Felling, Tyne and Wear

The name of Felling is recorded as early as 1217 and, in 1920, was said to refer to a clearing where woods and trees were felled.[1] Since there are no other places in Britain which bear this name, despite country-wide tree felling, it is much more likely to be because it lies on the eastern descent of a Fell, which rises from Team Valley in the west to Low Fell, then still rising to High Fell, before descending down to the Tyne through Felling. Ing is a place name ending which means "the people of". In the 13th century, the Prior of Durham enfeoffed Sir Walter de Selby a manor at Felling "to hold by homage, fealty, knights' service, two marks rent, and suit at the prior's every fortnight".[2] The estate then passed to Walter's son, Adam, whose own son forfeited the estate the manor upon his death, whereupon it was passed to Ralph de Applingden.[3] In 1331, the manor was granted to Sir Thomas Surtees by Bishop Lewis Beaumont, who passed it to his son Alexander and whose own son, Thomas, inherited the estate in 1400 when he was only 20 weeks old. Thomas lived only 35 years, but is notable for having been High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1422.[4] The estate continued to pass through the Surtees family until 1509, when the last surviving member of that family died.[2]

There followed a period of extensive litigation as the future of the considerable Surtees estate, which also included Low Dinsdale Manor near Darlington, was contested between the families Brandling, a staunchly Royalist and Catholic family, Blaxton and Wyclyffe.[5][6] While several elements of the estate where divided by share, in 1509 the entire manor of Felling was granted by Deed of Partition to Robert Brandling and his heirs "for life and to the total extinction" of any other claims.[7]

Brandling duly lived at Felling with his wife Anne. He became sheriff of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1524, was mayor of Newcastle five times and was knighted by the Duke of Somerset at Mussleburgh. When he died in 1568, the estate passed to his brother Thomas.[8] In 1605, Thomas' grandson, Robert Brandling, inherited the manor. Robert Brandling was granted Newminster Abbey by King James in 1810, served as High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1617 and was in 1621 elected Member of Parliament for Morpeth.[9] When he died in 1636, the estate passed to his son, Sir Francis Brandling. Francis was also an MP, albeit for Northumberland, between 1824–25 though he abandoned Felling in favour of residence at Alnwick Abbey.[7][10] He died in 1641 and was succeeded by Charles Brandling, a cavalry colonel who also resided at both Felling and Alnwick. Charles had two brothers. The older of which, Ralph, was killed at the Battle of Marston Moor,[11] while the second brother, Robert, also participated in the English Civil War and was captured in an otherwise successful Royalist engagement at Corbridge in February 1644 after which he switched sides and fought for the Roundheads; an action which earned him the reputation as "a very knave" which he carried until his death in 1669.[5]

By the turn of the 18th century, Felling consisted of little more than the large Brandling estate and a small scattering of tiny farming villages.[12] However, Ralph Brandling, the incumbent of the Brandling estate at that time, had come to realise the value of the rich coal deposits on his estate and began drift mining around 1670.[12][13] He initially found the large coal seams under his estate difficult to extract due to their depth, and indeed it was imported coal from Newcastle-upon-Tyne which saw the development of more extensive industries in salt, glass and chemicals which began to attract workers to the area.[12] At around 1750, a large copper-works was opened at the banks of the River Tyne; the first such works to be developed on the river.[14][15] Encouraged by these developments, Ralph Brandling's son, Charles Brandling,[note 1] firstly commissioned more extensive mining of near-surface coal on his estate and then, encouraged by the discovery of several strata below his estate, began boring operations in 1758 to allow ultimately for deeper coal extraction.[16][17] The result was the opening of Felling Colliery[note 2] in 1779, working on the High Main stratum at a depth of 125 fathoms.[2][16] A brown paper mill was also opened in 1798.[14]

Felling Colliery, where two disasters in the space of eighteen months saw over a hundred men and boys killed.

On 19 January 1811, the original High Main seam at Felling Colliery was closed, but by that time the colliery had grown enormously.[18][note 3] The colliery was deepened to reach the Low Main seam. Two shafts were provided: John Pit and William Pit.[19] The Low Main and began operation in October 1810.[2] Disaster struck Felling Colliery on 25 May 1812 when, despite the colliery containing the most up-to-date safety measures,[20] firedamp ignited and at around 11.30 am, "one of the most tremendous explosions in the history of coal mining took place".[2] Two explosions rocked the colliery, the blast appearing in both pits.[19] A cloud of coal dust and debris over a radius of a mile and a half was ejected from the colliery.[21] One account recalled:

Immense quantities of dust and coal rose high into the air in an inverted cone...In the village of Heworth, this cloud caused a darkness like that of early twilight and covered the roads so thickly that the footsteps of passengers were deeply imprinted in it. As soon as the explosion was heard, wives and children of the workmen ran to the pit. Wildness and terror were pictured in every countenance. The crowd soon collected to several hundreds, some crying out for a husband, others for a parent or a son, and all affected by a mixture of horror, anxiety and grief.[22]

