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ALLENDALE
Conservation Area Character Appraisal
Consultation Draft - December 2008
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
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Note. This document is a Consultation Draft that will be subjected to extensive
consultation and consequent revision in early 2009, after which a more
comprehensive and better illustrated version will be published. A few sections
of this draft remain incomplete – these will be completed during the
consultation phase.
Contents
1. Summary of Special Significance
2. Introduction
2.1 The Allendale Conservation Area
2.2 Conservation Areas
2.3 Conservation Area Character Appraisals
2.4 Public consultation
3. Location, geology and topography
4. Origins and history
4.1 Before Allendale
4.2 Medieval Allendale
4.2.1 Documentary evidence
4.2.2 The medieval church
4.2.3 Medieval settlement form
4.2.4 Leadmining
4.3 Post-medieval Allendale
4.3.1 The Post-medieval lead industry
4.3.2 Churches and chapels
4.3.3 Post-medieval Settlement
4.4 Twentieth-century Allendale
5. Historic Landscape Characterisation
6. Approaching Allendale
7. The character of the conservation area
7.1 General character
7.2 Character areas
7.2.1. The Market Place
7.2.2. Bridge End
7.2.3. The Peth
7.2.4. Wentworth Terrace and Shield Street
7.2.5. The eastern fringe
8. Architectural features and materials
9. Open spaces and woodland
10. Other components of Allendale’s character
10.1 Boundary walls
10.2 Roads, pavements and other surfaces
10.3 Signage
10.4 Street furniture and other historic features
11. Pressures, problems and capacity for change
12. Sources
13. Acknowledgements
Appendices
1. Listed buildings in the Allendale Conservation Area.
2. Tynedale Council policies.
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1. Summary of Special Significance
Allendale ‘Town’ is a historic settlement centred on a large Market Place, on a
plateau above the east bank of the River East Allen. It is first recorded in the
thirteenth century, and thrived during the 18th and 19th centuries during which
it developed in association with the lead industry. Whether or not the
settlement should truly be referred to as a town rather than a village is open to
debate, but given the historical authenticity of the name (formerly Allenton,
latterly Allendale Town) it will be referred to here as a town.
Allendale Town’s unique character derives essentially from the way in which
an interesting collection of late 18th and 19th century buildings cluster round
the four sides of the Market Place. While few of these buildings are of any
great architectural value in their own right, collectively they are priceless.
Notable amongst them are four pubs, important contributors to contemporary
life in Allendale.
The town is famous for its claim to represent the geographical ‘Centre of
Britain’, and for its New Year’s Eve ‘Tar Barrel Festival’ which some claim
dates back to the mid nineteenth century (although the absence of any
reference to it in George Dickinson’s 1903 Allendale and Whitfield, which
includes an extensive section on local ‘manners, customs and amusements’,
might suggest its origins are not quite so ancient).
Allendale won the accolade of Northumberland’s ‘Best Kept Village’ several
times in the 1950s and 1960s, and the prestigious ‘Calor Village of the Year’
title in 2007; today’s residents are justly proud of their historic ‘town’. Despite
the development of much mid to late 20th century housing, on the Allenfields
Estate and elsewhere, the historic core, represented today by the
Conservation Area, retains its unique historic character that deserves
sensitive management to ensure its long-term survival for the benefit of
residents and visitors alike.
General view
of the Market
Place from
the southwest.
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2. Introduction
2.1 The Allendale Conservation Area
The Allendale Conservation Area, extending over ?? hectares, was
designated by Tynedale Council in 19??. It includes the historic core of the
town, a linear extension to the south to take in the early nineteenth-century
terrace of Wentworth Place, the wooded east bank of the East Allen between
the town and the river, and the hamlet of Bridge End/Wooley Burnfoot on the
river’s west bank.
Air photograph of Allendale Town showing extent of Conservation Area (CA
boundary still to be added)
2.2 Conservation Areas
It is now widely recognised that the historic environment contributes
enormously to this nation’s economic well-being and quality of life, and levels
of public support for the conservation of the historic environment are growing
ever higher. Conservation Area legislation does not strive to prevent change,
but to manage it in such a way that the special qualities of a Conservation
Area are maintained, if not enhanced.
Conservation Areas are designated under the provision of Section 69 of the
Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. A Conservation
Area is defined as ‘an area of special architectural or historic interest, the
character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’.
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Legislation regarding conservation areas is set out in the Planning (Listed
Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, and government policy is
outlined in Planning Policy Guidance Note 15, Planning and the Historic
Environment. The legislation places a duty on local authorities to declare as
conservation areas those areas under their jurisdiction that they consider to be
of special architectural or historic interest, and to review these designations
from time to time. Conservation area status leads to greater control over
changes that can be made to buildings, including the need to secure consent
for any demolition work, strengthens control over certain minor forms of
development, and provides automatic protection for trees.
The Local Authority has a duty, in exercising its planning powers (for example
when determining planning applications), to pay special attention to the
desirability of preserving or enhancing the character and appearance of
Conservation Areas. It must also draw up and publish, from time to time,
proposals for preservation and enhancement, such proposals to be drawn up
in association with the local community. Tynedale Council’s policies relating to
conservation areas are outlined in Appendix 2 of this document.
2.3 Conservation Area Character Appraisals
The Character Appraisal represents the first phase of a dynamic process
aimed at the conservation and enhancement of the conservation area. It is an
assessment of those features and qualities that make an individual
conservation area special. These can include individual buildings, groups of
buildings, other structures, architectural details and materials, open spaces,
landscaping, street furniture, and the relationships between all of these. The
special qualities can also include more abstract notions such as sounds,
tranquillity, smells, and literary or historic associations. This appraisal will help
to raise awareness and appreciation of Allendale’s special character, while
also providing a consistent and sound basis on which to determine planning
applications affecting the village.
Large or complex conservation areas are often divided into separate
Character Areas for the purposes of the Appraisal, while smaller and less
complex areas are usually appraised as single units. As explained in section
7, below, Allendale has been divided into 5 separate character areas for the
purpose of this appraisal.
This appraisal also seeks to identify any factors that detract from the
conservation area’s special qualities and to which special attention could be
paid in the forthcoming Management Plan. These are outlined here in section
11.
This appraisal discusses a large number of structures and features within
Allendale, but no appraisal can ever be entirely comprehensive and the
omission of any particular building, feature or space should certainly not be
taken to imply that it is of no interest.
This draft version of the Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal was
produced by the North Pennines AONB Partnership for Tynedale Council
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during November/December 2008 following the methodology suggested by
English Heritage. It will now be subjected to public consultation before being
presented to Tynedale Council for adoption. Once adopted, the next stage will
be the production of a detailed Management Plan for the conservation area.
2.4 Public consultation
Public consultation is an integral part of the appraisal process. This
Consultation Draft will form the basis for local consultation, including a drop-in
event to be held in the town, after which it will be amended according to the
views of residents before being presented to the local authority for adoption.
People will be encouraged to bring along old maps and old photographs,
some of which may be incorporated into this document. Residents will be
encouraged to suggest ways in which the Allendale townscape could be
enhanced, and their views will be incorporated into section 11 of the revised
appraisal.
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3. Location, geology and topography
Allendale is located in the East Allen Valley, some 14km (9 miles) south of
Hexham. It lies at NGR NY842555 on a spur above the east bank of a loop in
the river, although the conservation area also includes Bridge End adjacent to
the bridge on the west bank. The Market Place is at 238 metres above sea
level, while the Bridge lies at 215 metres.
The local geology is limestone and Namurian Sandstone, overlain by glacial
boulder clay. Veins of lead-bearing ore in the local rocks have been exploited
since as least as long ago as medieval times, playing a key role in Allendale’s
history. The valley’s agricultural landscape is principally of pasture fields,
interspersed with extensive areas of woodland, giving way to open moorland
on the surrounding high hills. The nature of the local historic environment is
considered further in section 5, below.
Modern OS map extract and aerial photograph showing Allendale Town in its
local landscape setting.
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4. Origins and history
An outline of Allendale’s history is essential to an understanding of the town’s
present form and character, and thus to its future management. Although this
account has been compiled from various sources, it owes much to the draft
report provided by Williams (2007) which itself collates information from many
earlier references. A list of the main sources consulted during the production
of this appraisal is provided towards the end of this document.
4.1 Before Allendale
Perhaps surprisingly, there is no evidence for any human activity in the
immediate vicinity of Allendale Town in prehistoric, Roman or Anglo-Saxon
times. This, of course, does not mean that no-one was here, just that no
evidence of any activity has yet been recovered. In the wider landscape, a
ridge-top Mesolithic campsite (from which over 1,000 worked flints have been
recovered) existed at Flow Moss on Allendale Fell, south-west of the village.
This would probably have been occupied on a seasonal basis, possibly over
several centuries, by bands of hunter-gatherers 6,000 or more years ago. A
polished stone axe and several flint arrowheads have also been recovered
from the hills above the valley, indicating activity here during Neolithic times,
although the nature of this activity remains unclear. A socketed bronze axe of
late Bronze-Age date was recovered from somewhere west of the town in the
19??s, but on its own this tells us nothing about the nature of settlement here
during later prehistory.
Similarly, nothing is known of activity here during Roman or Anglo-Saxon
times, although it seems inconceivable that no form of temporary or
permanent settlement existed in the area throughout all this time. Careful
archaeological survey, or perhaps chance discoveries, may yet provide
evidence for settlement in and around Allendale prior to medieval times.
