JAMES FENWICK - STATION MASTER

James Fenwick was the son of Robert and Elizabeth Fenwick who lived at Greystead in remote, rural Northumberland. Greystead was located almost exactly half way between the villages of Bellingham and Falstone in what became part of the North British Railway territory south of the Scottish Border. (The Morpeth Herald newspaper later described James’s place of birth, in his obituary notice, as ‘Dalby Castle Mill’ near Bellingham; presumably this is near to Greystead).

Robert and Elizabeth had five children of whom James was the second-eldest, being born in about 1848. His elder brother was John, born in about 1847 according to the 1851 census records. (This elder brother may have died in childhood as by 1861 James is shown as having a brother named John, some three years younger than he was; alternatively there may have been a transcription error in the census as this ‘younger’ John appeared before James in the list of children despite, apparently, being younger!) James was followed by a sister Elizabeth, born just a year later, Robert, born in 1854 and Thomas, who was born in 1859. Father Robert was listed as being employed as a Mail Coachman in 1851. He was to die in the latter half of 1861 when James was just thirteen. By this time the family had moved to a dwelling in Bellingham where father Robert was an agricultural labourer. By this time, of course,