Alexander Barrass

Alexander Barrass came from Blackhall Mill and wrote poetry and songs about the Durham coalfield. He is said to have entered the mines at nine before educating himself and going on to write a column for the Newcastle Chronicle.

His best-remembered work, The Pitman’s Social Neet, tells a story through the songs and conversations of a night out. Historian Robert Young records that Barrass entered Sedgefield Asylum around 1894 following a mental breakdown. He spent his final decades there, dying in 1929, about 35 years later.