Wrekenton, Gateshead
The Camp Ground, Wrekenton
Last Updated:
17 Jul 2020
Wrekenton, Gateshead
This is a
Military Camp
54.924955, -1.566591
Founded in
Current status is
Demolished
Designer (if known):
The site is now a waste and recycling centre
'An area of rough ground marked 'The Camp Ground' on the Ordnance Survey 25 inch to 1 mile plan of 1862 which extends to either side of the parish boundary (the Wrekendyke Roman road). An old quarry is shown in the south-west corner. The second edition (1890) shows 'site of huts'. The third (1919) and fourth (1939) editions show the ground as hachured suggesting the earthwork remnants of old quarries. The name Camp Ground is popularly believed to derive from the use of the area as an encampment for the South Lincoln and East Yorkshire Militias during the early 1780s.'
- Sitelines
Listing Description (if available)
The two maps above illustrate the site of the camp ground at Wrekenton in the 19th century. The first, dated from 1862, shows 'The Camp Ground' to the east of the main Durham Road, close to a featured labelled as 'site of huts'. It would be difficult to determine the provenance for these but it would be reasonable to suggest they derive from the old encampment as the quarry was quite small in comparison to the whole site. Wrekenton at the time was quite built up in comparison to its neighbours, likely due to it residing on the Roman Road from Chester-le-Street.
The 1898 edition features the same huts and the land now labelled as 'Camp Ground'. The Quarry is unused by this point, and there are a few less huts featured on this map. Wrekenton is not too dissimilar from how it was in 1862, though the King Pit of the Stormont Main Colliery is out of use and 'Campground Quarry' has been excavated to the east of the site in question.
The 1921 edition shows the Camp Ground still in situ though no huts exist anymore, suggesting they were pulled down in the early 20th century. The likelihood is that these were the original militia huts, and became dilapidated over time. The Campground Quarry had a short life and is already disused.