Visit Blaydon Places

Welcome to Visit Blaydon Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Blaydon

  

Blaydon Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Blaydon

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Blaydon history

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In the 1760s there was little here but a few farms and cottages. In the latter part of the same century a smelting works was set up from which sprang the industrial growth of the area.

Early history

The earliest recorded evidence of human activity at Blaydon is a Neolithic polished stone axe found in the early 20th century. A number of Bronze Age cists are recorded from Summerhill and several others from Bewes Hill.

Battle of Stella Ford

20,000 Scots defeated 5,500 English soldiers defending the ford over the Tyne. The Scots had been provoked by Charles I, who had imposed bishops and a foreign prayer book on their church. The battle brought to an end the ‘Eleven Years of Tyranny’ by forcing Charles to recall Parliament.

The 18th century and the Industrial Revolution

Blaydon burn was the site of coal mining and the coal trade, particularly from the early 18th century. Industries supported by coal trade included chemical works, bottle works, sanitary pipe works, lampblack works, an ironworks, a smithy and brickworks – Cowen’s Upper and Lower Brickworks.

Blaydon School Press

In the 1930s, pupils at Blaydon Intermediate School developed technique for producing hardback books. Their productions were highly respected and favourably compared to other successful private printing presses of the time.

Stella South Power Station

Post war era of the late 40s and 50s saw a rapid rise in demand for electricity. New power station at Stella Haugh helped meet the energy demands of the North East until its closure in 1991. It was demolished in 1992.

Blaydon culture & places

Live jazz and rock music is regularly performed at the Black Bull pub near Blaydon Bridge. Many pubs were demolished during the refurbishment of the town in the 1970s.

Blaydon landmarks

Stella Hall

Stella Hall has had a long history that goes back as far as 1143 when there was a nunnery on this site. The present house was built by the Tempest family, Newcastle merchants. In 1700 it passed into the ownership of Lord Widdrington, a noted Jacobite. Garibaldi and Kossuth were among the famous people who were entertained at Stella Hall.

Axwell Hall

Axwell Hall (also Axwell House) is a Grade II* listed mansion, built for Sir Thomas Clavering by the noted architect James Paine in 1761. The last baronet of the Clavering family died in 1893 and the hall later found use as a prisoner-of-war camp during the second world war.

Blaydon geography / climate

Modern Blaydon stands close to the Tyne with the A695, a key road from Gateshead to Hexham, passing through the town centre. The area has many acres of open countryside mostly at 500 feet (150 m) above sea level and numerous farms and similar holdings. Despite being largely urban and industrial, there are various rural aspects to the town.

You can visit Blaydon places with Walkfo Blaydon to hear history at Blaydon’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Blaydon has 49 places to visit in our interactive Blaydon map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Blaydon, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Blaydon places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Blaydon & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 49 audio facts unique to Blaydon places in an interactive Blaydon map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Blaydon Places Map
49 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Blaydon historic spots	Blaydon tourist destinations	Blaydon plaques	Blaydon geographic features
Walkfo Blaydon tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Blaydon

  

Best Blaydon places to visit

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Blaydon has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Blaydon’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Blaydon’s information audio spots:

Tyne Rowing Club Tyne Amateur Rowing Club (TARC) is the longest established rowing club on the River Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

Milecastle 9 Milecastle 9 (Chapel House) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian’s Wall. Its remains exist partially as a low platform, and are located in West Denton (to the west of Newcastle upon Tyne)

Milecastle 10 Milecastle 10 (Walbottle Dene) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian’s Wall. It is located near to the modern village of Throckley in Tyne and Wear, northern England. It has been excavated several times and its walls located, though the remains have been damaged by ploughing.

Lemington Glass Works Lemington Glass Works was the site of glass production in Lemington, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, for over 200 years. All that remains now is its iconic last glass cone, a famous local landmark.

Holy Cross Church, Ryton Holy Cross Church is a Church of England parish church in Ryton, Tyne and Wear. The church is a Grade I listed building.

Crookhill Crookhill is an area of Ryton in Tyne and Wear, England. The original terraced housing was built mostly as accommodation for NCB workers.

Stella Park Stella Park is a housing estate in Blaydon-on-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the grounds of a mansion of the same name.

Milecastle 8 Milecastle 8 (West Denton) was a milecastle of the Roman Hadrian’s Wall. Its remains are located in West Denton, Newcastle upon Tyne. The milecastle has two associated turret structures that are known as turret 8A and turret 8B.

Condercum Condercum was the third Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall, after Segedunum (Wallsend) and Pons Aelius (Newcastle) It was situated on a hilltop 2 miles (3 km) to the west of the city. Today, nothing can be seen of the fort or its adjoining wall, as the site is covered by a modern reservoir and housing estate.

Benwell and Scotswood Benwell and Scotswood is an electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne. The population of the ward is 13,759, which is 5.3% of the total population. Car ownership in the area is 45.1%, lower than the city average of 54.7%.

Visit Blaydon plaques