Peck's House Farm

The buildings do not represent one significant period of development, but instead date from a number of periods. Of the once working farm, two principle buildings have been lost - the gin-gang and a barn. The earliest and most interesting structure is (or was) the cart shed, which is probably late 18th century in origin. The main elevation is of 18th century brickwork with a row of four arched entrances at ground level. The building has been raised, possibly in the earlier part of this century, to create a two storey building, the upper floor housing a granary. The two original gable walls survive within the newer brickwork. The rear wall of the cart shed is in stone. As there is no evidence of heightening in this wall, it can be assumed that this is a rebuild. The cart shed forms part of a single courtyard layout. Forming one side of the yard is a large19th century stone built threshing barn. The gin-gang has been removed from the rear elevation of this barn. The barn is of random stone but with elements of earlier brick in the south gable, suggesting re-use of material from an earlier construction. Internally the barn has lost its threshing machinery and upper flooring. The rest of the site comprises the farmhouse (much adapted and altered), a single storey barn, in poor condition, projecting from the rear elevation of the cart shed, the site of a former barn or steading removed from the north of the site, the site of the gin-gang and an L-shaped building which joins the cart shed to the house. This last is of crude stonework but would appear from OS maps to have been in position by the mid C19. The site is believed to be early 18th century in origin, but none of the present buildings date from this time (with the possible exception of parts of the much altered house). The buildings do not have the homogeneity to be seen as a "group". Individually they are not architecturally or historically significant with the exception of the cart shed. On the other hand, the farmstead survives as one of a collection of basically 19th century building groups with 18th century origins in this area. At this time farms developed away from what had been the medieval villages and developed on a large scale producing crops and animal/dairy products from the expanding city. Other surviving examples are at Whorlton Hall, Whorlton Grange and Bullock Steads. Whilst not of the same quality as any of these examples, Peck's House is one of the earlier developments. It is, despite its lack of quality, part of this pattern of agricultural development {1}. Richard Peck was born in the late 1600s. He married Hannah Potts of Ponteland in 1717. He was a mining engineer/coal viewer who rose to the position of wealthy lessee of Newbiggin Colliery in 1738. Together with his son Joseph, he is famous in mining circles for an excellent series of plans showing sites of old pit workings in the Tyne area. He had Peck's Houses built around the time of his marriage in 1717. He left his property in 'Newbiggin' to his son Joseph Peck. The latter was succeeded by William Peck, probably his son, whose daughter Hannah Peck died sometime before 1817. In 1845 the new landowner Matthew Bell Esq. Rented out the property and land of 276.25 acres to Matthew Wilkinson. Dues paid for this land went to the vicar of Newburn and the Bishop of Carlisle. William Rylg resided at Peck's House from 1858 {2}.
NB aerial photos from Google Earth Pro indicate that all the farm buildings except the house in the SW corner of the complex were demolished c2005, and replaced with new buildings with a similar layout but larger footprint.