We used to drive past the gates of Camp Terrace and look up and think it looks like a lovely street.
I’m Lucy Thompson and I’ve lived in North Shields, for about 12 years. I’m not from round here I’m from down south, my husband is from round here. We rented a flat in North Shields then we lived in Monkseaton and we used to drive past the gates of Camp Terrace and look up and think it looks like a lovely street. When we were looking to buy a house one came up for sale, we jumped at coming to see it and absolutely loved it.
Camp Terrace – photo by Geoff Holland licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0
It’s a private street, so you’ve got gates at one end that lead on to the main road but at the other end it’s locked so it’s a really quiet street. You’ve got cobbles at one end and the big houses down the bottom of the street have been used for period dramas. We live in one of the more modern houses from the 1940s. The gardens are across the street so it feels quiet and you feel like you’re away from the hustle and bustle, but you’re still right in the middle of North Shields, you can walk anywhere.
One of the things we really loved about the house was that you got a back garden and then you got a bigger garden across the street. Then we were lucky enough to have the option to buy some extra land at the bottom of the garden, so we were able to extend so it’s a bit like a secret garden. You go into the main entrance to the garden and it’s got the Victorian walls from the garages for the other street, so it’s really sheltered, a real suntrap and it’s just a nice little peaceful oasis.
I don’t know too much detail about the history of the street, but I’ve heard that it was to do with the navy. I think that’s why it’s called Camp Terrace and then, this might not be exactly right, but what I’ve heard is that somebody bought these plots of land and built the more modern houses at the end, the 1940s houses, but the houses down the other end are a lot older.
It feels like a really exciting time because there’s lots of new stuff popping up. I think for us, what I would like is for it to feel more like a town centre again because you don’t feel like that gets used that much. It feels like it’s up and coming now with lots of sort of bars and restaurants which are great, but different shops and things so that people go there, they have somewhere to go and do their shopping and hang out would be good as well.
We have toyed with the idea of moving other places, before we did an extension we thought should we move somewhere that’s already built, but we love it here too much. I’ve got a business but it’s along the coast, so I would love to have an office here and my dream would be to have a yoga studio and a psychology therapy space in North Shields. Maybe even to have it as something bigger where there’s other places within the same building. But yes, to be part of that restoration I guess of North Shields, a lot of the buildings are bit run down and to be able to bring them back to life and have my therapy practice here as well.
Lucy was interviewed as part of the North Shields Voices project.