The Milkhope Centre
Milkhope Farm was built around 1865 as part of a programme of
agricultural development by Sir Matthew White Ridley,
4th Baronet.
These developments were based on classic English Model farm
designs where the buildings were specifically designed to
accommodate the full range of farming activities in a sympathetic
and efficient way. Often buildings would have several purposes, the
ground floor housing pigs, with the first floor housing chickens,
the pigs providing the chickens with under-floor heating and
security from foxes, the chickens providing the pigs with food from
their droppings. The farm covered about 240 acres. Buildings were
constructed from stone sourced from estate quarries at Shotton Edge
and North Shotton, and would have represented the very latest and
best in agricultural agriculture at the time they were built.
At this time agriculture was very prosperous with growing
populations as a result of the industrial revolution. However with
the end of the American Civil War and the invention of the reaper
and binder in 1850, the American prairies opened up depressing
wheat production in the UK
Milkhope was largely used to winter and fatten cattle, in those
days probably shorthorns and West Highland beasts. There was an
annual Fat Stock sale about 10 days before Christmas which
attracted many buyers. The beasts were auctioned in the stone sale
ring, part of which has been retained opposite the coffee shop. The
cattle were largely fed on straw and chopped turnips and to convey
the large quantities required there was a light railway running
inside the entire west, north and east perimeter.
The main Ponteland to Cramlington road ran between the farm
steadings and the cottages to the north until 1958 when the land
was restored following opencast coal operations and the road was
re-aligned to its present route to the south of the complex.
Until 1962 the farm was tenanted, when the farmer died Milkhope
returned to the Blagdon Home farm and was used for various
agricultural purposes including the wintering of calves and sheep,
but became largely redundant in 1982, the buildings being difficult
to adapt for modern machinery.
Work started in 1985 to convert the buildings to light
industrial use, the purpose being to create a number of small
workshops providing opportunities for new businesses and generate
employment in the local area. The buildings were divided into 30
units and were taken by 11 tenants making use of multiple units
ranging in size from 320 square feet to over 5000 square feet.
The centre was officially opened 1986 and of the original
tenants, Gustharts, Blagdon Furnishings and Cane and Pine remain to
this day. The original artisan workshop concept has evolved over
the years due to public demand and the centre today is more of a
retail outlet, popular with visitors due to its location and
setting.
The Estate have recognised this and have been carrying out
improvements to accommodate the increased visitor numbers, building
an overflow car park to the east in 2004 and improving lighting and
hard landscaping. The farm shop was built in two phases, the first
in 2002, with the second phase in 2004.
The Estate continues to look at ongoing development of the
centre and is planning a new building to the west for
Gustharts.