A postcard view of the Beaumont’s smelt mill at Allen Mill. Mainly constructed 1835-40, by 1847 it comprised two calcining furnaces, six roasting furnaces, nine ore-hearths, two reverberatory furnaces, one reducing furnace, four refining furnaces, one slag hearth and a separating house with 18 Pattinson pots. Later the smelt mill was connected to the nearby Hexham … read more
The ‘old’ chimney (built c.1808) pictured before its partial collapse in 1990 after being being hit by lightning.
The ‘old’ chimney (constructed c.1808) on Dryburn Moor pictured after its partial collapse in 1990 after a lightning storm.
Re-building of the ‘old’ single chimney showing Wilf Fraser on the left with two others from Allendale
Killhope Lead mine – building and water wheel. Work started on the Horse Level of Park Level Mine in 1853 and closed around 1910. For a few short years in the 1870s, the mine at Killhope was one of the richest in the whole of Britain. To help separate out the lead ore from waste, … read more
The Smithy in the market square whilst Henry Dixon was blacksmith. In 2020, the site of the Forge art/gift shop. Allendale Town had at least two smithies at this time; Abe Bell had his blacksmith’s shop on Leadgate. A third – under the Martins – was located at Thornley Gate. By mid-20th century, Basil Fairlamb … read more
Forster’s Temperance Hotel, Allendale – this was later to become the Dale Hotel. To its right a shop that was the site of Allendale Post Office, under William Fairlamb, prior to 1900 when it moved across the Square to the present ‘Tea Rooms’ building.
Former Primitive Methodist chapel (Bethel) at ‘Dirt Pot’, Allenheads. Since converted into a privately run outdoor centre.
Ashleigh Hotel whilst under the management of Mr Giovanni Fortini (hotel proprietor 1973-1985)
The former Allendale railway station finding a new use as a caravan park from the 1960s onwards.
‘Ashleigh’ was built as a private house by Mr Matthew Lee, who inherited wealth from family ownership in Ashington Colliery. Hence, ‘Ash-Lee’. It was turned into a hotel in the 1950s, and later a residential care home.
Postcard showing Matthew Stephenson’s grocery store, on the corner of Allendale Square and Shield St. The Heatherlea hotel building was subsequently built on this site. On the corner is the entrance to the bank.
The Dye House, Peckriding After woollen cloth had been ‘fulled’ it usually needed to be dyed. Dyeing was a skilled process, requiring both a furnace and a constant/ready supply of water. It was natural therefore for dyers to seek a riverside site. The Dye House at Peckriding is an example and was part of the … read more
