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MONKEY'S
ISLAND
URBAN LEGEND, OR A REAL ISLAND LOST TO TIME?
If you were born in Blyth, or have lived here for any length of time, you've probably heard of a place called Monkey's or Monkey Island. Like the location, there seems to be some debate about it's actual name.
The term Monkey Island seems to creep into an awful lot of historical text, stories from the older generations of the town which have been recorded and documented over the years. But even in those tales, the islands location is usually a little vague.
Of course we all have out own ideas of where the mystical monkeys reside on their tropical paradise, stories told to us by our parents and grandparents have made us all absolutely positive that we know where or what it is, or was.
The fact that so many of the older people of our town mention the island would seem to suggest that there must be at least some credence to it's existence, doesn't it?
When I was young, I knew exactly where it was. It was an actual island surrounded by mud just over the river on the sleeekburn side. I was always unlucky though and every time I was at the river, the tide wasn't quite right, so I could never actually see the island or it's primate inhabitants. The fact that the island was surrounded by mud was the reason the monkeys never left and ventured onto our side of the water. It never occurred to me that the monkeys would all drown every time the island was under water.
Above is the location of Monkey's Island - or at least it was in my ten year old head. Obviously you can't see the Island because of the high tide.
Gordon's opinion....
There are of course many discussions online about the subject and one theory crops up time and time again. The present day boat yard occupies a position on a small peninsular. The site was once however the site of one of two infectious disease hospitals, which were close to one another, Gordon was always told that this was the island and the hospital was placed there to further isolate patients who posed a risk to the rest of the good people of Blyth.
It seems however, we could all be wrong.
This photo from around 1910 is labeled "Monkey Island" and the location is a little further along the river. This area was known as Bucks Hill in the late nineteenth century, researching old maps of the area reveals something quite interesting. At the time this photo was taken, a small stream flows into the river here. You can still see the stream today if you take a walk along the river, today however the water is piped under ground. But back in the day, it caused a long narrow piece of land which, when you were on it must have felt a little like standing on an island.
This old maps shows the area in question in around 1892. The square buildings on the lower right of the map is Cowpen Square.
Cowpen Square features prominently in one of the most convincing theories about the Islands location. The story goes that to the North of the square was a retaining wall which ran along the river. Ships heading into the port to be loaded would run up the channel to dump their ballast on Bucks Hill. On one of these occasions, a dead monkey was found
amongst the stones and clay, presumably the ships mascot. The monkey was said to have been buried under the ballast and when the ships crew mentioned it to some of the inhabitants of Cowpen Square, a man named Robert Rhodes commented that they would have to call the area Monkey's Island. From that day forward the name stuck and was passed down the generations.
Bucks Hill today - the site of Bates loading facility.
Bucks Hill today is occupied by the Bates Loading facility and any shape of an island has long since vanished. This particular story though has persisted for well over a century and is mentioned repeatedly by older residents of Blyth, so it does seem quite plausible.
Just when you think you've found the location however, another person we spoke too tells us that actually, in "fact" the island is of course over the river on the Sleekburn side and is actually the land which is today flanked by the river Blyth to the south and Sleek Burn to the north.
River Blyth to the south - Sleekburn to the north.
The truth is, we're no further forward than when we started, obviously the term Monkey Island means different places to different people and we're all going to pass our opinions down to our kids and grandkids, so the true location will probably never be known. Maybe Monkey's Island is the south shore line of the river, all the way from the black bridge to the old ferry landing. We're all right then.
If you'd like to get involved in this article, we'd love to hear from you and share your thoughts or theories with the BlythHub community. Use this form to get in touch.
Daniel's opinion..
It's not an island at all, you know where the tyres are in the mud on the long path? that's it - it's where you dig for worms to use for fishing. Been going there for years.
Kevin's opinion..
I was always told it was next to the bridge that goes over the Spine Road. There's a little muddy island there at low tide and there was a sunken boat there when I was young.
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