Westerhope village

HER Number:
15679

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Westerhope village

Place:
Westerhope

Map Sheet:
NZ26NW

Class:
Domestic

Site Type: Broad:
Settlement

Site Type: Specific:
Village

General Period:
Early Modern

Specific Period:
C19

Form of Evidence:
Structure

Description:
In 1890 a group of men formed the Northern Allotment Society. Their aim was 'to further the growth of fruit and flowers and cultivation of smallholdings with objects both educational and practical'. The society leased land to create the Nuns Moor Allotment Gardens in 1890. They then purchased part of Red Cow Farm from the Montagu family of Denton Hall. The land was to be shared out in lots so that working men could build dwellings and smallholdings. In 1895/6 the Red Cow Estate was named Westerhope because they 'had come west with hope to create a new community away from Newcastle's crowds'. Until the 1950s Westerhope village remained isolated in the middle of agricultural land. Joseph Wakinshaw was the estate founder and initiator of the Society. He lived at Runnymede until his death in 1923. The first streets were Stamfordham Road, North Avenue, West Avenue (Clarity Avenue) and Highfield Road. Joseph Wakinshaw's gardener, George Robson, lived in Ellergill Cottage in North Avenue, dated 1897 above the bay window. Belmont Cottages were built from 1901. The Methodist chapel was built in 1901 (the present church was built in 1974). The village schools were built on Hillhead Road in 1907. Westerhope store, built 1908, was a branch of the Throckley Co-operative Society. Montague Pit built James and Thomas Streets. North Walbottle Coal Company built Beaumont, Boyd and Rogerson Terraces between 1901 and 1910. The Picture Palace cinema (now a bingo hall) was built in 1912. More streets (such as Chatsworth Gardens were built in the 1930s). Westerhope did not have a pub until 1938 due to a covenant preventing the building of an ale house. The house of Joseph Wakinshaw, Runnymede, became a pub in 1938. A new Runnymede pub was built to the east of the house in 1964. This has since been demolished and replaced by Aldi supermarket. Joseph Wakinshaw was later responsible for Fenham and Darras Hall estates.

Easting:
2014

Northing:
6699

Grid Reference:
NZ20146699

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
J.T. Allison and A.D. Walton, 1989, Bygone Westerhope