Forming part of the Bowes Railway, Wardley locomotive shed, at the foot of Springwell Incline marks the end of the former rope worked sections of the railway and the start of the more level route to Jarrow worked by locomotives. The building is a robust stone structure with a relatively modern metal-framed cladded shed attached. It was repaired in 1993. SCHEDULED ANCIENT MONUMENT
SITEASS
Repaired in 1993. Listed on English Heritage's Register of Buildings at Risk 2002. Listed as being in "poor" condition. Priority B. "Defective roof requires recovering. Track bed requires replacement sleepers and general restoration". Heritage At Risk 2008, priority C (slow decay, no solution agreed), condition 4. The Warley Locomotive Shed suffered storm-damage in 2005 and emergency repairs were completed in 2006 but it remains vulnerable. Listed on English Heritage's Heritage At Risk Register 2009. Condition: poor. Priority: D (slow decay, solution agreed but not yet implemented). Suffering from severe erosion and loss of track bed. The site also suffers from extensive vandalism. The Locomotive Shed suffered storm damage in 2005 and emergency repairs were completed in 2006 but it remains vulnerable. Listed on English Heritage's Heritage At Risk Register 2011: Suffering from severe erosion and loss of track bed.The site also suffers from extensive vandalism.The Wardley Locomotive Shed suffered storm-damage in 2005 and emergency repairs were completed in 2006 but it remains vulnerable, along with many other sections of the site.
Condition:very bad
Priority: C Slow decay; no solution agreed. Heritage At Risk 2013: Very Bad, Priory: B Immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric; solution agreed but not yet implemented
Site Type: Broad
Railway Transport Site
SITEDESC
Forming part of the Bowes Railway SAM, Wardley locomotive shed, at the foot of Springwell Incline marks the end of the former rope worked sections of the railway and the start of the more level route to Jarrow worked by locomotives. The building is a robust stone structure with a relatively modern metal framed cladded shed attached. Presently used by the North East Bus Preservation Society {1}.
Site Name
Wardley, Bowes Railway Locomotive Shed
Site Type: Specific
Engine Shed
SITE_STAT
Scheduled Monument
HER Number
1669
Form of Evidence
Extant Building
Sources
<< HER 1669 >> I. Ayris & S.M. Linsley, 1994, A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Tyne and Wear, p 5
YEAR1
2001
YEAR2
2002
English, British
Class
Industrial
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
Crossref
1016, 1624
DAY1
14
District
Gateshead
Easting
423000
Grid ref figure
6
Map Sheet
NZ26SW
MONTH1
5
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
562600
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Place
Dunston
Description
Once part of a complex of buildings owned by the Co-operative Wholesale Society, which included a soap works (HER ref. 1016), grain cleaning house and storage silos (HER ref. 1624) and a jetty. The flour mills were the first part of the complex to be built, in 1891. They are no longer standing.
SITEASS
The flour mills were demolished.
Site Type: Broad
Food and Drink Industry Site
SITEDESC
Once part of a complex of buildings owned by the Co-operative Wholesale Society, which included a soap works (SMR 1016), grain cleaning house and storage silos (SMR 1624) and a jetty. The architect for the flour mills was F.E. Harris. The flour mills were the first development, built in 1891.
Site Name
CWS Flour Mills
Site Type: Specific
Flour Mill
HER Number
1668
Form of Evidence
Demolished Building
Sources
<< HER 1668 >> I. Ayris, Co-operative Society Granary, Silos, Jetty and Soapworks at Dunston
YEAR1
2001
English, British
AREA_STAT
Conservation Area, Site of Special Scientific Interest
Class
Transport
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
COMP2
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
14
DAY2
19
District
Gateshead
Easting
418080
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ15NE
MONTH1
5
MONTH2
5
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
559570
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Hanoverian 1714 to 1837
Place
Gibside
Description
Historic Ordnance Survey Map evidence shows an embankment and cutting, with some shafts at this location.
