Low Fell, County Durham

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Not to be confused with Low Fell (Lake District)
Low Fell
County Durham
Beaconsfield Road, Low Fell.JPG
Beaconsfield Road, Low Fell
Location
Grid reference: NZ2559
Location: 54°55’48"N, 1°36’0"W
Data
Population: 8,636  (2011)
Post town: Gateshead
Postcode: NE9
Dialling code: 0191
Local Government
Council: Gateshead
Parliamentary
constituency: 		Gateshead

Low Fell is a County Durham village which has become a mere suburb of Gateshead. It is bordered by Sheriff Hill/Deckham to the east, Saltwell/Bensham to the west, Harlow Green to the south and Shipcote to the north. It is found on the A167 road two and a half miles south of Gateshead town centre, and twelve miles north of the county town; the City of Durham. The population was recorded as 8,636 at the 2011 census.

For centuries little more than part of a windswept, barren and treacherous heath, the settlement at Low Fell was initially established by a moderate influx of tinkers and miners in the 18th century.[1]

Low Fell has a long and rich history. It developed through the building of a new road to bypass the steep turnpike road which ran through Sheriff Hill, which in turn encouraged both private enterprise (particularly public houses) and the incumbency of dozens of wealthy individuals who built substantial villas in which they could escape the dirt and grime of 19th century Newcastle. Several of these villas remain today and contribute to the dozen Grade II listed buildings in the suburb, which has continued to develop into an affluent area with a village feel.

The principal landmark in the suburb is St Helen's Church. Also here is Underhill, the home of Sir Joseph Swan and the first domestic property in the world to be illuminated by electric light.

History

Until 1809, Low Fell was considered part of Gateshead Fell,[2] once described as a "windswept, barren and treacherous heath",[1] it took its name from nearby Gateshead and the fact that which was a heath and common.[3] That portion of Gateshead Fell which would later become Low Fell was, in the 1640s, little more than boggy marsh and wetlands owned by the Bishop of Durham who simply divided the land into plots and rented them to the few tenants willing to pay for them.[4] By the 18th century, the lower section of Gateshead Fell consisted broadly of sparsely populated farm and woodland, demarcated from the section of Gateshead Fell which was to become Sheriff Hill by a boundary formed by a mound of earth.[5]

In 1771, the number of settlers on Gateshead Fell increased as a result of the 'Great Flood of 1771', during which the rivers Tyne, Wear and Tees all burst their banks, causing people to lose their homes.[6] By this time, however, Gateshead Fell had become a place of considerable notoriety, both for the bleakness of the land and for the criminality undertaken upon it.[7] When John Wesley arrived in a blizzard in 1785, he found a "pathless waste of white"[2] inhabited predominantly by tinkers, gypsies, pitmen and quarrymen.[8]

In 1809 an Act was obtained ordering the enclosure of Gateshead Fell.[9]

Carter's Well

The Inclosure Act separated Gateshead Fell into Wrekenton and Sheriff Hill (collectively High Fell) plus Low Fell. Commissioners were appointed to settle claims in land and to apportion Gateshead Fell accordingly. Plans were laid for the requisition and construction of wells (including Carter's Well, on Durham Road)[10], quarries, drains, roads, watering places and other essential requirements.[9] Progress was slow, with the last allotment disputes not settled until 1822,[8] but by the time of completion, Gateshead Fell was entirely enclosed and effectively consigned to history.[11] The divisions of Gateshead Fell have remained more or less settled, so that the villages created by enclosure have survived, almost entirely intact, to the present day.[11]

After enclosure, 'civilisation came to the Fell'.[8] This began with the building of a new road. The only major road through Gateshead Fell was that which followed the same route of the ancient turnpike road which ran through what is now Sheriff Hill (today this is Old Durham Road/Sheriffs Highway). The turnpike road was very steep and was deemed rather unsatisfactory:
Why should coaches have to labour up the long hill from Newcastle to the top of Gateshead Fell, and then go down the steep descent to the Coach & Horses inn just before Birtley, while those coming from the south had to climb and descend the hills in reverse? There must be a new road with better gradients...

