NER Cottage homes

[60041]

I was wrong about the date, the Alnwick homes were built in 1928. I was nearly arrested taking this picture, but thats another story!

60041,
do tell, do tell.....

Apparently there had been several reports of somebody lurking around the area a couple of days before, and it was thought that he had been watching the schoolchildren.
Then guess who turned up with a camera and started taking photos, just at the time that the schools were turning out....

[2512silverfox]

There are two cottages on Google at the moment:

NER Cottage Homes at

Lesbury, Alnwick, NE66 1RN
and Great Corby, Carlisle, CA4 8LW

[Greedy Boards]

Mmmm!

Seems like a challenge exists to rediscover Ken Hoole's lost work, and see if it could be published!

What we need is ideally someone with NERA membership, and possibly a background in social housing - Sponsored by NRM, and an established philanthropic housing provider, perhaps?

Now do such opportunities really exist in York???

Regards

Greedy Boards

[Ecclesweb]

Hi All
There are some in Headingley, Leeds.

[Tappa]

Ella Street in Hull also has a block of four. In addition to the NER date, I seem to recall that one has a dedication to those who worked on the docks. Google street map will probably show it.

Jeff

[IJhull]

The are lots in Hull - Ella street already mentioned, the ones on Hawthorn Ave (Chalk Lane) demolished (didn't actually know about these)

From what I can tell all the 1920s/30s are a similar design - and usually carry a plaque on one of the houses in the row.

I'm fairly certain they are mentioned in "North Eastern Railway Architecture" by Bill Fawcett (North Eastern Railway Association) - though not in as much detail as he goes into train sheds and stations There are 3 volume - probably v.3 is the right one - will check in the local library next time I pass..

I'll list some more - theses are just in west Hull and the list might not be complete:

Snuff Mill Lane, Cottingham Bungalows http://goo.gl/maps/81jr3

Southwood Ave. Cottingham - more bungalows - practically a mini housing estate http://goo.gl/maps/ZJFxl

Alliance Ave. (nr. the H&BR bridge) Hull short terrace http://goo.gl/maps/uArJ4

Ella St. (nr. H&BR docks branch), short 'semi-semi' terraces , already mentioned http://goo.gl/maps/OZNQT


There's also a modern estate on "Rainhill Rd." (1980s I think - retired people) - again next to former H&BR docks branch http://goo.gl/maps/h1f0I

They're as common as muck!

My knowledge only really extends to West Hull - I wouldn't be surprised if there were more in East Hull. Someone has already mentioned some which were demolished on Hawthorn Ave I didn't know about, and I don't know if any were lost to bombing. They are clearly better than the general victorian/edwardian terraces which as so common in Hull, so I would expect most to survive.

I'd expect the situation to be similar in other NER towns - the Oxford encyclopaedia of British Railway History states that by the 1920s the NER had 4600 staff dwellings!

One obvious one is Faverdale Estate, Darlington, where the NER practically built the town for the wagon works - 200 houses built in the 1920s. I'd guess there are more in York too.

[cambois]

North Eastern Railway ArchitectureVol 3 Pages 179and 183 - 184, where there is a brief history.

Photos of Faverdale, Wenloch Rd Simonside, Washbeck Bridge at Scarborough, drawings of Gosforth Garden Village,

For NER people these three volumes are really great.

[YNMR]

If you follow this link it takes you to the website of the organisation in its present form - Railway housing Association - http://www.railwayha.co.uk/

[Romgen]

Hello,
I've just joined your forum mainly because I'm looking for help / information.
I live in one of the old 'cottage homes' and lucky enough to have one of the historical plaques on the front of my property.
I believe that it may possibly be cast iron but it's currently completely covered in black gloss paint, including the wording which I feel is a great shame. I would love to restore it in some way so passers by can actually read what it says... but I haven't got a clue where to start, re original colours etc.
Can anyone give me advice regarding this little piece of history please?
Thank you,
Sal

[kudu]

Railway housing in the sense of houses built by the railway companies for their workers was provided on a large scale, as the Oxford Companion to British Railway History attests, though some companies were more willing than others. (Apparently the GWR wasn't so keen, though they had little choice once they'd chosen Swindon for their works. I wonder if their rooms were larger, btw?)

I was interested to see those plaques. How old are the cottages? Were they built by the NER and then modernised by the LNER in the year given? The Stockton & Darlington put plaques on their houses or groups of houses probably in 1857. These said "S&DR" with an identifying code eg "H1" is displayed on the group of two cottages at the stationary engine house for the cable-hauled Brusselton Incline, one for the engineman and one probably for a blacksmith. Twenty of these plaques survive in situ, others are in museums or privately held. (Info from the Friends of S&DR website.)

But these houses were all for workers, not retired workers. Were redundant houses released for retirees, or were some specially built? Certainly there is a basic distinction between the two functions of railway housing.

Kudu

[Romgen]

Hello,
Thank you for your interest!
This is an image of the plaque on the front of my property.