Carr Hill
Carr Hill is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. It is bordered by Felling to the north, Sheriff Hill to the south, Windy Nook to the east and Deckham to the west. It lies south of Gateshead, south of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and north of the historic City of Durham. Once a village in County Durham, it was incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead by the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974.
One of the less populous of the former villages that comprise the metropolitan borough, Carr Hill has a long history and was first developed by the Romans. During the Industrial Revolution it became the centre of pottery making in Tyneside, and numerous stone quarries, glass makers and windmills were set up. It also had a large reservoir providing water to several areas of Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne.
Industrial decline from the turn of the 20th century, coupled with the building of Gateshead's first council estate, saw Carr Hill transformed from an industrial settlement into a residential suburb of the Gateshead Council ward of Deckham. Governed locally and nationally by the Labour Party, the suburb is economically disadvantaged compared to other areas of the borough and nationally, with high levels of unemployment and low levels of income. It is served by Carr Hill Primary School. There are two small parks that contribute to the social activity of the area, as does the Elgin Centre at Elgin Road.
History
Early history
The origins of the name "Carr Hill" are subject to speculation. In the 18th and 19th centuries the village was usually referred to as Carr's Hill, a possessive form suggesting that, like Deckham, the name stems from a notable family in residence. It is more likely however that the name was taken from the Scottish Gaelic carr, meaning "rocky shelf".Parts of the early village were in Upper Heworth, and the remainder in Gateshead Fell, a wild and treacherous area of common land notable for the criminality of the tinkers and hawkers who lived there. There is some evidence of Roman occupation; a proposed enclosure map of Heworth Common from 1766 charts a Roman Causeway running between Carr Hill Lane and Blue Quarries in Sheriff Hill. The likely explanation for Roman interest in the area is Swan Pond, twice the size of the pond at Saltwell Park, the fresh water from which might be used to fill bathhouses and flush latrines. Indeed, in 1697, William Yarnold obtained a lease for the laying of cisterns and pipes to bring water from "the Great Pond at Carr's Hill", shown on ordnance survey maps as Swan Pond, to Newcastle upon Tyne.
Industrial period 1740–1860
The most important event in Carr Hill's formative history occurred in 1740, when John Warburton established a pottery at Carr Hill Lane. Warburton's pottery, later referred to as 'Carr Hill Pottery' and widely credited with bringing white earthenware to the region, transformed the village into one of Gateshead's potting epicentres and encouraged workers and traders to move to the area. Warburton passed the pottery to his son-in-law Issac Warburton in about 1760, and by the time John Warburton died in June 1794 it was the largest in the Tyne Valley, commanding a rent of £100 per annum; by comparison, the Tyne Pottery on Felling shore paid £20. When placed for sale in 1812, the advert described Carr Hill Pottery as "valuable and extensive".Carr Hill by 1820 was a modern and populous village, situated on hill, still isolated from Gateshead and Felling. A variety of industries had developed alongside Warburton's pottery and were prospering; a flint glass manufacturer, under the management of Alexander Elliot, three corn mills - Carr Hill Mill, Felling Windmill and St John's Mill – and a fire brick kiln. There were also three inns and "some neat houses occupied by respectable families". By 1840 Carr Hill Reservoir had been built and, under the management of the Newcastle Water Company was the major water supplier for residents in Carr Hill, Sheriff Hill and Windy Nook, and freestone quarries, similar to Kells' Quarry in Windy Nook, were producing Newcastle Grindstone of excellent quality. In 1856 a Methodist Chapel was built. During the mid-19th century, the increasing population led to calls for social amenities to be improved; footpaths were a particular concern, although an examination of ordnance survey mapping demonstrates the continued isolation of the village generally. The success of Warburton's pottery resulted in a street being named after him, but the lack of residential development is evident. Carr Hill glassworks and quarries are still clearly marked, along with Swan Pond and a public house, The Free Gardeners Arms. By the mid-19th century Carr Hill Reservoir was in the hands of the Whittle Dean Water Company, and in 1883 was converted into a 10-million imperial gallon open reservoir.
