I was having a nose around Spital Tongues the other day. Ostensively, I was there to pin down the exact site of Spital Tongues Colliery, where a number of my ancestors worked in the nineteenth century. It turns out that it was on the southern side of Hunter's Road, pretty much exactly on the site now occupied by terraced houses ... as well as the curious edifice that is Huntsmoor House.
As you will no doubt be aware, the area has long had links with the military. Fenham Barracks stood (and indeed still partially stands) on the site now occupied primarily by the BBC's 'Pink Palace'. A little further along Hunter's Road, though, nicely blending in with the surrounding terraces, is Huntsmoor House. It was built in 1899 to "meet the social needs" of the soldiers stationed at the nearby barracks. The barracks, built in 1806, were quite a fabulous creation in themselves; but it appears that additional dormitories & facilities were needed when soldiers were on leave, or when they wanted a bit of 'recreation'. Families were provided for, too, including the construction of Sunday School for children. During the course of the mid-twentieth century the premises were largely used for finishing tailored garments, manned by adults with learning difficulties.
Thereafter, the building was used as a warehouse for city centre students' bookshop Thorne's for a number of years; and seems now to consist of a number of apartments - for students in the main, I think.
Viewed from above it can be seen that this seemingly chunky buildings is no bigger, depth-wise, than the surrounding terraces. A little to the east (along the length of Hunter's Road to the left in the image above) could once be found the entrance to the famed Victoria Tunnel. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's any trace of this entrance now (?).
Note: Rather confusedly, the building bears the date stamp '1904'. I've no idea why. Was this, perhaps, when the new 'Soldiers' Home' was formally opened?
No comments:
Post a Comment