Gateshead Fell

The Fell, and particularly the turnpike road, had, in spite of its natural beauty,[18] earned itself a reputation as something of a haven for neer-do-wells and a place of considerable danger for those unaccustomed to it.[19]

In 1880, the Monthly Chronicle reflected that:

“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 ”[20]

In 1770, Robert Hazlett, a highwayman, was convicted of committing two acts of highway robbery in the same night. In the first instance, he attempted to steal a watch and coins from a lady named Miss Benson. After succeeding in obtaining from the woman her coin purse, Hazlett continued along the turnpike and encountered a postman, who, despite having been forewarned by Miss Benson, was 'lured into a trap' and robbed. Hazlett was tried within one week of his arrest at the Newcastle Assizes and was convicted. He was sentenced to hang until dead. His remains were hung on chains near a pond on the Fell as a warning to other potential, would-be criminals. That pond, named Hazlett’s Pond in dubious honour of the highwayman, has since been drained and enclosed.[20]

The Fell was also reportedly the home of minor criminal gangs.[21] Local press reports referred often to the actions of a notorious family in the name of Clark and the actions and impact of the so-called Gateshead Fell-Bishop Auckland Gang have been scrutinised.[22] However, the gang had ‘a tenuous identity’ and, despite "many arrests, few serious crimes were confirmed in court".[23] It is true, however, that Walter Clark and his wife, Jane Trotter, lived on the Fell and a number of pickpockets arrested around 1780 were associated with that house.[24] The Newcastle Chronicle reported in 1786 that one of the gang, Francis Russell, was ‘whipped around the Sandhill’.[25] A number of other individuals were pursued for other minor acts of criminality, such as stealing geese or killing sheep.[26] These incidents gained something of a local reputation for individuals such as Thomas Colpits, who was arrested on several occasions and found himself reported in the local press.[26]

The modus operandi of these ‘gangs’ was that “they often changed their names and frequently rendezvous at the Crown and the Cannon at Gateshead Fell and had ware rooms for their stolen goods...”[27] It seems likely that these acts were the sporadic acts of associated ‘tinkers’ rather than an organised gang of criminals: ‘there was no evidence of definite ringleaders or organisation’.[28]

Gateshead Fell was once one of the strongest seats of Methodism in the whole of England.[29] This is due almost entirely to the visit of John Wesley, the joint founder of the Methodist movement, in March 1743. It is said that he was returning from Pelton to Newcastle when "...he observed a little village called Chowden [now Chowdene], which they told me consisted of colliers only. I resolved to preach there as soon as possible, for these are sinners and need repentance."[30] He duly returned on 8 March 1743, was moved by the amazement of the local children (who he described as "neither clothed or naked"[30] to his presence and duly began his preachings.[31] In doing so, Wesley ensured that Methodism was bourne on the Fell.[31] Curiously, the Gateshead Fell movement quickly disassociated itself from the Newcastle circuit and formed itself into a strong, separate existence[32] so that by 1840, well attended Wesleyan services were being held in Carr Hill, Low Fell and in Sheriff Hill[33]

Gateshead Fell has been described as 'uninhabitable waste'[34] which made the frequent boundary disputes somewhat perplexing.[35] In 1595, for example, when commissioners riding on behalf of the Bishop of Durham rode along the boundary they were harangued by local residents and then confronted by the primary local landowners, William Gascoigne and John Hedworth, who rode on horseback in a fury to confront the transgressors and threatened death by rapier upon all of them.[36] The commissioners evidently believed them, and duly fled.[36]

Rather more amicable challenges to the boundaries came through the courts, including that raised by the Bishop of Durham against Sir Henry Liddell in 1714.[37] The Bishop of Durham, suspected of having a close friendship with the notorious Jacobite Thomas Forster, duly lost his case on appeal in 1717, the Court evidently finding the evidence of Liddell, a staunch Royalist, much more to their liking.[37]

On no fewer than three separate occasions, in 1691, 1735 and 1778, were recommendations made to enclose Gateshead Fell, but none of them made it any further than a mere proposal.[38] These proposals, raised by a succession of Lords, were repeatedly rebuffed by the efforts of the local borough holders . Yet in spite of the official failures to enclose the land, It seems likely that unofficial encroachments must have slowly nibbled away at the Fell, for by the time enclosure was actually undertaken in 1809, the size of Gateshead Fell had officially shrunken to a mere 631 acres.[38]

In 1809 an Act was finally obtained ordering the enclosure of Gateshead Fell.[19] Enclosure was completed in 1822.[39] Commissioners were appointed to settle claims in land and to apportion the Fell accordingly.[19] The commissioners were empowered to set out such parts as they pleased for roads, drains, quarries, watering places, and one acre as a church-yard: of the residue, one-sixteenth part was appropriated to the bishop of Durham as lord of the manor, and another sixteenth part to the boroughholders and freemen of Gateshead, in compensation for their exclusive right of letting stints: the rest of the Fell (except a part for making two waggon-ways) was divided amongst persons having right of common. The whole Fell contained 631 acres, 0 roods, 21 poles, exclusive of roads, quarries and wells.[40]

This proved a lengthy process and dozens of contested issues were raised in court.[19] Once these had been settled, plans were laid for the requisition and construction of wells, quarries, drains, roads, watering places and other essential requirements. New roads were to be built on what is now Blue Quarries Road, Church Road and Windy Nook Road to supplement the turnpike road which was to remain in spite of the development of a new turnpike road along the route which is now Durham Road, running from Newcastle to Durham through Low Fell.[19] The new road was completed in 1827. A well was also to be provided at Blue Quarries.[19]

A number of the existing residential properties on the Fell were demolished, including sixteen at Sour Milk Hill, Sheriff Hill; an act which apparently had caused the commissioner considerable distress, with one Thomas Bell noting:

...the pulling down of these cottages was one of the most unpleasant duties of the Commissioners, the greater number having to be taken down by force.[41]

Progress was slow, with the last allotment land disputes not settled until almost 1830, but by the time of completion, Gateshead Fell was, at last and after centuries of dispute, enclosed.[25] The divisions which enclosure created were to prove more or less settled: so much so that almost two hundred years later, the old Fell remains divided almost exactly as enclosed, and it was from the enclosure sprang the birth of villages (notably Sheriff Hill and Low Fell) which form part of the metropolitan borough of Gateshead today.[25]