John Besford (1859)
John was born on 19th September 1859 at Cowpen Lane, Blyth. He only lived for 15 days.
Cowpen
Cowpen lies on the southern bank of the River Blyth in Northumberland, and is now part of the town of Blyth. The Cowpen North and South pits were opened at the end of the eighteenth century. The name comes from Old Norse and is pronounced coop’n.
See the full article about Cowpen Square.
John Besford (1868–1869)
John was born on 31st May 1868 at Cowpen Colliery, Blyth. He died on 25th July 1869, just short of 14 months old.
Robert Besford (1856)
Robert Besford was born on 14th November 1856 at “Mill, Cowpen”. He died when he was three weeks old.
Cowpen Square
The houses of Cowpen Square were built for the miners of the Cowpen pits: one narrow room and a ladder to the garret, with the inner square as their shared social space.
Family of John Besford (1826–1914) and Margaret Besford (née Patterson)
John Besford and Margaret Patterson had eight children, born around Cowpen and Blyth from 1851. Their son Robert lived just 22 days.