George Stephenson's Cottage

A walk along a disused railway line at Wylam today.  On route we passed George Stephenson's Cottage which is now owned by The National Trust.

George Stephenson (1781-1848) was an engineer and developed 'The Rocket' with his son Robert and pioneered rail transport and the development of the first passenger railways.  Most of the world's railways run on the standard rail gauge (a fixed spacing between railway tracks), sometimes called 'Stephenson gauge', which he established.

As you can see he came from humble beginnings.  He was the second child of Robert and Mabel Stephenson and neither of his parents could read or write.  His father was a fireman at Wylam Colliery and earned a very low wage.  Stephenson did not go to school and it was only when he began work himself and earned some money that he paid to go to nightschool where he studied reading, writing and arithmetic.  He was illiterate until he was 18.  It's quite remarkable what he went on to achieve.