Marshall Cresswell (1833-1889) was a

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 ...

born miner, poet and songwriter. His experiences to and from his job in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

were serialised later in the local newspaper.

Early life

Marshall Cresswell was born on 18 January 1833 in the colliery village of Fawdon Square (now combined with other villages and suburbs to form

Fawdon Fawdon is an electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is also close to the A1 western bypass. The population of the ward is 10,890, reducing to 10,090 at the 2011 Census, 5.7% of the total population of Newcastle upon Tyne. Car ownership in ...

), the son of Thomas Cresswell and his wife Jane. After a short time at school, he left at the age of 9 and went "down the pit" like a great many at this age. After serving his apprenticeship, he became a sinker. He was working on the sinking of a new shaft for a colliery near Sherburn Station in December 1856 when he was informed that the eminent local engineer William Coulson was seeking three experienced men to go out to

as "sinkers". Marshall Cresswell applied and was awarded one of the positions, all of which led to a period of what could be called "Adventure and excitement". He set sail bound for

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

on the island of

from Gravesend via

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

in February 1857 on the Gwalior and immediately became involved in long sea journeys, shipwrecks, storms, hostile natives, excessive heat, and all that goes with these. It would be 20 September 1859 when he arrived back on the Tyne The story of his adventure, "From Dudley Colliery to Borneo - by Marshall Creswell", was later serialised in the Newcastle Courant, running from 18 January to 12 April 1878 – Annotated versions: or

Later life

On his return to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, Marshall Cresswell commenced work again in the

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publishe ...

pit at Dudley. He married Esther Brown in 1860, and they had six sons and a daughter. He wrote numerous songs and recitation, many published by John W Chater, winning a gold medal with "Morpeth Lodgings" in one competition. In 1876, Chater published a 36-page book entitled Local and other Songs and Recitations, which was a collection of Marshall Cresswell's songs with a short autobiographical preface. A second edition of 143 pages was published in 1883, 38 of which were Dudley Colliery to Borneo. He died on 31 July 1889, and was buried at

Cramlington Cramlington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, 6 miles (9 kilometres) north of Newcastle upon Tyne, and 10 miles (16 kilometres) north of its city centre. The name suggests a probable founding by the Danes or Anglo-Saxons. T ...

. Obituaries appeared in the Newcastle Daily Journal of 2 August and the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle of 3 August.

Notes

The above details are from his own autobiography, newspaper cuttings, and details found in Thomas Allan’s Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings and Farne archives, all of which appear to be the main source of information.

Works

These include (in alphabetical order) the following list (which also includes a very brief resumé of each): *

Annitsford Annitsford is a village located in North Tyneside, on the border between Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. The main conurbation of the village falls under the jurisdiction of the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear. History The name of ...

bogle - (The) - a fact – A pitman's encounter with a ghost (who turns out to be a drunken woman * Awd man's petition fra the workhoose te Tommy Burt – A man's appeal to his M.P. after being separated from his wife and placed in a workhouse * Banks of the Wear - (The) – Song extolling the River Wear * Bashful sweet heart - (The) – Song about courtship * Bella Walker's advice tiv hor dowtor – Mother advises unmarried daughter on the choice of a husband * Collier's doom - (The) – Song relating an accident at Dudley Colliery on 31 December 1879 * "Creemayshon" – Protest song about the increasing use of cremation * Dudley pet - (The), sung to the tune of "X. Y. Z. or The Pawnshop Bleezin'" - A story of a mis-placed bet * "Dudley Station" – Comic song about Dudley Station being called "Annitsford" by railway when

considered an inferior place at the time * Fall at Dudley - (The) - song written 21 March 1877 about the re-organisation of Dudley Colliery * For Ever at Rest, sung to the tune of " The Cliffs of Old Tynemouth" - Song of the loss of a mother * Frustrated feast - (The) - Song telling how a robbery ruined a feast prepared for a 50th birthday * Good Templar's happy home - (The) - A temperance song * Grainger Monnymint - (The), sung to the tune of "Wundorful Tallygrip" * Happy Pair O' Blyth - (The) - Song in which a husband, unable to settle the bairn, must go to the religious meeting, which his wife is attending * Hidden whisky bottle - (The) - Husband cures his wife's secret drinking by replacing the whisky in the bottle * Invisible ghost - (The) - A pitman working a seam, meets a ghost (it appears that naked lights were still in use c1883) * Joe's last voyage to sea - A sailor and his friend, return, drunk, to the ship to sleep it off and awake to find they are at sea * Lad that wants a Wife - (The) - a checklist of desired characteristics for his future wife. * Lass of

