In 1572 Sir John Delaval left his farmhand called "West Hedwyne" to his younger son Thomas for life. He also mentioned a debt of 6s. 8d. To Richard Read. The Reads of Houghton were a branch of the Reads of Close House. The will of Thomas Read of Houghton was dated13th July, 1578, and in it, he left his wife for life all his lands in Houghton and his leases of land in West Heddon and North Dissington. John Read the son and heir of Thomas bought West Heddon from the Delevals and he was a freeholder there in 1628, and after this the family continued to hold West Heddon for some generations.

In 1663 Mr. Richard Read was assessed at £40 on West Heddon and in 1668 Clement Read, a gentleman from Yorkshire, left £5 per annum to the poor of Heddon on the Wall. Before this date he had probably sold West Heddon to John Fenwick, who had married one of the co-heiresses of the Benet lands in Heddon.

John Fenwick made his will on 10th March, 1667 leaving his lands in West Heddon to his son John Fenwick, and died a few days later.

The younger John Fenwick was in debt to Christopher Hunter so he mortgaged West Heddon to him. On 23rd April, 1681 Christopher Hunter made a settlement of his property in West Heddon and Gateshead on his marriage to Dorothy the sister of John Fenwick, they were married at St. Andrew’s Newcastle the following day. They had one daughter, Dorothy and Christopher Hunter must have died a few years after his marriage because in 1685 John Fenwick released all his rights in West Heddon to Dorothy the Widow of Christopher Hunter.

On 29th March 1687, Dorothy married her second husband, John Carr from Eshot. In 1689 John Fenwick now living in Binchester in Durham released his remaining rights in West Heddon to John Carr and in 1711 John Carr bought from Dorothy (daughter of Christopher) and Thomas Ward, her husband, their rights in the property of the late Christopher Hunter.

John Carr, like his predecessors, was greatly in debt and to satisfy the claims of one of his creditors, Mr. George Pickering, he gave to him the New Steads in West Heddon.

These consisted of 120 acres including the Westerlaw Hill, Hog Stubble, High and Low Brooms, the Bogs and two more closes, these were bordered by Whitchester and Rudchester, Glororum loaning and Eachwick.

The New Steads remained with the Pickering family until 1786, when the last George Pickering, grandson of the first left them to his nephew Anthony Stevenson, a shipowner of Newcastle. He became bankrupt in 1799 and the bankruptcy court sold the New Steads in 1804 to the Misses Peareth, who by then were the proprietors of the rest of West Heddon.

John Carr of West Heddon was buried in the church at Heddon on the Wall in December, 1738. He left three surviving sons, Henry, Christopher and Ralph.

On 29th February, 1788, Robert Carr sold West Heddon to Robert Newton Lynn, a banker, of Newcastle for £5,800.

Robert died in 1794 and is commemorated by a tablet in Heddon church. In his will he left his whole property to his wife, Jane. She sold West Heddon on 12th May, 1795, to Miss Elizabeth Peareth, daughter of Alderman William Peareth of Usworth. She died unmarried on 23rd November 1798, and was buried at St. Nicholas in Newcastle.

In 1801 West Heddon was settled in the hands of trustees to the use of her sisters, the Misses Ann, Mary and Henrietta Peareth. They named as their heiress, their niece Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Thomas Peareth.

She married George Burdon in 1821. Her heir, the Reverend Richard Burdon, lived to the age of 92 and died intestate. His heir at law was his nephew, Major Edward Griffith. George Burdon, who in 1920 sold the West Heddon estate to Alderman John Frederick Weidner of Condercum House, Benwell.

This is a copy of the Census for Heddon House. Dated 30th March, 1851:

(Click the photo to see a larger version)

Heddon House, an eighteenth century building, was suitably furnished and given by Alderman and Mrs. Weidner to the use of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in memory of their son, Charles William Weidner, RFA, who was killed in 1917 in the European War. It is used as a Home of Rest for the Roman Catholic poor of Northumberland and Durham, with accommodation for 35 persons, male and female, under the care of a matron, residence is free and admission is obtained through the recommendation of the Society.

To the north of the farmhouse at West Heddon, itself a curious old building, is what seems to be half of a manor-house of the Reads with a good doorway and Jacobean windows, now used as a cottage.

Heddon House is a Grade 2 listed building.