Following the first blast at 11:30, rescue attempts started at 12:15. At 14:00 the second blast occurred and no further rescues occurred.[19] Some 29 men were saved, but the remaining 92 men and boys were killed.[2] Two days later the decision was made to seal the colliery to starve the fire of oxygen.[19] Just one year later, on 24 December 1813, a further catastrophe occurred:

About half-past one o'clock on the morning, an explosion took place in Felling colliery, by which nine men and thirteen boys were hurried into eternity, several others severely burnt, and all the underground horses but one destroyed. The accident occurred at the time of calling course, or when one set of men were relieving another. Several of the morning shift men were standing round the mouth of the pit, waiting to go down, when the blast occurred, and the part who had just descended met it soon after they had reached the bottom of the shaft; these were most miserably burnt and mangled.[23]

The 200th anniversary of the first disaster was commemorated in Felling on 25 May 2012 by a parade from St Mary's Church at Heworth to the place of the entrance to the colliery at Mulberry Street.[24]

The coal staithes at Felling Shore.

An ordnance survey map of High and Low Felling in 1862

In spite of the disaster, Felling continued to grow and by the time of the explosions the character of Felling had changed substantially. There now existed three distinct villages. Around two miles south east of Gateshead lay High Felling; a residential village in the township of Heworth which had attracted several Wesleyan and Methodist preachers.[25] Slightly to the north lay Low Felling. This was a more heavily industrialised village, containing Felling colliery, a large chemical works and other manufacturers,[25] though in 1834 it was noted that there also existed "a few neat houses and many cottages for the colliery which, with small gardens attached, give an aspect of comfort to the village".[26] At the north and on the bank of the River Tyne, a populous manufacturing and trading village had developed known as Felling Shore, spreading across three miles of the bank of the Tyne. A Methodist church was built there in 1805. This was accompanied by several shops and four public houses frequented predominantly by seamen and workers at the adjacent quay, coal staithes and ship building works where vessels of excellent quality were built.[15][25] Industry continued to flourish here; the copperworks established in the 18th century still operated and had expanded, an oil and a paper mill had also developed, along with forging works for anchors and shovels.[14]

In 1827 the Friars Goose Chemical Works was opened by Anthony Clapham. In 1834 a second large chemical works was established by Hugh Lee Pattinson, John Lee and George Burnett;[27] it soon employed around 300 men.[14][28] Grindstone quarries produced high quality stone and a brownware pottery under Mr. Joseph Wood had opened for business.[15] In 1842, Brandling Station was opened at Mullbery Street in Felling on the Brandling Junction railway linking Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland.[29] This is one of the oldest passenger stations in the world.[30]

By around 1870, Felling had reached its industrial peak. Historian John Marius Wilson noted:

FELLING, a large village and a chapelry in Jarrow parish, Durham. The village stands on the Northeastern railway, 1½ mile SE of Gateshead; increased recently from two hamlets to its present condition; is maintained by factories and by mining operations; connects with Felling-Shore, a coal-shipping place on the Tyne; and has a post-office under Gateshead, a r. station, a church built in 1866, four dissenting chapels, and a Roman Catholic chapel. The chapelry was constituted in 1866. Population 5,105. The living is a vicarage. Value, £300. Patrons, Five Trustees.[31]

The clean-up begins after the Felling derailment in 1907, which cost two lives and saw eight more seriously injured.

Aerial photograph of Gateshead and Felling (1975)

The industrial heights proved reasonably short-lived. By 1860, improvements to access along the River Tyne only served to highlight the better sites on the Tyne bank and so shipbuilding at Felling Shore began to decline. This decline was hastened by the limited space at Felling dock, which could not reasonably be extended and so progress enjoyed elsewhere was never matched at Felling.[32] At around the same time, the chemical industry began to stall as bigger and more efficient competitors overtook their Felling counterparts.[32] The industrial decline was matched by continuous residential growth, so that by the Victorian era those industrial elements which survived were met by a large sprawl of housing from the south where High and Low Felling had effectively merged.[33]

At 10:52 am on 26 March 1907, an express passenger train travelling from Heworth signal box derailed on the approach to Felling station.[34] The cause was a combination of a sharp frost in the morning and unseasonal heat later in the day which saw the track expand and kink.[35] The derailment, which saw all bar two carriages rolled over entirely, cost two passengers their lives, with eight more seriously hurt and a further 34 suffering minor injuries such as shock.[34]

The decline of heavy industry, meanwhile, continued apace. In 1932 the large chemical works at Felling Shore closed and was left derelict, leaving behind a 2 million tonne heap of spoil.[28] Felling Colliery, the oldest and most extensive of all Felling's industry, had changed hands numerous times after the Brandlings finally sold their stake in the 1850s and ultimately closed in 1931 with the loss of 581 jobs.[17] Fairs boat yard at Felling Shore had been sold in 1919 and became Mitchison's ship yard, but this too closed in 1964.[28]