However, it is possible, if unlikely, that there was no permanent settlement
here prior to the Norman Conquest, with the area perhaps exploited largely for
woodland resources and hunting.
4.2 Medieval Allendale
4.2.1 Documentary evidence
In the reign of Henry I (1100-35) Hexhamshire, including Allendale, was
detached from the see of Durham and granted to the Archbishopric of York,
where it remained until 1545. The tithes of Allendale and the rest of the liberty
of Hexham were granted by Thomas, Archbishop of York to Hexham Priory in
1113 and occasional references suggest that a strong link between Allendale
and Hexham was maintained throughout medieval times. The Hexham Black
Book of 1479 mentions a house with half an acre of land rented at 6s 8d in
Alwenton, and a survey of the Manor of Hexham in 1547 shows that 25
copyholders in Alwenton paid a total of £6 7s 11d rent. Allendale was
originally divided into four grieveships, or townships, but between 1547 and
1608 ‘Allenton’ (Allendale Town) was separated from the East Allen
grieveship. Allendale Town appears in medieval and post-medieval
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documents with various spellings, but seems to have been referred to most
commonly as Allenton by the early 18th century.
4.2.2 The medieval church
The earliest documentary evidence for a chapel at Allendale dates from 1174
(the earliest known reference to a settlement at Allendale) when the chapel
and cemetery of ‘Allenton’ were under the control of the Prior of Hexham. A
survey of the manor of Hexham in 1547 records a parcel of land belonging to
the Church of St Mary at Allenton. Later documents record the tithes of
Allendale and chantry lands in 1602, and a stipend for the church in 1650.
A drawing of the chapel by Hair shows it comprised a chancel and nave and
that it was probably rebuilt in the 14th century; on the west gable was a double
belfry for two small bells. Records suggest a major rebuilding of the church in
1670, which is probably when a substantial south aisle was added. The chapel
was eventually demolished in 1807 and replaced with the Church of St
Cuthbert.
4.2.3 Medieval settlement form
There must have been a medieval village at Allendale, focused on the church,
from at least as early as the 12th century, but we know nothing of its nature. It
has been suggested that the green marked on the first edition Ordnance
Survey of 1860 may once have been much larger and that buildings of a
medieval village may have been arranged around it, but this is no more than
conjecture. In the absence of archaeological evidence relating to the form of
Allendale in medieval times, there is little more that we can say on the subject.
Without doubt, evidence will be preserved within the ground, and future
archaeological investigation should have much to tell us about the
development of the village.
4.2.4 Leadmining
Although evidence is currently lacking, we may reasonably assume that
medieval settlement at Allendale was linked with leadmining. Leadmining is
documented in the North Pennines from the early 12th century when the lead
veins of Alston were being worked for silver. The earliest documentary
reference to lead mining in Allendale dates from 1230, when Archbishop Gray
granted one mine to Alan son of Ralph, Robert le Tanur, Richard Mariscall,
Simon de Alston and Alan Nentesbire. In a Survey of 1547 only one lead mine
is recorded in East Allendale; this was let out by the king to John Shele,
presumably a local man.
4.3 Post-medieval Allendale
4.3.1 The Post-medieval lead industry.
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, all the lands owned by Hexham
Abbey, including Allendale, passed into private hands. Allendale was
purchased by Sir William Blackett of Wallington in 1689, and after passing
through marriage to the Wentworth and Beaumont familes, it became the
property of Wentworth Blackett Beaumont, later created 1st Baron Allendale, in
1848. (Today the Allendale Estate is still owned by the Blackett-Beaumont
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family, in the person of Lord Allendale). Under Blackett-Beaumont ownership,
the lead resources of the valley were extensively exploited, and Allendale
Town developed into the area’s largest and most important settlement. There
is no evidence for industrial activity associated with the lead industry within
the conservation area, so the nature of this will not be considered in any detail
here, but it is important to recognise that it was the expansion of the lead
industry during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, and in particular the growth of
the hugely important Allen Smelt Mill to the north, that provided the context for
the growth of Allendale Town.
4.3.2 Churches and chapels.
The Church of St Cuthbert, replacing the old chapel, was built in 1807 and
subsequently rebuilt, retaining the 1807 tower, in 1873. Methodism was
practised in Allendale from the mid 18th century and the original Trinity
Methodist Church was built in 1760, then rebuilt in 1839 and again in 1877.
The first Primitive Methodist chapel was built in 1835; this became a Sunday
School when a new, larger chapel (now the library) was constructed next door
in 1878. A century prior to the advent of Methodism, the Quakers were present
in Allendale, meeting in private houses prior to the construction of the Burnfoot
Meeting House at Bridge End in 1735; this was rebuilt in 1868 and remains in
use today.
St Cuthbert’s Church (left) and Burnfoot Meeting House (right).
4.3.3 Post-medieval Settlement
‘Allenton’ is shown on Speed’s 1610 map of Northumberland, but this does not
indicate the form or extent of the settlement at the time. An entry in the
Archbishop of York’s papers for 1704 records Allendale as ‘a large and
populous parish’, but no detail is given regarding the form of the ‘Town’.
Armstrong’s map of 1769 shows the church and village of ‘Allondale’, but
again provides no useful information regarding the layout of the village.
Documentary sources however record that the village was centred on a
market place located to the west of the church as is the case today, although
the market place has now been partly infilled by buildings. At the end of the
18th century, an agricultural survey of the county described Allendale town as
‘a neat little town, almost every other building of which is a public house for
the miners’ with a Friday-market.
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Details from Speed’s map of 1610 (left) and Armstrong’s of 1769 (right).
The earliest school in Allendale dates from 1704; the building still stands
today and is in use as a private dwelling, Brideshill Cottage. A ‘Beaumont
School’ was built nearby in 1851, replaced in turn by ‘Allendale Board School’
(now Allendale First School) in 1880.
Nineteenth-century references record drunkenness, violence and antisocial
behaviour in Allendale Market Place, and it may be inferred that this sort of
behaviour was commonplace in a town with so many inns. No less than
seventeen pubs are recorded in the parish in 1827, when the Allendale
Brewery was set up on the site of an earlier brewery; the Allendale Brewery
was in operation through until 1887, and its tradition is maintained by the
present-day Allendale Brewing Company (located outside the conservation
area) which commenced brewing in 2006. Pubs which appear on the First
Edition Ordnance Survey of 1860 in the Market Place were The Fox and Lamb
Inn (now the Allendale Inn), the Hare and Hounds Inn, the Three Tuns Inn,
and the Rose and Crown Inn (now the Old Studio). In the 1780s there was
another inn called The Green, later the Black Bull, which is now the site of the
early 19th century Tea Rooms in the central block in the Market Place.
Forster’s Temperance Hotel (now the Dale), standing in stark contrast to the
plethora of establishments serving alcohol, is shown on photographs from
1875, though its origins are unclear.
The Allendale Inn (left) and Allen House (right).
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A shambles, formed by a row of butcher’s shops, is shown on the First and
Second Edition Ordnance Survey within the Market Place; it was later
replaced by a boarding house called Allen House that survives, albeit in less
than pristine condition, today. Together with a small hearse house, it forms
one of two islands of buildings within the Market Place.
Fryer’s map of 1820, and Greenwoods of 1828, depict the buildings of
‘Allendale’ (the name has remained in this form on all subsequent maps)
clustered around the Market Place. Greenwood’s map also clearly shows
buildings within the Market Place, suggesting that the core of the village had
pretty much reached is present form by this time.
Details of maps by Fryer (1820, left) and Greenwood (1828, right).
The second edition of Mackenzie’s Historical, Topographical and Descriptive
View of the County of Northumberland was published in 1825. With regard to
Allendale Parish, Mackenzie observes that:
‘This district exhibits in general, a sterile and desolate aspect, and
abounds in rugged and frowning elevations, which, however, conceal mineral
treasures of the greatest value’.
With specific regard to Allendale Town, Mackenzie describes the
church, Methodist chapel and Quaker meeting house, before noting:
‘This town, which is mostly inhabited by people engaged in the leadworks, contains nearly 200 dwelling-houses and above 1000 inhabitants. The
houses are neatly built; and there are a number of public houses, and wellfurnished shops, for the accommodation of the people in the adjoining country.
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The market-day is on Friday; and there are fairs on the 10th of May, the 22nd of
August, and the 14th of November. The market-place is a large open square,
which contains the shambles and the ruins of a cross.’
Three decades later, White’s Directory (1859) records Allendale Town as
rustic, bare and with a poorly-paved market place.
Extract from the Allendale Tithe map of 1849, showing the Market Place and
Bridg End. Comparison with modern air photographs demonstrates how little
the basic form of the historic core of the town has changed since the mid 19th
century.
Prior to the mid 19th century, road access to Allendale was not good, and the
town could become all but inaccessible in excessively wet or snowy weather.
The oldest route through the town from the north seems to have been via
Bridge End, passing to the south along line of the present day Lonkley
Terrace. Permission for the present road south to Allenheads was granted in
an Act of Parliament dated 1826, and the ‘New Road’ north to Catton was
begun as late as 1846. There were plans to extend the railway from Hexham
as far as Allendale Town, but it only ever reached as far as Catton, in 1865,
with travellers forced to continue to Allendale along the ‘New Road’, later
renamed ‘Station Road’. (Catton Station eventually closed to passengers in
1930, and to goods trains in 1950).
