Living Room The living room in this house would have had a flagstone floor with lino over the top of it, and a large rug from the centre of the room. Gone is the large black leaded range that would have served the house when it was initially built, and in its place is a new enamelled Glo-Worm range, with a back boiler for a continuous supply of hot water. It is unclear whether the range was put in by the NCB or by Norman himself, but in 1949 in the neighbouring village of Ferryhill a pilot project was run which upgraded 50 houses to newer enamel ranges at a cost of £60 per house. This was paid for by a reduction in the coal allowances for these houses!

Norman’s back brace Norman suffered from back pain and he wore a brace to alleviate the problem. The back pain was attributed to Norman’s work as a Hewer in the Dean and Chapter pit. He would swing a pick in confined, sometimes damp spaces. Sarah Cornish remembered after washing the brace she would dry it on the door of the range.

Sideboard One of the couple’s major purchases for this room was the matching dining suite and sideboard. Norman and Sarah first saw the set while on honeymoon in London at Heal’s department store. Upon seeing them again in a furniture shop in Bishop Auckland they reserved them for their new home. John Cornish believes that they were Scandinavian in style and Sarah Cornish described them as having been ‘very modern and a light golden yellow colour’. These items have been kindly donated to Beamish from Norman’s family.