Riddle of village that vanished overnight

Jul 23 2008 by Kim Carmichael, The Journal

RESIDENTS of a Tyneside village were stunned when a council moved their village a mile up the road.

Families have lived almost side by side in Victoria Garesfield and the similarly named Garesfield for the past decade.

But now Garesfield has disappeared.

A road sign that used to welcome visitors to Victoria Garesfield has moved up the road to Garesfield after Gateshead Council decided the two settlements were one and the same place.

The decision has left residents confused about precisely where they live.

John Smith has lived in Albert Street for eight years – just yards from where the old Victoria Garesfield sign used to sit.

He said: “I think it’s unbelievable that two villages have been given the same name by the council when they are clearly separate.

“A few years ago we lost our sign after a lorry crashed into it and after waiting a long time for the replacement, it has now been put up in the wrong place.

“I’d like the Victoria Garesfield sign to be returned so our village is clearly distinguished.”

RVI nurse Jane Overton, 37, has also lived in Albert Street for nine years. And she was left equally bemused.

She said: “When you’re getting deliveries, they can sometimes find it very difficult. It does seem that Garesfield has just disappeared.”

But more long-term residents of the village said the council decision was merely putting things back the way they remembered them.

George Warren, 80, is a keen amateur historian who has spent time documenting the history of Victoria Garesfield. He believes the area has historically always been one place.

He said: “The whole area is called Victoria Garesfield after the local colliery. I’ve lived here for 57 years and it has always been so. The sign was wrong that separated the two areas.”

Angela Lee has lived in Alexander Street for 26 years. She said: “Somebody put the wrong sign up a few years ago which just had Garesfield on it and I never knew why. Nobody came and asked us about it and new people moved here and thought that the area is split in two. In fact, it is all Victoria Garesfield. That’s what it comes under when we vote.”

Named for pit

GATESHEAD Council began researching the area in the hope of solving the mystery of the vanishing village.

Nick Clennett, head of transport and highways, said: “A lot of research and consideration has gone into the signage of the Victoria Garesfield area.

“We have taken our research back as far as 1919 using Ordnance Survey maps which show that the whole area was always known officially as Victoria Garesfield after the local colliery.

“We know, however, that there has been some confusion over the years and there is strong feeling attached to both versions of events.

“We have therefore taken the decision to follow the historical precedence set for the signage of Victoria Garesfield but we will also be improving the signage to individual parts of the area.”