Jesmond Dene
William Armstrong and his wife, Margaret, made their home just up the road from here in 1835. They were given land in the Dene as a wedding gift and extended the grounds as their fortunes grew. Over the next 30 years William Armstrong became one of the most important engineers in the world. He built his wealth on developing hydraulic cranes, bridges, field artillery and guns for battleships. He test his earliest guns by firing across the valley from a field near here.
Armstrong Bridge
‘Armstrong Bridge was designed by William Armstrong and built at his Elswick works on the Tyne. It has a span of 168 metres (552 feet). The bridge took two years to build and was opened in 1878 at a cost of £30,000. When it was finished Armstrong gave it to the people of Newcastle along…
Banqueting Hall
The Banqueting Hall is being restored by the Tyne & Wear Building Preservation Trust. The Hall was still being used for events and weddings as recently as the late seventies. Archive photos tend to feature warmly dresses diners,indicating low temperatures. A 1959 picture shows a 20 foot picture of Prince Hal, current whereabouts unknown. The…
The Waterfall
Lord Armstrong created many water features throughout Jesmond Dene as part of his landscaping. He added new ponds and built rapids, weirs and waterfalls to bring movement to the river. His biggest project was the creation of this waterfall and the deep gorge you can see downstream. Explosives were used to blast out rock and…
Millfield House
The area around Millfield House and Pets Corner was once an iron works known as Busy Cottages Iron Foundry. The works would have been filled with the noise of hammers, smoke and the smells of coal furnaces. The present Millfield House is over 150 years old. The house is said to be haunted by the…
St Mary’s Chapel
These ruins are all that remain of St Mary’s Chapel, the oldest church building in Newcastle. Much of the original church is now gone and what you see today was once part of the 15th century side chapel. St Mary’s has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. A holy relic, perhaps linked to the…
Pets Corner
Welcome to Pets’ Corner where you will find animals of all shapes and sizes. You may see pigs, goats, rabbits and ducks. Some of the animals at Pets’ Corner are on loan farms so you can see different animals throughout the year.
Heaton and Armstrong Parks
The Cattle Run
In 1870 less than 400 [people lived in Heaton, in just 76 houses, it was a small village surrounded by open country side growing crops and herding cattle was the way of life before the village began to expand in the 1880s. For centuries cattle had been driven down to pasture by the River Ouseburn…
The Windmill
This old windmill was sited on the edge of the valley where its sails harnessed the power of the wind. The sails turned the grinding stones, which ground wheat into flour. There was plenty of wheat to be milled, provided by the farmers of Heaton. For centuries wind and water were used to power a…
The Old Pear Tree
The old pear tree…
St John’s Palace
These are the ruins of the manor house that Adam of Jesmond, Sherif of Newcastle built around 1260. Despite its name King John never visited the house – he died 50 years before it was finished. Adam was friend and protector to Edward, King John’s grandson. The House was built during a time of civil…
