Early History of the Elswick Estate

 

Fenham was originally part of the Elswick Estate that was itself part of the Bolam Barony.  The early history of the area shows the impact of Elswick on the surrounding area that eventually formed a significant part of Newcastle’s urban and industrial expansion.

 

Roman Era and Early Settlement

 

Elswick lies just west of Newcastle’s historic core, an area shaped in part by the Roman presence on Tyneside. In the 2nd century, Hadrian’s Wall ran through what is now the west end of Newcastle – the Wall’s earthwork known as the Vallum reached its easternmost point at Elswick . The Wall itself continued east to the fort at Pons Aelius (on the Newcastle quayside) and onward to Wallsend . While no major Roman fort is recorded specifically at Elswick or Fenham, they were situated between the Roman stations at Condercum (Benwell, to the west) and Pons Aelius to the east. Thus, the land likely saw activity as part of the Roman frontier zone – for example, quarries in Elswick provided building stone in the Roman and medieval periods . After Rome’s withdrawal (5th century), the area would have reverted to agrarian use under local Brittonic and later Anglo-Saxon control, though specific records are scarce. By the Anglo-Saxon era, place-names emerge: “Elswick” is of Old English origin (possibly meaning Eli’s farm or dairy), and “Fenham” suggests a homestead by a marsh or fen, indicating the terrain’s character. Both locales likely existed as rural farm hamlets on the outskirts of what would become Newcastle.

 

Medieval Feudal and Monastic Era (12th–14th Centuries)

 

Following the Norman Conquest, Elswick (with Fenham) formed part of the Barony of Bolam, a feudal lordship in Northumberland . In the early 1100s, control of the manor shifted from lay lords to the church: around 1120 the manor of Elswick was granted to the Benedictine Priory of Tynemouth, a powerful monastery on the coast . This grant was later confirmed by royal charter in 1189, indicating the Priory firmly held Elswick by the late 12th century . Under monastic ownership, the area was administered as a monastic estate (or grange) to support Tynemouth Priory. The monks established tenant farms – records show 16 tenant households by 1294 – and exploited local resources . Agriculture was the primary land use, with likely cultivation of grain and pasturage for livestock on what were then rural fields. The Tyne riverbank at Elswick was valuable as well; medieval charters note a fishery on the Tyne at Elswick, which the Priory operated for food and income .

 

A significant development in this period was the discovery and exploitation of coal – a hallmark of Tyneside’s later wealth. One of the earliest coal mining references in Northumberland comes from Elswick: in 1330 the Prior of Tynemouth leased a coal mine (a colliery called “Heygrove” at Elstewyke) for an annual rent of £5 . This suggests that by the early 14th century, shallow coal pits or bell mines were being worked on the Priory’s estate. (Indeed, archaeological analysis indicates coal was being dug at Elswick as early as 1293 .) The Priory’s ventures into coal provided fuel for Newcastle and profits for the monastery, foreshadowing the region’s coal trade. Stone quarrying also took place – a quarry at Elswick is recorded in 1337 – supplying building stone and even grindstones (millstones) from the local sandstone .

 

Meanwhile, Fenham – which was originally just the northern part of the Elswick manor – had its own unique twist in the 12th century. In 1185, Fenham was granted to the Knights Templar, the crusading military order . This transfer carved Fenham out as a separate estate under the Templars’ ownership (it was described as a member of the manor of Elswick, within the Bolam Barony, now held by the Order of the Temple). The Templars, who had a presence across England, likely managed Fenham as an agricultural preceptory or estate to generate income for their order. While details are sparse, the Templars may have maintained a grange or farm there and collected rents from local villagers. Notably, the Templars’ tenure was relatively short-lived: in 1307 the Knights Templar were suppressed by King Edward II (following Pope Clement’s dissolution of the order). During the brief interim before the estate was reassigned, the crown assumed control – and records from these years (1307–1313) show that coal mines at Fenham were leased to Newcastle’s town corporation . This indicates that even under the Templars (and immediately after), the valuable coal seams at Fenham were being worked, with Newcastle’s civic authorities eager to tap those resources.

 

By 1313, Fenham’s ownership shifted to the Templars’ rivals-turned-successors: the Knights Hospitaller (Order of St. John of Jerusalem) . Pursuant to a papal decree, most former Templar properties were given to the Hospitallers. The Hospitallers thus took over Fenham, likely continuing to collect agricultural produce and rents. They also inherited whatever facilities existed – possibly a manor house or chapel. Indeed, Fenham Hall’s origins trace to this era: the medieval Hospitaller estate probably had a manor house (or grange hall) on the site, which is the precursor of the later Fenham Hall .

