 I photographed this rather ‘elegant’ house in Dovecote St this week. It sits between Palmerston St and Dixon St, just past the junc. with Hartington Rd. I’d never noticed it before and it appears that quite a lot of demolition work has recently taken place around it. It is unusual, in as much as it has stone surrounds to the windows and stone ‘column’ details on the quoin lines (corners) . Was this a private house at some stage? I’ve checked on early maps of S’ton and it is not there in the early to mid-19th C, but later it appears as ‘Millfield House’ standing in fairly large grounds. However, the design appears earlier than the late 19th C.
Photograph and detail courtesy of Chris Bailey |
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
The police sergeant in the top photo is George Sudrons mothers brother Sergeant Smith.
I understand now, that these building have been demolished and the land is to be eventually used for new flats.
Sadly the vandals went and knocked this old house down along with the rest of the area. I had thought it was the one thing that would perhaps be left standing and renovated somehow…
I have copies of Wards Directory for Stockton dating from 1898 to 1912. In 1898 this part of Dovecote St was known as Mill Lane & Millfield House belonged to a Mrs M A Sanderson but in 1900 it became the offices of a union the National Amalgamated Society of Engineers,Cranesmen,Boilermen & Firemen with Mr T Dobson their secretary. Perhaps she bequeathed it to them in her will! In 1912 this road was now part of Dovecote St & Millfield House was now owned by a Mr A J Cooke a builder.
During my young years in the 40s and 50s, this was The Inspector of Taxes Offices. On the front lawn area was a grassed mound which covered the Air-raid shelter. We used to run over the top of it as children. In the early 70s it became the Co-Op funeral Services as Dale said. As to what it was before this,I do not know.
yes it was the mortuary.
Sadly this building has now been demolished. I don’t know if it was a private house but up until quite a few years ago it was the Co-op Funeral Services building they moved to the old Carlton garage on the roundabout on Norton road