This view of the rear of Bessie Surtees House on Sandhill includes a curiosity in the foreground, one of Newcastle’s first and most elaborate mock Tudor houses. The ancient looking timber-framed building is called Maddison House and was built in the 1930s.
Most Geordies know the story of Bessie Surtees’ elopement from the building in the background that bears her name, but it has another romantic association. Bessie Surtees House was bought in 1931 by Viscount Gort as a gift for his wife, she was his second cousin and both he and she were distantly related to Bessie Surtees.
Viscount Gort was a World War I hero who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry at the Battle of the Canal du Nord in 1918. He renovated Bessie Surtees House and added Maddison House behind it around the same time.