1849 saw the provision of fresh spring water to a trough by the village green, a
project overseen by Isaac Holden, a local man who undertook many public
projects and to whom a commemorative monument stands in St Cuthbert’s
churchyard. Holden’s original trough (known today as ‘Isaac’s Well’) still
survives in the village, though spring water is no longer piped to it. In 1875,
several black iron water pumps were introduced throughout the town,
providing fresh water for all residents. Several of these survive today, though
they no longer function.
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Isaac’s Well (left) and the Jubilee Almshouses (right).
The extent of the town and density of building in its core changed little
between the First and Second Edition Ordnance Survey in 1860 and 1897.
Wentworth Place at the southern extent of the conservation area incorporates
a name plaque dated 1827 and represents the southern extent of the town
then as it does now. During the latter half of the 19th century buildings may
have been replaced but new plots do not appear to have been developed with
the exception of the Jubilee Almshouses in Lonkley Terrace, built in 1877 on a
plot shown as empty on the First Edition Ordnance Survey.
Extracts from OS 1st
edition of c1860 (above)
and 2nd edition c1897
(below).
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By the end of the century, the lead industry had collapsed (the Allen Smelt Mill
closed in 1896) and the decline of the town and market are related in
contemporary directories.
The form of Allendale in the late 19th and early 20th centuries is recorded in a
number of fascinating old photographs, a few of which are included in this
appraisal and many more can be seen on the Allen Valleys Archive website
(www.allenvalleys.ukgo.com) maintained by the Allen Valleys Community
Trust. In general, these images serve to reinforce the point that the historic
core of the town had pretty much reached its present form by the close of the
19th century.
Late 19th/early 20th century photographs of Allendale. Although a few new
buildings have been built, and a few old ones lost, since these were taken,
these views remain essentially similar today.
4.3.4 Twentieth-century Allendale
In A History of Northumberland, published in 1897, J C Hodgson observes
that the population of Allendale parish ‘owing to the failure of the lead trade,
has rapidly declined.’ According to the census returns, the population of the
parish rose from 3,510 in 1801 to a peak of 6,401 in 1861, before falling to
3,009 in 1891. With specific regard to Allendale Town, Hodgson notes:
The closing of the lead mines has had an adverse effect on the
prosperity of the town, though the two half-yearly fairs are still held, the one on
the Friday before May 13th, and the other on the Friday after the 29th October.
Allendale Town is, however, rising in favour as a summer resort, and is
much appreciated for its pure moorland air.
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Hodgson thus neatly observes the transition from the 19th century dependency
on lead mining to the importance of tourism in the village economy throughout
the 20th century. The point is further emphasised by Beaty in a guide to the
area published in 1905:
Here comes the jaded business man to snatch a brief rest; the diseaseworn invalid for renewed health; as well as those who, satiated with the gaities
of town life, seek change of air and scene. And many without doubt, have had
cause to bless the pure bracing air of the Allendale hills, and acknowledged
their indebtedness to it for restored vigour and health, giving them new
courage and fitness to struggle with the cares and worries of life.
The market had also declined in importance by the turn of the century.
Dickinson notes in 1903 that:
Allendale market, once a busy one, has now, like the August fair,
become one of the things of the past. But less than fifty years ago the scene
was widely different – farmers from Tyneside might be seen standing in rows,
with bags of corn before them, and the farms in the neighbourhood sent their
supplies of butter and eggs, vended by the farmers’ wives or
daughters………Linen drapers, cloggers, gardeners, ironmongers, and other
trades were also represented at the various stalls that were spread over
market place………Visitors to Allendale now walk through the town on a market
day without discerning any indications of a market.
Much of the history of Allendale during the late 19th and 20th centuries,
including details of shops and other businesses, is summarised by Nora
Handcock in her 2007 book Allendale: Twentieth Century Memories. Here we
can note only a few highlights relating to the development of the Conservation
Area over the twentieth century.
Despite the economic problems associated with the decline in leadmining, the
early twentieth century saw something of a flurry of new buildings, now
essential features of the Conservation Area. A new bank (now Lloyds Bank)
was built in the Market Place in 1902 on the site of a shop gutted by fire; the
same year saw the construction of the substantial Hetherlea Hotel at the
south-west corner of the Market Place. The fountain on the village green was
erected in memory of a local man, John Joseph Glendinning, killed in action in
the Boer War in 1902.
Heatherlea Hotel soon after its construction (left) and today (right).
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1905 saw the erection of the village hall, originally known as ‘Temperance
Hall’ and within which the sale or use of intoxicating drinks, music hall and
theatrical events, gambling and dancing were all strictly forbidden; the
constitution was relaxed somewhat in the 1930s.
The village hall (left) and St Cuthbert’s lych gate (right).
In 1906, the tower of St Cuthbert’s Church was raised and clock faces added
to three of its sides; the church yard gained its lych gate in 1920, built as a
memorial to local men who lost their lives in the First World War.
1932 saw a serious landslip which took away much of the main road to the
south of the village, between Wentworth Terrace and Shield Street; this was
subsequently rebuilt with a substantial stone revetment which survives today.
The views from this section of road over Bridge End and beyond are most
impressive. In the same year, two red-brick semi-detached houses were built
in the north-west corner of the Market Place; these are of a general style to be
found throughout England and stand in contrast to the older buildings of the
Conservation Area. The 1930s also saw the resurfacing of the Market Place
with tarmac; prior to this the old cobbled surface used to get horribly muddy in
wet weather and was also suffering much damage through the increase in
vehicular traffic.
Electricity reached Allendale in 1936, following which there were many fewer
fires arising from the use of candles and oil lamps. The 1930s also saw the
construction of a sewage disposal scheme, rendering redundant the
‘disgusting manure heaps’ that previously littered the streets.
In 1945 the land east of the village hall became a public recreation ground,
enabling the development of bowling green, tennis courts and children’s
recreation areas on the fringes of the Conservation Area. Allendale’s first
council houses, on the Allenfields Estate, were built in 1948, the same year as
what was probably the village’s oldest surviving house, the seventeenthcentury ‘Old Thacky’ on Shilburn, was demolished as it was considered to be
a danger to the adjacent school. The new Middle School was built in 1959,
and extensions provided for the First School in the 1970s. The 1960s saw the
appearance of the fire station (to make room for which the attractive
‘Forsterheads House’ was demolished) and the adjacent County Council road
depot. The new health centre opened in Shilburn followed in 1976. New
housing in the 1970s and 80s included 47 bungalows at Wentworth Park, 50
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houses on the Forsterheads Estate and at Dale Park, and 10 bungalows at
Denelands. A substantial extension to the village hall, overlooking the
recreation ground, was added in 1993. Despite all this development on the
fringes of the Conservation Area, the historic heart focussed on the Market
Place saw few changes, although the addition of the new Co-Op building in a
modern style provides something of a contrast to its traditional setting.
Recent housing on the fringes of the Conservation Area; Denelands (left) and
Wentworth Park (right).
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5 Historic Landscape Characterisation
Although the Conservation Area has a clear boundary, it is important that its
management takes place within the context of the management of the wider
historic environment. Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) is a
technique of defining the essential character of the historic landscape, taking
into account aspects of historic land use and surviving historic features such
as field boundaries and ancient woodland. The Enclosure Act for Allendale,
dated 1792, had much to do with the creation of today’s landscape of small
stone-walled fields from the previously open common land.
The HLC project for Northumberland was recently completed and the following
description of Allendale’s landscape context is provided by the
Northumberland County HLC Officer:
Allendale Town lies in a patchwork of historic landscape types
enclosed by a large swathe of high moorland. Below the moorland edge the
HLC types are predominantly planned fields of the mid-18th to 19th centuries.
Along the moorland edge to the east of Allendale most of this enclosure is
straight-sided and has been laid out with little regard to the topography or any
previous fieldsystem. To the west of the town many of the fields are also
planned enclosure but they have wavy or curved external boundaries which
may echo the framework of medieval open fields. Below the planned
enclosure are large blocks of irregular fields that may represent 17th to mid18th century intake from moorland. A small area of 17th to mid 18th century
piecemeal enclosure lies west of Allendale, and larger area to the north
around Catton. Several late 19th century fields lies around Allendale and are
the result of either reclaimed moorland or reorganisation of earlier fields. Most
of the woodland in and around Allendale was present in the mid-19th century
and is shown on the first edition Ordnance Survey map. A small area of
ancient woodland lies close to the eastern side of the town and has had
continuous woodland cover since at least AD1600 and retained native tree
cover that has not been replanted. No modern industry lies in the vicinity and
older remains from the lead industry have proved too small to plot at the
county-scale HLC with the exception of Allendale flues. The extent of the town
itself changed little between the mid 19th century and the early 20th century.
Most growth has taken place in the 20th century with expansion stretching
southwards and to the north-east.
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Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) map of the area around Allendale
Town.
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6 Approaching Allendale
When considering the management of a conservation area it is important to
pay due regard to its approaches, as well as to the area itself; a conservation
area does not stand in isolation from its context, and the routes by which
people enter and leave it are important aspects of its character. Allendale can
be approached on main roads from three different directions, all of which are
very different in character. Whichever direction one is travelling from, the
dramatic open but enclosed space of the Market Place comes as a pleasant
surprise to anyone visiting Allendale for the first time.
The route of the B6295 seems always to have provided the main approach to
Allendale from the south. After travelling across the open moors from
Weardale, and the enclosed pastureland and woodland of the east Allen
Valley north of Allenheads, this road enters the Allendale Conservation Area
adjacent to Whitworth Terrace, passes through the area known as ‘Noah’s
Ark’ which enjoys extensive views away to the west, then enters the core of
the historic village adjacent to the Trinity Methodist Church on Shield Street
before passing into the Market Place. Many of the buildings lining this route
within the conservation area have changed little since the mid nineteenth
century, although much twentieth century housing now occupies the land to
the east of the road.