Site Type: Broad
Tramway Transport Site
SITEDESC
Embankment and cutting. Some shafts {1}. Causeway or culvert of waggonway. This has been restored {2}.
Site Name
Gibside Estate, Snipes Dene Wagonway Embankment
Site Type: Specific
Wagonway
SITE_STAT
Register of Parks and Gardens Grade II*
HER Number
1667
Form of Evidence
Earthwork
Sources
<< HER 1667 >> D. Cranstone?, Other sites of importance to add to your list…; Harry Beamish, Autumn 1993, Summary Table - Gibside
YEAR1
2001
YEAR2
2009
English, British
Class
Industrial
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
15
District
Gateshead
Easting
422070
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ26SW
MONTH1
5
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
561590
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Elizabethan 1558 to 1603
Place
Dunston
SAMNUMBER
30928
Description
Dunston Hill is an old colliery worked from the reign of Elizabeth I. It is situated on the northern slope of Dunston Hill and includes the earthwork and other remains of early coal workings and part of an early wagonway embankment and cutting. The latter belong to the Northbanks Way built in 1699 by Charles Montagu. They survive because Northbanks Way was closed suddenly and permanently in 1723 by Lady Bowes and Lady Clavering. The cutting was the location for the first recorded railway brake-testing following its construction in 1699. The remains of the Northbanks-Dunston wagonway cutting are considered to be the finest example of pre-1720 railway engineering known to survive nationally. SCHEDULED ANCIENT MONUMENT
SITEASS
A rare and valuable opportunity to study relatively unsophisticated mining technology. The remains of the Northbanks-Dunston waggonway cutting are considered to be the finest example of pre-1720 railway engineering known to survive nationally. The site was also the location for the earliest recorded railway brake-testing experiment {2}. Listed on English Heritage's Heritage At Risk Register 2009. Condition: Generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems. Trend: Declining. Principal vulnerability: road construction. Listed on Heritage at Risk Register 2011: Generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems
Trend: declining
Principal vulnerability: road construction Heritage at Risk 2013: Generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems
Trend: declining
Principal vulnerability: road construction Heritage At Risk 2015: Generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems
Trend: declining
Principal vulnerability: road construction
Site Type: Broad
Coal Mining Site
SITEDESC
Dunston Hill is an old colliery reclaimed by 18th century emparking. It was part of the Grand Lease and was worked from the reign of Elizabeth. More important, it has waggonway cuttings and an embankment which are unique. These belong to the Northbanks Way built in 1699 by Charles Montagu; they remain quite undisturbed because Northbanks Way was closed suddenly and dramatically in 1723 by Lady Bowes and Lady Clavering, and never refused; no other railway works were ever preserved in this way. The particular layout still awaits explanation {1}. The monument is situated on the northern slope of Dunston Hill and includes the earthwork and other remains of early coal workings and part of an early waggonway embankment and cutting. The outcrop of the Main coal seam marks the former boundary of the later Clavering estate. It is believed that several of the larger shafts along this outcrop were sunk by the estate to exploit the deeper Maudlin and Hutton seams. These remains are represented by an irregular band of earthworks, where coal was extracted from the surface using very simple methods. The outcrop of the Main coal seam is known to have been mined on the north side of Dunston Hill by at least the Elizabethan period. A 430m long section of the outcrop is a rare survival of a once much larger area of outcrop coal mining on both banks of the Tyne. By 1650 the Main seam is known to have been almost exhausted. The monument also includes the best preserved part of one of the early waggonways including a cutting, which is believed to be one of the finest examples of pre-1720 railway engineering, and a section of waggonway embankment. The cutting was the location for the first recorded railway brake-testing following its construction in 1699 {2}.
