Willington Square (Millbank Square)
Willington Square (Millbank Square)
HER Number
15574
District
N Tyneside
Site Name
Willington Square (Millbank Square)
Place
Willington
Map Sheet
NZ36NW
Class
Domestic
Site Type: Broad
Industrial House
Site Type: Specific
Workers Cottage
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Form of Evidence
Demolished Building
Description
Named as Millbank Square on Tithe Plan of 1839. Willington Square is shown Ordnance Survey first edition of 1861 next to Old Engine Pit (HER 1166) and close to Edward Pit (HER 1165). The houses had pantile roofs and had been extended to the rear. Little windows under the eaves lit the loft space, which was used as a bedroom and was accessed by a ladder. The open space in the centre of the square was used for an ash-midden, cleared by farmers to fertilise their fields. Later shared privies were built here. The square was surrounded by garden allotments. Willington Square was cleared in 1933.
Easting
431570
Northing
568280
Grid Reference
NZ431570568280
Sources
Thompson, Roy, 1996, Thunder Underground - Northumberland Mine Disasters 1815-1865, p 25; Photo of demolition 1933 held by North Shields Library; Tyne and Wear Museums, 2009, Churchill Community College, Wallsend - Archaeological Assessment; Tithe Plan, 1839, NRO DT 511 M