Allendale can also be approached by road from the west, through Bridge End
on the B6295; prior to the mid nineteenth century this provided the main route
into the town from the north. Bridge End can be reached from the north or the
south, and from here traffic is channelled over Allendale Town Bridge and up
the Peth to the Market Place. Bridge End is an attractive hamlet in its own
right, discussed in more detail below. The route over the impressive bridge
over the East Allen leads up the steep slope of the Peth, enclosed on both
sides by buildings and woodland: the Peth opens into the south-west corner of
the Market Place, the open nature of which provides a dramatic contrast.
Approaching Allendale on the B6295: from the south (left), and from the north
via Bridge end (right).
The B6303 now provides the route into Allendale for most traffic approaching
from the north. This road was built in 1846, and from 1865 provided a link with
the railway station at Catton (plans to extend the railway to Allendale never
came to fruition). The road enters Allendale from the north-east, entering the
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conservation area adjacent to the village hall and recreation area, passing the
schools and the village green to the left before entering the Market Place at its
south-east angle.
Approaching Allendale from the north-east on the B6303.
Two relatively minor roads also lead into the conservation area from the east:
Shilburn Road approaches the village from the east, joining the B6303
adjacent to the old school. This route links with the B6295 a few miles south of
Allendale and is only used by local traffic. As it approaches the village it is
lined to its south by large, detached twentieth century houses, and to the north
by the County Council road depot, the fire station, and the extensive, open
school playing fields.
Approaching the Conservation Area along Shilburn Road (left) and Lonkley
Terrace (right).
Lonkley Terrace from the south-east runs downhill into the town past terraced
housing on the left and the impressive rectory in its own grounds to the right,
joining the B6303 immediately west of the village green, where it enters the
south-east corner of the Market Place. As with Shilburn Road, Lonkley
Terrace links with the B6295 to the south of Allendale and is used only by
local traffic. Impressive views over the historic core of the village may be
enjoyed from this approach.
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7. The character of the conservation area
7.1 General character
The centre of Allendale is instantly recognisable and could never be confused
with anywhere else. Its historic character results essentially from development
during the nineteenth century heyday of the North Pennines lead industry. The
huge Market Place is enclosed by individual buildings displaying a variety of
forms and styles, and each route out of centre has its own subtly different
character. The historic core is enclosed to the east and south by twentieth
century housing, and to the north and west by the attractively wooded steep
banks of the East Allen. On the west bank of the river, the hamlet of Bridge
End is included within the conservation area, although its general character is
altogether more rural and certainly very different from the adjacent ‘town’.
7.2 Character areas
For the purposes of this appraisal, the Allendale conservation area has been
divided into five character areas, all of which will require their own
management regimes if their special characters are to be maintained.
1. The Market Place, representing the town’s historic core.
2. Bridge End, the hamlet on the west bank of the East Allen, adjacent
to Allendale Town Bridge.
3. The Peth, linking Bridge End and the Market Place.
4. Wentworth Terrace and Shield Street, approaching the Market Place
from the south.
5. The eastern fringe: the portion of the conservation area to the east of
the Market Square, along the B6303, Shilburn Road and Lonkley Terrace.
Map to be inserted here
Map showing the five character areas.
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7.2.1 The Market Place
Allendale’s unique character derives principally from its instantly recognisable
Market Place, home to its four pubs and the famous annual New Year’s Eve
tar barrel ceremony. The Market Place, which forms an irregular parallelogram
in plan, had pretty much reached its present form by the time of the first OS
maps in the mid nineteenth century, and although there have been several
subsequent developments these have detracted little from the area’s historic
character.
General views of the Market Place
The origins of the Market Place are not well understood, but its present-day
buildings are largely of 18th and 19th century date. They display a variety of
styles which combine to form a most pleasing whole. Several are listed, and
details of these are included in Appendix 1. Twentieth-century additions,
which initially appear incongruous in the setting of the Market Place but
actually represent part of its history and contribute a new dimension to its
diverse character, include the Co-op in the north-east corner, and the 1930s
semi-detached houses and old garage in the north-west. Another twentiethcentury development was the surfacing of the old cobbled surface with tarmac
in about 1930, thought necessary at the time due to the increasing numbers of
wheeled vehicles that were destroying the old surface; the cobbles are still
exposed to the north side of the Market Place and presumably survive
elsewhere beneath the tarmac.
The Co-op (left), and exposed cobbles on the north side of the Market Place
(right).
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The open nature of the Market Place is broken up by the substantial island of
buildings occupying its south-east quadrant, the smaller island at its centre
(occupied by Allen House) and the triangular area of grass and trees towards
the south-west corner. The houses along the southern side of the Market
Place are fronted with a substantial strip of grass on which grow several trees
and shrubs. A red telephone box and black hydrant, one of a series set up in
1875 to provide piped water to the village, are small but important historic
structures that play a role in defining the character of this particular area.
An island of grass and trees in the south-east corner of the Market Place (left)
and the green strip along its south side with water pump and phone box
(right).
The Church of St Cuthbert is set back from the Market Place, accessible from
its north-east corner via a path between the Golden Lion and the Co-op. There
is also a garage business set between the Co-op and the churchyard, but this
is hidden between the two and certainly does not detract from the general
setting. The churchyard is surrounded by mature trees, and the ground drops
away sharply from its northern side down to the East Allen.
Properties along the north and west sides of the Market Place have
substantial enclosed plots to their rear, now used as gardens, which back onto
the wooded river bank. These plots appear to be of some age and were
presumably originally set out at the same time as the Market Place was
developed. One or more such plots to the north-west seem to have been used
for the construction of 1930s dwellings, two semi-detached houses facing onto
the Market Place and Riding View terrace behind. These houses appear very
1930s housing (left) and the old garage (right) in the north-east corner of the
Market Place.
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distinctive, especially on aerial photographs, as they are the only ones in the
conservation area with red tiled roofs. The area in front of these houses is
partly occupied by another relatively recent but distinctive structure, the blue
and white garage, now disused.
7.2.2. Bridge End, the hamlet on the west bank of the East Allen, adjacent to
Allendale Town Bridge.
With the exception of the bridge itself, and a small area of enclosed fields
towards its southern end, this character area is located entirely on the west
bank of the East Allen. Prior to the construction of the New Road between
Catton and Allendale in 1845, the bridge, known as Allendale Town Bridge,
provided the main route into the village from the north, so much traffic passed
through Bridge End. The bridge itself, a listed structure dating from the early
nineteenth century on the site of an earlier structure, is a key element of the
conservation area. The hamlet is dominated by Bridge End Mill (also
sometimes referred to as Allendale Watermill), an impressive three-storey
building which functioned as an agricultural merchant’s warehouse and store
(The painted wording ‘A and C Little Ltd., Flour, Corn and Cake Merchants’
still adorn the exterior of the building) following the closure of the mill. The mill
still retains an impressive overshot wheel, 14 ft in diameter and 7ft wide, that
could be unique in Northumberland. The old mill race is also included within
this sector of the Conservation Area. Remains survive of the massive timberpiled masonry dam that fed the head race, while the tail race used to continue
half a mile underground to serve as the head-race for the waterwheels of the
Allendale Smelt Mill. Several other attractive 19th century buildings remain in
use, both as dwellings and for agricultural purposes, within Bridge End.
Allendale Town Bridge (top left). Bridge End Mill (top right). Bridge End House
(bottom left). Burnfoot Meeting House (bottom right).
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Worthy of particular mention, in a tranquil setting adjacent to fields at the
southern edge of the Bridge End hamlet, is the Quaker Meeting House, dating
originally from 1733 and still in regular use.
At the south-west of the character area, separated from Bridge End by a large
field, is the farm and hamlet of Wooley Burnfoot (…. brief description and
photos to be added…….).
This character area also includes the section of the River East Allen that flows
through the conservation area, and its largely wooded west bank. A fine view
over Bridge End may be had from the B6303 between Whitworth Terrace and
Shield Street.
View over Bridge End from the B6295 north of Whitworth Terrace.
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7.2.3. The Peth, linking Bridge End and the Market Place.
This area is bisected by The Peth, the steep, winding road leading up
from the Bridge to the western angle of the Market Place. It includes the steep,
wooded eastern bank of the River East Allen, with extensive areas of
woodland to north and south of the Peth. Compared with the other character
areas within the Allendale Conservation Area, this one contains few buildings.
Travelling uphill from the bridge, a couple of houses and an electricity substation are located at Peth Foot. Higher up, a cottage stands on the north the
side of The Peth where it turns a right angle before heading south-eastwards
up past the impressive Peth Head House and into the Market Place.
Peth Head House (left). The top of the Peth seen from the Market Place.
7.2.4. Wentworth Terrace and Shield Street, approaching the Market Place
from the south.
This area consists of two separate groupings of nineteenth-century housing,
joined together by the main B6303 road as it approaches the Market Place. To
the south are Wentworth Terrace, a long line of mid nineteenth-century
terraced houses to the west of the road, and half a dozen houses of similar
date on the east side. North of this is the stretch of road known as Noah’s Ark
which was nearly lost in the landslip of 1932, from which fine views over
Bridge End and beyond may be enjoyed. North of this, the road, here known
as Shield Street, bends to the east and is lined on both sides by a variety of
nineteenth-century buildings (including the substantial Trinity Methodist
Wentworth Terrace (left). Trinity Methodist Chapel (right).
