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Cleadon, South Tyneside

Farding Slade Farm, Cleadon

Last Updated:

23 Jun 2020

Cleadon, South Tyneside

This is a

Farmstead

54.971560, -1.389847

Founded in 

17th Century

Current status is

Demolished

Designer (if known):

4076554724_b6df6c95d4.jpg

Site is now woodlands close to South Shields Golf Club

'In 1647 Elizabeth, widow of Robert Chambers, held land listed under the heading "Whitburne cum Cleyton Copyholds". This land included "16 riggs of land in Cleadon in a certain place there called Farthing Slayde". The status of this place in the mid 17th century is unknown, and also, indeed, whether it might be medieval. It was clearly a farm in the 19th century, occupied by Robert Jefferson, farmer, in 1828, and shown as a courtyard type on the1st edition Ordnance Survey plan. On the modern map it appears as an outline only, i.e. deserted, and the site has been cleared.'

- Sitelines

'The old farm at Farding Lake (originally Farding Slade, also known as Farthing Lake). In the second half of the 19C it was the home of Robert Ness who one story credits with painting the white horse at nearby Marsden old quarry.'

- @Just_JanisB, Twitter, 08/06/20

Listing Description (if available)

The Ordnance Survey editions above illustrate Farding Slade Farm in the latter half of the 19th century. The first editions shows a small courtyard close to various limekilns and Marsden Hall. The land the site utilised was likely to the north as the nearby lake is named 'Farding Lake' and below is Glebe land owned by the parish.

The second edition shows a much more industrious area, as a railway branch has been connected to the nearby limeston quarry towards Marsden. The land south of the farmstead is a golf links at this point as it is now.

The edition from the 1920s still shows the farmstead in its courtyard formation outside of Marsden bordering the grounds of Marsden Hall and the expansive limestone quarry complex. Farding Lake to the north east, which is no longer in existance, seems to have been utilised for the nearby pumping house for the quarry. The area is unrecognisable nowadays.

4076554724_b6df6c95d4.jpg

Photograph of Farding Slade, undated. This is one of the only pictures of it in existance, and shows the entrance to the courtyard and likely the dwelling which the landowner resided in. It is hard to make out other details but various typical farmstead buildings can be seen.

Retrieved from @Just_JanisB on Twitter

4076554724_b6df6c95d4.jpg

Photograph of Farding Slade Farm in the 1930s. Also known as Farding Lake farm , this image shows the complex on the hill which is still recognisable from Quarry Lane, though much of the area is taken up by woodland now. The image is looking east as the wall on the steep hill is illustrated on the OS map.

Retrieved from South Tyneside Council

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