East Boldon Conservation Area

HER Number:
11864

District:
S Tyneside

Site Name:
East Boldon Conservation Area

Place:
East Boldon

Map Sheet:
NZ36SE

Class:
Domestic

Site Type: Broad:

Site Type: Specific:
Settlement

General Period:
Modern

Specific Period:
C20

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
Designated in 1975 to cover the linear core of the old village (HER 955) and its extensions east and west. In 1993 it was extended to take in most of Station Road. It still retains its neat compact linear shape - a two-row plan with a back lane on both sides and originally a green along the middle. There is mention of 'the new moor of East Boldon' in 1283 AD, suggesting that West Boldon had been split into two. The parish registers of St. Nicholas, West Boldon mention a separate East Boldon in 1574. In 1700 villagers were mostly employed as agricultural labourers. In 1665 there were 15 dwellings in East Boldon - five large farms and cottages. There were joiners, blacksmiths and wheelwrights. In 1751 the local magistrate and rector mention an alehousekeeper. The Colville and Fawcett families held farms and garths in East Boldon in the 18th century. Parson and White's trade directory of 1828 lists only 28 people, including 15 farmers, 2 corn millers, a blacksmith, gardener, tile maker, three victuallers (publicans) and two shopkeepers. The onset of the Industrial Revolution brought change to East Boldon. The Brandling Junction Railway was built between Newcastle and Sunderland in 1839. A station opened at East Boldon in that year, known as Cleadon Lane Station until 1898. Thus the village was connected to the major towns and became a commuter settlement. Whellan's 'History of Durham' 1856 lists a ship-owner, timber merchant, tailor and shoemaker as residents. Until the mid 19th century educational and religious activities took place in West Boldon. The first village school was built in East Boldon in 1855, soon moving to Front Street (now East Boldon Infant School). The Congregational Church Hall was built in 1863, followed by the Congregational Church itself in 1876 and the Methodist Chapel in 1888. By 1877 the number of farmers had fallen and villagers included printers, timber merchants, grocers, enamel manufacturers, six ship-owners, a chemist, spirit merchant, draper, colliery agent, iron merchant and an earthenware manufacturer. Towards the end of the 19th century, East Boldon had become a popular place to live. Professionals lived in large houses with rooms for servants. Ward's Directory of 1890 shows that East Boldon had overtaken West Boldon in population and number of trades listed. In 1904 James Johnson & Sons built a block of offices, a chemist, gentlemen's club, grocer, cobblers and a Barclays Bank in the centre of the village. In 1908 a terrace of shops, with a post office and Martins Bank, was built at Station Terrace. At Black's Corner (named after a cake shop at the junction of Station Road, Sunderland Road and Front Street) there was a branch of the Boldon Colliery Co-operative Society and offices for the North East Electricity Board. The earliest surviving pubs are the Black Bull and Grey Horse. In 1922 St. George's Church was built. East Boldon became a separate parish from West Boldon in October 1930. Interwar housing was built to the west, linking West and East Boldon. 300 homes were built north of the old village core between 1991 and 1996. Most buildings in the CA are one or two storeys. The historic buildings are in a simple traditional local vernacular style with pitched roofs, plain eaves, vertical windows and little ornamentation. The layout is focused on the street frontage woth gardens behind backing onto North and South Lanes. Many gardens have been built upon. Later terraced housing is grander and more imposing than the earlier ones. Early buildings and boundary walls are in local magnesian limestone (rubble or squared). Early roofs were originally in hand made clay pantiles. Victorian roofs are in Welsh slate. Rendering and painting have altered character, particularly on terraces. Traditional windows are timber vertical sliding sashes. Many survive, but just as many have been replaced in modern timber or uPVC. Agricultural buildings have been converted to residential. The core of East Boldon is

Easting:
3641

Northing:
6131

Grid Reference:
NZ36416131

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
North of England Civic Trust on behalf of South Tyneside Council, February 2006, East Boldon Conservation Area Character Appraisal; East Boldon School Centenary 1885-1985; M. Linge, The Story of Boldon; A. Middleton, 1983, Boldon's Witness in Church and Community; N. Pevsner, 1953, The Buildings of England: County Durham; W. Wilson, 1935, A Short History of Boldon