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Chapel, originally built in 1760 but largely rebuilt in 1839 and again in 1877)
before entering the south-west corner of the Market Place adjacent to the
former hotel known as Hetherlea.
This area is fringed to its east by later housing, including the late twentiethcentury estates of Wentworth Place and the Allenfields Estate, all of which is
excluded from the Conservation Area.
7.2.5. The eastern fringe: the portion of the conservation area to the east of
the Market Square, along the B6303, Shilburn Road and Lonkley Terrace.
This area includes the sections of Allendale leading away to the east and
south-east from the historic core. Lonkley Terrace heads south-east from the
south-east angle of the Market Place, and prior to the mid nineteenth century
provided the main access to the Town from the south. The two sides of the
road are of contrasting character. The north-east side is very green, being
lined with the gardens of two semi detached houses and the impressive
rectory (all of which are set back from the roadside) and the green. The southwest side is lined with traditional nineteenth-century stone-built terraced and
semi-detached housing, although its junction with the corner of the Market
Place is occupied by a brick-built bungalow set behind a low brick wall. Higher
up Lonkley Terrace, towards the edge of the conservation area, are the
Jubilee Almshouses (1877), with their simple but distinctive pyramid-shaped
pediments and plinth explaining that they were erected for the use of poor
people in Allendale parish. The traditional setting of these almshouses, in a
fine location above the town, is slightly let down by the adjacent large blue tin
garage (which is just outside the conservation area). To the south of Lonkley
Terrace, this area also includes four properties on the edge of the Allenfields
Estate and the children’s park and play area to the rear of the properties on
Lonkley Terrace.
Houses on the south-west side of Lonkley Terrace, looking towards the town
(left). Children’s play area behind properties on the south-west side of Lonkley
Terrace (right).
Heading east from the Market Place along B6303 (Station Road or New Road)
the view is dominated by the 1880 school building, in front of which the road
forks, with Station Road heading to north-westwards and Shilburn Road
eastwards. The zone between these two roads is largely taken up by school
playing fields and the later 20th century middle school, all outside the
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conservation area. The zone between Shilburn Road and Lonkley terrace
contains the Rectory, within its extensive walled and wooded grounds, and the
Green, as well as a few nineteenth-century properties facing onto the south
side of Shilburn Road.
The 1880 school building (left). The Rectory seen from the Green (right).
To the north side of the B6303 is the Library and adjacent meeting room,
originally two Primitive Methodist chapels, east of which are three blocks of
traditional terraced housing on the north side of the road, and one on the
south. The village hall, on the north side, marks the edge of the conservation
area.
The library and meeting room, originally two Primitive Methodist chapels (left).
Leadgate Terrace on the north side of the B6303.
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8. Architectural features and materials
The Allendale Conservation Area is characterised by great variety in its
buildings, dating from the 18th century through to the 20th but with most dating
from the 19th century when the local lead industry was thriving. This is not the
place to enter into detailed discussion of the architecture of Allendale,
although it is perhaps worth noting that the detailed recording of the town’s
buildings could form the basis of a fascinating community project. Given the
variety in its buildings, only a brief overview can be provided here; outline
descriptions of all listed buildings are provided in the Appendix 1, and
something of their historical context has already been provided in section 4,
above.
Most buildings within the conservation area are of local sandstone, the
grander structures of ashlar and others of coursed rubble. Several buildings
are rendered and painted in shades of cream or grey that merge attractively
with the natural sandstone of others. A few twentieth-century houses are of
brick (eg the semi-detached houses in the north-west corner of the Market
Place, and the bungalow at the bottom of Lonkley Terrace).
A few structures retain flagstone roofs, but roofs throughout the town are
almost entirely of Welsh slate. Buildings are of two or three storeys, so roofs
occur at different levels, as well as displaying a variety of forms, giving the
core of the town a fascinating roofscape that is further enhanced through the
presence of chimneys of a variety of forms. Gutters and pipes are generally of
black painted cast iron, although on Allen House, within the Market Place,
they are painted dark red, and on Heatherlea dark green.
As in most historic settlements, some old buildings have unfortunately been
‘improved’ through the replacement of traditional windows and doors with
inappropriate modern alternatives. Allendale has, however, been fortunate in
suffering less than many in this respect. Most buildings in the core of the town
retain sash windows, of a range of single- and multi-pane forms, and of those
that have been replaced in modern times most are not particularly visually
intrusive. Most windows are set between plain stone sills and lintels which are
often painted to contrast with the surrounding walls. Heatherlea is unusual in
having tooled jambs, giving it a unique appearance within the context of the
Market Place; a uniqueness further emphasised by its prominent dormer
windows.
Most buildings are of a relatively plain, vernacular style. Indeed, Pevsner
describes the Market Place as of
‘late 18th and 19th century houses and hotels, with little of especial note
except for the three-bay Georgian Path House of 1813, at the head of the
bank down to the bridge, and the former Trustee Savings Bank of 1873, a
pleasant essay in 17th century style, which has kept its railings.’
Another grand house worthy of particular mention is Hotspur House with its
unique curved sash windows. In complete contrast, terraces of simple
working-class cottages survive on Leadgate and to the south at Wentworth
Terrace.
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The grandeur of Hotspur House on the south side of the Market Place (left)
contrasts with the rather austere Dale Hotel (right) that faces it across the
Market Place.
Some shops within the town retain attractive traditional frontages, notably the
butchers, Post Office and ‘The Village Shoppe’ in the Market Square, and the
Chemist in Shield Street. The many pubs and hotels also retain much of their
historic character, although the windows on the Allendale Arms are perhaps a
little incongruous. The former hotels of Hetherlea and the Dale, each rendered
and rather dour in appearance, make individual and distinctive contributions to
the character of the Market Place. The Co-op, the most recent building within
the conservation area, stands in marked contrast to all the others, but
nevertheless does not appear overly intrusive, demonstrating that new
buildings can be successfully introduced into historic settings without
necessarily detracting from them.
Traditional shop fronts: The butcher’s in the Market Place (left), and the
chemist’s on Shield Street (right).
Bridge End is of a more rural character, dominated by the large early
nineteenth-century corn mill, now a fine private house surrounded by
traditional agricultural outbuildings and cottages. Bridge End House and its
adjacent cottages, of traditional coursed rubble with tooled dressings and grey
slate roofs, make an attractive group lining the approach to the Bridge.
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9. Open spaces and woodland
Conservation area appraisals tend to concentrate on buildings, but open
spaces can also be defining characteristics within a settlement. This is
certainly the case at Allendale, which owes its unique character largely to its
huge Market Place, albeit now partly occupied by two clusters of buildings.
The Green, immediately south-east of the Market Square, and the churchyard
are other publicly accessible open spaces within the historic core of the town.
The large public park and recreation area are just outside the conservation
area adjacent to the village hall. The portion of the Conservation Area around
Bridge End and Wooley Burnfoot has a character of its own, incorporating
much open space including several pasture fields.
Trees and woodland play a key role in defining the character of Allendale.
These include several fine specimens planted within and around the Market
Place by the Town Improvement Committee in the late 19th century. The steep
riverbank, extending from the river up to the rear of properties along the west,
north and east sides of the Market Place, is clothed with vary attractive mature
woodland. Parts of this are included within the Conservation Area while to the
north it is excluded; however, it is all crucial to the setting of the town. A strip
of woodland extends southward along the western side of Wentworth Terrace,
while the east bank of the river adjacent Bridge End is also wooded.
Trees play a particularly important role in framing the setting of St Cuthbert’s
churchyard, as a result of which the church feels detached from the rest of the
town even though the Market Place is only a few metres distant. Also worthy
of particular note are the trees within the garden of the Rectory, which help to
provide an attractive setting for the Green on the eastern approach to the
Market Place.
The Green (left). St Cuthbert’s churchyard (right).
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10. Other components of Allendale’s character
10.1 Boundaries
Given the fact that most historic properties in Allendale are conjoined
and front straight onto the road, boundary walls are not as immediately
obvious here as key contributors to local character as they are in many other
North Pennine settlements. However, closer inspection reveals that they do
play a key role in many places. For example, the properties along the east
side of the Market Place are set behind low stone walls, with access via small
wrought iron gates, as are the terraced houses on Leadgate. The rectory
gardens are also surrounded by an attractive, low stone wall. In and around
Bridge End, attractive stone walls play a traditional role around properties and
as field boundaries in a manner akin to that in countless villages throughout
the North Pennines.
A particular characteristic of Allendale is the presence of iron railings
set in low stone walls; such boundaries front, for example, the Trinity
Methodist Chapel and the old Primitive Methodist Chapels (now the Library),
the first school, and the old Savings Bank (now the Gift Shop).
Iron railings in front of the Old Savings bank (left). Parking places marked out
in the Market Place (right).
10.2 Roads, pavements and other surfaces.
Road surfaces throughout the town are of tarmac, including the
extensive surface of the Market Place. Within the market place, particular
zones (eg those for car parking) are demarcated with white paint. The old
cobbled surface of the market place presumably still survives under the
tarmac, but is only exposed today towards the north-east in front of the Golden
Lion and King’s Head, where it is used as a parking area. Pavements are also
generally of tarmac, with stone kerbs, although some areas within the Market
Place are paved with stone slabs.
