st cuthburts hidden treasure in westoe village

[jimmywizz]

below is a copy of an email sent to us by
Roderick stewart if anyone has more info on this we would like to hear it
..............................................................

In 1989 I wrote an article for the Shields gazette 'Is Cuthbert buried in Shields?'.It was the culminate of much serious and dedicated detective work threading together the legend of the fairies gold at trow Rock - the towns oldest legend kept in an archive at St Hilda's Church - and the persistent rumour that St Cuthbert and some of his treasures are not actually buried at Durham Cathedral, but was removed to westoe Village during the middle ages to prevent looting and desecration from tomb raiders.Much of my work was appraised and assisted by the then controversial Bishop of Durham David Jenkins and a contact monk at Ampleforth Abbey,York who had dedicated years of research to pursuing this old Benedictine secret.I even managed to get underground the Old nunnery at westoe Village with a team of ex-Westoe miners and a stonemason, when renovation above ground took place to build new flats there. we discovered a hollow cavity underneath a stairwell but ran out of time for further investigation when the new owner moved us on to build the flats. South Shields Town council were keen on the story with a view towards a tourist potential, but asked if I could move the location some hundreds of yards away so not to aggravate private home owners!

And so, is there treasure in the town at Westoe? A lot of people have always thought so..thing is, were we yards away from discovering it in 1989??

[BigRy]

lets go digging now and find out, eh! whos up for it?

[sherri]

It might be worth investing in the flats, if you think they are built over the treasure site.

[malcolm J]

I can add a bit more to this topic. The South Shields town council invited Rs to a meeting behind closed doors to discuss the possibility of a tourism angle, but asked Rs if he would alter his findings slightly so that Cuthbert could be placed away from private property thus making it easier to fence the area off. Exxon in America were also approached by Rs to see if they would agree to a sonar scan of the area. The Gazette were originally to run a sequel to the story including photos taken underground at the Nunnery - a surveyor went down there and wrote up his report confirming a hollow subterranean cavity - but welched on the deal when things were beginning to take a controversial turn , which would have caused DurhamCathedral problems as it looks like their Cuthbert is indeed a substitute.Many years later, the new editor at the gazette was shown the crucial dossier with all the findings, photos, reports and all. He was keen to run the story in 1997 but too embarrassed as he had bought one of the new flats in the village, and the suspected site of Cuthberts treasure was directly below his property! Incredible, but true. He did even say he had seen people wandering in the area at night with spades!!
Suffice to say I KNOW the EXACT location of Cuthbert and his treasure...but its seems destined that that is as far as it goes.For now?? :?:

[eve]

Wasn't you with the spade, was it Jimmy

[jimmywizz]

nope not me eve, but i do remember the story in the paper at the time

[malcolm J]

Actually, two other snippets I recall. During medieval times Westoe Village was owned by the monks of Durham, as was the surrounding area, thus making it truly easy to sneak Cuthbert on their own territory. Secondly, the South Shields legend of the faeries gold at Trow Rocks confirms that the golden cup went to Westoe. It was then supposed to go off to Cuthbert'ss hoard at Durham, but the theory is it never left Westoe but was joined there by the Saint.Plus, if you read Cuthbert's history, his loyal followers were always moving him about, worried about looters - he'd been moved several times.
Pass that spade over folks, X marks the spot.

[malcolm J]

Ok - one final recollection. Myself and two thers PW and TM managed to get underground at the site of the old Nunnery when renovation was taking place there. Luckily it unveiled a a level of structure under floor level and a convenient point of entry. When we got in there we followed a mazy passageaway that led to a sealed off passage. Altho the owner of the flats gave us short term permission to help ourselves nosey around under his property, and we had told him of the Cuthbert business, what he didn't know is that we smashed our way through this sealed off passageway with massive lump hammers one of the attendant miners had brought from Westoe pit. Thius is when we found the hollow cavity under the floor. Returning with a surveyor, he wrote a full report and confirmed that there was a hollw cavity below the floor. I also remember there being a freemasonry marl carved into a brick on the wall that we smashed in - I took an imprint of it with plastercine. What makes all this even more intriguing, is that if you go further up the village a short walk you will see a stone placque high up on the wall that reads something like'Follow the paths of the lord and you will find him'. Is this a cryptic clue telling us to follow the paths under the old Nunnery which we found, and we would find the hidden Cuthbert?
The next logical step was an excavation, but it was at this point that some quarters thought it best that this exciting adventure was kept under wraps.
Now its bloody kept under flats!

[memor]

If you want to know what tunnel is you discovered under convent I can tell you.
When I was little boy. I remember my Grandfather being involved he miner and good Catholic. The Nuns came to him and asked him if he and othes could dig tunnel under convent. It took about 18 months but they did it.
It all brick lined and have electric lights. Of course no money changed hands he never got paid for it.
The tunnel must be about 200-300 yards long.
I not sure if anyone guessed what it was used for ???
It so the Nuns could get to "Regent Cinema" secretly and dry if it was raining.
Bestest Regards
Memor

[malcolm J]

The plot thickens! Where the crafty nuns seeking out the Saint and his stash? :roll:

[furball]

Why not try Terradat they are located in eeengland, they have a snazzy devise that measures the difference in the magntic pull of the earth, which detects voids underground, I flew them out two years ago in search of old ww2 tunnels, well worth you while, hello doctor rob.

[malcolm J]

Great idea! ! So what happens next ?