Armstrong Cottages

Hugging up a small sedate square at Rothbury Town Foot, standing on a well manicured green, we found these almshouses, known as Armstrong Cottages, designed by Norman Shaw in 1896 for Lord Armstrong.

Neat and symmetrical, the small cottages have a mock Tudor feel with their steeply pitched, front facing apex rooflines and timber framing; a very aspirational image for the time. They replaced an earlier almshouse, which was more centrally located in the town but was raised to the ground to make way for the church.

Well kempt and multi-chimneyed, these twelve tiny homes were built to house some of the retired workers that served Lord and Lady Armstrong at their Cragside estate.

South facing, these humble homes gather round an open plan garden. Unique in their design and small in stature, standing in the shadow of the old workhouse, which is the opposite side of the road neighbour, the houses are finished in rough textured stone to give a natural rugged look.

The red clay tile roofs project slightly over the gabled bay windows ,and each has its own punctuating little finial.

I loved the symmetry and mirror images of each cottage looking neat and uniform and the backdrop of autumnal colour in the masses of trees planted across the estate. The buildings are Grade II listed.

Armstrong had two lots of houses built for his workers in the town, with Armstrong Cottages being in dedication to his much loved mother Anne Armstrong, pictured here from an oil painting held as part of his collection at Cragside. He held his mother in great admiration. She originally came from Walbottle Hall in Newcastle's outer west, where she was born in 1780 and lived until 1801 when she married his father, William Armstrong Senior.

Armstrong had this dedication carved in stone and placed prominently in the centre of the cottages. It reads -

"Erected by WILLIAM GEORGE BARON ARMSTRONG of Cragside in Memory of ANNE ARMSTRONG HIS MUCH LOVED MOTHER MDCCCXCVI".

It appears much loved by the swallows too who evidently nest above it during the summer months!

I liked the way that the entrance gate framed the central cottage with its slightly larger gable front, which carries the stone tablet dedicated to Armstrong's mother.

The cottages were said to replicate elements of the design from Cragside, such as the imposing chimneys and mullioned windows, also designed by Norman Shaw. Six cottages are home to a single occupant, having only three rooms, whilst the other six are pitched for two. In the 1901 census, many of the occupants were woman and had held positions like former housekeeper, retired laundress and dressmaker.

As picturesque and chocolate box as Northumberland gets, this view has been turned upside down on numerous occasions over the decades. As climate changes, the river rises, and flood defence systems have been put in place after the Coquet caused a storm on numerous occasions, bursting its banks and flooding these iconic cottages. These pictures from The Northumberland Gazette from 6th Sept 2018 and The Evening Chronicle on 21st October 2023 show the devastation. There are now floodgates at the riverside and a 9ft LED floodgate warning sign for local residents.

The houses were offered to Armstrong's workers and seen as a sign of philanthropy continuing the tradition of almshouses, which dates back to the medieval period. The principle is the oldest form of social housing.

Alongside many other elements of the town, like the cross in the centre of Rothbury, you can really feel the mark that the Armstrongs left on the town, and how the people of Rothbury held them in great reverence.

Though interestingly in reading Henrietta Heald's Biography of Armstrong 'Magician of the North', he was perhaps a more contradictory and controversial character than the sometimes image of a benevolent Victorian gentleman would suggest. A great read if you're interested in the Industrial Revolution on Tyneside and the making of a self-made country gentleman who saw the light!