Site Name
Dunston Hill, early coal mining remains
Site Type: Specific
Coal Workings
SITE_STAT
Scheduled Monument
HER Number
1666
Form of Evidence
Earthwork
Sources
<< HER 1666 >> E. Clavering, A.R. Rounding & G.C. Bennett, A1 Trunk Road, Gateshead Western Bypass, Improvement Objection Industrial Archaeology Submission
Dept. of National Heritage, 1998, Schedule Entry, 30928
YEAR1
2001
English, British
Class
Transport
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
COMP2
Claire MacRae
Crossref
1023
DAY1
14
DAY2
07
District
Gateshead
Easting
421240
EASTING2
2291
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ26SE
MAP2
NZ26SW
MONTH1
5
MONTH2
5
Grid Reference
NZ
NGR2
NZ
Northing
560420
NORTHING2
6264
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Stuart 1603 to 1714
Place
Whickham
Description
The well-known Tanfield Way (HER REF. 1023) was partly built upon the Whickham Grand Lease Way from Dunston Haugh to Lobley Hill. The Whickham Grand Lease Way, as the world's first successful railway, is a matter of great historical importance. It is arguable that its construction, probably early in 1621 (extended in 1647), was Tyneside's most important contribution to industrial technology. Though rail transport had been invented in the Midlands around 1600, all earlier attempts to implement it had collapsed for economic reasons; only the Tyne worked on a sufficient scale. It is not only the first but the best documented and most visible of those railways built before 1660, though its course west from the Tanfield Line is not certain. A number of branch lines are known to link with Grand Lease Pits (HER REF. 1664) now hidden by Whickham Hill Plantation.
SITEASS
Staiths probably at confluence of Team and Tyne
Embankment across head of the dene which descends into Washingwell Woods (NZ 2169 6036)
Waggon Gate Close (a later subdivision of Allerdeans) indicates a ‘waggon gate’, or barrier, at the entry of a wayleave where wagons could be stopped and recorded for tentale payments later
Site Type: Broad
Tramway Transport Site
SITEDESC
The well-known Tanfield Way (SMR 1023) was partly built upon the Whickham Grand Lease Way from Dunston Haugh to Lobley Hill, where it left it. The Whickham Grand Lease Way, as the world's first successful railway, is a matter of great historical importance. It is arguable that its construction, probably early in 1621, was Tyneside's most important contribution to industrial technology. Though rail transport had been invented in the Midlands around 1600, all earlier attempts to implement it had collapsed because the economics had not been understood; only the Tyne worked on a sufficient scale. It is not only the first but the best documented and most visible of those railways built before 1660. It was built in 1621 to serve the pits of Whickham Grand Lease Colliery and extended in 1647. A great deal of ground evidence exists. Its course west from the Tanfield Line is not certain. Branch lines are likely, a number are known to link with Grand Lease Pits (SMR 1664) now hidden by Whickham Hill Plantation {1}. Whickham was the most intensively worked of early mining areas. In the northern half was the High Main Seam (mined from1570) with the next two seams, Main and Yard, forming a narrow promontory south of Whickham village; both offered free drainage. The seams below were Bensham and Low Main, which needed more sophisticated dewatering, undertaken by Thomas Surtees in 1617. In a large scale and expensive scheme a waterwheel, or coal mill, in Allerdeans operated a battery of pumps in a water-pit and the extracted water was fed into the Team. The capital for this venture came from a consortium of Grand Lease concerns and the results of Surtees’ engineering was to restore to the Grand Lessees a predominance in the trade that had been eroded by newcomers. It also triggered two decades of conflict in East Whickham.
Allerdeans lay strategically between the extensive Whickham Glebe to the west and the Liddell territory to the east; to the south lay the Grand Lease holdings and to the north Whickham’s as yet undivided common fields. Allerdeans belonged to the Rector of Whickham and the Grand Lease held a wayleave through his lands from their pits to the Tyne. The Rector’s decision to let Whickham Glebe colliery to the Liddells ended in the four Grand Lease partnerships seeking an injunction against the Rector who was effectively holding them to ransom by refusing passage.
