The Blacketts of Wylam were a branch of the

Blackett Blackett or Blacket is a surname of English derivation. People * Andrea Blackett (born 1976), Barbadian athlete * Basil Phillott Blackett (1882–1935), British civil servant and finance expert * Basil Blackett (1886–1920), British WW1 flyi ...

family of Hoppyland,

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and were related to the

Blackett baronets There have been two baronetcies created for members of the Blackett family, both in the Baronetage of England. One creation is extant as of 2013. The Blackett family can be traced back to the Blacketts/Blakheveds of Woodcroft, County Durham, some ...

. John Blackett was

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...

in 1692, He married Mary, daughter and heir of Richard Errington. Google Books John Blackett (died 1714) was the son of John (above), grandson of Christopher Blackett of Hoppyland (1612-1675) and the greatnephew of Sir William Blackett. In 1685 he acquired two farms at

Wylam Wylam is a village and civil parish in the county of Northumberland. It is located about west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is famous for the being the birthplace of George Stephenson, one of the early railway pioneers. George Stephenson's Birth ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, and the Manor estate including the mineral rights, from the exploitation of which the family was to benefit greatly. John was

in 1714. His residence was Wylam Hall. He married Elizabeth, daughter of John Bacon. John Blackett (1712-1769), his son, High Sheriff in 1738, sold the families Co Durham properties and established coal mining and

Wylam Colliery Wylam is a village and civil parish in the county of Northumberland. It is located about west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is famous for the being the birthplace of George Stephenson, one of the early railway pioneers. George Stephenson's Birth ...

in the township in the mid 18th century. The

waggonway Wagonways (also spelt Waggonways), also known as horse-drawn railways and horse-drawn railroad consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam-powered railways. The terms plateway, tramway, dramway ...

connecting the colliery to the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wate ...

Lemington Lemington is an area and electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England. History Lemington has a strong industrial history. It is famous for its brick glassworks cone, built in 1787. The River Tyne used to pass very close to Lem ...

was built in 1748 and the colliery continued to flourish until about 1870. He married twice: firstly Dorothy, daughter of Edward Grey, and secondly Elizabeth Crosbie. He was succeeded by another John. The family were keenly involved in the development of steam power for the improvement of coal transportation.

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...

was born in Wylam in 1781.

William Hedley William Hedley (13 July 1779 – 9 January 1843) was born in Newburn, near Newcastle upon Tyne. He was one of the leading industrial engineers of the early 19th century, and was instrumental in several major innovations in early rail transpor ...

Timothy Hackworth Timothy Hackworth (22 December 1786 – 7 July 1850) was an English steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Youth and early work ...

and Jonathan Forster all worked at Wylam Colliery for

Christopher Blackett Christopher Blackett (1751 – 25 January 1829) owned the Northumberland colliery at Wylam that built ''Puffing Billy'', the first commercial adhesion steam locomotive. He was also the founding owner of ''The Globe'' newspaper in 1803. Lif ...

(1751-1829), and there produced the famous early steam locomotives ''Puffing Billy'' (1813-1814) and ''

Wylam Dilly ''Wylam Dilly'' is the second oldest surviving rail transport, railway locomotive in the world; it was built circa 1815 by William Hedley and Timothy Hackworth for Christopher Blackett, the owner of Wylam colliery, west of Newcastle upon Tyne ...

'' (1815)

References

''History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland'' (1835) John Burke. Vol I pp 257-9 ()

External links

The Blacketts of North East England
History of Northumberland English families

References

Further reading

External links