150 Years of Support For Northumberland’s Young People

Young people in Northumberland are preparing for a year-long celebration of support from a charity that has had their wellbeing at heart for 150 years.

Over the years, YMCA Northumberland has touched the lives of thousands of young people across the county, giving them and their families support through the process of moving from childhood to the adult world.

YMCA Northumberland traces its origins to Morpeth in 1876, building on a country-wide movement that started life as the Young Men’s Christian Association in London in 1844. Its purpose was to provide support for young men leaving home for the first time and taking up work in the capital, when loneliness and isolation were major problems.

By 1886, a branch of the YMCA specifically to cater for the needs of young miners at Ashington Colliery was founded. It quickly became a hub for youth and community activities in the town. In 1888, the organisation moved its activities into the Ashington Mechanics Institute.

In 1891, YMCA Bedlington began supporting its own community of young people, followed by YMCA Blyth in 1897.

By the 1930s, YMCA Ashington had outgrown the Mechanics Institute and moved into its own premises in large wooden huts, mostly on the site of its current building.

At this stage, education was a major part of its activities catering for the local community. Space in the huts was rented by a group of miners from the local pit to establish an art class organised by the Workers’ Educational Association.

This unique group came to be known as the ‘Pitmen Painters’, or ‘The Ashington Group’. With their distinctive style, they illustrated life in the mines of Ashington and surrounding area, depicting work underground, at home and in the environment where they lived. Their work is internationally renowned and now mainly displayed in a dedicated gallery at the Woodhorn Museum, Ashington, with one important exception.

This exception is a mural by leading Pitman Painter Oliver Kilbourn in recognition of the YMCA’s contribution to the group’s success. The mural is still on display in the organisation’s current building in Ashington.

This building, opened by the then Princess Royal in 1961, was next to a local sports field known as Portland Park, where two football-mad brothers, playing for YMCA Ashington, honed their skills on the pitch. Jack Charlton went on to join Leeds United’s Youth team,
while Bobby was later recruited by Manchester United. The rest is history.

YMCA Northumberland’s Chief Executive, Rob Cox, takes up the story: “Today, Ashington is the HQ of YMCA Northumberland, but we also serve communities of young people and their families as far apart as Bedlington and Boulmer.

“Our mission is to provide safe spaces, listening support and engaging development opportunities. We see ourselves as the central hub of a network of different pathways through which young people can thrive and build their futures.

“At the moment, we do this through music, creative activities and a café that provides a welcoming social space. Our specialist youth workers are adept at spotting any signs that a young person may be struggling and can help navigate a difficult time using their listening skills and sympathetic guidance.”

YMCA Northumberland’s year of celebrations begins on 29 January with an event hosted by young people themselves at YMCA headquarters, North View, Ashington. It will showcase their musical skills to a gathering of supporters, past, present and future.

Rob Cox continued: “Other events throughout the year will be the launch of a new website, depicting our long history; a summer garden party for young people, their friends and families; and a restoration project to safeguard the Kilbourn mural for the future and many
other events.

“A major part of the year will be fundraising to improve facilities in our building, to include new rehearsal space and improved facilities for our creative and a new youth lounge. Ultimately, our plan is to create a youth hub dedicated to the young people of Northumberland. We will work to raise our profile in the local area so that we have a louder voice for speaking up for young people’s issues.”