Pelaw
1911
Finding a suitable site took some time. The railway was important as it
would transport the finished goods, and a large, easily accessible piece
of ground was essential. Negotiations for a site were conducted from
Newcastle.
In 1896 The Ecclesiastical Commissioners agreed to
lease 3.75 acres of land between Heworth and Bill Quay for 999 years at
2d per square yard ground rent. It lay conveniently between Shields Road
and the North Eastern Railway, near Pelaw Junction, where the N.E.R.
crossed the older Pelaw Main Waggonway. The Cooperative Society,
understandably, called its works by the name handiest, Pelaw. Before the
factories were built, there was nothing between Heworth village and
Bill Quay but fields, the odd cottage, a stream called the Catdean Burn,
bridle paths and the waggonway. Within ten years a whole new community
grew around the works, using the name Pelaw.
Before the first
factory could function, a workforce had to be found and trained, and
skilled men came from Lancashire to start this process. There are still
families in and around Pelaw today, whose grandfathers came and settled
down to work for the rest of their lives in the C.W.S. works. These are
some of their surnames:
Crowther; Slinger; Howard; Ducker;
Slowther; Humble; Walker; Punshon; Lownes; Wiley;Dodgson; Shaw; Ford;
Eckersley; Sturrock; Routledge; Smiles; Hazelby
The first
factory to open was the Drugs and Drysaltery in 1902. At the same time
as training went on, houses were beginning to go up across Shields Road
in the former fields. Terraces in red brick one after the other
straddled the ground from Heworth to Bill Quay. Fronting onto Shields
Road, most were stone faced in the Heworth Quarries freestone. The
bricks almost all came from William Foster’s Pelaw and Stoneygate
brickyards. Indeed Foster also built many houses.
Here for Pelaw Shirt and for Printing Works
Found in the attic of the Gym, formerly Felling Co-op's premises
A reflection of the times. The Felling Co-op in 1904, bought 4 Cow Chains from this Butcher Supply Company..for just 4 bob
Advertisement
A search for Pelaw on gatesheadlocalstudies brings forth 80+ results
Gateshead Pelaw page brought to you by
The Felling Heritage Group