Blaydon, Gateshead
Old Dockendale Hall
Last Updated:
8 Mar 2021
Blaydon, Gateshead
This is a
Dwelling
54.963046, -1.726978
Founded in
Current status is
Demolished
Designer (if known):
Building demolished and site used for Ottovale Coke Works
'The ruins of Old Dockendale Hall were in a field on the east side of Blaydon Burn, but were destroyed when the Ottovale Coke Works (HER ref. 1651) were constructed. The hall formed part of the estate of George Silvertop and was probably really a farmhouse… in 1765, when in the possession of John Humble and Thomas Billy, it was offered for sale in October of that year. In 1810 the house was altered and made into tenements, occupied by keelmen in the employment of Mr. Dunn. The advent of the railways sounded the death knell to the keelmen's trade, so that by 1840 the hall was unoccupied.' - Sitelines
'In 1765 Dockendale Hall was occupied by a John Humble and Thomas Billy and from 1797 was rented by William Matthias Dunn who altered it into tenements for his keelmen. By 1840 Dockendale Hall was empty and it was in ruins by the time of the Ordnance Survey 1st edition (1856), noted as ‘old walls’ and the remains were destroyed when the electricity sub station was built in 1904, part of the Ottovale Coke works which remained open until 1959.' - Winlaton History Society
Listing Description (if available)
In both Ordnance Survey images, we see the site for the old Dockendale Hall on the east of the Blaydon Burn.
By the 1840s the site was decaying, as hinted by the first edition above which only notes the ruins of the walls at the site. By the second edition there is no reference at all, only a footpath that traverses the site.
The third edition shows a total transformation of the site, becoming the Ottovale Industrial Complex. The site was huge and featured various supply chains such as tar and coal. The waggonway had also grown expontentially at this point.
The development of Winlaton can be seen to the bottom of the image, catering for the copious industries on Tyneside and more specifically Gateshead.
Image of the Ottodale complex, the occupier of where Dockendale Hall once stood. There are no images of the hall unfortunately and no trace of the site. Even in the 1860s it was barely extant.
Image retrieved from http://www.rolyveitch.20m.com/BlaydonBurn.html
