Felling is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, the town became part of the metropolitan borough of Gateshead in 1974. It lies on the B1426 Sunderland Road and the A184 Felling bypass, less than east of Gateshead, south east of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 10 miles north west of the City of Sunderland. In 2011, Felling had a population of 8,908.
The three distinct settlements at Low Felling, High Felling and Felling Shore amalgamated with other surrounding villages to form the town of Felling, which was administered by the Felling Urban District Council. The areas covered by Felling council were Felling, High Felling, Windy Nook, Whitehills Estate, Leam-Lane Estate, Pelaw, Wardley, Heworth, Bill Quay and Follingsby. The council was abolished in 1974 when Felling was incorporated into the new Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead.
History
Early history
The name of Felling is recorded as early as 1217 and, in 1920, was said to refer to a clearing where woods and trees were felled.Mawer, 1920: 83–84 Since there are no other places in Britain which bear this name, despite country-wide tree felling, it is much more likely to be because it lies on the eastern descent of a Fell, which rises from Team Valley in the west to Low Fell, then still rising to High Fell, before descending down to the Tyne through Felling. Ing is a place name ending which means "the people of". In the 13th century, the Prior of Durham enfeoffed Sir Walter de Selby a manor at Felling "to hold by homage, fealty, knights' service, two marks rent, and suit at the prior's every fortnight".Mackenzie & Ross, 1834: 22 The estate then passed to Walter's son, Adam, whose own son forfeited the estate the manor upon his death, whereupon it was passed to Ralph de Applingden.Surtees, 1820: 85 In 1331, the manor was granted to Sir Thomas Surtees by Bishop Lewis Beaumont, who passed it to his son Alexander and whose own son, Thomas, inherited the estate in 1400 when he was only 20 weeks old. Thomas lived only 35 years, but is notable for having been High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1422.Surtees, 1820: 86 The estate continued to pass through the Surtees family until 1509, when the last surviving member of that family died.
There followed a period of extensive litigation as the future of the considerable Surtees estate, which also included Low Dinsdale Manor near Darlington, was contested between the families Brandling, a staunchly Royalist and Catholic family, Blaxton and Wyclyffe.Newman, 1993: 56Surtees, 1820: 86–87 While several elements of the estate where divided by share, in 1509 the entire manor of Felling was granted by Deed of Partition to Robert Brandling and his heirs "for life and to the total extinction" of any other claims.Surtees, 1820: 87
The Brandling family
Brandling duly lived at Felling with his wife Anne. He became sheriff of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1524, was mayor of Newcastle five times and was knighted by the Duke of Somerset at Mussleburgh. When he died in 1568, the estate passed to his brother Thomas.Mackenzie, 1825: 470 In 1605, Thomas' grandson, Robert Brandling, inherited the manor. Robert Brandling was granted Newminster Abbey by King James in 1610, served as High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1617 and was in 1621 elected Member of Parliament for Morpeth.Hodgson, 1832: 414 When he died in 1636, the estate passed to his son, Sir Francis Brandling. Francis was also an MP, albeit for Northumberland, between 1624 and 1625 though he abandoned Felling in favour of residence at Alnwick Abbey.Browne Willis, 1750: 192 He died in 1641 and was succeeded by Charles Brandling, a cavalry colonel who also resided at both Felling and Alnwick. Charles had two brothers. The older of which, Ralph, was killed at the Battle of Marston Moor,Burke, 1852: 136 while the second brother, Robert, also participated in the English Civil War and was captured in an otherwise successful Royalist engagement at Corbridge in February 1644 after which he switched sides and fought for the Roundheads; an action which earned him the reputation as "a very knave" which he carried until his death in 1669.
Early industrialisation 1680–1800
By the turn of the 18th century, Felling consisted of little more than the large Brandling estate and a small scattering of tiny farming villages.Hewitt (part three), 1990: 1 However, Ralph Brandling, the incumbent of the Brandling estate at that time, had come to realise the value of the rich coal deposits on his estate and began drift mining around 1670.Namier, 1995: 113 He initially found the large coal seams under his estate difficult to extract due to their depth, and indeed it was imported coal from Newcastle-upon-Tyne which saw the development of more extensive industries in salt, glass and chemicals which began to attract workers to the area. At around 1750, a large copper-works was opened at the banks of the River Tyne; the first such works to be developed on the river.Lewis, 1848: 227Mackenzie & Ross, 1834: 24 Encouraged by these developments, Ralph Brandling's son, Charles Brandling,Charles Brandling (1733–1802) was another member of the family who became an MP, this time for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in 1784. See Namier, 1995: 113–14 firstly commissioned more extensive mining of near-surface coal on his estate and then, encouraged by the discovery of several strata below his estate, began boring operations in 1758 to allow ultimately for deeper coal extraction.Baldwin, 1823: 502 at col.1 The result was the opening of Felling CollieryAlso known as "Brandling Main" in 1779, working on the High Main stratum at a depth of 125 fathoms. A brown paper mill was also opened in 1798.