10.3 Signage
Roadsigns, shopfronts and other signage make an important
contribution to the character of any settlement. Roadsigns, of a modern
nature, cluster at the main road junction within the Market Place. While playing
an important role in the modern world, this signage does undeniably detract
from the historic character of the Market Place. Simple roadside signs stating
‘Allendale’ stand at the main entrances to the town. A plaque commemorating
the 250th anniversary Methodism in the town, following the initial visit of
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Christopher Hopper in July 1747, was erected on the side of the Dale Hotel in
1997.
Other signs throughout the town are generally of a more ‘traditional’
and unobtrusive form, for example those associated with the Tea Rooms, the
pubs, banks, and chapels. In contrast, there is one large modern sign
advertising the ‘tearooms & café on the side of the building that appears rather
incongruous within its historic setting.
Of particular note are the many stone plaques incorporated into
buildings, ranging from the church to the humblest terrace, stating their name
and date.
Road signs in the Market Place (left). Modern sign above the shop front of the
Tearooms and Café (right).
10.4 Street furniture and other historic features
Other features, perhaps individually of little significance but which collectively
contribute much to Allendale’s character, include:
The surviving black iron water pumps at various places.
Isaac’s Well in the south-east corner of the Market Place.
The Glendinning Memorial Fountain on the Green.
The red telephone kiosk and pillar box in the Market Place.
Park benches on the Green and elsewhere.
The sundial on St Cuthbert’s Church.
The Glendinning Memorial Fountain on the Green (left). The sundial on St
Cuthbert’s Church (right).
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11. Pressures, problems and capacity for change
It is anticipated that this section will be completed following the consultation
phase, during which a number of issues will be discussed with local people
and may find themselves addressed in due course in the Conservation Area
Management Plan. Issues to be discussed could include:
The boundary of the Conservation Area (the current boundary appears
to pass through the middle of some buildings, and some areas of woodland
fringe are included within the conservation area while others are outside. It
may also be appropriate to include the site of the entrance of the Blackett
Level within the conservation area).
The need to balance retention of historic character with future
developments, in particular the risk from inappropriate replacement doors and
windows.
The recording of historic structures (possibly including a project to train
local people in the techniques of historic building recording).
The possible undergrounding of unsightly overhead power cables
throughout the village.
The management of trees and woodland within and adjacent to the
Conservation Area.
The setting up of a ‘town trail’, encouraging visitors to spend time in the
town and spend money in local pubs and shops, and perhaps linked to this the
design of an appropriate logo, rooted in the unique identity of the town, for use
by local businesses for marketing purposes.
The design and erection of appropriate ‘Welcome to Allendale’ road
signs.
Overhead cables close to the Green.
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12. Sources
Bulmer, 1887, Directory of Northumberland
Dickinson, G., 1903, Allendale and Whitfield. Historical Notices of the Two Parishes.
Newcastle upon Tyne; Andrew Reid & Co.
Handcock, N I. 2007. Allendale: Twentieth Century Memories. Allendale: Millbank
Publishing.
Hinds, AB., 1896, A History of Northumberland, Vol. 3 part I
Hodgson, J C.1897. A History of Northumberland. Volume IV. Newcastle upon Tyne; Andrew
Reid & Co.
Pevsner, et al, 1992, The Buildings of England : Northumberland
Tomlinson, WW., 1888, Comprehensive Guide To Northumberland
Williams, A. 2007. Allendale. Archaeological Assessment & Strategy. Unpublished report for
Northumberland County Council and English Heritage.
13. Acknowledgements
Reproductions of antiquarian prints and maps are by courtesy of the Northumberland Records
Office. The HLC map and description were kindly provided by the Northumberland County
Council Archaeology team, Morpeth.
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APPENDIX 1
LISTED BUILDINGS IN THE ALLENDALE CONSERVATION AREA
Information obtained from the English Heritage Listed Buildings Online website www.lbonline.english-heritage.org.uk
Building Name: COUNTY PRIMARY SCHOOL
LBS Number: 240143
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8396655907
School, dated 1879 on gable panel. Squared stone, ashlar quoins and dressings;
slate roof with ridge tiles each with 3 pierced trefoils, coped gables.
Rectangular block with two parallel wings to rear. Front 1 storey, 3 wide
bays, symmetrical. Central projecting bay has 2 pointed windows, each of
2 trefoil-headed lights with a pierced quatrefoil in the spandrel; paired
hoodmoulds with foliage-carved stops, oculus with hoodmould above. Coped
gable with foliate finial. Flanking bays each have similar central window
with gablet above and square-headed casements to either side. Left return
has pedimented gable enclosing panel inscribed 'BOARD SCHOOL' with date,
right return has projecting bay, with datestone and gablet, on rear wing.
Building Name: WALL AND RAILINGS TO WEST AND SOUTH OF COUNTY PRIMARY
SCHOOL
LBS Number: 240144
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8392255890
Wall and railings, late C19. Rubble, dressed stone, wrought-iron. Low
stepped wall of squared rubble with steep coping, central gate piers square
with simply-moulded pyramidal caps. Railings have standards with trefoil
finials, foliate scrolls above pierced lower rail. Re-set section of railings
between gate piers.
Building Name: DRINKING FOUNTAIN OPPOSITE ALLENDALE LIBRARY
LBS Number: 240145
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8390055863
Drinking fountain dated 1902. Stone, granite and cast-iron. Square stone
structure with rectangular trough at front and small semicircular basins
with taps to sides. Pointed-arched panel with inscription commemorating
Trooper John Joseph Glendinning, killed at Klip Drift, South Africa, 1902,
beneath grotesque lion's head. Gothic canopy carried on 4 polished granite
columns enclosing urn. Fountain enclosed by dwarf wall with raised copings,
low cast-iron standards and rail.
Building Name: ALLENDALE LIBRARY
LBS Number: 240184
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8387055889
Appears to consist of two conjoined buildings, both originally chapels, within a single listing.
Meeting Room adjoining north end of Allendale Library
Chapel, later Sunday School, now meeting room. Early C19, probably first
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
Page 38
quarter. Squared rubble with dressed door surrounds and window heads.
Concrete tile roof. Single cell structure but street front gives appearance
of two storeys, three bays. Ground floor has a pair of boarded doors flanked
by 16 pane sashes, three 16 pane sashes above. Rear wall shows 16 pane sash
to light the gallery on the left, and a larger one to right lighting the well
of the chapel. Gable wall with projecting stones left for bonding into an
built extension. Interior: severely plain room without features. Gallery
removed, roof structure hidden by modern suspended ceiling. History: This was
the Primitive Methodist Chapel in use previous to the construction of the
larger one adjoining it in 1878. This was an important area for Methodism in
the C19 with its many adherents from the local lead mines. The two chapels
form a visual and historic group.
Allendale Library
Chapel, now Library, dated 1878 over porch. Squared stone, raised ashlar
quoins and dressings, moulded corbels to eaves, fishscale slate roof, coped
gables with kneelers and finials. 1 storey, 5 bays. Right bay has gabled
porch projection with boarded door and fanlight with intersecting glazing
bars under chamfered pointed arch, paired pointed windows with inscribed
panel 'PRIMITIVE METHODIST' and date, above.
CHAPEL
To left 4 pointed windows with intersecting glazing bars in chamfered surrounds
with hoodmoulds. Left return has two triplets of lancets under linked hoodmoulds
and small pointed window in gable.
Building Name: WALL, RAILINGS AND GATE TO SOUTH OF ALLENDALE LIBRARY
LBS Number: 240185
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8387855883
Wall, railings and gate, probably 1878. Squared stone, wrought-iron. Low
squared stone wall with steep coping. Wrought-iron railings and gate with
fleur-de-lys terminals and lower section with spiral motifs above pierced
band.
Building Name: HOUSE ADJOINING NORTH END OF ALLENDALE LIBRARY
LBS Number: 240186
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8387755900
House, early Cl9. Squared rubble, slate roof. 2 storeys, 3 windows. Ground
floor a pair of boarded doors flanked by 16-pane sashes, 1st floor 3 16-pane
sashes.
Included for group value with Allendale Library.
Building Name: BELVINA AND ADJACENT HOUSE TO EAST
LBS Number: 240190
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8381455890
Pair of houses. C18 remodelled c.1840. Coursed rubble, squared stone dressings
and canted bay, slate roof. Left end stack stone, right end stack rebuilt in
brick. 3 storeys, 4 bays, left bay a canted projection. Doorways in central
bays, left door renewed with overlight, right door flush-panelled and has
overlight with geometrical glazing bars; both doorways have alternating jambs.
Canted bay has 12-pane sashes flanked by 8-pane sashes to ground and 1st floors,
9-pane sash flanked by 6-pane sashes to 2nd floor. 2nd bay has margined sashes
to 1st and 2nd floors. 3rd and 4th bays have altered sashes. Rear elevation
shows tall round-headed stair window with intersecting glazing bars.
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
Page 39
Building Name: TRUSTEE SAVINGS BANK
LBS Number: 240191
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8383655870
Bank, dated 1873 on doorcase. Squared stone with tooled and margined quoins,
rubble rear elevation; slate roof, coped gables with corniced stacks. C17
style with Baroque doorcase. 2 storeys, 3 bays, ground floor sill and
first floor string courses. Central 6-panelled door under keyed round-headed
moulded arch with roses in spandrels, flanked by Ionic pilasters supporting
entablature with inscription:
SAVINGS BANK
ESTABLISHED 1838
THIS BUILDING ERECTED 1873
and pediment carrying urns and central rose finial. Above porch paired
casements. Projecting gabled right bay has ground floor 6-light window with
king mullion and transom, 1st floor 4-light mullioned window with dripmould,
2-light opening above. Bay to left has ground floor 4-light window with king
mullion and hoodmould, 1st floor 3-light mullioned window, 2-light opening
in gablet above.
