Hi

[jinnan]

Just joined am interested in Radcliffe and Hauxley. Have lived in Radcliffe since 1986 and would love to find out more about our house.

[Coquet]

Hi Jinnan, welcome to the forum, delighted to have someone from Radcliffe here!

[Alan J.]

Originally Posted by jinnan

Just joined am interested in Radcliffe and Hauxley. Have lived in Radcliffe since 1986 and would love to find out more about our house.

What house is that?

[Coquet]

On the subject of Radcliffe generally I had always assumed that the village had been opencast right up to within a few tens of metres of the remaining houses, but the current "Google Maps" show this not to be the case -as you can still see the pattern of Dandsfield place, their gardens etc. in the ground discolouration in the fields. So the opencast pit never made it that far west. Looks like they clipped off the land under Stable Row and up to the old Colliery mine shafts though:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=amb...gl=uk&t=h&z=16

[Alan J.]

The topsoil, which is formed into baffle hills around the site, takes up more space than you would imagine therefore quite a lot of old Radcliffe, ie the Dandfields, Long Row and the road end of Leslie Row will have been untouched

[Coquet]

So the Holy ground on which they built the Holy City survives intact!

(Wonder why they called it the Holy City?)

[jinnan]

Hi Alan J
Hawthorn House, the first house on right hand side after leaving Amble

[Alan J.]

Hi Jinnan,
In my recollection,ie 1950's onwards, your place was "George Craiggs farm".This is the same Craiggs family as the buses as George was a cousin I think. He had what could be called a larger type smallholding/ small farm and farmed the fields behind your house and those between the school and South Dandsfield also the field to the North of North Dandsfield. He usually made sure one of the fields was cut and available for the school sports each year. He was a batchelor and lived with his sister but seemed to sell up about the time of the opencast, 1970ish and ended his days in Amble. If you check the Radcliffe site the Radcliffe map shows your house directly opposite North Dandsfield.
The 1911 census shows the Craiggs family living there but seems to be before George took up farming as he is 16 years old and is a "fitter at colliery", his father is down as "Engine Wright colliery above ground". A brother,Henry,"joiner at colliery" was there along with a sister Elizabeth Mary and mother Margaret.

[jinnan]

Thanks for that information, I think the deeds of the house also mention a Mr Dand, but not sure as we don't have a copy, will have to chase that one up sometime

[Alan J.]

Dand were the major landowners in the area so your place was probably rented from them by the Craiggs family. Dandfield Place was obviously named as a tribute to the Dands,George Dand was in the Moorhouse Farm until the opencast era and he sold up to them and went up to the borders for a few years.On retirement he bought Lucker Hall which was subsequently destroyed by fire in the late 80's or early 90's resulting in the deaths of both him and his wife.

[Coquet]

Originally Posted by jinnan

Just joined am interested in Radcliffe and Hauxley. Have lived in Radcliffe since 1986 and would love to find out more about our house.

You can find out about the late Victorian and Edwardian occupants if you can ID your house in relation to the last few published censuses, 1891, 1901, 1911. (Assuming it existed then)

The deeds can contain some useful information too, such as the original landowners, builders and purchasers, but they are normally locked away in solicitors offices.