Felling mining disasters
On 19 January 1811, the original High Main seam at Felling Colliery was closed, but by that time the colliery had grown enormously.Baldwin, 1823: 502Terminology: A colliery is a coal mine. A pit is a one shaft forming part of a colliery. The colliery was deepened to reach the Low Main seam. Two shafts were provided: John Pit and William Pit.Hodgson, 1999 The Low Main began operation in October 1810. Disaster struck Felling Colliery on 25 May 1812 when, despite the colliery containing the most up-to-date safety measures,Baldwin, 1823: 503 at col.1 firedamp ignited and at around 11.30 am, "one of the most tremendous explosions in the history of coal mining took place". Two explosions rocked the colliery, the blast appearing in both pits. A cloud of coal dust and debris over a radius of a mile and a half was ejected from the colliery.Baldwin, 1823: 504 at col.2 One account recalled:
Immense quantities of dust and coal rose high into the air in an inverted cone...In the village of Heworth, this cloud caused a darkness like that of early twilight and covered the roads so thickly that the footsteps of passengers were deeply imprinted in it. As soon as the explosion was heard, wives and children of the workmen ran to the pit. Wildness and terror were pictured in every countenance. The crowd soon collected to several hundreds, some crying out for a husband, others for a parent or a son, and all affected by a mixture of horror, anxiety and grief.Baldwin, 1823: 503–04
Following the first blast at 11:30, rescue attempts started at 12:15. At 14:00 the second blast occurred and no further rescues occurred. Some 29 men were saved, but the remaining 92 men and boys were killed. Two days later the decision was made to seal the colliery to starve the fire of oxygen. Just one year later, on 24 December 1813, a further catastrophe occurred:
About half-past one o'clock on the morning, an explosion took place in Felling colliery, by which nine men and thirteen boys were hurried into eternity, several others severely burnt, and all the underground horses but one destroyed. The accident occurred at the time of calling course, or when one set of men were relieving another. Several of the morning shift men were standing round the mouth of the pit, waiting to go down, when the blast occurred, and the part who had just descended met it soon after they had reached the bottom of the shaft; these were most miserably burnt and mangled.Richardson, 1844
The 200th anniversary of the first disaster was commemorated in Felling on 25 May 2012 by a parade from St Mary's Church at Heworth to the place of the entrance to the colliery at Mulberry Street. (Retrieved 2 August 2012)
The Industrial Revolution
In spite of the disaster, Felling continued to grow and by the time of the explosions the character of Felling had changed substantially. There now existed three distinct villages. Around two miles south east of Gateshead lay High Felling; a residential village in the township of Heworth which had attracted several Wesleyan and Methodist preachers.Whellan, 1856: 804 Slightly to the north lay Low Felling. This was a more heavily industrialised village, containing Felling colliery, a large chemical works and other manufacturers, though in 1834 it was noted that there also existed "a few neat houses and many cottages for the colliery which, with small gardens attached, give an aspect of comfort to the village".MacKenzie and Ross, 1834: 22 At the north and on the bank of the River Tyne, a populous manufacturing and trading village had developed known as Felling Shore, spreading across three miles of the bank of the Tyne. A Methodist church was built there in 1805. This was accompanied by several shops and four public houses frequented predominantly by seamen and workers at the adjacent quay, coal staithes and ship building works where vessels of excellent quality were built. Industry continued to flourish here; the copperworks established in the 18th century still operated and had expanded, an oil and a paper mill had also developed, along with forging works for anchors and shovels.
In 1827 the Friars Goose Chemical Works was opened by Anthony Clapham. In 1834 a second large chemical works was established by Hugh Lee Pattinson, John Lee and George Burnett;"Pattinson, Hugh Lee". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2012. it soon employed around 300 men. (Retrieved 3 August 2012) Grindstone quarries produced high quality stone and a brownware pottery under Mr. Joseph Wood had opened for business. In 1842, Brandling Station was opened at Mullbery Street in Felling on the Brandling Junction railway linking Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland.Herapath, 1839: 402 This is one of the oldest passenger stations in the world.Tindle, 2011: 11
By around 1870, Felling had reached its industrial peak. Historian John Marius Wilson noted:
FELLING, a large village and a chapelry in Jarrow parish, Durham. The village stands on the Northeastern railway, 1½ mile SE of Gateshead; increased recently from two hamlets to its present condition; is maintained by factories and by mining operations; connects with Felling-Shore, a coal-shipping place on the Tyne; and has a post-office under Gateshead, a r. station, a church built in 1866, four dissenting chapels, and a Roman Catholic chapel. The chapelry was constituted in 1866. Population 5,105. The living is a vicarage. Value, £300. Patrons, Five Trustees. (Retrieved 3 August 2012)
1870 – present day