Building Name: WALL, RAILINGS AND GATE TO SOUTH OF TRUSTEE SAVINGS BANK
LBS Number: 240192
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8382855863
Wall, railings and gate, probably 1873. Stone, wrought-iron. Low squared
stone wall with chamfered coping. tailings with lileate finials, central gate.
Building Name: ELLIOTT'S SHOP
LBS Number: 240193
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8377855865 (on island in Market Place).
Shop and house, early C19 altered. Rubble, tooled quoins and dressings,
slate roof, stone gable stacks. Front 2 storeys, 2 bays, irregular.
Tripartite late C19 shop front has round arches with carved foliage and
dragons in spandrels, shop door; C20 window and door to right. 1st floor
2 altered sashes with slightly projecting sills.
Building Name: HOLME DENE
LBS Number: 240194
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8377455839 (on island in Market Place)
House, early C19, altered. Rubble, rendered front, raised quoins and
dressings; stone slate roof, stone end stacks. 2 storeys, 2 windows. Central
C20 glazed door in alternating surround. Altered sash windows. Left return
has small projecting porch with stone slate roof.
Building Name: TEA ROOMS
LBS Number: 240195
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8377855863 (on island in Market Place)
House and shop, early Cl9 altered. Rendered with rusticated quoins and
raised stone dressings; stone slate roof, later brick gable stacks. 3 storeys,
2 windows. Central C20 glazed door in raised stone surround with cornice,
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
flanked by altered windows with projecting wedge lintels and sills; 1st and
2nd floor windows similar. Left return has boarded door, with latticed
glazing bars, flanked by shop windows, each of 2 bays with basket arches,
all under cornice carried on scrolled corbels. To right a renewed door under
overlight. Altered sashes above.
Shown on OS map as 'The Green'.
Building Name: KINGS HEAD HOTEL
LBS Number: 240196
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8374955902 (Market Place, north side)
Inn, earlier C18, altered. Rubble, tooled dressings, slate roof, stone gable
stacks. Rectangular block with rear wing comprising 1st floor ballroom over
former stabling. Front 3 storeys, 2 windows. Central 6-panelled door, with
decorative overlight in rusticated surround, flanked by C20 windows. 1st
floor C20 windows in old openings with projecting lintels and sills, 2nd floor
altered sashes, tooled lintels and sills. Rear wing gable holds canted bay
with sash windows. Left return has blocked segmental-headed carriage entrance,
2 large 16-pane sashes to 1st floor and 2 12-pane sashes to 2nd floor.
Interior: 1st floor has 2 early C18 fireplaces, altered C18 stair with moulded
handrail. Function room (former ballroom) in rear wing has good C18 fireplace
and plaster cornice with flowers and foliage.
Building Name: GOLDEN LION HOTEL
LBS Number: 240197
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8376355906 (Market Place, North side)
Inn, probably 1839. Rubble, front rendered, raised tooled and margined quoins
and dressings. Slate roof, coped gables with kneelers and stone stacks, brick
ridge stacks. 3 storeys, 3 irregular bays. Central bay has doorway, now
blocked, between fluted Doric pilasters carrying entablature which extends
above flanking renewed shop windows. To left 6-panel door with overlight, to far
left altered 16-pane sash, to right C20 window. 1st and 2nd floors each have
central bay with tripartite sashes under segmental arches with central 12-pane
section flanked by colonettes; and 16-pane sashes in end bays. Right return
has later openings and stone inscribed perhaps re-set.
D
A. L.
1839
Rear elevation has gable set forward with very tall round-headed stair window
with intersecting glazing bars; and corniced gable stacks.
Building Name: CHURCH OF ST CUTHBERT
LBS Number: 240198
Grade: II
Date Listed: 15/04/1969
NGR: NY8378955957 (Market Place, North side)
Parish church on medieval site. 1874 by Austin & Johnson, except for lower
part of tower which survives from the church of 1807. Squared stone with
ashlar dressings, slate roofs. Aisled nave and chancel, west tower. Free
C14 style. West tower has 4 stepped stages; pointed south doorway with
hoodmould and stone above giving dates of rebuilding and restoration; paired
pointed openings to belfry, embattled parapet with pinnacles, pyramid roof
with vane. Aisle walls with windows,mostly of 2 lights,and stepped buttresses;
sundial at west end of south wall inscribed
Page 40
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
Page 41
HORA FUGIT 1842
LAT 54 50
(the latitude is cited as a reference to Allendale Town being geographically
the centre of Britain). Similar fenestration in chancel, 3-light east window
and C20 roof lights.
Interior: 4-bay nave arcades, chancel arch and 2-bay chancel arcades all in
C14 style with hollow-chamfered arches and moulded capitals. Simple pointed
tower arch of 1807. Fittings mostly later Cl9; elaborate reredos of yellow
Italian marble and mosaic work dated 1887. Glass in north aisle by Atkinson
brothers of Newcastle, 1906.
Building Name: ARNISON TERRACE 3
LBS Number: 240200
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8379755802 (Market Place, south side).
House, late C18 or early C19. Squared rubble with stone dressings, stone
slate roof, stone gable stacks. 2 storeys, 2 wide bays. Central half-glazed
door with alternating jambs, in later wooden porch. Sash windows, with glazing
bars removed, in beaded boxes; slightly projecting sills.
Building Name: HYDRANT IN FRONT OF NUMBER 3 ARNISON TERRACE
LBS Number: 240201
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8378955814 (Market Place, south side)
Hydrant, probably late C19. Cast-iron. Fluted shaft with leonine mask carries
domed cap which has a lotus finial.
Building Name: HOTSPUR HOTEL
LBS Number: 240202
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8375655784 (Market Place, south side)
Inn, dated B.1806 R.1883 on lintel of rear door (now internal) which probably
refers to dates of buildings and restoration. Squared stone, slate roof,
corniced stone ridge and gable stacks. 3 storeys, 3 bays, each bay with a
small projecting bow, plinth, sill bands. Between 2nd and 3rd bays 4-panel
door with overlight in surround with Tuscan pilasters carrying pulvinated
frieze and swan-neck pediment with rosettes. Sash windows with glazing bars
removed, curved on plan except for later C19 ground floor sash between 1st
and 2nd bays, set in blocking of earlier doorway. Rear elevation shows tall
round-headed stair window with margined glazing and later C19 canted bay to
right.
Building Name: SELAH HOUSE, SECTION ADJACENT TO WEST END OF HOTSPUR
HOTEL
LBS Number: 240203
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8374855778 (Market Place, south side)
House, early C19 altered later C19. Rubble, with stone dressings, slate roof,
rebuilt brick stack on right gable. 3 storeys, 1 bay. 6-panel door with
margined overlight in raised stone surround; late C19 canted bay window. 1st
floor 12-pane sash in beaded box with slightly projecting sill and lintel,
2nd floor shortened sash window of similar form.
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
Included for group value with Hotspur Hotel
Building Name: HARE AND HOUNDS INN
LBS Number: 240209
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8367355822 (The Peth, south side)
Inn, late C18 altered C19. Squared stone with tooled dressings; hipped roof
with green patterned fishscale slates; brick stack to rear. 2 storeys, 2 bays.
6-panel door with patterned overlight in alternating jambs. Carriage
entrance with timber lintel on left and altered sash window with slightly projecting
sill on right; 2 similar windows above. Included for group value.
Building Name: HOUSE ADJOINING HARE AND HOUNDS INN TO EAST
LBS Number: 240208
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8368555820
House, late C18. Squared stone with tooled dressings; stone slate roof, rebuilt
brick ridge and gable stacks. 3 storeys and tall basement, 3 bays. Stone
stair in centre, up to 4-panel door in raised stone surround flanked by late
C19 sashes in older openings with wedge lintels and slightly projecting sills.
Similar windows to 2nd floor and similar but smaller windows to 3rd floor.
At basement level a C20 garage door on left, a 9-pane fixed window on a boarded
door on right.
Building Name: PETH HEAD HOUSE
LBS Number: 240210
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8366955831 (The Peth, south side).
House, late C18 or early C19. Rubble with stone quoins and dressings; stone
slate roof, corniced stone stack on right gable. 2 storeys, 3 bays. Central
renewed door with latticed overlight and alternating jambs. Sash windows
which have lost their glazing bars, tooled lintels and sills, central let
floor window blocked. Large blocked segmental-headed arch to rear.
Building Name: PATH HOUSE (previously listed as Path Head)
LBS Number: 240211
Grade: II
Date Listed: 15/04/1969
NGR: NY8365255835 (The Peth, south side)
House, 1813. Front elevation tooled ashlar, returns and rear rubble; hipped
slate roof, stepped stone end stacks. Lower section set back to right, rubble
with slate roof and stone gable stack. 3 storeys, 3 + 1 bays, symmetrical.
Plinth, sill bands. 3 curved steps to central flush-panelled door with
traceried fanlight under keyed archivolt. 16-pane sash windows. Right
extension has boarded door with 12-pane sash to left. Similar windows above.
To far right a later lean-to with external stone stair to 1st floor door.
Flight of stone steps alongside left return. Rear elevation shows tall roundheaded stair window with patterned glazing bars. Interior not seen.
Dorothy Forster is reputed to have been born here.
