Friends of Jesmond Dene Spring 2020 Newsletter

NEWSLETTER SPRING 2020 NUMBER:85 PAT R O N – J O H N G R U N DY Reg Charity no: 702260

THIS ISSUE JESMOND DENE, A VERY GOOD PLACE FOR A PICNIC

Annual General Meeting Page 2 Baby Birds and how to deal with them Page 3 Lost House of Joseph Sewell Page 4 Memories of Jesmond Dene Nursery Page 6 The Armstrong House in Jesmond Dene Page 8 Volunteer Rangers Log Page 10 Upcoming Events Page 13

Brian and Rachel, Volunteer Rangers test out the new tables provided by the FOJD

Contact addresses and Membership Information Page 15

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2020 To be held on Sunday, 10th May at 2:00 pm; in the Classroom at the Visitor Centre in Jesmond Dene. Refreshments will be available.

Everyone is welcome to take part in our AGM. This includes opportunities to :Hear the news from the Chairman's Report.

Listen to the Treasurers Financial Report.

Election of Officers.

Have tea or coffee with us before and after and chat about all things Dene.

Current Officers: Chair treasurer Secretary

Clive Gerrard Jacki Holmes Sue Stokel-Walker

Current Committee members: John Blakemore, Robert Brandt, Geoffrey Carter Sarah Capes is the co-opted representative from Urban Green Newcastle.

Keith Pringle is Honorary Membership Secretary, but is standing down in 2020 Geoffrey Carter is our Independent examiner for the annual accounts.

Patron: - John Grundy Thank you to all our members for the donations and subscriptions. The FOJD have been able to fund several projects to help maintain and improve the Dene. e.g. paying for cutting back of tree growth around the Old Mill and waterfall, paying for installation of new tables and benches in Millfield garden – see photograph on the front page. KEITH PRINGLE FOJD and Volunteer Ranger writes :“ For some time now the old wooden picnic benches in Millfield House garden have been well past their best and were beyond repair. The Friends have now funded and installed some new picnic tables, made with 'zero maintenance' recycled plastic. They look much better and hopefully will be a lot more comfortable for visitors to the garden.

In springtime, when the weather improves, the Volunteer Rangers will be completing the job by repairing the worn garden surfaces underneath the tables. They will also install special outdoor rubber matting under and around the benches that will allow the grass to continue growing through, whilst protecting it from the natural wear and tear which would otherwise happen from visitors' feet.”

Future work Cutting back of overgrown trees and shrubs and paying for tidying up and replanting by the ornamental pond by Deepdene House (Fishermans Lodge).

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BABY BIRDS AND HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM At this time of year It is always good to know what to do if you come across a baby bird on the ground. Mike Cook shares his thoughts.

“The editor has asked me to write about the actions you should take if you find a deserted baby bird. These are my personal thoughts, not everyone may agree.

Ask yourself if it is a nestling or a fledgling? A nestling is naked and helpless. If you can see the nest that a nestling came from, and you can do so without putting yourself at risk, try putting it back, as you’ve nothing to lose. It probably won’t survive, but if you do nothing it would die anyway.

Fledglings have the beginning of feathers that have broken through the skin, and are not helpless. They can wander out of the nest and move around the bush to some extent. Leave them alone. The parents may well continue feeding them, even though they are no longer in the nest, and their chances of survival will be better than if you pick them up, put them in a cardboard box and try and look after them.

Small birds like blue tits may lay eight or more eggs. Why do they lay so many when, if two eggs hatch, and the resulting birds survive to adulthood to pair and breed, the numbers of blue tits will be maintained. The reason is that the vast majority will die before they get old enough to breed. Dead or predated baby birds are nothing new; they’ve always been with us.

There are wildlife rehabilitation centres that may be capable of looking after a nestling, but they are few and far between and will probably not thank you for bringing in a blue tit when they are trying to save the lives of hawks, owls, seals, hedgehogs etc.

I hope you find this advice useful.”

MIKE COOK FOJD and Volunteer Ranger

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LOST HOUSE OF JOSEPH SEWELL Joseph Sewell was an industrialist and pottery owner in the early part of the 19 th century.

Everyone who has visited the Shoe Tree in Armstrong Park will know exactly where his house stood. What is now a large patch of grass used to be a very substantial stone built single story house, 20metres by 20 metres. The only photograph of this dwelling seen to date is this photograph of The Tea Rooms in 1900.

