Cooking by gaslight: The Sunderland woman who defied modern methods for decades

And we know because the Sunderland Echo had a chat with Meggie Wilson in her Silksworth home which was illuminated only by gas.

Meggie had moved into the house in 1916 and nothing much inside her little and charming home had changed 61 years later.

The tiny Silksworth house which defied time

Mrs Wilson had no electricity at all, just her glowing gas to light her home at night.

According to Northern Gas at the time , Mrs Wilson was one of about 100 consumers in the Northern region still using gaslight out of 750,000 users.

Mrs Wilson, who was known by many Silksworth people as Meggie Stobbart, got heat from her coal fire, and cooked meals on her 50-year-old stove.

‘It would be pointless me changing now’

She told the Sunderland Echo at the time: “I have lived in this house with gaslights for 61 years, so I think it would be pointless me changing now.

“I think if I have a large amount of money I would probably have the electricity connected, but since I haven’t I am quite happy with my gas.”

“This house was built by my brother, ” she said. “I love it here and don’t think that the gaslights are anything out of the ordinary.”

Also in the news that year;

More than 1,000 parents and children signed a petition asking Sunderland Borough Council to provide skateboarding facilities in the town.

The petition had been organised by Michael Joseph, the proprietor of a sports shop.

He told the Echo at the time: “Every skateboard we sell, the parents say they would like to see somewhere provided for the children to use them.

Alison Southwood, a pupil at St Anthony’s School, won the British junior ice skating title in Manchester and then set her sights on the 1978 world championships.

Five Sunderland boys hoping to make a name for themselves in the world of pop music were Shear Khan who, since their formation 18 months earlier, made considerable strides in the local music industry.

Sunderland Indoor Bowls Club, which was going to be held at Crowtree, had attracted 670 men and 160 teams after an initial registration session.

Tell us about the age-old implements, techniques and devices you just could not part with.

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