Stella Park

Stella Park
Stella Park  Stella Park shown within Tyne and Wear
NZ179635
List of places: UK • England • Tyne and Wear

Stella Park is a housing estate in Blaydon-on-Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, located on the grounds of a mansion of the same name.

Stella Hall

Stellinglei was granted in the 12th century by the Bishop of Durham, William de St. Barbara to the nuns of Newcastle. It remained a nunnery until the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

It belonged to the Widdrington family in the 18th century. In 1792, it was inherited by John Towneley, whose mother was Mary, daughter of the 3rd Baron Widdrington. It then followed the inheritance of the main Towneley Estate in Burnley, Lancashire to his son Peregrine and was recorded as his 281 acre estate in 1848.^[1] It was also the home of Joseph Cowen, believed purchased by his father, the newspaper and coal millionaire Sir Joseph Cowen around 1850. However in 1878, upon the death of Peregrine’s son, also called John 2,826 acres, probably formerly part of the estate, was distributed between his daughters.^[2]

The hall remained in the Cowen family until Jane Cowen’s death in 1946. It was owned briefly by Durham University before being demolished in 1954.^[3]

About Stella Park

Stella Park is on the route of the famous Blaydon Races. Stella Park has been home to some famous people in the past. Giuseppe Garibaldi visited the family who lived at the manor house that existed before the housing estate in the 19th century.The Estate was finally purchased by William Leech Builders,the largest housebuiders in England, and demolished all except the Lodge. A statue of Garibaldi was discovered some years ago in the garden of a house on the estate. The head can now be found in the entrance lobby of Blaydon library.^{[citation needed]} The grounds of Stella park has hosted a local festival in recent years called Renniefest offering local acts a chance to perform alongside more established acts.^{[citation needed]} The Stella power stations, a pair of major coal-fired power stations existed to the south of the estate on the bank of the River Tyne. They were demolished in stages throughout the 1990s, leaving behind brownfield sites which are now being re-developed.

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