Sheriff Hill
This led to the building of the first council housing estate in Gateshead. Alderman Hodkin laid the foundation stone on 27 October 1920; as work commenced the Alderman demonstrated the authority's concerns, telling the local newspaper that: "we can build houses, but we cannot build homes. Only the people themselves can do that and I hope that the spirit of ‘esprit de corps’ will prevail and this will be a model estate" Demand was highthere were 427 applicants for the first twenty eight houses builtand the council built further tracts of housing in a broad triangle between Sodhouse Bank, Ermine Crescent and The Avenue, although central government withdrew its promised funding. By 1936, most of the social housing available as of 2012 was in existence and provides accommodation to over half of the population of the suburb.
Hall house
A significant house needs both public and private areas. The public area is the place for living: cooking, eating, meeting and playing, while private space is for withdrawing and for storing valuables. A source of heat is required, and in northern latitudes walls are also needed to keep the weather out and to keep in the heat. By about 1400, in lowland Britain, with changes in settlement patterns and agriculture, people were thinking of houses as permanent structures rather than temporary shelter. According to the locality, they built stone or timber-framed houses with wattle and daub or clay infill. The designs were copied by their neighbours and descendants in the tradition of vernacular architecture. They were sturdy and some have survived over five hundred years. Hall houses built after 1570 are rare.