Heaton Cottage, House of Joseph Sewell

As yet, details of Josephs early life remain something of a mystery but, one known fact is that he was born in 1777 in the district of Northumberland, so, he was maybe a local lad.

By 1804 he was the owner of St Anthony's Pottery in Byker, producing for both the home and continental markets and lived in a house on site. Some of his very attractive pottery can be seen in the Laing Art Gallery. Records of 1834 June 9 th state that ‘The lightening struck the house of Mr. Sewell, at St. Anthonys and broke a quantity of glass’. Shortly after this event he moved to his brand new house in1835 in what is now Armstrong Park, he was 64.

The house was known as Heaton Cottage but the general address of the area is variable sometimes being referred to as Heaton Haugh's, Heaton Plantation or Low Heaton Haugh’s and even Heaton Banks. It wasn’t until much later after the death of Armorer Donkin (mentor of Lord William Armstrong and, close friend of the Armstrong seniors) who bequeathed the . land to Lord William Armstrong that the area became known as Armstrong Park.

Joseph was a successful man of business and in 1821 Armorer Donkin joined his pottery which became known as Sewell and Company. In fact Joseph leased his land in Heaton from Armorer Donkin who lived very near by in his large house Jesmond Park on a site close to Armstrong Bridge

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As well as the pottery Joseph became manager and shareholder for a time at the Newcastle Broad and Crown Glass Co. one of the other shareholders being Donkin. At Donkin’s death in 1851 the pottery name reverted and became Sewell and Company.

Joseph had some philanthropic leanings shown by a donation he gave in 1848 to a relief fund set up after a tragedy at Cullercoats when seven fishermen where drowned. In addition there are several articles in the Evening Chronicle over many years referring to outings where scholars of the Ballast Hills and St Lawrence Sunday schools were taken up the Ouseburn to the plantation of Joseph Sewell Esq. where they were supplied with tea and spice buns! His gardener also gets several mentions for having won prizes for horticultural prowess.

Joseph died on 10th June 1858 at Heaton Cottage, he was 81. The next occupant of the house may have been a Mr. John Gove but the building didn’t remain a dwelling place for very much longer. Lord Armstrong gifted the land known as Armstrong Park in 1879 and Joseph’s house was used as a tea room or refreshment rooms. Later, possibly about1882 a kiosk seems to have been built onto the side – older people (my Dad who is 85) still remember going there for ice cream but he can’t recall anything about the big house.

However by 1955 arrangements were made by the council for the demolition of the Old Refreshment Rooms and hence today all we have as a reminder is an area of grass.

Site of Heaton Cottage, House of Joseph Sewell

So, next time you pass the shoe tree in Armstrong Park give a thought also to the entrepreneur, industrialist and philanthropist Joseph Sewell whose house footprint is beneath your feet.

YVONNE SHANNON FOJD and Volunteer Ranger

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MEMORIES OF JESMOND DENE NURSERY Many of our FOJD members will recall the busy nursery on the edge of the Dene. Kevin Bell who worked and lived there shares some of his memories with us.

“Jesmond Dene Parks Nursery, located off Matthew Bank Road, turning down Jesmond Dene Road. On the right hand side now stands a luxury Hotel, which was formerly a school for children with learning difficulties. Prior to this, the building was a house belonging to Sir Andrew Noble.

Showing site of nursery in relation to Mathew Bank and the Real Tennis Court

Opposite the building and to the left of the gate stand the old Horse Stables, owned and used by the house. In later years these would become the Northumbria Police Horse Stables.

They would use the area in front of the stables to train for exhibitions and police work.

Further to the left is the ‘Directors House’, a tied house used by the Head of Newcastle Parks Department. The site was more recently featured as a location for an episode of ITV’s ‘Vera’.

Going further into the Nursery, to the right, you would see two small bungalows. One of them was used by Mr Ord who was the Fitting Shop Manager, and the one next door by the Nursery Manager Mr Brewis. Behind the bungalows stood a large wooden shed which was used for many years for the repair of all equipment such as tractors, lawnmowers and petrol hand machines including hedge cutters and strimmers.

Mr Ord was also in charge of a Bricklayer, Joiner and a Blacksmith. He worked with them on a wide variety of jobs and projects. One of these tasks was to make a wooden ring for a Wrestling Match which was to take place on Newcastle Town Moor between ‘Big Daddy’ and ‘Giant Haystacks’, one of whom weighed 32 stones!