- (The) - A love song * Laws, Gledson, an' Mycroft, sung to the tune of "The Wonderful Talleygraf" - Song about a bowls match on Newcastle Town Moor * Midneet adventor - (A) - Three men attempt to steal potatoes but the plan misfires * Modest appeal - (A) - finding a suitable partner *

Morpeth Morpeth may refer to: *Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia ** Electoral district of Morpeth, a former electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in New South Wales * Morpeth, Ontario, Canada * Morpeth, Northumberland, England, UK ** Morpeth (UK ...

Bankwet - (The), sung to the tune of "The wonderful Telegraph" *

Lodgings, sung to the tune of "Wait for the waggon" – Miner from Dudley gets drunk in

Seaton Burn Seaton Burn is a village in Tyne and Wear, England to the north of Newcastle upon Tyne, and adjacent to Wideopen which is just south of it. The A1 used to pass through the village but now bypasses the village just to the west, where it meets the ...

and jailed at

losing two weeks' wages * Mother winnet cum h'yem, sung to the tune of "Kathleen Mavourneen" – Song about a reformed wife * Nanny Moore; a parody – Song about a drunken woman wheeled home in a barrow and pleased 'Aw've oney spent a croon' * Naughty workhouse lad - (The) - Song about a boy who plays a trick on his teacher by hiding in a coffin * Neet sk'yul - (The), sung to the tune of "X. Y. Z. or The Pawnshop Bleezin'" – Two drunken pitmen caught playing pitch and toss in the dark, are sent to

Gaol * New tramway car - (The) - a tale of a trip to

to see the new horse-drawn

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s *

North Durham North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

election - (The) - Poem in support of a local M.P. Sir George Elliot * Pea-puddin' hot, sung to the tune of "Jennywine Yest" - Comic song about two drunken local lads eating peas pudding while sitting at the roadside * Peter's pay, or the benefit of a bargain - A pitman gives his wife "dud" coins in his wages as a joke * Pitman meedyum - (The), sung to the tune of "Tramp, Tramp" - Song about a medium who can contact people from the past * Pitman's advice tiv his son - (A) - A collection of suggestions and warnings about life and marriage * Pitman's visit te

- (A) - Part of his journey to

* Poor convict lad - (The) - song about the repercussions of a convict's crimes on his family * Resurrection men - (The) - A fact - Two pitmen dig up the carcass of a cow to sell to a rag and bone man * Robert Gledson's pedigree - Song about a successful athlete * Strange bed - (A) - A drunken man sleep's an uncomfortable night in the gutter * Summer's cleanin' - (The) - The disruption caused by spring cleaning * Telegraphic news - Song about a gardener who set a trap for thieves and only catches cats at play * That day hes noo g'yen by, sung to the tune of "The Miller O' the Dee" - Song about the changes in the mining industry * Time muthor lay bad i' bed - (The) - We find out the value of the house wife after she has been taken ill * Tom Linkin's box, sung to the tune of "Tinkers wedding" - Song about a driller at Dudley Colliery, and his equipment * Unk'yuked Tripe - (The) - A husband return home drunk and tries to eat a sock which has fallen on the food * Whisky het - Two men, both drunk and staying over at a friend's house, mistake a bottle of washing water for whisky * Willow Tree - (The) – Song on a famous Dudley tree * Wonderful change at Dudley - (The) – A song detailing changes in the mining industry to a fairer system known as ' Billy Fairplay'

References

External links