Willington Square (Millbank Square)

HER Number:
15574

District:
N Tyneside

Site Name:
Willington Square (Millbank Square)

Place:
Willington

Map Sheet:
NZ36NW

Class:
Domestic

Site Type: Broad:
Industrial House

Site Type: Specific:
Workers Cottage

General Period:
Early Modern

Specific Period:
C19

Form of Evidence:
Demolished Building

Description:
Named as Millbank Square on Tithe Plan of 1839. Willington Square is shown Ordnance Survey first edition of 1861 next to Old Engine Pit (HER 1166) and close to Edward Pit (HER 1165). The houses had pantile roofs and had been extended to the rear. Little windows under the eaves lit the loft space, which was used as a bedroom and was accessed by a ladder. The open space in the centre of the square was used for an ash-midden, cleared by farmers to fertilise their fields. Later shared privies were built here. The square was surrounded by garden allotments. Willington Square was cleared in 1933.

Easting:
3157

Northing:
6828

Grid Reference:
NZ31576828

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Thompson, Roy, 1996, Thunder Underground - Northumberland Mine Disasters 1815-1865, p 25; Photo of demolition 1933 held by North Shields Library; Tyne and Wear Museums, 2009, Churchill Community College, Wallsend - Archaeological Assessment; Tithe Plan, 1839, NRO DT 511 M