Another time Mr Ord was called upon to repair the Lift at West Road Crematorium, the lift which transported the deceased for Cremation. On one occasion, during a service, his head popped up from the area where he was working, much to the shock and amusement of those present. However, the more serious side of his role involved being called upon for exhumations from Graveyards, which were carried out at night.

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Later, the extension of the Coast Road at Jesmond Road and Benton Bank led to the corner section of the Cemetery having to be removed. His role then included exhuming that particular area and those buried there for relocation.

Opposite the bungalows stood the Main Nursery brick building with a small glass house which was later expanded, adding extra glass and poly tunnels. Inside at the front, plants, cuttings and seeds were grown. At the rear of the building shrubs would be ‘Hardened off’ before they were taken to a sister Nursery at Redesmouth off Silver Lonnen.

In this nursery at Jesmond, thousands of bedding plants were grown twice a year in the Autumn and Summer for the 500 flowers beds located in the various parks and locations all over the city. They would later be providing 2 million plants for the ‘Greening of the City’ which was a scheme placing plants and planters citywide.

Greenhouses from the now demolished Jesmond Dene Nursery. Photograph provided by Kevin Bell

Later, this brick building became the offices for ordinary materials such as fertilisers, seeds and weed killer etc. The building also became the Design and planning centre for the bedding scheme and shrub planting and the Artist’s impressions of various schemes such as the Westerhope Wheel.

As you move further into the Nursery, there was a large brick building (designed and planned

by Mr Ord) to become the City’s new fitting shop – later ran by Mr Blyth. Here, you could drive equipment such as a tractor in, have it repaired and then drive the vehicle out the rear of the building. Inside there were small repair bays for the various vehicles and machines used in the city.

The site also housed petrol and diesel pumps to feed the many machines.

This brick building later became the Stores Department and the Hard Landscape Office run by Mr Potts. Also based there were the Grounds Maintenance Managers (Mr Mason) and Arbor (Tree team) managed by Mr Charlton. The Nursery was finally closed as part of the City Council scaling down as part of the ‘Austerity Cuts’ required to be carried out for the City.

Although the name changed over the years from Parks to Cemeteries to City Grounds and to Environmental services (at least twice) - I am pleased to say I worked in the Nursery (as well as many other areas of the City) as part of the Family that was the Parks Department.”

KEVIN BELL Former Technical Officer

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THE ARMSTRONG HOUSE JESMOND DEAN On April 21st 1835 25-year-old William Armstrong married Margaret Ramshaw of Bishop Auckland. Shortly beforehand Margaret’s father, William Ramshaw, had bought 16 acres of land (the Chance Field) on the west side of the Dene in Jesmond. This land came from the estate of James Losh who had lived in the nearby grand house of Jesmond Grove, and who died in September 1833. It is commonly said that this land was given to the happy couple as a wedding present. However, Dendy (p.175) tells us that in 1841 Wm Ramshaw still owned the 16-acre field which was “occupied by William George Armstrong”. Presumably it was legally inherited by Armstrong on William Ramshaw’s death in 1854.

A house, which became the Armstrongs’ matrimonial home for around 45 years, was built on this land. The house is known to us today as Jesmond Dean. There are two minor mysteries about this house.

Firstly, when was the house built? There are very few photographs or depictions of Jesmond Dean but it is clear from local maps that it was a substantial property which would have taken months, if not years, to plan and build. This raises the question of whether it was built fairly rapidly shortly before the Armstrongs’ marriage or whether building work began at the time William Ramshaw first bought the land, probably in 1834, before his daughter became engaged to William Armstrong. Or could it be that the newly-married couple lived elsewhere for a period while the house was being completed.

This question is not addressed in several biographies of Armstrong and it is assumed that the house was ready and waiting for them when they were married in April 1835. Their courtship had been a long one for much of which William Armstrong had been in London training as a solicitor. It is possible that the wedding date had been set well in advance and that there was time for the house to be built before their nuptials. One source, however, states that the couple moved in to Jesmond Dean around 1840, though frustratingly there was no further information about this.

A possible clue is that Armstrong is said to have planted an oak tree in his garden on his wedding day. This tree is still there 185 years later and can be seen from Glastonbury Grove.

Of course, it could have been planted before the building of the house was finished.

The second question concerns the name “Jesmond Dean”. It seems to be assumed that the marital home was given this name from the outset and that the spelling “Dean” was to avoid confusion with the Dene itself. On reflection, however, the house wouldn’t have needed a name when it was built because there were so few people living in the vicinity. Locals would have known where the Armstrong house was and it seems unlikely that visitors or the post might somehow have been diverted into the Dene rather than to William Armstrong’s grand new home.

