Heaton Park - House of Adam

Adam of Jesmond was a knight and staunch supporter of Henry III, and his house was build circa 1255. Records exist showing Adam became unpopular for embezzlement and extortion and applied to Henry for a licence to enclose, fortify and crenellate his house. Very little remains of Adam’s dwelling, just two sides of a square tower with two window openings, but it was probably as large as most fortified houses of the period. The main structure would have angled turrets and battlements surrounded by accommodation for the dependents, stalling for horses and cattle, and stores for harvest produce. The last record we have of Adam is a protection dated 1270 when Adam went on the seventh and last Crusade to the Holy Land with Prince Edward, Henry III’s son. The protection states to our beloved Adam of Gesoume, bearer of the cross, going with us and our eldest son beyond the seas in aid of the Holy Land. Adam did not return from the Crusade and the ungrateful Town allowed the house to collapse into disuse and disrepair by the late 1500s, although there was an attempt to repair it in 1911 by the Society of Antiquities.

Work is about to start on improvements to the area leading to King John’s Palace and some archaeological works to the palace as part of the Ouseburn Park Heritage Lottery Bid. A suitable time, I thought, to gather together a few photos taken over the years before the area changes.

Description harvested from Jesmond Dene History Trail.

See here Heaton Park Redevelopment 2011 for photos taken after the recent redevelopment.

A few older pictures from my Heaton Park page.

        

        

        


More information:
Postcard showing the Bowling Green and the House of Adam, Heaton Park. Postmarked April 24th, 1906
Adam's Camera Heaton Park 1963
Ouseburn Park Heritage Lottery Bid



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