Until 1824 a mile of farmland separated Gateshead and Low Fell, though the land was far less severe than that leading to Sheriff Hill and Wrekenton, so plans were drawn to build a new road through the farmland, Low Fell and towards Durham.[9] Work began on this new road on 6 December 1824 and took some eighteen months to complete so that the first mail coach travelled on the new road, today known as Durham Road, on 17 June 1826.[12] Thomas Wilson used to call this road "the road through the fields";[13] a description which was said to have suited the road well until at least the turn of the 20th century.[14]

The opening of the new road saw people drawn to an area which now attracted considerable trade, travel and through–fare.[12] Robert Clements, proprietor of the Old Cannon Inn at Sheriff Hill, quickly foresaw the likely detrimental effect that the new road would have on his business and opened the New Cannon Inn on the corner of Durham Road and Buck Lane (now Beaconsfield Road) in 1826– the same year that the Sheriff's March was re–routed from Sheriff Hill to the new road through Low Fell.[12][15] Despite the cessation of the Sheriff's March in 1838,[16] Clements' establishment became "the social centre of the growing village, where concerts, dinners and meetings of all kinds were held".[17]

Wilsons's Literary Rooms, now "The Bank" bar

New, adjoining roads gradually began to appear, such as Lamesley Road, which later became Kells Lane, and Low Fell Road, which became Beaconsfield Road and Belle Vue Bank.[18] In January 1841, local poet Thomas Wilson bought land on Durham Road and opened literary rooms which were opened in November 1841.[12] The upper section of the literary rooms was used as a school for local children until the opening of a new school on a site at Kells Lane in 1895.[19] In the 1880s there was a decade of intensive building and the population of the village increased accordingly.[17] The relative tranquillity of the village, coupled with scenic views of surrounding hills and countryside, attracted rich industrialists from nearby Newcastle–upon–Tyne, seeking an alternative to the dirt and noise of industrial Newcastle and Gateshead.[20] These individuals duly built and lived in mansion property in the area.[21] One such property, Heathfield, was a mansion located on Durham Road which was built and owned by a wealthy chemical manufacturer who kept bears in his substantial adjoining grounds.[17]

Through the early 20th century, the village continued to expand towards Gateshead,[22] though even in the interwar–years "children could play marbles on Durham Road in perfect safety".[17] However, by the end of the Second World War in 1945, Gateshead itself has expanded so much that the urban sprawl had removed much of the scenic panorama which had delighted settlers in the suburb a century earlier.[17] In spite of these developments:

By 1939, Low Fell had become the select suburb of Gateshead and had substantial and independent shopping facilities. All of the houses between Shipcote and the village were private and the owners added 'Low Fell' to their addresses, at times not even mentioning Gateshead, although, if we adhere to the original boundaries, they did not live in Low Fell at all".[22]

The village changed little in either character or structure after the end of the Second World War,[23] though in 1965 plans were drawn for the further development of Durham Road which drew criticism from residents. By the 1970s Low Fell had transformed from those early, village days and was by that time a bustling suburb with a considerable independent commercial hub attracting a high volume of vehicular traffic.[17] That character is relatively unchanged today, but Low Fell remains one of the most attractive places to live in the metropolitan parts of the county, retaining a distinctive village feel and containing a thriving community of shops, restaurants, schools and churches.[24]

Churches

St Helen's Church, Low Fell
  • Church of England: St Helen's Church, a Gothic revival church paid for "by the laudable benevolence of Edward Joicey",[25] the foundation stone of St Helen's was laid on 29 October 1873 and the church was consecrated on 29 August 1876.[26] The result is "a lovely church" located on Belle Vue Bank which benefits from a number of high quality, stained–glass windows.[27]
  • Methodist: Wesley Memorial Methodist Church.[28]
  • United Reformed Church: Denewell Avenue Church
  • Roman Catholic: St Peter's