Another possibility is that the name was to avoid confusion with Jesmond Dene House a short distance to the north. Jesmond Dene House, now a luxury bijou hotel, was known as Black Dene House when built in 1822 and seems not to have taken the name Jesmond Dene House until 1851 following extensions and alterations by John Dobson. Accordingly there would have been no confusion had Armstrong named his house Jesmond Dene in (or around) 1835. What’s more, I note that the future hotel was named Jesmond Dean House on Reid’s map of 1882.

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To further muddy the waters Henrietta Heald in her excellent biography of William Armstrong “Magician of the North” states (p.35) that Armstrong’s home was called Jesmond Dene and refers to it as such throughout the book. Margaret Armstrong, in a letter to her husband dated 11.11.1850 (T&W Archives), writes “Jesmond Dene” at the top of the letter.

The first Ordnance Survey map of 1858 labels the house as Jesmond Dean but subsequent editions name it as Jesmond Dene. Reid’s map of 1890 also names the house “Jesmond Dean”. I also found an instance in 1855, not an isolated one I should say, where Jesmond Dene (the river and valley) is called Jesmond Dean and the local Jesmond Dene Terrace was written as Jesmond Dean Terrace. It should be added that the word “Dean” is used elsewhere in Newcastle as a synonym for Dene, for example Dean Street.

Turning to census records, the earliest available census was in 1841 when the property was listed as Jesmond Dean. Surprisingly the occupants were Margaret’s parents, William and Elizabeth Ramshaw. Neither William Armstrong nor his wife Margaret were in residence, so they must have been away, or living elsewhere.

After 1841 census returns do not use the name “Jesmond Dean” as such for the Armstrongs’ home.

In the 1851 census frustratingly the name of the house was not given, but simply the address: “Jesmond Road”. In 1861 the house was entered as “Jesmond Deane”. We come a little closer in the 1871 census when the Armstrongs’ home was entered as “Jesmond Dean Hall” but ten years later in the census of 1881 their home was entered simply as “Jesmond Hall”. A few years later in 1886 there is more confusion because Sir William’s address is listed several times in Kelly’s Directory as “Jesmond Dene”. The house was by now his town house. He was now 76 years old and living mostly at Cragside.

In an age when spelling was more variable than it is today, what becomes clear is that dene and dean were used interchangeably and that both were used for Armstrong’s house. Dean was simply an alternative to dene. Spellings became standardised later in the nineteenth century and the name Jesmond Dean eventually stuck. When historian Frederick Dendy wrote his “Account of Jesmond” in 1906 he called the house, unequivocally, Jesmond Dean and he ought to have known as he lived nearby in Osborne Road.

In 1891 Sir William and Lady Margaret were recorded in the census living at Cragside Hall. It was their final census appearance. It has not been possible for me to find Jesmond Dean in the censuses of 1891, 1901 and 1911: I don’t know the names of any occupants, it does not have an obvious street address and possibly no one was in residence when a census took place. What’s more, by then the name of the house seems to have been settled.

On Lord Armstrong’s death in 1900 ownership of the house passed to his great-nephew William Watson-Armstrong. It was demolished in 1933. All that remains are two stone gateposts, now part of a wall on Jesmond Dene Road. The stone lodge at the junction with Lindisfarne Road was the gate lodge for Jesmond Dean.

On the west side of Glastonbury Grove towards its (now closed) junction with Jesmond Dene Road, are two pairs of houses which are built of stone up to the first floor. This stone was recycled from the demolition of Jesmond Dean. It is all that is left of the house that had been part of Newcastle’s history and home to one of its most able and distinguished citizens.

JOHN NORTH FOJD References Frederick Dendy: An Account of Jesmond (1906) Henrietta Heald: William Armstrong Magician of the North (2010) 9

VOLUNTEER RANGERS AUTUMN AND WINTER TASKS Path clearing As always during autumn and winter, the Volunteer Rangers spend a number of sessions keeping the paths in Jesmond Dene and Paddy Freeman's clear of mud and leaves.

This involves lots of scraping with shovels and brushing. The mud and leaves need to be disposed of in a tidy fashion.

