John Oxberry
John Oxberry is considered Gateshead's most prominent historian. He dedicated his whole life recording the history of his town.
Renowned local historian and member of the Society of Antiquaries, John
Oxberry was born at Windy Nook and educated at the Royal Grammar
School, Newcastle upon Tyne. As a young man he went out to the gold mines
in Otago, New Zealand but failing to make his fortune, he returned to
Gateshead. From 1885 –1890 he was School Attendance Officer under the
Heworth School Board. After that, until 1917 he was Relieving Officer
under the Gateshead Board of Guardians and in 1917 until his retirement
in 1930, he was Superintendant Registrar of Gateshead Registration
district. In 1937, he was elected an Honorary Freeman of the Borough and
presented with a silver casket in the Shipley Art Gallery.
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A Painting of John Oxberry
John Oxberry (1857–1940)
by John Edgar Mitchell
oil on canvas 92x 71cm
He wrote "Windy Nook Village: Its Inhabitants and their Co-Operative Store
This is his father John Oxberry who was a founder and first President of the Windy Nook Co-operative and Industrial Society
John Oxberry’s Scrapbooks may be viewed at gatesheadlocalstudies
John Oxberry was Gateshead’s most influential antiquarian who left
his substantial and unique collection to the library. It covers the
period up to the mid 1930’s and includes 8 volumes of "Gateshead notes",
two volumes of "Felling notes", three volumes of "Notes and Comments"
and four volumes of "Gateshead Scraps".
Find more of historian John Oxberry here and here
John Oxberry Information brought to you by
The Felling Heritage Group