A century of slag and every car right up to a Jag

12:16pm Friday 25th July 2008

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Sad as it may seem, our fascination with slag and stink poles is shared by many. . . and leads us to a hoard of historical bricks and a man who has published a book about the 158 cars he has owned

GREAT excitement at the slag and stink pole desk.

Our strange historical items are being spotted all over - many thanks to everyone who has been in touch.

John Turner reports that "Yarm town centre is strewn with scoria bricks" - scoria bricks, of course, were made out of slag from the bottom of Teesside blast furnaces 100 years ago.

The yards, John reports, are paved in the distinctive double hexagon interlocking bricks and, at the side of Lloyds bank, is a stone marked "Woodward".

Joseph Woodward was the Darlington man who patented the idea of turning slag into shiny blue-grey bricks in November 1872.

He formed the Tees Scoriae Brick Company, which made most of the millions ofbricks that now line the backlanes of south Durham and the Tees Valley.

David MacIntosh - email address tosh_lord@? - says: "Sad though it is, I saw two "Woodward Patent" scoria bricks today: Alma Street, Stockton, and South Road, Norton. " Then Barry Chapman gets in touch. He's got "Woodward Patents" and all types of hexagonal interlocking shapes lining his garden in Norton.

I rush round to inspect his wondrous display of Teesside heritage, which were in place when he bought his house in the early Seventies.

"How sad am I? " I ask, carting off a few specimens.

"It's good to be interested, " he says. "Look at me. I'm 76 and on my 158th car. . . "

THAT'S 158 cars, 56 different makes which were manufactured in 11 different countries over the past 78 years at a cost of £224,575 (average: £2,842.72).

"My first car in 1953 was a 1930 BSA 10, registration number XG1718, open, four seats, four doors and front wheel drive, cost £25 including a new hood and tonneau cover, " he says in his notes about his cars. "The insurance was £10. It only needed a new head gasket at 8s 9d.

"I tried to take my driving test in the car after teaching myself, but I had to use the kerb to stop the car when I was going backwards, due to the fact that the foot brake didn't work at all in reverse. I did not pass. " Most of the cars were old bangers which he took to bits on a Sunday, like his early Austin 7s.

"My father sat in the back of the first one and asked if he was supposed to be able to put his feet on the ground - there was a slight problem with rust, " Barry, a retired civil engineer, recalls.

"This wasn't as bad as a 1937 Morris 10 that had a cracked chassis. Every time I made a left turn, the car straightened itself with an almighty crack.

" He says he made the "supreme sacrifice" and sold one of his Austins for £25 to buy an engagement ring for his longsuffering wife, Noreen.

Not that he always put the cars back together properly. "One day when Noreen was driving back from the nursery in an early lowheadlight Morris Minor, a rear wheel came off and overtook the car. I had forgotten to tighten up the wheel nuts. I was not very popular. " There was a Triumph Mayflower, a Nash Metropolitan, a Kubelwagen, and an Alvis TD21 as well as Fords, Morrises, VWs, Jaguars and Rovers.

"I bought a 1956 Armstrong Sidley hearse, a beautifully-made vehicle with room for three in the front complete with top hats, " he says. "All the glass was engraved with lilies. I bought it from a chap in Gateshead who had four kids and a dog. He used to drive around with them in the back, pulling faces at people who pulled over to let them pass. " He quickly sold it for a profit, as he managed with many of his cars - he bought his first Rolls Royce in 1977 for £7,700 and sold it four years later for £8,000.

He is currently driving a Rover 75 Contemporary SE. "I bought it on April Fools Day 2005, " he says, "eight days before they went bust. " However, he knew there was a clue in the fact that it was half price. He sometimes hankers after car number 159 but, he says, his back is no longer up to crawling underneath them. Sadly.

* Chris Lloyd is leading this Sunday's Darlington Historical Society guided walk. It is entitled Curious Corners and it starts at 1.45pm opposite Darlington College in Haughton Road. And, yes, it will walk over a few scoria bricks. All are welcome. Charge £2, or £1 children and concessions.

BARRY'S LIFETIME OF MOTORING

1930, Austin 7, £68.

1930, Austin 7open 2seater, £120.

1930, BSA 10, £25.

1930, BSA 3wheeler, £28.

1930, Morris Cowley, £110.

1931, Crossley 10, £45.

1932, Austin 10, £10.

1932, Austin 10, £6.

1932, Austin 10, £20.

1932, Austin 7, £25.

1932, Hillman Minx, £225.

1935, ChryslerArflow, £40.

1937, Fiat Topolino, £10.

1937, Ford 8Van, £20.

1937, Hillman 10, £20.

1937, Hudson Terraplane, £45.

1937, Jaguar SS 100, £390.

1937, Lagonda LG 45, £150.

1937, Morris 10, £25.

1937, Raleigh Three Wheel Van, £20.

1937, Standard 10, £10.

1938, Ford V8 Pilot, £10.

1943, Kubelwagen, £550.

1944, Morris Commercial Truck, £225.

1944, Morris Commercial Truck, £135.

1947, MG TC, £80.

1948, Citroen Light 15, £80.

1948, Morris Minor, £40.

1949, Austin 16, £225.

1949, Bentley Mk 6, £100.

