You are standing at what used to be the crossroads of the old A1 and Sandy Lane, if you look down Sandy Lane you will see where it crosses the newer bypass and continues East on what is now a footpath. A look back to 1945 gives and interesting view of the area as it was then.
To your South are the grounds of the Old School House and Cottages, now home to a pile of broken stone, but I want to tell you a little about what was here before that…
There is dense tree cover on what started life as a small corner of the vast Gosforth Park estate before Reverand Ralph Brandling broke up the land and sold it after falling into debt. Much of the land was acquired by shipbuilder Thomas Smith in 1852 and in 1856 the land passed to Smith's younger brother William, and then to his son Thomas Eustace Smith.
Thomas Eustace Smith responded to the wish of John Besley vicar of Longbenton, in providing a church for the growing population in the north of the parish. The new ecclesiastical parish of North Gosforth was established on 18th May 1865. The Old School House and Cottages were also funded by Thomas Eustace Smith for the education of the children of his estate workers. Sacred Heart Church which you no doubt spotted on approach to this site is listed grade 2.
The Old School House and Cottages were constructed in a Victorian Gothic style and originally consisted of a master's house in the cross wing to the west and a schoolroom. R.J. Johnson may have been the architect. The building became one dwelling and two cottages in late Victorian times. Dormers were added and the interior altered. It was of two storeys, the first floor concealed under a steeply pitched unhipped roof. It was built of sandstone with a slate roof. There were multiple cylindrical chimneystacks. The dormers were large and attractive. Each had two pointed arched windows, quatrefoil decoration and bargeboards. The original ground floor windows were double chamfered mullions with carved shoulder arched lintels. The doorways had identical surrounds and lintels. The doors were timber with ornamental brackets. Behind the former school are the remains of two enclosed yards, probably playgrounds.
In 2007 North Tyneside Council took action to protect the old School House and cottages in Wideopen declaring it a conservation area with immediate effect after it had been threatened with demolition by a new owner.
The Deputy Mayor at the time said: "These buildings are an important part of our history along with the church and were funded by Thomas Eustace Smith one of the originators of the Smith's Dock Company, which has enormous significance for the area.
Unfortunately shortly after this declaration the building ‘mysteriously’ caught fire, and was then unlawfully demolished for safety reasons.
I leave you with a picture of the building that you should have been looking at.
