South Avenue

[janwhin]

Does anyone know when South Avenue was built? I'm sure I recall being told that they were for workmen on the harbour.

There is an advert in the Morpeth Herald July 1902 by the Commissioners seeking tenders for the erection of 21 houses for workmen. Since South Avenue is semi detached, 21 is not the best sort of number

[Alan J.]

My estate, Aidan Road and Lindisfarne Road, your old abode, were built in 1933 and are of similar design but possibly more modern than South Avenue.
South and Central Avenues and the houses in Woodbine Street into Acklington Road seem to have all been built together as they are all similar. I would venture a guess as to them being built in the 1920's, I don't think there would be the affluence before that for people to have even thought of buying houses of this type with bathrooms, hot and cold water etc in them. I can't think of any harbour work about that time and it would have been a bit extravagent to build houses of this type for workers.
The first council houses, Westfield, were built about this time also and allowed the "Vic", Victoria Terace, to be knocked down as it was considered to be a slum.
Prior to these buildings, the area on which South Ave etc were built were orchards and Aidan/ Lindisfarne were market gardens according to early maps.

[janwhin]

Thanks Alan, presumably the semi detacheds on Albert Street are from the same period, built on the orchards. I believe Lindisfarne was built in 1936, a little bit later than the others. Have your estate deeds got the date of build

South Avenue's secondary modern school, or whatever it's called now, was, I think started just before the war and abandoned for the duration. My sisters, when they lived at Marks Bridge Farm cottage (smallholding owned by a chap called Rutherford), played on the site. I recall them mentioning hockey games with iron bars and broken legs

[Alan J.]

Yes it was built or started before the war and I have heard from people of them playing in the patially built school as kids. It was finished after the war and opened in September 1949 ,a booklet was produced in 1999 to comemorate 50 years. Aidan Road build date is 1933.

[rickt]

I'm sure the former Modern/Middle School was started in1939 ,then abandoned till after the war . I presume the houses on South Avenue were already there before the school was built .