 

Throughout the high medieval period, Elswick remained under Tynemouth Priory and Fenham under the military orders. The two estates were adjacent and economically interlinked (Fenham had been part of Elswick originally), but now under different clerical landlords. This era was not without turmoil. A notable local incident occurred in 1337: the Prior of Tynemouth and his monks at Elswick were “attacked and besieged in their house at Elswick by men from Newcastle” . This assault likely stemmed from tensions between Newcastle’s burgesses and the Priory – possibly disputes over coal tolls or fishing rights. The monks had a fortified manor house at Elswick (later referred to as a “castle” in documents) which provided refuge during the attack . Ultimately, the priory survived the incident, but it highlights the strategic importance of the Elswick estate and the sometimes violent competition for its resources in medieval times.

 

Reformation and Landed Estates (16th–18th Centuries)

 

The Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII brought a major turning point in the 1530s. In 1539, Tynemouth Priory was dissolved, and its lands – including Elswick – were confiscated by the Crown . Likewise, the Knights Hospitaller (who held Fenham) were abolished around the same time (the Hospitallers in England were formally dissolved in 1540). Thus by the mid-16th century, both Elswick and Fenham became Crown property. The Crown initially kept these lands as part of the royal estate for some decades, during which time mining activity actually accelerated. With the restrictive hand of the monastery gone, private entrepreneurs could exploit resources more freely. It is noted that Elswick’s coal pits quickly multiplied in the 1530s, growing from one working pit to three within eight years . This expansion coincided with the post-Dissolution rush to develop mineral assets; the estate’s coal and quarries were now directly feeding the burgeoning coal trade of Newcastle (often via leases to the wealthy Hostmen of Newcastle, the guild of coal exporters).

 

In practice, the Crown did not hold on to these ex-monastic lands indefinitely. Fenham was soon granted to a local gentry family, the Riddell family, sometime after 1540 . The Riddells were notable Northumberland landowners (and recusant Catholics, fittingly acquiring former Hospitaller property). Under the Riddells, Fenham continued as an agricultural estate. They would have maintained a manor house on the property – likely expanding or building anew on the medieval grange. Fenham remained in the Riddell’s hands until the late 1600s, when it changed ownership again. In 1695 the estate was acquired by the Ord family . The Ords were an influential family in Newcastle (prominent in law, commerce, and later politics), and their purchase of Fenham is part of a broader pattern in this era: wealthy families buying up former church lands to establish gentrified estates.

 

Elswick, after a period of direct Crown control, was eventually privatized as well. In 1628, King Charles I sold Elswick manor out of royal ownership . The purchaser is not named in surviving summaries, but contemporary sources suggest it was likely acquired by a wealthy Newcastle figure or consortium (possibly the Selby family, who were prominent merchants – a George Selby of Elswick is mentioned in 17th-century records). Throughout the 1600s, Elswick was held by private owners and remained largely rural. Surveys around 1608 still showed roughly the same number of tenant families on the land as in medieval times (about 17 households) . Over the 17th and early 18th century, these smallholdings were gradually consolidated. By 1747, all the properties in Elswick were owned by a single landowner, John Hodgson . This suggests that John Hodgson (or his predecessors) bought out the various freehold and copyhold farmers, turning Elswick into a unified estate. Indeed, Hodgson’s family came to possess the lordship of Elswick and would soon transform it by building a grand new manor house.

 

During this early modern period, land use in both Elswick and Fenham was a mix of agriculture and proto-industrial activity. Farming remained important – records from the 17th century describe arable fields and meadows, and in Fenham the Ord family later invested in improving the farmland around their hall. At the same time, coal mining continued on the Elswick estate (and to a lesser extent at Fenham). By the 18th century, coal from Elswick was likely part of Newcastle’s booming export trade (shipped down the Tyne). Other industries began to appear: notably, the Elswick Lead Works was established in 1778 on the riverside portion of Elswick. This was the first white lead factory on Tyneside , which expanded in the 1790s to produce paint, lead shot, and sheet lead, complete with a prominent 150-foot shot tower added in 1797 . The presence of a lead smelting and paint works indicates that by the late 18th century, Elswick was no longer solely pastoral – it was on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution, leveraging riverside access for industry.