Cutting back The other most common activity performed by the Volunteer Rangers is cutting back shrubs and undergrowth, especially plants such as ivy, brambles and nettles, to uncover our spring bulbs. We often have to stop ivy from overwhelming trees as this can act as a 'sail' in windy weather and bring trees down. We have carried out a lot of work in tidying up the 'islands' of vegetation on Coleman's Field as well as areas of shrubbery in Paddy Freeman’s.

Cutting back shrubs in Paddy Freemans Park Litter picking We hardly ever do any work in the parks without doing some litter picking in the locality.

Tree planting Winter is the time when we plant new trees, if we have any. We have recently planted some native saplings in the area near Cherry Tree Walk. These had been donated by the Rotary Club. In addition we were donated three small apple trees. We planted them in Coleman's Field near where we had previously planted fruit trees.

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Power Tools Up until recently all of the volunteer work has been done by hand, as the Volunteer Rangers were not qualified to use power tools. However last summer a number of Volunteer Rangers attended a course covering all of the safety aspects of using power tools. This now means that selected volunteers can now use tools such as strimmers, hedge trimmers and leaf blowers, under Ranger supervision. In addition to using the existing power tools belonging to Urban Green, the Volunteer Rangers decided to use some of their funds to purchase a hedge trimmer and a strimmer for use during volunteer sessions.

The two tools are both battery powered and have spare re-chargeable batteries. They will be available for the Rangers to use when necessary.

Nature Area The nature area (across the river from pets corner) is usually left during the winter when there are no visitors. In autumn we strim the wild-flower meadow and spend some time before spring tidying things up, clearing the paths and doing some weeding. (shown below)

Improving the pond near Fisherman’s Lodge.

The outlet of the pond periodically gets blocked with leaves and debris. Now and then it is necessary to take some drainage rods up to the pond and clear the outlet until the water is running freely under the path into the river.

The pond is currently overshadowed by a number of trees, and some drop their leaves into the water. The Volunteer Rangers discussed ways of improving the pond and have approached the Friends of Jesmond Dene to pay for tree surgeons to prune selected trees, so as to open up the back of the pond so that less leaves fall in it. It is hoped that we can also plant some ferns or other plants around the pond to improve its appearance.

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Repairing fences We have spent a few sessions recently mending damaged fences. This is important work, as damaged and missing fences make the parks look uncared for and can be dangerous. This can be quite a difficult task when we need to replace supports that have been concreted in. One section of fence that needed repairing was at North Lodge (near the stepping stones), where a large tree had come down and demolished the garden fence of the house. A large section of the fence was replaced by the Volunteer Rangers.

Fallen trees High winds can occasionally bring down trees. In addition, it is sometimes necessary to remove diseased or damaged trees. A case mentioned above was at North Lodge, where a large tree demolished the garden fence and blocked the footpath. After the Rangers had used chainsaws to cut up as much of the tree that they could, we were left with a large pile of timber. The Volunteer Rangers spent some time loading the timber onto a pickup to be taken away and stored, ready for splitting and selling as firewood. The Volunteer Rangers often devote some time to bagging the logs after they have been split.

Walker Riverside Park – Litter picking and cutting back We often spend sessions at Walker Riverside Park litter picking and cutting back along the paths. This is usually carried out along Hadrian's Way which is well used by hikers and cyclists. We also try to keep the car park there tidy and litter free.

Collecting foliage for Christmas wreathes Before each Christmas we spent some time collecting yew and holly to be used in wreath making sessions. We usually end up collecting several large black bags full of such foliage.

Plant stall The Volunteer Rangers run a plant stall at the Armstrong Bridge Market which is held every month. Plants are provided by volunteers to be sold, providing money for the Volunteer Ranger funds. We usually have other odds and ends for sale such as bird boxes, bird feeders and logs. The stall also provides publicity leaflets about Friends of Jesmond Dene and about coming events in the Dene.

DAVE POSTE Volunteer Ranger

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UPCOMING EVENTS Come and join us on our friendly and informal Ouseburn Parks Guided Walks, (all money raised is used for the upkeep of the parks cost is £3 per person) . Times for all walks Sunday1.30 – 3.30 Phone 0191 2812082 to book.

Guides for Ouseburn Parks 19th April Paddy Freemans/Wild Jesmond Dene 17th May Armstrong Park and Jesmond Vale 14th June Jesmond Dene 19th July Heaton Park 16th August St Marys Chapel and Holy Well

Meet at Kiosk Paddy Freemans Meet at Pavilion Heaton Park Meet at Information Centre Jesmond Dene Meet at Pavilion Heaton Park Meet at Information Centre Jesmond Dene

FOJD and Volunteer Rangers also run a plant stall every 3rd Saturday of the month on Armstrong Bridge. All money raised is used in the Dene. Next ones:-

21st March 10 - 3pm.