Carr Hill House
Carr Hill House was the largest estate in the village; a freehold mansion house on Carr Hill Lane. The date of building is unknown, but it does not appear on an enclosure map of 1766, suggesting it was built after that date. There is strong evidence that it was once a lunatic asylum; in 1770 an advertisement in a local newspaper declared:
We beg Leave to inform the Public that we have opened the above HOUSE pleasantly situated about a mile distant from Newcastle, which we have fitted up in an elegant manner, with every Accommodation for the reception of LUNATICKS in genteel or opulent circumstances: in this House Persons entrusted to our Care shall be treated with the utmost Attention and Humanity. The terms are reasonable. R. Lambert, W. Keenlyside, H Gibson, R. Stoddard, Newcastle 1767.
By the turn of the 19th century Carr Hill House was a residential property and farm, and in 1806 Matthew Atkinson responded to an advertisement in the Newcastle Courant and purchased the estate. In 1858 the house was in the hands of G. J Kenmir, town clerk of Gateshead from 1855 until 1856, who occupied a estate on which he kept a large number of pigs.
Industrial decline and modern development
By the late 19th century the village was in steep decline. In 1894, Whellan described Carr Hill as "a scattered village, which ... was dotted with windmills, now fallen into ruins, as are many of the houses." Carr Hill Pottery had operated throughout the 19th century, but the once thriving pottery had by 1860 become little more than a cottage industry, employing a mere 8 employees and paying just £15 per annum in rent. Ownership subsequently transferred to Thomas Patterson, of neighbouring Sheriff Hill Pottery, who eventually closed the Carr Hill works in 1893. The buildings were demolished completely in 1932; only the Old Brown Jug public house and a street named in honour of Warburton survived as reminders of the area's rich pottery heritage by 2010. Carr Hill Quarry on Elgin Road was infilled and replaced by a school, and although the windmills still stood, none operated as a going concern by 1890, and were instead used as tenement property or storehouses Carr Hill Mill was demolished between 1919 and 1939 as was the last remaining mill in 1963. Elliot's glassworks suffered a similar fate, closing in about 1900 and demolished in 1932. Carr Hill House fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1921. Carr Hill Reservoir survived until 1973, but by then the whole of Gateshead and Newcastle were supplied by the Newcastle and Water Company from Catcleugh and Whittle Dene in Northumberland and it had become redundant, and was covered soon after.Carr Hill today is shaped by the housing development of the 20th century. A building boom begun in Gateshead at the start of the 20th century; large tracts of development at Deckham were matched by development in Carr Hill at Mafeking, Methuen and Baden Powell Streets. In 1911 an offer to build Sutton Dwellings was made to Gateshead Council and was staunchly rebuffed and in 1917 Parliament made a further proposal which was again rejected. However, a Gateshead Council survey concluded in 1919 that "overcrowding in Gateshead was at dangerous levels, that landlords were scrimping on repairs and improvements" and that housing levels were unsustainable in light of rapid population growth. When in February 1919 the Town Improvement Committee recommended the purchase of of land between Dryden Road at Low Fell and Carr Hill under the Housing Act 1919, the Council finally yielded and purchased of land in Carr Hill and Sheriff Hill at the cost of £19,000. The result was that, in 1921, a large council estate was built in Carr Hill at Iona Road and the surrounding areas. The estate remains largely unchanged and shapes the suburb today, with only the width of Carr Hill Road, the 'Old Brown Jug' inn building and some stone cottages at Co-Operative Terrace remaining of the industrial village which once stood in its stead.
Governance
Carr Hill is in the council ward of Deckham in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. This ward is approximately in area and has a population of 9,228. It is represented by three councillors. In June 2012, they were Brian Coates, Martin Gannon and Bernadette Oliphant.Carr Hill is part of the Westminster parliamentary constituency of Gateshead. It was previously in the Gateshead East and Washington West constituency which was abolished by boundary changes before the 2010 UK General Election. For many years the MP was Joyce Quin, who retired on 11 April 2005 and was awarded a life peerage into the House of Lords on 13 June 2006 and is now Baroness Quin.
The present MP Ian Mearns, is a member of the Labour party and his office is in Gateshead. He replaced Sharon Hodgson who successfully campaigned in the newly formed constituency of Washington and Sunderland West. In the 2010 UK General Election, Mearns was elected with a majority of 12,549 over Frank Hindle. The swing from Labour to the Liberal Democrats was 3.9%.
Carr Hill is in a safe Labour seat. Mearns' success in 2010 followed of Sharon Hodgson, who in the 2005 UK General Election polled over 60% of the votes cast whilst in 2001, Joyce Quin was returned with a majority of 53.3%.