To solve their problems of transporting coal, the Grand Lease consortium built a waggonway through the Allerdeans. The earliest reference is in 1620 or 1621 to “stables … built for wagon horses”. The main motive for building a waggonway was probably a trade war. The Lessees may have been obliged to abandon older workings for new ones south of the Allerdeans passage, under pressure form the Privy Council. This meant a large investment was necessary for successful mining. The design and construction of the waggonway, as for the pumping scheme, was probably by Surtees.
The new way required a new agreement for a Regulation. It must have carried a fifth of the Tyne output and may have exceeded 3000T. The success of the Whickham Grand Lease Way did not end conflict in the area. However, the Grand Lessees were able to avoid commoner control, as seen in Elswick, by concentrating their production along a single intensively-used route.
In 1636, the Ship Tax returns show the Whickham Grand Lease as by far the largest producer with a vend figure not less than 5000T and possibly as much has 6000T. Although a proportion of this was carried by wain from pits on the west side of Whickham or belonged to owners with Staiths at Swalwell, the waggonway must have carried a good half to Dunston, making it not only the earliest way but also the most important of the 17th century.
After the Civil War, a wayleave of 1647 shows the way was refurbished and extended and the Grand Lessees remained those of 1629 or their heirs. A survey of 1652 recorded the condition and possibilities of the way. There were 79 pits on the route of the waggonway - south of Allerdeans and on the heights south of Whickham village. Branches run from here to the waggonway and can still be seen as footpaths and the 1647 extension can be seen north of Marshall Lands.
The Whickham Grand Lease Way closed sometime between 1706 and 1723, having existed for nearly 100 years. In 1725, when the centre of production moved out of Whickham, it was replaced by the Tanfield Way (Route 12). This was laid more or less on the route of the Grand Lease Way north of Allerdeans, using existing wayleaves and earthworks, although no mention is made of its predecessor.
The northern part of the Grand Lease Way has now been largely built over, but the vestiges of its southern half survive. Williams states that the route has not been securely established but is probably similar to one of the later Tanfield Way lines.
Site Name
Grand Lease Wagonway
Site Type: Specific
Wagonway
HER Number
1665
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
<< HER 1665 >> E. Clavering, A.R. Rounding & G.C. Bennett, A1 Trunk Road, Gateshead Western Bypass, Improvement Objection Industrial Archaeology Submission G. Bennett, E. Clavering & A. Rounding, 1990, A Fighting Trade - Rail Transport in Tyne Coal, 1600-1800 vol 2, p8
J.U. Nef, 1927, The Rise of the British Coal Industry, Vol I p 26
Public Records Office, Chancery Lane, London, Public Records Office, C2 Jas1/D1/29M
Public Records Office, Chancery Lane, London, Public Records Office, Durh2 2 Selby v Surtees
R.L. Galloway, 1898, of Coal Mining and the Coal Trade, volume 1, p 373 p 128
T.J. Taylor, 1858, The Archaeology of the Coal Trade, p 39
Public Records Office, Chancery Lane, London, Public Records Office, Stac8 245/6
Calendar of State Papers, Domestic/ PC, JI vol III 60, 271-2
Ellison, 18th century, Gateshead Library Local Studies, 5/1-3
Bodleian Library, Oxford, Rawlinson, MSS C784
J.U. Nef, 1927, The Rise of the British Coal Industry, Vol II, pp 246, 273 and 415
Public Records Office, Chancery Lane, London, Stac8 56/10
Public Records Office, Chancery Lane, London, Stac8 163/18
Public Records Office, Chancery Lane, London, APC JI 437, 505
Public Records Office, Chancery Lane, London, C2 Chas1/H19/35
Public Records Office, Chancery Lane, London, C2 JasI/L8/46, JasI/A9/24
Public Records Office, Chancery Lane, London, Durh1 1 ff 107-10
Publications of the Surtees Society, vol 142 p 256-7
M.J.T. Lewis, 1970, Early Wooden Railways, pp 93-5, fig 31
Publications of the Surtees Society, 111 (321)
Durham Records Office, Sa/D 1245
Durham Records Office, St D5/3/88
Publications of the Surtees Society, 184 p 132
Durham Records Office, CG 7/554
Gateshead Library Local Studies, GPL 76/13 185
Durham Records Office, CG 7/554 38
Newcastle University Library, MSS Misc 85 202
Durham Records Office, CG 30/10-11
Gateshead Library Local Studies, GPL CP/1/passim
Publications of the Surtees Society,184
Dunstan Staiths and Waggonways, Gateshead Library Local Studies, c.1810 GPL BP 1/83
1723, Northbanks and proposed Tanfield Ways, 28 April 1723, Gateshead Library Local Studies GPL CP/1/140
