Allotment History

Stotes Hall plotholders dig the soil on a valley slope rich in history. The home for today's allotments can be traced back to 1333 and was originally part of the Armstrong estate in Jesmond Dene. Close by are the architectural gem, the Banqueting Hall, and the site of St Mary’s Chapel and well. Buildings on the site have been documented for nearly 700 years, and the allotment society took its name from the former Stotes Hall on Jesmond Dene Road, which was purchased by Sir Richard Stote in 1658. Stotes Hall was damaged in WWII and demolished about 1960 - it is now the grassy area by the junction with Hartside Gardens. The renaissance of its name in the Stotes Hall Allotment Gardens began in the 1960s, and the formal allotment society will celebrate 50 years in 2025.

Timeline

1333 – Site of building that became Stotes Hall, created by partition of Ancient Manor of Jesmond into three residences

1658 – Purchased by Sir Richard Stote

1750s – Celebrated mathematician Dr Charles Hutton taught at Stotes Hall when used as a school

1841 – Scene of Samuel Warren’s novel “Ten Thousand a Year” Edinburgh Magazine in instalments in 1839

1845-1867 – Stotes Hall was home to mother of traveller/spy/writer Gertrude Bell.  Maria Shield’s family ran a successful wholesale business, and Gertrude was born the year after Maria left to marry Hugh Bell in 1867 on the Island of Bute

1856 – Map shows Apple Tree Inn and Cottages near The Grove (1865 map in “Birds of Jesmond Dene” by Sir George Noble, who also built the nearby real tennis courts)

1860s – Jesmond Dene estate developed by Lord Armstrong, hundreds of trees planted

1860s – Banqueting Hall built – Jesmond Dene Road extended to current route

1910?? –  Housing built close to allotment – still fields around them

1940s – Stotes Hall damaged in WWII

1953 – Stotes Hall demolished – green space created

1968 – Ralph Pattisson moved to Jesmond Dene Terrace, began to dig in the derelict disused allotments, courtesy of Dr Whalley

Early 1970s – Clearance parties began

Approx 1972 – Gordon Sharp (known for saying “I wanna dig”) got involved – member of drama group, had Waggon Wheel van

1975 – Inaugural meeting of society to establish allotment society held 30 October (in Collingwood Suite, Civic Centre)

2025 – 50th anniversary