The
Reverend John Hodgson
(1779 - 1845)
On a supposed Roman site, the Jarrow
Church, dedicated in 685 by Egfrid, was occupied by Bede in the
7th c and St. Cuthbert in the llth. In the intervening years, it
was invaded twice by the Danes, razed by the Conqueror, rebuilt
but reduced to a cell of Durham cathedral, then suffered 500 years
of Norse turbulence. The final humiliation was dissolution and division
of its lands in 1540. Rebuilt in 1783 on public subscription, the
Rev. John Hodgson, noted historian, became minister there in 1808.
The Rev. John Hodgson was born on the
4th November 1779. After five years as a schoolmaster, in 1806,
he was appointed Curate of the then growing Parish of Gateshead,
and two years later he was preferred by Cuthbert Ellison of Hebburn
Hall, then Patron, to the Incumbency of Jarrow and Heworth, from
1808 to 1823. Hodgson
was Vicar of Jarrow, Kirkwhelpington and Hartburn. During
this period he compiled the volumes on Northumberland and Westmoreland
for the "Beauties of England and Wales" series.
Hodgson
was at Jarrow in 1812 when a disastrous underground explosion killed
92 men and boys in Felling Colliery, within Jarrow's Parochial Chapelry
of Heworth. Many of the victims he knew personally. Hodgson wrote
a book giving full details and pushed to further improvements for
miners' safety. The outcome of this disaster,
through his extraordinary exertions, was not only the set up of a
relief fund, but the formation of the Society for the Prevention of
Accidents in Coal Mines. His greatest contribution to the welfare
of miners, for which he is remembered, was his work with Sir Humphrey
Davey. The outcome of their joint efforts resulted in the perfection
of the "Davy Safety Lamp."
Hodgson was one of the founders of the
"Lit. & Phil." Newcastle, and of the "Society of
Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne" (1813), of which he was a
co-secretary. He contributed many valuable papers to the volumes of
"Archaeologia AEliana" - the annual Volume published by
the Society and he was for many years a regular contributor to the
"Gentlemen's Magazine."
In 1823 he left Jarrow & Heworth
for Kirkwhelpington on the banks of the Wansbeck, and in 1834 he was
appointed to the benefice of Hartburn, staying there for the remainder
of his life. In 1829 Mr. Hodgson announced his
intention to enter upon what was to be an outstanding contribution
to the North of England annals, "The History of Northumberland",
a monumental work upon which he was engaged until his death.
He was the first to make a serious attempt at producing a history
of Northumberland, essentially a record of land ownership in each
parish, with an account of the parish churches and of the clergy.
Hodgson's was the first history of any part of Northumberland to include
printed pedigrees. It was published in parts from 1827 to 1840 but,
unfortunately, Hodgson died before completing the project.
The Rev. John Hodgson died on June 12th,
1845, aged 65, and was buried at Hatburn Church, thus ended the life
of a saintly man spent in true Christian faith, humility and usefulness.
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