A. Williams, 2004, A Fighting Trade - Review and mapping of routes, unpublished document for Tyne & Wear Heritage Environment Record; Alan Williams Archaeology, 2013, Waggonways to the South Bank of the River Tyne and to the River Wear; Turnbull, L, 2012, Railways Before George Stephenson (entry 56) 10-11, 155, 169
YEAR1
2001
YEAR2
2015
English, British
Class
Industrial
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
COMP2
Clare Henderson
DAY1
23
DAY2
09
District
Gateshead
Easting
422323
Grid ref figure
10
Map Sheet
NZ26SW
MONTH1
7
MONTH2
10
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
560853
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Stuart 1603 to 1714
Place
Whickham
Description
Whickham Hill Plantation covers some of the Grand Lease Pits, which may be earlier than the Whickham Grand Lease Way (constructed circa 1621) and may have been undisturbed.
Site Type: Broad
Coal Mining Site
SITEDESC
Whickham Hill Plantation covers some of the Grand Lease Pits, which may be earlier than the Whickham Grand Lease Way (constructed circa 1621) and may have been undisturbed {1}.
Site Name
Whickham Plantation, Grand Lease Pits
Site Type: Specific
Coal Workings
HER Number
1664
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
<< HER 1664 >> E. Clavering, A.R. Rounding & G.C. Bennett, A1 Trunk Road, Gateshead Western Bypass, Improvement Objection Industrial Archaeology Submission
YEAR1
2001
YEAR2
2020
English, British
AREA_STAT
Conservation Area
Class
Industrial
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
14
District
Gateshead
Easting
423800
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ25NW
MONTH1
5
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
559360
parish
Lamesley
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Stuart 1603 to 1714
Place
Ravensworth
SAMNUMBER
21662
Description
The earthwork and buried remains of the site of a 3-decker coalmill, its water management system and the standing and buried remains of a 19th century sawmill and adjacent wheelpit. The coalmill was installed to the northeast of Ravensworth Castle in the 17th century and a long and circuitous leat, known as The Trench (HER ref. 4121), was constructed to provide sufficient water to power it. The leat channelled the water to a series of three interlinked waterwheels which drove pumps located in several connected shafts, operating them by timber transmission shafts and cog-and-rung gearing. The coalmill was in operation for some 70 years until c.1750. The coalmill site occupies a narrow side valley and is approximately 250 metres from east to west. Surviving remains include The Trench and rectangular holding pool, and earthwork remains of the leat that originally supplied water to the coalmill. The coalmill's three waterwheels are said to have been approx 7 metres in diameter, placed in a line, one above ground supported, the next at ground level, and the third underground. The underground chamber for the sunken waterwheel is believed to survive. To the east of the road is a stone-lined portal, the entrance to an adit which served as an underground watercourse carrying away water raised from the mine. Only five surviving coalmill sites are known nationally. SCHEDULED ANCIENT MONUMENT
SITEASS
A rare example of this class of monument. Only five surviving sites are known nationally. Listed on English Heritage's Heritage At Risk Register 2009. Condition: Generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems. Principal vulnerability: scrub/tree growth. Listed on English Heritage's Heritage At Risk Register 2011: Generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems
Principal vulnerability: shrub/tree growth Heritage At Risk 2013: Generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems
Principal vulnerability: shrub/tree growth Heritage At Risk 2015: Generally satisfactory but with significant localised problems
Principal vulnerability: shrub/tree growth
Site Type: Broad
Mining Industry Site
SITEDESC
