The Lost Cottages Beside Neasham House

Neasham House did not used to stand alone. Until the end of the 1950’s, there was a row of cottages abutting it, just across the road from the gateway to Ponteland Park.

Originally nine in number, these were typical agricultural cottages which used to be common in Northumberland. They probably consisted of one room downstairs and the garret space under the roof tiles reached by a ladder through the ceiling. These cottages look to have been a little superior to the standard agricultural cottage as there was a proper upstairs window, albeit a small one placed almost at ground level. Even more light was provided by an additional small window set into the roof tiles.

It is difficult to date the cottages with any certainty but they appear on a Tithe Map dated 1846, so they must have been built before then. Although they abutted Neasham house, they had a different alignment which strongly indicates a different build date.

In 1904 six of the cottages were demolished to make way for the building of a railway bridge providing access to the new Ponteland Railway Station being built on the land behind the cottages.

The three which were left remained until the building of the Merton Way shopping centre in 1959. This needed pedestrian access from the Main Road and the cottages were demolished to provide this.