Page:History and characteristics of Bishop Auckland.djvu/129

102 mSTOBT OF BISHOP AtTOKLAKD. paper and pencil, but the govemorB finding that whenever this indulgence was extended to him, he invariably occupied his time in drawing sketches of York Minster, and that his doing so threw ^iTn into a state of very considerable excitement, they prohibited his being supplied with those articles in future, of which prohibition he frequently and bitterly complained At the time of his death, he was between fifty and sixty years of aga His brother, William Martin, claimed to be the original inventor of the safety lamp. He, also, made various models of bridges, railways, &C., and he is also said to have been the first projector of the High Level Bridge over the l^ne at Newcastla On the 31st of May, 1814, the Society of Arts presented a silver medal and ten guineas to him for his invention of a spring weighing machina In the year 1821, he published "A New System of Philosophy, on the Principle of Perpetual Motion.'* He was, also, an engraver and poet He repeatedly lectured in Newcastle, and the neighbouring towns and villages, on his own system of Natural Philosophy. William died in London, on February 8th, 1849, at the residence of his brother, John Martin, RA, the celebrated painter who gained the prize of £200, at the British Institution, for his picture of " Belshazzar's Feast" He also received 2,000 guineas for his illustrations of "Milton. John died at Douglass, Isle of Man, January 17th, 1854, at the age of sixty-five. His three great pictures, ("The Last Judgment," "The Great Day of His Wrath," and " The Plains of Heaven,") all of which he lefb partially unfinished at his death, have been fi-equently exhibited in the North of England. Continuing our extracts from the Register for Burials, we find : — 1825. — March 1. — Oraoe Cummin, widow, B. Aukland, 100. 1828. — ^December 15. — John Ross, stranger, B. Aukland, comedian, 67. December 18. — ^Anna Maria Kelly, dau. of John Kelly, B. Aukland, comedian, infant December 31. — Parkinson Wouldhave, a Woolcomber, R Aukland, 102. 1827. — July 6. — John Bacon, Incumbent of this Parish, Bp. Aukland, 73. November 28. — Maria Margaret Spencer, Hemlington, 52. 1828.— May 2.— John Clay, B. Auckland, 100. 1832.— November 12.— Robert Moor, Auckland, 97. 1837.— Feby. 10.— Martha Dobson, Bp. Auckland, 49. The last-named entry records the death of one who took a deep interest in the instruction of the yoong. Mr& Dobson was the principal of a boarding school in Bishop Auckland, and amongst the ladies educated by her was Lady Armstrong, wife of Sir William Armstrong, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and daughter of the late Mr. Ramshaw, of this town. Shortly after her death, her pupils placed a mural monument in the interior of the Church of St Andrew to her memory, which bears the following beautiAil and touching inscription : — Mabtha, wife of WuiLIAM Dobson, of this Pariflh, departed this life, lOth February, 1837, aged 49 years. Poeseanng a cultivated mind, a vigorous understanding, and a heart richly fraught with evangelical piety, she applied herself most successfully to the education of youth, and the promotion of such objects as were calculated to advance the temporal and eternal interests of mankind, lliough suffering for thirty years under a trying disease, which ultimately brought her to the tomb, she maintained great cheerfulness of temper, and energy of character ; and exhibited, in an eminent degree, the work of faith, the labour of love, and the patience of hope. Some of her pupils, grateful for the instructions of their preceptress, have erected this monument to her memory. The following are also further extracts from the Register for Burials : — 1838.— October 22.— Margaret Tumbull, Hunwick, 100. October 23.— John Wright, Shildon, 105. 1844. — January 31. — James Allan, Bp. Auckland, 49. The above entry is the last record of one who also deserves a passing notice in the annals of our town. James Allan did more, perhaps, than any other person to cultivate a taste for music, both in the town of Bishop Auckland and its neighbourhood. He was the founder and teacher of many local bands, including those of Auckland, Aycliff, Evenwood, West Auckland, and Wolsingham. He was a very proficient violinist, and played at many of the concerts given in the Digitized by Google