Northumberland Archives

A trip to Northumberland Archives at Woodhorn has uncovered some wonderful details and helped to confirm pieces in the story of the school site. In chronological order:

A Plan of Prudhoe in the Parish of Ovingham' by F Thompson, surveyed 1766 (ZAN BELL 41/7) has the site land owned by John Ord.

Armstrong's Map of 1769 shows Prudhoe as a village at a crossroads with probably Highfield Lane and the track to the east marked. A 1780 Award and Plan (QRA 23/1) has the site land belonging to John Ord Esq. and is further labeled 'Prudhoe Grounds'. The site of the present day school gate and proposed entrance to the new building is marked as 'Foul Sike Gate'. Park Lane is called 'Intake Lane', South Road 'Drawback Lane', Redwell Road 'Water Lane'. In the area of Moor Grange development is another gate on to the open land called 'Reins Gate'. Elsewhere land is owned principally by the Duke of Northumberland but there are also small plots owned by Swalwell, Pattison, Bates, Johnson, and Forster.

In 1781 Thomas Wilkin produced a plan (NRO 341) for the Duke of Northumberland. This is a beautifully and meticulously produced document with lovely details in the drawing. The site land still belongs to John Ord and the fields (very similar to today's) are called 'Low Broom' where the new building will be and the southern part of the present school with the rest of the school falling into 'Towers Close'. 'Reins Gate' is circumscribed with yellow ink and noted as having been 'alloted to Mr Ord at the Division of the Common'. The long field to the west of the site is called 'Coat [or] Coal Walls'.

Fryer's map of 1820 and Greenwood's map of 1828 are at a larger scale but begin to add detail to Prudhoe. Fryer notes a few more houses and the triangle roads of Drawback. Greenwood has the track around the site (today's bridleway) marked and continuing to Durham Riding. A wood is marked at Nanny's Nursery but it is not named. The track originally went along the line of today's service drive and turning left when it reached the next hedge line.

A plan dated 1842-3 (ZAN BELL 41/11) names 'Nanny's Nursery'. The track to Durham Riding is marked and is labeled 'Little Lane' on the other side of Bell's Hill. 'A Hovel' is marked near the site entrance and the land (all outlined in red) is under the ownership of Robert Capper Esquire and Rev. Daniel Capper. ZAN BELL 41/13 from 1843 illustrates neighbouring land but has at its edge a note that Rev. D. Capper owns the adjoining land.

Bell's Royalty Plan of 1861 (NRO 438/G/Z) has the land under the ownership of 'Rev. Daniel Capper' still. The Duke of Northumberland is still the other major landowner and smaller landowners include Joseph John Humble, Wrightson and A. Bell. The line of the western outcrop of the Great Northern Coal Field is marked looping around to the north and west of Prudhoe and Mickley. The '90 Fathom Dyke' runs WSW/ENE on the far side of Bell's Hill. There is a reference to coal 'royalty' ownership on land near Durham Riding between the Duke and Capper.

An undated plan (ZAN BELL 41/15g) has the land owner marked as 'Estate of Robert Capper Esquire' with 'Robert' crossed out in pencil and corrected to 'Revd. Daniel'. So there is some confusion here to the order of things. The 1895 Tithe map (EP 102/92) has all the land relevant to out investigations under the ownership of 'Robert Capper Esquire'. The land is occupied by 'William Johnson as part of 'Prudhoe Hall Farm & Premises' - today's Grange - totaling 441 acres with an annual rent of £57 6s 6d payable to the Duke and £12 18s 4d payable to Charles William Bigge Esquire. These rents were paid in lieu of tithe.

William Johnson's interest doesn't appear to be in the farming of the land as he is recoded as working seams of coal under Capper's land and exploiting the associated clay to make bricks and tiles with an output of 250,000 annually in the second half of the 19th century.

Part of Document ZNI 13 from 1850 is the lease between Capper and Johnson for 42 years from 31st December 1840 for a 'certain rent' of £50 after the first two years. By 1852 the coal seam he was working under Capper's land was exhausted and Mr. Johnson applied to work the seams under the Duke's land.

This lease to Johnson is a continuation of Capper's leasing out of coal rights on his land. We know that earlier he had been leasing to Christopher Blackett and making a good income from it as he was paid £776 15s 2d for 'coals in the Prudhoe Royalty' for 1842. In document ZBK/C/1/B/2/35/2 we find out why Blackett is paying Mr. Capper. Blackett's agent reports in a letter of 1836 "I am still going on with the exploring Drifts in Lord Prudhoe's Coal, if the coal continues as it has done I shall put through to Mr Capper's Royalty so as to be in a situation to work it...".

Moving a little nearer to today Kelly's Directory for 1902, 1921 and 1925 describe the scene in Prudhoe: 'there is little cultivated land here; in many instances the rock crops up in huge masses above the surface of the soil.'