31.3.14

Waterloo Road Blyth

It came to my attention recently that 18th June 2015 will be the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. Many streets and districts were named in commemoration of the Anglo-allied victory. Which made me think: When was Waterloo Road in Blyth created, how did it look when it was first built and what is the history of its development since then.

Cowpen, Blyth and Waterloo Districts (click to enlarge)


Having looked at 19th century maps of the town of Blyth in the past I knew that the area which is now Waterloo Road and the Market Place was known as Waterloo Place. Early trade directories label it as a suburb of Blyth. Waterloo Place was actually in the district of Cowpen which was separated from Blyth by a tributary of the River Blyth known locally as the Gut. Waterloo Bridge joined the two districts. During the latter part of the 19th century the gut was filled in and building development took place. The Waterloo district had always been known as part of Blyth, with Cowpen being centred on the settlement about one mile away. In fact Cowpen was an unusually large district (township). Historians believe that in medieval times Cowpen was two separate townships that merged, one being called Aynewick. Waterloo and Blyth were formally merged in 1907. Waterloo was mentioned in the Parson and White trade directory of 1827 as being a "newly-built suburb". Waterloo Road was formally named in the 1880s.

Greenwood's Map 1828 showing early development in Waterloo


Waterloo Road 1st Ed OS plan c1860

Looking East along Waterloo Road today


The eastern part of Cowpen (or Aynewick) that Waterloo was developed upon was a holding of a branch of the Delaval family. In the 16th-17th century they resided at a large hall just opposite the where the Windmill Pub now stands on Cowpen Road. The holding passed through marriage in the female line to the family of Wanley-Bowes. Landholder, Margaret Wanley-Bowes, died unmarried and intestate. Her two sisters, Anne and Elizabeth, inherited the lands. Anne married Lt. Col. Thomas Thoroton, of the Coldstream Guards, in 1784. Elizabeth married Rev. Robert Croft in 1779. Both families resided at York.

The families obtained an act of Parliament (Thoroton and Croft Estate Act) in 1784 which enabled them to develop in the district. Expansion could begin and it was rapid. Before this the land was sandy, barren and largely uncultivated. Cowpen colliery was sunk in 1794 and the suburb of Crofton came into being. Building developed more rapidly on the Cowpen side of what we now regard as the town of Blyth due to better tenure conditions. This was extended even further with the passing of the Thoroton and Croft Act 1856. The Thoroton and Croft trustees were able to make sales and grant-building leases of 999 years and the freehold and quasi-freehold tenure was preferable to the leasehold system which was in place until the late 19th century on Lord Ridley's lands in Blyth.

1861 Town Plan East

1861 Town Plan West


Old maps of the area show a westward and northerly expansion of Waterloo during the 19th century. A market square is shown after the 1860s. A hall and theatre were also built on the site. The commercial centre of Blyth migrated westward into Waterloo Place as the 19th century progressed. But the 1827 Parson and White directory and the 1834 Pigot directory list very little commercial activity in Waterloo. Most of the inhabitants listed were well-to-do or minor gentry, eg Thomas Harrison gent, shipowners, tide surveyor, harbour master etc. It was mostly a residential area. A "Waterloo" pub existed at this stage and another "Waterloo Wellington" pub, although its exact location in Blyth is not given. This no longer exists.

The building plots are of a regular size. A 1:500 scale town plan of 1861 shows similar sized houses and gardens. From what can be inferred  looking at the plan the gardens look to be quite ornamental. There are two pubs in the street though. These were not necessarily custom-built pubs, but houses converted since the first construction of the street.

A fire occurred in Waterloo Road in October 1904 and three substantial properties were completely destroyed. Many photographs exist from this period.  The destroyed properties, and from what can be seen the surrounding properties too, were three-storey buildings. They were rebuilt to be very similar to what had existed and these properties still stand today largely unaltered.



Photos c1904 Waterloo Road Fire


What the evidence so far gathered has not shown, however, is if the three-storey buildings were original from the first building phase of Waterloo, or if they were built at a later date in the 19th century to satisfy the growing commercial need. By the time of the 1861 town plan Waterloo had expanded westwards. A building with a larger footprint is shown as part of this new phase of development called Waterloo Villa. A guess at this stage could be that it was a vicarage for the many churches springing up in the area.

A look along Waterloo Road today reveals mostly modern buildings apart from the small section that was rebuilt in 1904 and a stone-built property, now the Heron's food shop. This existed pre-1904, but is it likely it was built as early as the 1820s? However, a row of much smaller properties still exist which are constructed in brick. The bricks used are similar to that of other streets of housing in Blyth, Wesleydale Terrace and Bath Terrace, which we know were constructed around the early 19th century. Could this be how Waterloo looked in the very early period, assuming that the housing was uniform. A painting from 1870 looking over the Gut towards the Market Place and the now re-developed area of Havelock Square, at the east end of Waterloo, also shows housing of a similar style.

c1870 Looking NW towards Market Place


Early Brick-built Housing?


The building that stands on the site of Waterloo Villa, if the modern façade is stripped away also looks if it could be of some antiquity and could be original.

Rear of Waterloo Villa (perhaps?)

These are some early findings. A more detailed "putting together of the jigsaw pieces" from town plans, directories and photos will hopefully reveal the individual development of each plot. A look through the newspapers of October 1904 may also be worthwhile, as they may have detailed descriptions of the properties affected.