Page 42
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
Building Name: HALLGARTH
LBS Number: 240212
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8363055832 (The Peth, south side, off)
House, dated 1829, on keystone of door. Squared stone, rusticated ashlar
quoins and dressings to front; hipped slate roof with stepped and corniced
ashlar end stacks. 2 storeys, 3 bays, symmetrical. 1st floor sill band.
Central 6-panel door has fanlight with radial glazing under basket-arched
head, rusticated surround with dated keystone. 12-pane sash windows, central
1st floor blocked. Later additions to rear.
Building Name: DRINKING FOUNTAIN IN FRONT OF NO.4 AND THE COTTAGE
LBS Number: 240213
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8371755749 (Shield Street, east side)
Drinking fountain, probably late C18. Squared stone. Tap set in semicircular
recess with round-arched head under pediment enclosing panel with initials
I.H. Plain sunk panel to rear; gabled top.
Building Name: TRINITY METHODIST CHURCH
LBS Number: 240214
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8368555736 (Shield Street, west side)
Chapel, dated 1875 on foundation stones. Squared stone with ashlar dressings,
slate roof. Gabled front to street has central section set slightly forward
with double doors under margined fanlight in round-headed arch flanked by
Tuscan pilasters carrying cornice. Triple sash above; bay capped by moulded
cornice and flanked by sash windows to ground floor and gallery. All windows
have margined sashes,with C19 coloured glass,under round-headed arches, with
slightly projecting sills carried on corbels. Dated foundation stones beneath
ground floor windows. Coped gable with obelisk finial. Interior; many
contemporary fittings; gallery with shutters.
Building Name: 8 SHIELD STREET
LBS Number: 240215
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8371555787 (Shield Street, west side)
House, late C18. Rubble with stone dressings, stone slate roof, corniced
stone gable stack. 2 storeys, 3 bays. Renewed door in alternating surround
between 1st and 2nd bays; similar doorway, now blocked, between 2nd and 3rd
bays. 9-pane window in alternating surround between doors, the other windows
sashes which have lost their glazing bars; tooled lintels and sills.
Building Name: ISAAC'S WELL
LBS Number: 240199
Grade: II
Date Listed: 15/04/1969
NGR: NY8383455828
Wellhead dated 1849. Stone, cast-iron. Large irregular stone trough cut from
a single block of gritstone fed by cast-iron pipe, with remains of bucket stand.
To right one side of a second stone tank is incorporated in the wall, beneath
a stone with a sunk elliptical-arched panel inscribed 'ISAACS WELL' with date
beneath.
Page 43
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
Page 44
Building Name: K6 OUTSIDE WESTHOE HOUSE
LBS Number: 437156
Grade: II
Date Listed: 15/08/1994
NGR: NY8377555808
Telephone kiosk. Type K6. Designed in 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Made by various
contractors. Cast iron. Square kiosk with domed roof. Unperforated crowns to top panels and
margin glazing to windows and doors.
Building Name: ALLENDALE TOWN BRIDGE, OVER RIVER EAST ALLEN
LBS Number: 240169
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8351455797
Bridge, early C19, altered C20. Squared rubble, parapets raised and south
end of west parapet rebuilt in squared and tooled stone. Segmental arch
with moulded arch ring flanked by pilasters carried up as piers beyond which
the parapets splay out to further piers. Triangular-section coping. Drain
with large stone spout in parapet wall adjacent to north-east end pier.
Building Name: BRIDGE END COTTAGES
LBS Number: 240170
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8340255771
Pair of cottages, early C19. Coursed rubble with dressings; stone slate
roof, stone ridge stack. 2 storeys, 3 bays. Renewed doorsin alternating
tooled and margined surrounds, renewed windows in openings with slightlyprojecting sills. Included mainly for group value.
Building Name: BRIDGE END HOUSE
LBS Number: 240171
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8340555758
House, early C19. Coursed rubble with tooled and margined dressings; hipped
slate roof, 2 stone stepped and corniced stacks to rear. 2 storeys, 3 windows,
symmetrical. Central flush-panelled door with tripartite margined fanlight,
12-pane sash windows with slightly projecting sills.
Building Name: WAYSIDE COTTAGE
LBS Number: 240176
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8344155719
House, C18, altered. Rubble, stone slate roof with stone ridge and gable
stacks. 2 storeys, irregular fenestration. Most windows renewed, some in
old openings. Left gable has 2 corbels 1.5m above ground, probably for
former projecting stack.
Included for group value with Wooley Burnfoot Cottage.
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
Building Name: WOOLEY BURNFOOT COTTAGE
LBS Number: 240177
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8357655640
Cottage, probably 1868 and built as a pair with the Friends' Meeting House
(q.v.). Coursed rubble with rusticated quoins and ashlar dressings; slate
roof, small stone gable stacks. 1 tall storey, 3 bays. Off-centre boarded
door with adjacent 12-pane sash on right and similar windows in end bays.
All openings in raised stone surrounds with raised blocks at mid-height of
jambs. 3 smaller windows in similar style to rear.
Building Name: FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE
LBS Number: 240173
Grade: II
Date Listed: 23/08/1985
NGR: NY8344455691
Friends' Meeting House, 1868. Rubble, with rusticated ashlar quoins and
tooled ashlar dressings; slate roof with small gable stacks, left gable coped
with moulded kneelers, right gable with bargeboards. 1 tall storey. Front
(north) elevation; boarded door with panel over '1735 REBUILT 1868', to left
12-pane sash, to right 2 12-pane sashes. Rear elevation shows 2 similar
windows. All openings in raised stone surrounds with raised blocks at midheight of jambs.
Page 45
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
Page 46
APPENDIX 2
Relevant Council Policies
Tynedale Council has a number of policies that are designed to protect and enhance
the historic environment. The Council is moving towards the completion of its Local
Development Framework (LDF). This is the folder of local development documents
that outlines how planning will be managed in the future. It will gradually replace the
adopted Tynedale District Local Plan. The LDF consists of several documents and
plans that form a framework for planning future development in Tynedale, including
where new housing, employment and community facilities will be located and for
safeguarding the
environment of the District. Three important documents have already been adopted
including the Core Strategy. The Local Plan is slowly being superseded by the LDF
documents but elements of it will remain as "saved" while further new documents are
produced.
The key relevant parts of the LDF Core Strategy and saved Local Plan policies that
impact upon the conservation area are as follows:
a. The LDF Core Strategy:
Core Strategy BE1 includes:
To conserve and, where appropriate, enhance the quality and integrity of Tynedale’s
built environment and its historic features including archaeology giving particular
protection to listed buildings, scheduled monuments and conservation areas.
Core Strategy GD3
The existing boundaries of the Northumberland Greenbelt will be maintained. It is
designed, in part, to protect the character and setting of historic settlements.
b. Saved policies from Tynedale District Local Plan
BE19 - Demolition of Listed Buildings
The total or substantial demolition of a listed building will not be permitted.
BE18 - Development affecting the character and setting of a Conservation Area
Outside a conservation area, development will be permitted if it would not harm the
character setting or views into or out of the conservation area.
BE20 - Demolition of structures in the curtilage of a listed building
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
Page 47
Listed building consent for the demolition of structures within the curtilage of a listed
building will be permitted where:
•
the structure to be demolished does not make a significant contribution to the
character of the Listed Building or its setting,
•
any redevelopment proposals meet the requirement of Policy BE22; and
•
the structure is not listed in its own right or mentioned in the list description
BE21 - Alteration and extension to listed buildings
Proposals for the alteration or extension of listed buildings will be granted consent
where:
•
the essential character of the building is retained and its features of special
interest remain intact and unimpaired,
•
the works proposed make use of traditional and/or sympathetic building
materials and techniques which match or are in keeping with those found on
the Listed Building,
•
the architectural details (e.g. doors, gutters, windows) match or are in keeping
with the Listed Building; and
•
the proposal meets the requirement of General Development Policy GD2.
All applications for such development must be accompanied by detailed drawings of
both the existing structure and the proposed development
BE22 - The setting of listed buildings
Proposals for development which would adversely affect the essential character or
setting of a Listed Building will not be permitted. Proposals for development within
the setting of a listed building will only be appropriate where the following criteria are
met:
•
the detailed design is in keeping with the listed building in terms of scale,
height, massing and alignment; and
•
the works proposed make use of traditional or sympathetic building materials
and techniques which are in keeping with those found on the listed building
BE23 - Change of use of listed buildings
The change of use of a listed building in order to restore or maintain its viable use will
be permitted provided the proposal accords with Policy BE21
Allendale Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Consultation Draft.
Page 48
BE27 - Regional and locally important archaeological sites and settings
Development which would be detrimental to regionally or locally important
archaeological sites or their settings will not be permitted unless the proposed
development is considered to be of overriding regional importance and no alternative
site is available
BE28 - Archaeological Assessment
Where it is not clear how important an archaeological site is, or where the impact of a
development proposal on an existing archaeological site is uncertain, the developer
will be required to provide further information in the form of an archaeological
assessment and, where such an assessment indicates that important archaeological
remains may be affected, a full archaeological evaluation.
BE29 - Development and preservation
Where sites or monuments of archaeological importance would be affected by
development, their preservation in situ is preferred. Where the site is not considered
to be of sufficient importance to merit preservation in situ and development is
subsequently permitted, planning permission will be subject to an archaeological
condition, or a Planning Obligation will be sought, which will require the excavation
and recording of the remains prior to or during the development. In such instances,
publication of the findings will also be required.