Benwell Fisheries

Benwell Fishery is shown on Bowman’s survey of 1839, the Tithe Map of 1843 and the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map of 1864. It is possible that this site is the continuation of the medieval fishery first documented in 1472 (HER 12289). Ferrier notes that the site was owned by William Ord but leased to Ralph Hopper c. 1827 to c. 1843. Ward's Directory of 1850 notes the chief tenant as Christian Reid and its annual rent in 1851 was listed as £50. An advert in the Newcastle Courant offering the sale of the lease of "Fishery House" indicate that some of the Hopper family remained as tenants as late as 1856.
In 1870, the site was identified as Benwell Salmon Fishery in another advert in the Newcastle Courant, located “on the north bank of the River Tyne for a distance of nearly four miles from Scotswood Burn in the west to Skinner Burn to the east”. By this period, the main tenant was Anthony Teasdale but the 1871 Census identifies Thomas and Elizabeth Archer, as well as their five children, inhabiting the property. By 1882, the tenancy changed again with George Beveridge listed as primary tenant.
The site was sold to Armstrong Whitworth & Co to allow expansion of their Elswick Works and the fishery was demolished as depicted on the 2nd Edition of the Ordnance Survey, which was revised in 1894.