1949, Bentley Mk 6, £325.

1949, Fiat 1100, £80.

1949, Ford Anglia, £150.

1949, Rover 75, £40.

1949, Vauxhall 10, £90.

1950, Citroen 2CV, £0.

1952, Triumph Mayflower, £40.

1954, Morris 1000, £40.

1954, Morris 1000, £10.

1955, Austin A30, £80.

1955, Austin A30, £200.

1956, Armstrong Sidley Hearse, £165.

1956, Nash Metropolitan, £70.

1956, Riley Pathfinder, £120.

1957, Wolseley 1500, £300.

1958, Austin Vanden Plas, £200.

1958, Fiat 500, £30.

1958, Ford Popular, £250.

1958, Jaguar Mk 9, £50.

1958, Jaguar XK 150, £450.

1958, Triumph Spitfire, £350.

1958, VW Beetle, £30.

1959, Austin Champ, £75.

1959, Citroen ID 19, £180.

1960, Citroen DS 20, £220.

1960, Ford Anglia Estate, £420.

1961, Alvis TD 21, £150.

1961, Aston Martin DB4 Con, £1,000.

1961, Austin Mini, £850.

1961, Daimler 2.8, £370.

1961, Daimler Majestic, £375.

1961, Ford Anglia, £800.

1961, Healy 100 M, £325.

1961, Humber Hawk Estate, £440.

1961, Jaguar Etype 3.8, £650.

1961, Jaguar Mk 10 3.8, £250.

1961, Morris Mini Cooper, £650.

1961, Vauxhall Estate, £350.

1961, VW Beetle, £30.

1961, VK Karman Ghia, £225.

1962, Bond Bug, £175.

1963, Austin A40, £25.

1963, Jaguar 2.4, £150.

1963, Jaguar Mk 10 4.2, £500.

1963, Triumph TR4A, £450.

1964, Alfa Romeo Convertible, £150.

1964, Jensen CV8 Mk 2, £800.

1965, Aston Martin DB5, £1,000.

1965, Austin 1800, £500.

1965, Austin 1800, £350.

1965, Hillman Imp Van, £720.

1965, Jaguar Mk 10, £1,000.

1965, NSU Spyder Single Rotor, £275.

1966, Alvis Convertible, £1,500.

1966, Ford Executive, £1,650.00.

1966, Ford Transit Van, £725.

1967, Jaguar SType, £700.

1968, Bentley TType, £4,050.

1968, Herald Convertible, £350.

1968, Mercedes 280 SE, £2,805.

1969, Morris Oxford, £65.

1969, Rover Coupe, £160.

1969, Rover Coupe, £0.

1969, Wolseley 1300, £225.

1970, Austin 1800, £500.

1970, BMW 2000, £425.

1970, Rolls Royce, £7,700.

1970, Volvo 244, £2,500.

1971, AMC Javelin SSK, £2,000.

1971, Fiat 125, £270.

1971, Ford Cortina, £620.

1971, Ford Escort, £450.

1971, NSU RO 80, £2,150.

1972, Reliant Scimitar, £2,250.

1972, Audi Coupe, £2,000.

1972, Austin Taxi, £250.

1972, Morris 1800, £850.

1972, Triumph 2.5, £350.

1972, VW Variant, £120.

1972, Daimler 2.8, £1,150.

1973, Citroen 2.3, £2,150.

1973, Citroen SM, £3,500.

1973, Hillman Hunter, £600.

1973, Renault 17, £0.

1973, Rolls Royce lwb, £9,000.

1973, SAAB, £130.

1973, Triumph Stag, £1,950.

1973, Wolesley 2200, £2,000.

1974, Audi 80, £1,700.

1974, Morris 1800, £200.

1974, NSU RO 80, £2,800.

1974, Scimitar, £2,000.

1974, Scimitar, £2,000.

1974, VW K70, £1,600.

1974, NSU RO 70, £3,000.

1975, VW K70, £1,800.

1976, Citroen GS, £1,850.

1978, Fiat X1/9, £950.

1978, Lada 1200, £300.

1978, Lancia, £300.

1978, Magenta, £250.

1978, Matra Rancho, £100.

1978, Monarch, £700.

1978, Triumph Herald Con, £350.

1979, SAAB 96, £150.

1980, Honda Activity, £650.

1980, Vauxhall Royal 2.8, £4,500.

1980, Austin Metro, £4,500.

1981, Citroen 2CV, £75.

1981, Matra Rancho, £250.

1982, Austin Allegro, £250.

1983, Peugeot GR, £5,000.

1983, Simca Samba S, £4,500.

1984, Ford Cabriolet, £7,300.

1984, Ford Cabriolet 1.3, £5,900.

1984, Peugeot GL, £5,000.

1984, Yugo van, £450.

1986, Fiat Panda 1000, £3,750.

1986, Ford XR 31, £1,800.

1987, Suzuki SJ 410, £1,600.

1988, Volvo 240, £40.

1989, Ford Cabriolet, £13,000.

1991, Citroen XM, £7,995.

1991, Ford Cabriolet EFI, £17,000.

1996, SEAT Tolledo, £12,000.

2002, Citroen C5 V6, £16,000.

2004, Rover 75 V6, £16,500