In place of industry came housing. The high density terraced housing which had accompanied the industrial boom of the 19th century had sprawled south and was soon joined by a wave of development at the run of the 20th century.[36] The earlier housing came at Stuart Street, Temple Street and Helmsdale Avenue in the form of Tyneside flats.[37] In the inter-war years, whole derelict industrial areas were cleared and large council estates of semi-detached houses, with front and back gardens, were built at the Old Fold, Stoneygate, Brandling and Nest estates.[36][38] By the time that Felling ceased to be an independent town and was incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in 1974, Felling had become a "dormitory area" and remains so today.[39]

The suburb is bisected principally by the A184.[45] Built in 1959, the road is commonly referred to as the Felling By-pass, though it "is really nothing of the kind", as the road splits residential areas of Felling almost neatly in half.[84]

By road, Gateshead can be reached in around 10 minutes, and Newcastle upon Tyne in around 15 minutes.

Until the building of the Felling By-pass, the principal road in the settlement was Sunderland Road. A former turnpike road and tram route, where civic and commercial buildings still stand as a testament to the road's past importance,[85] Sunderland Road still remains an integral local distributor today.[86]

Felling is served by the Tyne & Wear Metro, with the station located between Sunderland Road and Mulberry Street.[87][88] The station itself is described in one official document as "unwelcoming and even intimidating."[89]

The Metro provides a regular service to Newcastle City Centre, with services running up to every 6 minutes (7–8 minutes during the evening and Sunday) between Pelaw and South Gosforth, increasing to up to every 3 minutes at peak times.

The nearest rail station is Heworth, with Northern providing a generally hourly service to Newcastle, Metrocentre & Hexham heading west, and Sunderland, Hartlepool & Middlesbrough heading east.

Felling is served by a number of bus routes, running in and around the Gateshead area.

Sunderland Road is served by Go North East's 26 & 27 services, with a combined frequency of up to 6 buses per hour running between South Shields and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Felling Square is served predominantly by Go North East's local bus services, with routes running in and around East & West Gateshead, as well as Newcastle upon Tyne.

Local bus services from Felling Square (as of February 2020) can be seen below. Stops A & B are located on Crowhall Lane, with stops C & D on Coldwell Street.

Felling Town Hall

A number of listed buildings are located in and around the town centre. Arguably the most significant is Crow Hall, a Grade II* listed building,[91] is an early 18th-century sandstone and ashlar, one-room deep building at Crowhall Lane.[92] The adjacent Crow Hall Cottage and gate piers are Grade II listed buildings.[93][94] At Victoria Terrace stands Felling post office; a two-story course sandstone building with quoins and a Welsh slate roof.[95] Close by is the Imperial Bingo Club, built as a dance hall in 1927 and converted to a bingo hall in 1930, at Victoria Square.[96] Both are Grade II listed buildings.[97][98] Also a Grade II listed building is Ardallan; the first house built at Holly-Hill field in Felling constructed of sandstone and with three sash windows.[99][100] The gates, gate piers and walls are also Grade II listed.[101] Almost immediately next door stands a house and shop at 35 Davison Street; another Grade II listed building.[102]

Travelling north, the old Town Hall building at Sunderland Road is a Grade II listed building.[103] Built in 1902 and designed Henry Miller, the Felling U.D.C surveyor, this is another ashlar and sandstone building in the Baroque style.[92][104] The five piers and lamp-holders guarding the town hall are also Grade II listed.[105] The Brandling Junction railway building, now an urban studies centre, has been restored and is also a Grade II listed building.[106] At the extreme north of the town at Riverside Park, the former engine house of Tyne Main Colliery, built in 1820, is also a Grade II listed building.[107]

The Church of St Patrick, Felling

There are two churches in Felling which are also listed buildings. Christ Church, at Carlisle Street, is a Grade II listed building[108] built in 1866 by Austin and Johnson.[109] Built in the early English style, there are two stained glass windows, added in 1874, and the north aisle was completed in 1903 by J Potts and Son.[92] The church has been in continuous use since opening and today the Anglican church continues to offer religious worship and contributes to the local community through a variety of outreach programmes.[110] Also a Grade II listed church is the Church of St Patrick at High Street.[111] A Roman Catholic church built between 1893–95 by Charles Walker of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, St Patrick's is a "bold though towerless"[92] sandstone, slate and ashlar building with considerable ornamentation to the exterior though the interior is considered "roomy but uninteresting".[92][112] Officially opened on St Patrick's Day in 1895, the church is a replacement for the older St Patrick's RC Chapel at Felling Shore.[113] The church presbytery is also a Grade II listed building.[114]