Crawcrook Branch of the West Wylam and Prudhoe Co-operative Stores. The fire of 27th October 1904. James Patterson, manager of the drapery department, 26 years of age, residing at 17 Wesley Street, Prudhoe, was charged with setting fire to the store, estimated cost of damage was approximately £8,000. The large block comprising of the drapery, butchering and grocery departments were completely burnt out. The only premises saved were the those divided from the main block by Chamberlain Street, and comprising of the greengrocery and shoemaking departments. Business was continued by re-arranging the departments and the use of greengrocery carts. Police Superintendant Harnby later stated that he had fully investigated the case and had no further evidence to offer against James Patterson, subsequently the accused was discharged. It seems that an earlier branch of the Co-op had been present before the 1898 branch because a quarterly report dated March 1895 said that the Crawcrook branch had been opened for nearly a whole of the quarter.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 19:32:39 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015