By the turn of the 20th century Deckham's rural aspect had changed. Whilst there remained large areas of grass and woodland between Deckham and Gateshead, there was a period of extensive building; several dozen dwellings were erected by 1895 in the Mount Pleasant area as Gateshead expanded southwards. A public house was built at the junction of Taylor Terrace and Split Crow Road. Two years later, a tract of Tyneside flats was built on the west side of the Old Durham Road and many streets in the area, such as Chandos Street, Shipcote Terrace, Raby Street and Northborne Street, are evidenced, along with an unnamed school. By 1919, some rural scenes could still be enjoyed but the fields were "rapidly encroached upon" in the 1920s and 1930s and replaced with more terraced housing at Caris Street, Fullerton Place and Methuen Street and large tracts of council houses. By this time, Deckham Hall was in a state of disrepair and was notable to residents for its resemblance to a haunted house "because of its air of gloom and the strange echoes to be heard on windy nights". The hall was demolished in 1930 and more council houses were erected on the site.