Topics > Tyne and Wear > North Tyneside > Whitley Bay > Prudhoe Memorial Convalescent Home
Prudhoe Memorial Convalescent Home
The Prudhoe Memorial Convalescent Home on the Links in Whitley Bay was built in 1867-9 on the site which is now occupied by the Waves leisure centre and pool. The home was opened on the 4th September 1869. It was a large building with extensive gardens, and could house 140 patients, segregated by men and women.
During the late Victorian era, there was a strong belief that fresh air was a tonic for illness, and the sea front location in Whitley Bay was ideal for this. Perhaps all good things come around - on the Whitley Bay Links today, not too far away from where the Prudhoe buildings were, is Eastbourne House, a modern 72 bed care home, providing residential and respite care.
"The healthy situation of Whitley led to it being selected as the most suitable spot on our coast for the erection of a Convalescent Home, where on July 4th, 1867, the foundation stone of the Prudhoe Memorial Convalescent Home was laid by Lord Warkworth, now Earl Percy, as a memorial to the late Algernon, Duke of Northumberland, which was opened on the 4th September, 1869, by Her Grace the Dowager Duchess of Northumberland. This noble institution, which was erected at a cost of upwards of £20,000, faces the sea, and is a stone building, arranged on the pavilion plan, consisting of a central block, with a corridor running at right angles, out of which the various day and sleeping rooms project, with open spaces between for ventilation and light, the whole of the apartments have a sea view; the building is raised several feet above the level of the surrounding ground, and is approached by means of an elevated terrace, with steps at the centre, and an inclined roadway at each side. It will hold 140 patients,100 males and 40 females. The building has been so arranged as to be capable of extension at any future time." (John Robinson, 1894)
![](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3489/4075535461_544ba281f8_z.jpg)
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
002734: Prudhoe Convalescent Home, Whitley Bay, undated
Pinned by Simon Cotterill
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from http://www.twsitelines.info/S…
Tyne and Wear HER(7878): Whitley Bay, Prudhoe Memorial Convalescent Home
- "Located at Whitley Links. Opened on 14th September 1869 by her Grace the Dowager-Duchess of Northumberland. A stone building arranged on a pavilion plan, consisting of a central block with …
Added by
Simon Cotterill
![Historical Account of Whitley, 1894](https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2448/4079237975_4f10afa5d9_z.jpg)
  Co-Curate Page
Historical Account of Whitley, 1894
- Extract from: JOHN ROBINSON (1894), ILLUSTRATED HANDBOOK TO THE RIVERS Tyne ,Blyth,& Wansbeck; ALSO A GUIDE TO TYNEMOUTH, CULLERCOATS, WHITLEY, MONKSEATON, ST. MARY'S ISLE, HARTLEY, SEATON DELAVAL, BLYTH, NEWBIGGIN, WITH …
![](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/L0001132/full/1338%2C/0/default.jpg)
from https://wellcomecollection.or…
Prudhoe memorial convalescent home, Northumberland
- Public Domain image. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Added by
Simon Cotterill
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![](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3489/4075535461_544ba281f8_z.jpg)
from Newcastle libraries (flickr)
002734: Prudhoe Convalescent Home, Whitley Bay, undated
Pinned by Simon Cotterill
![](/uploads/thumbs2/sitelines.png)
from http://www.twsitelines.info/S…
Tyne and Wear HER(7878): Whitley Bay, Prudhoe Memorial Convalescent Home
- "Located at Whitley Links. Opened on 14th September 1869 by her Grace the Dowager-Duchess of Northumberland. A stone building arranged on a pavilion plan, consisting of a central block with …
Added by
Simon Cotterill
![Historical Account of Whitley, 1894](https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2448/4079237975_4f10afa5d9_z.jpg)
  Co-Curate Page
Historical Account of Whitley, 1894
- Extract from: JOHN ROBINSON (1894), ILLUSTRATED HANDBOOK TO THE RIVERS Tyne ,Blyth,& Wansbeck; ALSO A GUIDE TO TYNEMOUTH, CULLERCOATS, WHITLEY, MONKSEATON, ST. MARY'S ISLE, HARTLEY, SEATON DELAVAL, BLYTH, NEWBIGGIN, WITH …
![](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/L0001132/full/1338%2C/0/default.jpg)
from https://wellcomecollection.or…
Prudhoe memorial convalescent home, Northumberland
- Public Domain image. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Added by
Simon Cotterill