The earthwork and buried remains of the site of a coalmill, its water management system and the standing and buried remains of a 19th century sawmill and adjacent wheelpit. Although coal pits are known to have existed within the manor of Ravensworth since C14, coal was not exploited on any large scale until the early C17 when the Ravensworth estate was held by the Liddell family. Documentary records indicate that during the mid to late C17 Sir Thomas Liddell planned a large scale redevelopment of his colliery, combining a waggon way from the mines to staiths on the River Team with a complex pumping scheme to drain an area of almost 100ha in the low-lying Team Valley and on the slopes of the ridge overlooking it. A coalmill was installed to the northeast of Ravensworth Castle and a long and circuitous leat, known as The Trench (SMR 4121), was constructed to provide sufficient water to power the necessary pumps at the coalmill. The leat channelled the water to a series of three interlinked waterwheels at the site which drove a battery of pumps located in several connected shafts, operating them by timber transmission shafts and cog-and-rung gearing. The Ravensworth coalmill was in operation for some 70 years, but following the introduction of Newcomen engines in the early 18th century which could drain mine workings to a greater depth, it soon became an outdated system and by c.1750 the coalmill had ceased to operate. The coalmill site occupies a narrow side valley and is approximately 250m from east to west. The Trench enters a rectangular holding pool, which is now mostly dry, in the western part of the site. A low dam of earth, masonry and brick defines the eastern side of the pond, beyond which are the earthwork remains of the leat that originally supplied water-power to the coalmill. A sluice would have controlled the flow of water into this channel and is believed to survive as a buried feature towards the southern end of the dam. In the eastern part of the site the leat is narrow and shallow, faced with large masonry blocks, many of which remain in situ. The coalmill's three waterwheels are said to have been approx. 7m in diameter. They were placed in a line, one above ground supported on timber posts, the next at ground level, and the third erected underground. There is no surface evidence for the pumping installation, but buried features associated with its operation, including the underground chamber for the sunken waterwheel, are believed to survive. To the east of the road is a stone-lined portal, the entrance to an adit. The adit is of dry-stone construction and is thought to have served as an underground watercourse carrying away water which was raised from the mine workings by the water-powered pumps. Following the abandonment of the coalmill in c.1750, a cornmill was built approx. 35m to the north east of the holding pond {1}. The redevelopment of Ravensworth in 1670 by Thomas Liddell, 3rd baronet, centred on a notable 3-decker coalmill for pumping, part underground and powered by water brought from the Black Burn by The Trench. This was regarded as important enough to merit a description by Sinclair in his "Hydrostaticks" of 1672. It stood about 150 yards SW of Close House. Much of the arrangement is still visible on either side of the Coach Road. No subsequent investigation of this date in mining technology has ever been published {2}.
Site Name
Ravensworth, Coalmill
Site Type: Specific
Mine Pumping Works
SITE_STAT
Scheduled Monument
HER Number
1663
Form of Evidence
Earthwork
Sources
<< HER 1663 >> Dept. of National Heritage, 1997, Schedule Entry, 21662
E. Clavering, A.R. Rounding & G.C. Bennett, A1 Trunk Road, Gateshead Western Bypass, Improvement Objection Industrial Archaeology Submission
1995, The Coalmills of North-East England Technology and Culture, University of Chicago Press
G. Sinclair, 1683, The Hydrostaticks, p 298; Gateshead Council, 1999, Conservation Area Policy Guidelines, Strategies and Character Statements, Ravensworth Conservation Area, pp 61-63
YEAR1
2001
English, British
AREA_STAT
Conservation Area
Class
Agriculture and Subsistence
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
Crossref
527
DAY1
15
District
Gateshead
Easting
411930
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ16SW
MONTH1
5
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
563210
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Hanoverian 1714 to 1837
Place
Ryton
Description
The 1881 census refers to "Bradley Home Farm". Prior to this time the farm was known as "Sour Mires". The history and development of the farm, certainly in the mid to late 19th century, was linked to the ownership and occupancy of Bradley Hall (HER ref. 527). The age of Sour Mires is unknown, but it appears to be at least 18th century in origin. The 1841 census records two dwellings there, one inhabited by Robert Weatherhead, a gardener, with his wife and four children, the other tenanted by William Johnson, a 25 year old farmer with his wife and three other persons. There are no buildings of great age on the site and it is possible that the development of the buildings to form a working farmstead took place in the period immediately prior to 1840. During the early 20th century, the former threshing barn was demolished, and new buildings were added including a stable block.
