves and hiding places.”
Sea bathing, however, was not one of her favourite pastimes:
“I did not like sea bathing but whether I liked it or not a woman was hired to see we got a good plunge every morning. I can see her even now standing at the bathing machine waiting for us. We used to dress and undress in the bathing machine. The bathing suits were of blue flannel, which just itched you dreadfully.”
Ice-Skating in Leazes Park
Leazes park was the first public park in Newcastle. It opened in 1873 following a petition by 3,000 working men to gain ‘ready access to some open ground for the purpose of health and recreation’.
Winters in Newcastle upon Tyne were far colder at this time — the tail end of the so-called Little Ice Age, and the lake in Leazes Park would freeze solid, becoming a winter playground:
“We used to go when I was a girl to skate on the Park Lake and the fun we had. One of the sheds was made into a cocoa room and all they sold was hot cocoa and a roll. I liked the evening when they lit the torches around the lake or a bonfire and skated until the park bell rang for closing time.”
Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, 1887
Polly also remembered celebrating Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee at Exhibition Park in June 1887. The event attracted over two million visitors:
“The children had holiday from school when we had the procession and we had the Royal Jubilee Exhibition in the park on the North Road. It was a great year for our city and the school boys and girls received Jubilee mugs and plates”
Looking Back
These are just a few extracts from Polly's journal, but in them we glimpse a Newcastle of cobbled streets, frozen lakes, and simple pleasures — a world that has all but vanished. Her words bring to life the warmth, discipline, and resourcefulness of a Victorian childhood.
As you read her memories of “simpler times,” we hope they spark reflections on your own family stories — and perhaps inspire you to explore the lives that shaped the generations before you.
Next time: we’ll follow Polly into her adult life in Newcastle — from newlywed to mother of eleven — and discover what life was like for a working-class family in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1900s.
[Family photograph and extracts from Grandma Baggott’s 'Journal of Memories' are reproduced here courtesy of her granddaughters Karen and Kristen Baggott, USA]
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