A Bit of House History

Over the past couple of years I've been trying to trace the history of the house, but so far haven't found out when it was built. The census records have given me quite a bit of information about who lived here since 1841 and I know that between at least 1821 and 1978, only 3 families lived in Bondgate House - the Pringles, the Robsons and the Trevor-Ropers. I say 'at least' 1821 as the census records do not go back that far, but there is a very old map in the local Fire Station with the name 'Pringle' against the house and various Trade Directories around that time also say that a Mr Pringle lived here. He was an attorney in Alnwick but died sometime in the 1840's, leaving his wife and 2 unmarried daughters living here. The Robsons came towards the end of the nineteenth century and Robert Robson was one of the doctors in Alnwick, and thehouse was eventually sold (after his death) to another doctor - Bertie Trevor-Roper - who lived here until his death in the 1970's. So, for much of the last century, the house was not only a home, but also a doctor's surgery. Bertie Trevor-Roper had 3 children, one of whom was Hugh Trevor-Roper (Lord Dacre) the historian and whose childhood home this was.

The picture of the house was taken, I think, at the turn of the nineteenth century and the person on the front step, I like to think, is Mrs Robson, the doctor's wife.

The search has been made more difficult by the fact that house numbers changed mid 19th century - so it started out in the censuses as no.42 Bondgate Without before eventually becoming no.20.

If you look closely at the photo you can see what looks like a mark in the middle of the blocked up window on the first floor. The window was unblocked in the last 1970's and the mark (which is a fire insurance plaque) was moved to just above the newly opened window.

The plaque was issued by the Newcastle Fire Office, which was established in 1783, but this probably dates from the 1840's according to Aviva' s archivist. It's been a bit battered but the name 'Newcastle' is clearly visible although the 3 towers are not that clear now.

There's plenty more research to do but it will have to wait until quieter times but I'm looking forward to filling in some of the details as it is the details that make this history search so fascinating. For example, we know from relatives of Bertie Trevor-Roper that the house was one of the first in Alnwick to have a telephone installed and the telephone number was Alnwick 2 - guess who had the number Alnwick 1!

Herb Garden Taking Shape

Most of our plants and herbs have managed to survive the winter - some in good shape, some vey much the worse for wear. Most of the damage was done by the sheer weight of the snow, but, as alays, the resilience of nature is amazing. Our beautiful myrtle bush (on the right) suffered badly 2 winters ago, but came back and flowered by the end of the summer . This last winter though has really taken its toll of our poor myrtle and we pruned it very heavily around 6 weeks ago. Today, we can see signs of growth which is wonderful given what a beautiful and heavenly-scented shrub it is.

We've started to re-plant one area of the garden to make a 'herb tea garden'. This is an area where our b&b guests will be able to pick their own herb teas. It will be well-labelled so that everyone knows which herbs can be used and which can't. There is lemon balm, lemon verbena, lavender, sage, thyme, wormwood, bergamot, vervain, catmint, alecost, peppermint.... Chamomile is starting to grow now as are the marigolds (Calendula). All these are used to make a leaf or flower tea - we've left out those that use roots or berries - and it is so easy to make your own herb tea, just as long as you know the right proportions and right parts of the plant to use.