Killingworth, North Tyneside
Killingworth House
Last Updated:
12 Jul 2020
Killingworth, North Tyneside
This is a
Country House
55.032269, -1.560036
Founded in
Current status is
Demolished
Designer (if known):
Estate is occupied by housing and a public house.
'Tradition says that the house was designed by Lancelot Coxon who also worked at Roddam Hall, Northumberland, in 1732. William Newton made alterations in the 1770s, possibly the addition of the wings. Admiral Robert Roddam, who rose to fame in 1747 by storming a coastal battery in northern Spain which helped bring to an end the War of Austrian Succession, lived in Killingworth Hall. He was captured by the French in 1757, rose to the rank of Senior Admiral of the Red, and died in 1808. John Jameson owned the house from 1876, and the McIntyres from 1900-1911.
Killingworth House was sold by auction on Wednesday 9th April 1924 advertised as a 'Country Residence together with cottages, outbuildings, fileds and gardens in all over 20 acres". The most famous inhabitant of the house was the chemist Henry Eagle, who came to the area in 1924 from Romania. His biggest commercial success was an antiseptic called 'iglodine'.
According to legend, a tunnel ran from Killingworth House to Seaton Delaval Hall, 7 km away. Although this unlikely, tunnels were said to have been found during the building of the Castle Green development on the site of the house in 1975. Killingworth House was demolished in 1956.'
- Sitelines
Listing Description (if available)
Killingworth House is illustrated throughout the latter half of the 19th century by the two Ordnance Survey maps above. The first further above is from 1865. Killingworth House is labelled as being in the centre of the village, over the road from Killingworth Hall. It stood pride in place of what was a small rural village, and though a colliery stood on the east side, it seemed to still have maintained its genteel and isolated status as the full village was only one street.
In regards to the village itself the same can be said for Killingworth in 1898, though by this time the 1st colliery had closed and Palmersville was growing to be an area in its own right, featuring a colliery, a number of railway branch lines and a chapel. Killingworth House is unlabelled, but its structure can still be seen on the map.
The 1924 edition of the Ordnance Survey again features the country house unlabelled, but is still standing and still wouldn't be demolished for another 30 years. At this time, as noted above, a new buyer was being sought to occupy the large property. The village of Killingworth was being slowly absorbed by the sprawl around it, as the areas of Palmersville and Forest Hall encroached upon the village's surroundings. With this being said the village itself still maintained itself as a small village occupying just a country lane.
The photograph is Killingworth House prior its demolition. Its grandeur cannot be understated, and its neo-classical facade is reminiscent of many country houses of its time. This would have been the back of the property, as it had a few acres of gardens to the rear of the main road.
