Burradon, 1855

BURRADON, OR BRIERDEAN township is situated six and a half miles N.N.E. of Newcastle, and comprises an area of 535 acres. Its rateable value is £600, and the tithes amount to about £115 per annum. The population in 1801 was 29; in 1811, 48; in 1821, 52; in 1831, 67; in 1841, 97; and in 1851, 87 souls. Here are excellent freestone quarries and a colliery, the former is worked by Mr. Tate, and the latter by the proprietors of Sighill Colliery. This estate was formerly the property of the late W. W. Ogle, Esq. of Causey Park, but it is at present in chancery. Here is a fine old tower, which, in 1552, was the residence of a member of the Anderson family. It is a large square edifice, built upon a rocky eminence, commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country, and originally consisted of three storeys, with an entrance on the eastern side. An arched vault, of twenty-one feet by eighteen, constitutes the ground floor, from which a circular stone staircase leads to the upper apartments. The original covering of the building is gone, and the battlements, with the whole of the upper portion of the building, are in a state of great dilapidation. By means of a tile roof a part of this ancient pile has been rendered habitable, forming a portion of the adjoining farmstead, which is attached to two sides of the tower. 

DIRECTORY, John and William Younger, farmers.