Site Type: Broad
Farm
SITEDESC
The farmstead now known as Bradley Hall Farm has its origins in an earlier farm. The name Bradley Hall Farm comes into use in the late C19. The 1881 census refers to "Bradley Home Farm". Prior to this time the farm was known as "Sour Mires". The history and development of the farm, certainly in the mid to late 19th century was linked to the ownership and occupancy of Bradley Hall (HER 527). The age of Sour Mires is unknown. Bourne in his "History of the Parish of Ryton" in 1896, described the site as having "a splendid old mansion with farm buildings attached". A plan showing Messrs. Croft's Royalty and Plans of Coal Workings in Ryton Parish shows "Sower Mires" (DRO/NCB1/SC791). Evidence suggests this is a copy of a plan of the 1770s or 1780s. If this is the case then this would establish the farm as at least 18th century in origin. In 1795 Nicholas Wood, engineer was born at Sour Mires. His father, also called Nicholas, was a tenant of Sir Thomas Henry Liddell (later Lord Ravenscroft) and had moved to Sour Mires from nearby Daniel Farm. The 1841 census records two dwellings at "Sour Mires", one inhabited by Robert Weatherhead, a gardener, with his wife and four children, the other inhabited by William Johnson, a 25 year old farmer with his wife and three other persons. The farmland and farm buildings are marked as in ground belonging to Miss Ann Simpson of Bradley Hall on the plan from the 1820s. William Johnson is therefore farming as a tenant of the estate. It is possible that the development of the buildings to form a working farmstead took place in the period immediately prior to 1840. Papers drawn up for the sale of the estate following the death of Ann Simpson in 1844 and the sale catalogue for the estate in 1853 indicate three long ranges one clearly with a gingang attached. The 1st edition Ordnance Survey map shows no gingang attached to what had been the threshing barn. It is possible that the farm had become solely a dairy farm. Following the departure of William Johnson between 1856 and 1861 to nearby Daniel Farm, there is no consistent pattern of occupancy at Sour Mires. By 1871 the property was used to house only the families of two agricultural labourers, Henry Donkin and John Charlton. At some point in the 1870s a farm bailiff was brought in. In the 1881 census, four dwellings are listed at "Bradley Home Farm", inhabited by Robert Wiggins the farm bailiff and his wife, William Summerbey an agricultural labourer and his wife, two sisters who work as dairymaids, and George Healey a shepherd and his family. By 1910 Bradley Hall Farm was once more worked by an independent farmer, Robert Hepple Hart. During the early C20, the former threshing barn was demolished, and new buildings were added including a stable block {1}. The Victorian farmhouse has a rendered front elevation with stone quoins and window surrounds. The roof is slate with decorative bargeboards and finials. There is an ugly single storey flat-roofed extension from the 1960s which wraps around the righthand side of the front elevation and an unsympathetic two-storey rear extension. Archaeological Research Services Ltd recorded the farm buildings in 2012 prior to conversion to dwellings.
