were woodland, was sold at auction. Mr John Featherstone Ayton bought the land at Hindley for £5050, being the only bidder. He occupied the estate, living in Hindley Cottage, presumably overseeing the building of Hindley Hall. In 1861 the Hall was finished and Ayton lived there with his wife Ann Maria, both aged 43, with their seven children (six sons and one daughter), and they had five servants. Three of Ayton's sons were being schooled in Germany at the time, and the enumerator had "crossed out the three names" and they were therefore not listed in the census returns. Mr Ayton wrote to the Home Office to protest at the enumerator's action, arguing that "the three boys really form part of the population of The United Kingdom". The Home Office, however, concluded that "the Enumerator was quite right". In 1874 William Foster bought the Hall for £19,000 and considerably enlarged the Hall. By the 1881 Census, Mary Foster, a widow, lived in the Hall with her son Alfred J. Foster, aged 17, and two servants. The census also shows William Forster Fairbridge (or Farbridge) his wife Jane and ten children living in Hindley Lodge (now called Northwood Lodge). The estate, still was valued at £13,500 in 1889. The farmhouse, valued separately "as it is really too good for the farm", was valued at £800. This building is probably Hindley House. In 1947 the hall was sold to Gateshead Corporation and, by 1953, 26 acres of land had also been purchased. The corporation intended to use the building as a residential school for around 60 pupils. The East wing (now the apartments) and a gym were built in the 1950s and 1960s using stone hauled from the ruined Ravensworth Castle (once owned by the Liddell Family). Accommodation for two assistant masters was built and a bungalow for the Headmaster had been built in 1958, although this no longer stands. A greenhouse was erected and a kitchen garden was provided to train pupils. A very high proportion of pupils had been before magistrates, and the purpose of the school was to sort out absenteeism and petty crime by pupils. It is clear that the school was a success and stream of visitors came for training and work experience. In 1991 the school closed and then, in 1993, the Corporation sold the . The hamlet now comprises mainly residential properties, with the hall