Cruddas Terrace

Provided 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.

Cruddas Terrace consists of six houses, though census evidence suggests that there were once more, perhaps eight or nine.

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

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

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. 5 Cruddas Terrace