Plaque on the wall outside Home House, Kells Lane, Low Fell
These 3 daughters of the bookbinder and amateur historian Edwin Dodds were well known 20th century women in Gateshead. Hope Dodds was at Cambridge before women were awarded degrees and wrote one of the most definitive church histories - 'The Pilgrimage of Grace' which was for many years one of the standard texts of Reformation history.
Ruth became a prominent Labour politician in Gateshead during the 1930's and was present at the opening of both the Redheugh and Sunderland Road libraries.
However, they are best remembered today for founding the Little Theatre Gateshead (1943)- the only theatre in the country to open during the second world war. The Dodds sisters put up the money to buy the site and build the theatre and all three took an active part in the production of plays. Ruth had adapted a version of Thomas Wilson's The Pitman's pay which successfully toured the north east during the 1920's.
Ruth was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the Borough in 1965. The sisters lived all their lives in Home House on Kells Lane.