18th April 10 – 3pm. (and Food Market). Please come and support us.

Tuesday 7 April 10.30 – 12.30pm Easter Treasure Hunt and Crafts Jesmond Dene Donations welcome (Hop over to the gazebo on the field next to Pets Corner!)

Cracking crafts with the Rangers! There’s also an Egg-cellent Easter Treasure hunt!

This is a drop-in event and ALL children must be accompanied. Please contact the Visitor Centre for more information 0191 281 2082.

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Thursday 16 April 1.30 – 3.30pm Nature Area Open Day Jesmond Dene Donations welcome (Across the River from Pets Corner – look out for the signs) Come and explore our Nature Area, take part in pond dipping, minibeast hunts and watch the birds at the feeding station. This is a drop-in event and all children must be accompanied. Please contact the Visitor Centre for more information 0191 281 2082.

Friday 1 May (Evening - time to be confirmed on booking) Bat walk (Part of the Jesmond Community Festival) Jesmond Dene and Paddy Freemans £5 per person Learn about the different species of bats that live in the UK on this walk around Jesmond Dene and Paddy Freemans. Don't forget your torch! Suggested age 8+, children must be accompanied.

Booking essential. Please contact the Visitor Centre on 0191 2812082 to book your place and for access details.

Sunday 10 May 4.30 – 7.30am (yes, am! The walk will be about 2 hours.)

Dawn Chorus (Part of the Jesmond Community Festival) Ouseburn Parks – Jesmond Dene £7.50 per person To celebrate International Dawn Chorus Day join the Rangers and Volunteer Rangers on this early morning walk through the Dene to listen to the delightful sounds of the birds. We’ll come back to the Visitor Centre for a breakfast roll, a hot drink and show you some footage of other wildlife in the Dene. Suitable for adults and older children (12+). Booking essential. Please contact the Visitor Centre on 0191 2812082 to book your place and for more information.

Sunday 10 May 10am – 12pm Nature Area Open Morning (Part of the Jesmond Community Festival) Nature Area Donations welcome (Across the River from Pets Corner – look out for the signs) Come and explore our Nature Area, take part in pond dipping, minibeast hunts and watch the birds at the feeding station. This is a drop-in event and you can stay as long or as little as you like. Please contact the Visitor Centre for more information 0191 281 2082.

Please see up to date activities and events FOJD Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/757773184342507/ Web https://www.jesmonddene.org.uk/ Urban Green Facebook https://www.facebook.com/urbangreenncl/ Web https://urbangreennewcastle.org/

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FRIENDS OF JESMOND DENE COMMITTEE LIST Chair Treasurer Secretary Members Membership Sec. Newsletter Team

Clive Gerrard Jacki Holmes Sue Stokel-Walker Geoffrey Carter, John Blakemore, Robert Brandt Keith Pringle Yvonne Shannon

Sarah Capes (Senior Ranger, 0191 2650564) sarah.capes@newcastleparksandallotments.org.uk mobile 07966 264391 Webmaster Carlton Reid http://www.jesmondDene.org.uk Patron

John Grundy

Next Newsletter contributions or any other queries to: Friends of Jesmond Dene, c/o Ouseburn Parks Visitor Centre, Millfield House, Red Walk, Jesmond Dene, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE7 7BQ or email as above.

Subscriptions are set at a flat rate of £5 p.a. for households, paid by standing order. Our Membership Secretary is available if you need help or advice on how to join - contact Keith Pringle, FOJD at the address above. To set up the standing order you will need the bank details for the Friends bank - The Sort Code is 30 93 55 The Account Number is 01464356. Would you also please ask them to assign a payment reference of your own full name (forename and surname) so that we can correctly identify your payment.

To join the FOJD contact Keith Pringle, at the address above.

To join the Jesmond Dene Volunteer Rangers or if you are interested in the Adopt-a-Plot scheme please contact: Sarah Capes (Senior Ranger, 0191 2650564) sarah.capes@newcastleparksandallotments.org.uk mobile 07966 264391

Reg Charity no: 702260 Web: https://www.jesmonddene.org.uk/ Postal address: ‘Friends of Jesmond Dene’, c/o Ouseburn Parks' Visitor Centre, Red Walk, Jesmond Dene, Newcastle, NE7 7BQ.

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