Cruddas Terrace

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* Information pprovided by Stan Owen 4/9/23.

Originally called Bellum Brae, Cruddas Terrace is the earliest and best surviving example of the houses built in the early 1840s for workers at the Hareshaw Ironworks.

When demand for iron was high, this was an attempt to make Bellingham into an industrial town by mining the ironstone, limestone and coal that were found east of the Hareshaw Burn.

The iron was of excellent quality, some being used in the High Level Bridge in Newcastle, but it proved too costly to transport without the railway, which came to Bellingham in 1861.

The company went bankrupt in 1848 after just ten years’ production.

In the 1860s, some of the houses were refurbished and used by railway workers and miners at the Ridsdale ironworks of Sir W. G. Armstrong, who renamed it Cruddas Terrace after George Cruddas (1788-1879) who was a partner at his Elswick Works.

It is on the “industrial” side of Bellingham and the former Foundry Yard is now a small industrial estate.

Numbering - Important Note

Cruddas Terrace consists of six houses, though census evidence suggests that there were once more, perhaps eight or nine. In the 1901 Census the trail becomes very obscure. The terrace goes from 9 dwellings to 7 and there is no indication where two have been lost or amalgamated. The houses are not numbered in the 1901 census. In 1891 George Armstrong was living in number 9 which had 4 rooms; in 1901 he appears to be in the same position in the row but in a house with only 2 rooms. There is another house at the other end of the row (Todds) which now has 4 rooms instead of 2. The census enumerator appears to record the houses in the. same order as formerly. In 1911 when the numbers are again recorded Nos. 5,7,8 and nine have disappeared. Numbers 1,2,3,4,5 and 6 are recorded in 1939.

In this Wiki we have tried to rationalise the names and house numbers where possible rather than take the census information verbatim. This has not always been possible so it may appear that there are some inconsistencies in who lived where.

Cruddas Terrace circa 1910-20 - from the Collier Collection of Stan Owen

Today, Cruddas Terrace is “in a lively country village with a good selection of pubs, cafés and craft shops, as well as the Heritage Centre (opposite) and other amenities.”

Links to individual houses in Cruddas Terrace:

  1. 1 Cruddas Terrace
  2. 2 Cruddas Terrace
  3. 3 Cruddas Terrace
  4. 4 Cruddas Terrace
  5. 5 Cruddas Terrace
  6. 6 Cruddas Terrace
  7. 7 Cruddas Terrace
  8. 8 Cruddas Terrace
  9. 9 Cruddas Terrace
  10. Cruddas Terrace baker's shop

Anecdotal Memories from Clive Dalton

"There was a walkway up some steps between the railway arch and the first house that led into the foundry yard. There was a small garden at the foot of the railway bank that my dad rented for 5 shillings a year to grow veggies. Nothing was ever stolen."

"I remember it being called Bellum Brae? (As regards numbering) There were so few houses I don’t think any locals knew or cared. Their front gardens and lawns were tended to perfection with veggie garden out the back. The metal front railings were not removed for war time scrap."

"The only one we kids from further up the road knew was that ‘MR’ Jack Hall lived in the one nearest Percy Street as HE was the School Board Inspector who called in regularly to check the register to see if we were attending. He had another scary feature for us infants - a growth on the top of a middle finger on his right hand the size of a Stanley Telfer home made sausage! The poor bloke couldn’t hide it from us kids. Mr Hall to us was the father of Jock who was mechanic and eventual boss at the Northern and daughter Myrtle has just died I believe. I think she joined the forces and went nursing."