In the early 1800s Joshua Watson, a Quaker cheesemonger who lived over his shop in Newcastle Upon Tyne, purchased Bensham Grove in Bensham, Gateshead. The River Tyne, although not as polluted as it was to become, was already showing signs of the hive of industry and commerce it was to be in the future. It was no suprise, therefore, that Joshua was attracted to the golden cornfield, bluebell woods and windmills of Bensham (as it was at the time). He bought the house as a country cottage, near enough to continue his business next to the river but rural and healthy for his children.

And so began the life-long involvement that three successive generations of Watsons had with the house called Bensham Grove. Joshua’s son Joseph and, in turn, his son Robert Spence enlarged and improved the house resulting in an eclectic mix of Georgian and Victorian features.

Robert Spence Watson (1837–1911) together with his wife Elizabeth (1838–1919) were perhaps the best-known. A Quaker and a noted Liberal, Robert spent his life championing the cause of the working man and the oppressed. An educator, he was also a politician, traveller, poet, and writer.

Elizabeth(nee Richardson) was a moving light in women’s rights and education, as well as helping the poor of Gateshead in many ways. Robert and Elizabeth, at home in Bensham Grove, became host to a variety of visitors including artists, craftsman, educationalists, reformers, poets, and politicians. On the death of the Spence Watsons, Bensham Grove became an Educational Settlement doing much work during the Depression in the ‘Thirties. Today, it is still a centre for Adult Education as well as a busy Community Centre, offering a wide range of Craft and Art activities as well as providing spaces for use to the wider community.

A Grade 2 Listed Building, the house still boasts many features such as stained glass windows, fireplaces, tiles and decorated ceilings. Many of these were fashionable at the time and bear a strong Arts and Crafts theme. William Morris and some of the Pre-Raphaelite painters were welcome visitors to Bensham Grove and their influence can still be felt in the rooms. We have some wonderful photos of our rooms to view on the Our Rooms Page.