 

The late 17th and 18th centuries also saw the landscape dotted with country houses as the gentry solidified their estates. In Fenham, the Ord family made a lasting mark by constructing Fenham Hall. After acquiring the property in 1695, the Ords eventually decided to build a new mansion to reflect their status. John Ord, a successful attorney (and an early Mayor of Newcastle), built Fenham Hall starting in 1745 . The house, designed by architect Daniel Garrett and later modified by William Newton, was completed by 1748 as an elegant Georgian mansion . This hall, set in its own grounds, became the center of the Fenham estate. The Ord family’s rise (John Ord’s son William Ord would become an MP and major landowner) made Fenham Hall a social and architectural landmark – it was described as the family’s “first grand statement,” showcasing their wealth . Fenham Hall incorporated parts of the older medieval structure and over subsequent decades would be expanded, but its 18th-century core embodied the transition from a monastic grange to a gentleman’s country seat.

 

In Elswick, the equivalent manor house was Elswick Hall. The site had long hosted the medieval Priory’s mansion (which, as noted, might have included a fortified tower). After John Hodgson consolidated the estate, his grandson – also named John Hodgson – built a new Elswick Hall around 1810, replacing the old hall . (This was slightly after the 18th century, but plans were likely in motion in the late 1700s.) The new Elswick Hall was a neoclassical house that would later serve various public uses before being demolished in the 20th century. During the 18th century before its rebuilding, the Elswick estate was already notable for its natural beauty – by 1747, under Hodgson ownership, formal gardens or parkland may have been laid out. (In fact, the estate’s later 19th-century incarnation as Elswick Park had its roots in those 18th-century landscaped grounds .)

 

Towards the Industrial Revolution

 

By the end of the 18th century, Elswick and Fenham had evolved from their ancient beginnings into organized estates on the edge of an expanding Newcastle. Fenham remained more sparsely populated – essentially a rural enclave with Fenham Hall and its farms. Aside from agriculture, one notable development was the establishment of a military facility: in 1804–06, the British Army built Fenham Barracks on Barrack Road (just east of Fenham Hall), taking advantage of open land there . The barracks brought a military presence to the area on the eve of the Napoleonic Wars, though this land had been common pasture (Town Moor) rather than part of the private estate. Elswick, with its river frontage, was poised for industrial takeoff. The lead works (founded 1778) was a harbinger of the heavy industries to come. In 1839 the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway was extended through Elswick , and in 1847 engineer William Armstrong opened his famous armaments and engineering works at Elswick – these events lie just beyond the traditional Industrial Revolution period, but they underscore how the groundwork had been laid. Population in Elswick was still only a few hundred in 1801, but the pieces were in place for explosive growth .

 

In summary, from Roman times through the medieval era and into the 18th century, the Elswick and Fenham area underwent profound transformations. Once a frontier zone of Hadrian’s Wall, it became a patchwork of monastic farmlands and knight-owned estates in the Middle Ages – marked by early coal mining under the Priors of Tynemouth and the Knights Templar . The Dissolutionthen transferred these lands into secular hands, paving the way for their development as private estates. Prominent families like the Riddells, Ords, and Hodgsons left their imprint, building manor houses (Fenham Hall, Elswick Hall) and consolidating land ownership . Throughout, the land use shifted from purely agrarian to mixed agricultural-industrial: medieval ploughs gave way to early coal pits, and by the late 1700s even factories (lead works) rose on the Elswick riverside . Key historical figures associated with the area include the medieval Prior of Tynemouth (an early coal entrepreneur in 1330 ), the crusading Knights Templar and Hospitallers who held Fenham, and later local gentry such as John Ord (Mayor of Newcastle) who built Fenham Hall in 1745 . Significant events like the 1337 attack on Elswick’s monastic house and the sweeping changes of the Reformation shaped the destiny of these lands. By the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, Elswick and Fenham were primed for integration into Newcastle’s urban and industrial expansion.

 

Sources and References

 • “Fenham – History,” Wikipedia (accessed 2025) – Knights Templar and Hospitaller ownership of Fenham, medieval coal mining lease .

 • “Elswick, Newcastle – History,” Wikipedia (accessed 2025) – Monastic ownership by Tynemouth Priory, 1330 coal mine reference, post-Dissolution ownership .

 • Gatehouse Gazetteer – Elswick Hall entry – details of 1337 attack on Tynemouth’s monks and medieval tower house .

 • Tyne & Wear Historic Environment Record (Sitelines) – summary of Elswick Village history (tenant numbers, Hodgson ownership by 1747) .

 • Archaeologia Aeliana (Dodds, 1930) via OAPEN “Newcastle up to 1650” – evidence of coal and quarrying at Elswick (1293 coal digging; 1337 quarry lease) .

 • Co-Curate (Newcastle University) – Elswick Lead Works history – founding in 1778, expansion and Shot Tower .

 • “Handed On” blog (2014) – Ord family and Fenham Hall (John Ord, 1745 construction, architect Daniel Garrett) .

 • Vision of Britain / Wikishire – historical descriptions of Elswick (Crown sale in 1628, etc.) .