Some years ago research was carried out about these homes that were built by Gateshead Corporation to house 3 to 16 year old children. These were orphans or whose parents were sick or destitute. This article acknowledges the hard work and dedication of the late Jim Clarke, of Blackhill, resulting in an exhibition and a war memorial plaque to ‘The Homers’, now in Medomsley Parish Church. The contents of the exhibition, held in the foyer of the Consett Library at the time, have been kindly donated to the C&DHI to be reproduced in this article.
Most people will recognise the site described as the Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre [formerly known as the Medomsley Detention Centre or Hassockfield Secure Training Centre]. But few realise the purpose for which it was originally built in 1901. In 1930 Durham County Council took over the running of the homes until 1959 after which the site was used by the Home Office.
The homes were designed by W Lister Newcombe and built between 1896 and 1901 to accommodate 184 in six semidetached cottages. Three were for boys and three for girls, with workshops for training and other facilities on site. The maps show Gateshead Union Cottage Homes, Shotley Bridge (NZ 110 536) in 1923 and the various uses within the complex.
Some of the children who lived at Medomsley Cottage Homes
Jim’s main ambition was to ensure that those children from the Cottage Homes who served in the First World War were given a fitting memorial.
Charles Harrison was a resident of the cottage homes from approximately 1916 to 1924. His memories of the home, which he recounted near the end of his life in 1997, have been taken from a website containing more information about the Shotley Bridge Cottage Homes.
More general information about Cottage Home Villages can be found in an article about Cottage Home Villages by Kathryn Morrison