Further reading: http://www.blythmarket.co.uk/index.php/history/ and this on the theatres of Blyth is also relevant http://northumberlandpast.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/cinemas-and-theatres-of-blyth.html

UPDATE 10th June 1014:
The Shields Gazette reported on the 17th October 1904 of a most "disastrous fire" at Waterloo Road. It had started shortly before midnight on the previous Saturday. The properties destroyed were  "representative of the most superior architecturally in the district." Twelve premises in total were extensively damaged or destroyed including a musical instrument shop and two pubs. The cost of the damage was estimated at between £30k-40k (£3-4 million in 2012)

Fire had broken out in the shop of Mr Lindly who was at the time holding a waxworks exhibition. Flames had spread alarmingly. The Blyth fire engine was quickly on the scene but the single hose could do little to stop the inferno. Besides, the hose kept breaking down and needed repairs. A family was heroically rescued from an upper floor by PC Moody with only a wet handkerchief around his mouth for protection. The police had a busy night as there was much looting taking place and efforts to stop the population from engaging in such disorder was met with abuse and a lack of co-operation.

The Morpeth Herald reported on the 29th October of another serious fire at Turner Street. This time £5000 worth of damage was caused to three premises. And, once again, looters were trying their luck.

Only three people were eventually charged with looting. William Clough was given a sentence of one month hard labour for the theft of a large clock from the White Swan Hotel. John Mather, a miner, was handed fourteen days imprisonment with hard labour for stealing a picture and Elizabeth Fitchford was ordered to repay 10s she had stolen from the White Swan with associated costs.

Blyth and Cowpen councils met jointly as a matter of urgency in the weeks following the fires. They praised Blyth Fire Brigade for the fast response and heroic efforts, but the hose and engine had been poorly maintained. The provision of an adequate water supply was also discussed at length. New measures and provisions were proposed to provide better protection to the people of Blyth 

3.3.14

Blyth Horton Castle

The Northumberland County History states that on Saturday 20th December 1292 King Edward I of England, the legendary Longshanks, stayed at Horton, which is now in the parish of Blyth, for one night. He was returning South from adjudicating the claim to the Scottish throne.


The monarch and his court were widely travelled at this time. They took the justice and administration to the people rather than there being a static location as nowadays. So, it was the usual practice for the monarch to stay as a guest of his well-to-do subjects as he travelled around. But wouldn't we have expected Edward I to have stayed in only the largest and grandest of residences of his barons,for example at Warkworth. Whereabouts in Horton did he stay and why?

The sites and monuments record at www.keystothepast.info website and the County History state that a castle stood on the site of what is now out-buildings of Low Horton Farm. It was demolished in 1809 and all that survives now is a slight hollow where the moat was.

In fact, the landholder, Sir Guiscard de Charron, had used the occasion of Edwards's visit to ask for the necessary permission to fortify his manor house, that Edward was currently a guest in. The license to crenelate was granted one week later in Newcastle. It was only after this date that the term castle could be used for the structure. The County History of Northumberland gives a further insight into the castle's construction:
...fortification seems to have proceeded intermittently for the next six years, for as late as June 5th, 1297, Charron granted to one of his tenants a selion of his demesne in exchange for a selion lying nearer to the moat of the manor-house which, it may be inferred, was then in the course of construction. This moat, which was possibly innermost of two ditches and separated from the outer moat by an earthen rampart," still exists and contains an area measuring 190 feet by 203 feet ; but no trace remains of the fortress that once stood within it. The old building was finally dismantled in 1809, and, though some portion of it remained twenty years later, that too has vanished, nor can any architectural fragment be discovered except a single arch-stone, which is of fourteenth rather than of thirteenth century date. As an example of the true type of "pele'' or fortified enclosure, its destruction is to be regretted.  
Charron did not long survive the completion of his castle. It is uncertain whether he was still alive when Edward I. again visited the place, on June 27th, 1301, or when, after the capture of Stirling had seemed to secure Scotland for the English crown, the king was for a third time entertained at Horton in 1304. Upon this last occasion Edward I was, in all probability, accompanied by the queen, and made a week's stay (August 31st or September 1st to September 6th), before proceeding to Tynemouth priory.

Hostilities between England and Scotland broke out in 1296 and would continue intermittently for the next 300 years. A fortified dwelling was a prudent measure so close to the border. Charron was close to the major political figures of the time and could probably foresee the need to live in a defensible structure, although it would have carried a certain amount of status too.

The footprint of the castle, from mapping and aerial photos, was comparable to Etal castle in the very north of the county, although slightly smaller. The castle could have fitted into Warkworth castle about four to five times.

Sir Guiscard de Charron held the township of Horton from 1269 when he married Isabella de Castre who was the widow of the previous landholder Thomas de Castre. Charron was at the time Sheriff of the County of Northumberland. The assize rolls suggest he was made Sheriff in 1266.

He was related to the king. Throughout the course of his career he was given a number of commissions, each one deploying him further North, which he carried out loyally and competently. He was highly regarded and rewarded. He came into possession of a major estate in Yorkshire before taking up residence at Horton. He had been a travelling Royal Justice between 1281 and 1292.

Charron bought out the various freeholders which put him in possession of the whole township except for the religious community lands. It is thought that a village existed on the site of what is now High Horton Farm which is roughly 500 metres away from the castle. Not much has been recorded as regards to the management of the estate at this period, but on the 1296 lay subsidy document six tenants are listed for taxation purposes.
High Horton Farm


The castle passed through a number of ownerships: the Monbouchers and Harbottles being notable names. The manor was then purchased by the Delaval family. The castle was last occupied by two sisters of Admiral George Delaval,  who died in 1723.

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