Ponteland Cottage Homes were built by the Newcastle Board of Guardians to accommodate pauper children away from the workhouse. Each block was supervised by a ‘house mother’ or ‘house father’.
Lizzie was 12 when she went into the homes and claimed it was the best thing that ever happened to her as she loved her time there. She also had a sister and three brothers in the home. At 16 she became a Laundress for a wealthy family in Hexham, but she always came back to spend holidays with her siblings as she considered Ponteland to be her home. When she returned, she stayed with a house mother and would offer to cook and bake for the children. The children always had pudding, but the majority were milk based. Lizzie wanted to make fruit pies for a treat as fruit was usually used to make jams. She recalls the house mother was happy for her to do this if she could obtain extra and it didn’t come from her supplies. Lizzie was so intent on making the pies that she went to speak to the head gardener & managed to secure plenty fruit with the stipulation that the boys came to pick it themselves. The children loved the pies she made and would always be eager for her next visit.
Lizzie also recalls a heartbreaking tale of her younger sister Norah who liked to look after the other children in her house. She always wanted to be a nurse and would bandage their minor cuts and treat their chilblains. When she was old enough to leave Ponteland she found employment at Bellister Castle where she became an assistant nurse to three children. Two of the children were twin boys and one hot day she took the boys swimming in the river while the nurse looked after the baby girl. Tragically, Norah drowned but the boys survived. They saw her swimming in the water then disappear so ran home for help. The Doctor and Chauffer dived into the river and searched for her body, but were unable to find her. Sadly, Lizzie doesn’t indicate if she was ever found but states that the young boys never got over it.
Billy went into the homes aged 13 and boarded there while he learned his trade as a Shoemaker. He didn’t enjoy his time there as a boy and thought that the staff were cruel. Despite this, he eventually ended up working there making and repairing shoes. He said he worked hard as there were about 300 children and each child had two pairs of shoes/boots so he was always busy! He would often show the young boys how to make shoes, boots and clogs. Billy wanted to make a difference and give the children more attention and support. Along with his wife, he became a house parent and, on a Sunday, he would take them out for walks and picnics and let them enjoy themselves. The children had tea around 4.30-5pm and while he worked there, no food was given after this time. Billy didn’t want them to go hungry, so he introduced super and gave them bread and butter. He must have been a good house parent as years later many of the children he looked after still came to see him. Some of them had moved abroad and when they visited this country, they came to stay with him.
One lady called Josephine had very fond memories of Ponteland. She first went there aged two with her older brother George and younger sister Dolly. Josephine loved Mrs Young who was her house mother and she thoroughly enjoyed living with her. There were about 20 children in the house and when she was small, she thought that Mrs Young had given birth to them all! Josephine claimed that her house was lucky as not all the house mothers were kind, and she knew that one used to hit the children on the legs with sticks. If the children were going to have visitors, she would ensure that the girls wore thick tights, and the boys wore long thick socks to hide any bruises.
Josephine recalled that Dolly hated Mrs Young and would take any opportunity to be troublesome. She was always up to ‘tricks’ and loved to misbehave. The sausage in the fridge was in a huge ring and Dolly would steal it and uncoil it then run around the field with it trailing in a long line behind her! When they baked bread, she would always stick her finger in the middle and a particular favourite was to clash together Mrs Youngs best silver teapots!
Josephine loved the food and said that all the children were very well fed. They always made their own bread which was delicious. Her favourite meals were beef or pork with potatoes, suet pudding, onion pudding and Spotted Dick. There were always plenty of fruit and vegetables and when they had broth, there was always a sheep’s head in the middle of it!
Arthur was in the homes aged 8-16. At 14 he became an apprentice decorator to Mr Jackson who was the homes decorator. At 16 he left to work in Newcastle but never forgot his mentor and kept in touch with him throughout his life. He claimed Mr Jackson taught him so well that he was eventually able to set up his own decorating business. Arthur was extremely grateful for all the support and education he was given in the homes and even wrote to the Education Committee to thank them.
Despite being very well fed, the children were always looking for extra treats. Arthur talks about the stores where there were huge containers of food. The children were very interested in the large biscuit barrels and would often try to steal biscuits. One day his friend managed to get the lid open only to discover that his hand was covered in blue dye. The dye was very difficult to remove which enabled staff to easily identify the culprit!
Lizzie – T/611
Billy – T/614
Josephine – T/616
Arthur – T/625