Site Name
Bradley Hall Farm (Sour Mires), Bradley
Site Type: Specific
Manor Farm
HER Number
1662
Form of Evidence
Extant Building
Sources
<< HER 1662 >> I. Ayris, Bradley Hall Farm, Gateshead Historical Development
W. Bourne, 1896, History of the Parish of Ryton; Gateshead Council, 1999, Bradley Hall Conservation Area Character Statement; Archaeological Research Services Ltd, October 2012, An Archaeological Building Recording of Bradley Hall Farm; A Harrison, 1990, A history of Ryton
YEAR1
2001
English, British
Class
Industrial
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
27
District
Gateshead
Easting
417800
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ16SE
MONTH1
4
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
563420
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Place
Blaydon Burn
Description
The Milner Pit is not marked on the first edition Ordnance Survey plan (c.1855), but does appear on the second edition in 1896. It exploited the Hodge or Camel Seam. It had disappeared by 1919.
Site Type: Broad
Coal Mining Site
SITEDESC
"On the north side of the old forge is the Milner Pit. The Hodge or Camel Seam is being wrought at this pit and is 3'22 thick" (Bourne). The Milner Pit is not marked on the 1850s OS map but does appear on the 1896 edition. It had disappeared by 1919 {1}.
Site Name
Blaydon Main Colliery, Milner Pit
Site Type: Specific
Colliery
HER Number
1661
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Sources
<< HER 1661 >> Blaydon Burn, The Industrial Background
YEAR1
2001
English, British
ADDITINF
Y
Class
Domestic
COMP1
Jennifer Morrison
COMP2
Jennifer Morrison
DAY1
27
DAY2
15
District
Gateshead
Easting
417540
Grid ref figure
8
Map Sheet
NZ16SE
MONTH1
4
MONTH2
3
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
563130
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Stuart 1603 to 1714
Place
Blaydon Burn
Description
Dockendale Hall and farm were part of the estate of the Silvertop family, who came to Tyneside during the Commonwealth and settled at Dockendale. William Silvertop was involved in coal trade, and in 1669 became agent for the Winlaton Estate through close friendship with Albert Hodgson, one of the lords of the manor [Fighting Trade 1, 142]. Bourn relates a story of a woman living at Dockendale in 1760, finding money in an old bureau she had bought at a sale in Winlaton [Bourn, 100].
In 1765 the premises were occupied by John Humble and Thomas Billy, and offered for sale that year. From 1797-8 the farm of Dockendale was rented by Matthias William Dunn, who altered it in 1810 into tenements for his keelmen. With the coming of the railway in 1834 the need for keelman declined, and by 1840 Dockendale Hall was empty [History of Blaydon, 76]. The 1st edition OS of 1858 marks it as derelict and called ‘Old Walls’. The site of the Hall was destroyed when the Electric Power Sub-Station (53) was built in 1904.
There are no visible remains.
Site Type: Broad
House
SITEDESC
Dockendale Hall and farm were part of the estate of the Silvertop family, who came to Tyneside during the Commonwealth and settled at Dockendale. William Silvertop was involved in coal trade, and in 1669 became agent for the Winlaton Estate through close friendship with Albert Hodgson, one of the lords of the manor [Fighting Trade 1, 142]. Bourn relates a story of a woman living at Dockendale in 1760, finding money in an old bureau she had bought at a sale in Winlaton [Bourn, 100].
In 1765 the premises were occupied by John Humble and Thomas Billy, and offered for sale that year. From 1797-8 the farm of Dockendale was rented by Matthias William Dunn, who altered it in 1810 into tenements for his keelmen. With the coming of the railway in 1834 the need for keelman declined, and by 1840 Dockendale Hall was empty [History of Blaydon, 76]. The 1st edition OS of 1858 marks it as derelict and called ‘Old Walls’. The site of the Hall was destroyed when the Electric Power Sub-Station (53) was built in 1904.
There are no visible remains.
Site Name
Old Dockendale Hall
Site Type: Specific
Country House
HER Number
1660
Form of Evidence
Demolished Building
Sources
<< HER 1660 >> W & DLHS, 1975, History of Blaydon
Blaydon Burn, The Industrial Background