There are locations across the North East where – take away the traffic – areas look much the same as they did a century or more ago.

But not so the West End of Newcastle, where change has been constant and comprehensive.

This is the case with Benwell , from its Roman fort origins to its years as the rural home of the wealthy conveniently near Newcastle, which was later engulfed by industrial development and mass workers’ housing.

It gives local historians a lot to go at and that is just what they will be doing for a full day on Friday.

Adelaide Terrace in Benwell in the early 20th century
Adelaide Terrace in Benwell in the early 20th century

The free Big Local History Event runs from 10.30am-4pm at the West End library in Condercum Road, and has been jointly organised by the Newcastle Picture History Collection, Newcastle Libraries and the St James Heritage & Environment Group as part of the Heritage Open Days programme.

It will see the launch by the St James Group of a new free book, Benwell & Scotswood in the Early Years of the 20th century, which was inspired by a talk by Tyneside local historian Mike Greatbatch and based on research carried out by the Group and Mike as part of the Living through the First World War in the West End of Newcastle project.

“All of the group’s activities, events and publications are free,” says Judith Green, secretary of the St James Group. “Local people have always shared their stories and items from their attics and we are giving people their history back.”

The library has become a hub for local history activities, and is also home to the volunteer-run Newcastle Picture History Collection, with numbers 20,000 images given or loaned by people and which is marking its 35th anniversary.

Women munitions workers in the West End in 1917
Women munitions workers in the West End in 1917

The collection will be the subject of one of a series of Illustrated talks at the event, which will also see Rosie Serdiville focus on a photograph album created by John and Violet Grantham recording the events they attended during their time as local councillors in the 1920s and 1930s, and his tenure as Lord Mayor.

They also owned the Grand and Majestic cinemas in Benwell.

“The album is a treasure trove of photos about life in the area,” says Judith.

Another talk will be on banker John Pease, a director of the North Eastern Railway and who in the 1860s built himself a new home – Pendower Hall.

He gifted his former grand residence, Benwell Towers, as the future home of the Bishops of Newcastle, and also donated an outstanding collection of the work of engraver Thomas Bewick to the nation.

Full details of the day, with no booking required, can be found by visiting www.stjamesheritage.com

The semi-rural Benwell Lane - now a main road through the area
The semi-rural Benwell Lane - now a main road through the area

The event includes a walk led by guide Olive Taylor of the sites of the 19th century mansions in Benwell.

At the start of the 19th century, Benwell was a sparsely populated rural area, and became a prime location for well-to-do families to build big houses and mansions set in their own grounds. Benwell Lane is now a main road and thoroughfare, but a picture shows it when it was simply a country lane.

An 1887 directory of Northumberland described Benwell as having “many very superior mansions”. It was home to some of the richest and most influential people on Tyneside at a time when that area was experiencing unprecedented industrial and commercial growth.

The early years of the 20th century saw the completion of the transformation of Benwell and Scotswood from outlying semi-rural areas into fully urbanised suburbs of Newcastle.

At the end of the 19th century most of the 1,305 acres of Benwell and Scotswood were still covered by open fields and country lanes. The former Township of Benwell was within the county of Northumberland , and was not absorbed into the expanding city of Newcastle until 1904.

By 1900 the open landscape was already under threat from the rapid expansion of industry and the westward march of housing – such as of Armstrong Whitworth’s engineering and armaments works at Elswick, which came to dominate much of the riverside.

By the time of the First World War, the steep slopes between the now shopping street of Adelaide Terrace and Scotswood Road to the south and West Road to the north were almost completely filled with long rows of terraced housing.

The First World War meant a big boost in demand for Armstrong’s products, and output and employment soared. By the end of the war, the firm employed 78,000 people, of whom 21,000 were women.

Pendower Hall became a convalescent home for wounded soldiers. The Journal reported on August 5, 1915: “Four schoolgirls, named Bessie Davidson, Gertie Scott, Nellie Brand and Lucy Milburn, organized a small bazaar, which was held in a backyard in Benwell which realised the sum of £3.

“What the wounded men most required was carpet slippers. Two dozen of these, along with £1 worth of cigarettes, were consequently purchased.”

The period following the First World War saw a massive growth of council housing in Newcastle. Between 1920 and 1940 more than 13,000 council houses were built.

In 1919 the council paid £37,500 to buy a 60-acre site, which had been the grounds of Pendower Hall.

The asking price was £1,000 per acre, but this was reduced to £625 on condition that it was used for housing the working classes. The first houses on the Pendower estate were completed in 1922 and, by the end of the 1920s, almost 600 houses had been built.

Sutton’s Dwellings, the area’s first housing association estate, was built in the mid-1930s comprising large four-storey blocks of flats with walkways connecting them.