Buildings and Landmarks

Underhill, 99 Kells Lane
  • Underhill, at 99 Kells Lane, is a Grade II* listed building.[29] It was the home of Sir Joseph Wilson Swan between 1869–1883 and was the site of many pioneering experiments in photographic processing and in electricity.[30] Described as "a large, unlovely polychrome villa",[31] Underhill was the first private residence in the world to be lit by electric light. It later became a school, and is now retirement sheltered housing.[32]
  • Home House at 231 Kells Lane is a fine early 19th century, symmetrical, ashlar and sandstone property; the family home of the Dodds sisters. It is Grade II listed.[33]
  • Carter's Well on Durham Road[34]
  • Wilson's Literary Rooms at 516 Durham Road "a stone building with a domestic air"[35] and Grade II listed[36] It was the literary room built by local subscription at the instigation of Thomas Wilson in 1841,[32]

Outside links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Manders, 1973: 308
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Manders, 1973: 307
  3. ↑ Lewis, 1848: 284
  4. ↑ LFCAMP, 2006: 5
  5. ↑ LFCAMP, 2006: 5–6
  6. ↑ Garrett, 1818: 38
  7. ↑ Manders, 1973: 309. Indeed, in March 1888, North Country Lore and Legend, Monthly Chronicle recalled: "Gateshead Fell, as the name implies, was once a wild common, over a portion of which lay the road between Durham and Newcastle. The loneliness of the bleak moorland was quite guile enough to invest it with terror to travellers a hundred years ago and occasionally there were incidents that served greatly to enhance the evil repute of the locality..." (author unknown)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Carlton, 1974: 114
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Manders, 1973: 309
  10. ↑ Richards, 2010: para.2
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Manders, 1973: 310
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Hope–Dodds, 1965/6: Part 1
  13. ↑ Brazendale, 2004: 66
  14. ↑ Hope–Dodds, 1965/6: Part 3
  15. ↑ McKenzie, 1827, 746 at fn 1
  16. ↑ Marshall, 1991: 131, Para 1
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 Carlton, 1974: 115
  18. ↑ Overbury, 2009: para.10
  19. ↑ Manders, 1973: 311
  20. ↑ LFCAMP, 2007: 3, Col 1
  21. ↑ Overbury, 2009: para.6
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Manders, 1973: 314
  23. ↑ Manders, 1973: 315
  24. ↑ Overbury, 2009: para.8
  25. ↑ Gateshead Observer, 25 January 1873
  26. ↑ Atkinson, 2001: 9
  27. ↑ National Heritage List 430168: Church of St Helen
  28. ↑ National Heritage List 430200: Wesley Methodist Church
  29. ↑ National Heritage List 430228: Underhill
  30. ↑ McCombie, 2009: 266–7
  31. ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: County Durham, 1953; 1983 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09599-9
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 McCombie, 2009: 267
  33. ↑ National Heritage List 430231: Home House
  34. ↑ National Heritage List 430208: Carter's Well
  35. ↑ McCombie, 2009: 266
  36. ↑ National Heritage List 430207: Low Fell, County Durham

Books

  • Altrocchi, Paul (2009). So Richly Spun. iUniverse. ISBN 978-1-4401-2393-1. 
  • Atkinson, Sid (2001). The Church on the Bank. St Helens and Gateshead Council. 
  • Brazendale, Alan (2004). Old Images (Images of Gateshead). The History Press Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-2073-9. 
  • Carlton, Ian Clark (1974). An account of the Great Floods in the River's Tyne, Wear and Tees. Gateshead Corporation. ISBN 0-901273-04-X. 
  • Faulkner, Thomas (2006). Gateshead and Newcastle, Architecture and Heritage. The Bluecoat Press. ISBN 1-904438-29-6. 
  • Hope Dodds, Madeleine. The History of Low Fell. Gateshead Libraries. 
  • Manders, Francis William David (1973). A History of Gateshead. Gateshead Corporation. ISBN 0-901273-02-3. 
  • Marshall, T (1991). Gateshead Place Names and History:Miscellaneous Notes. Gateshead Central Library. 
  • McCombie, Grace (2009). Newcastle and Gateshead. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12664-8. 
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