Along NCN 1 "Two Rivers" between Roker and South Shields
there are several important landmarks which can be seen from the cycleway
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New South Pier Lighthouse Built in 1856 this lighthouse originally stood at the entrance to the River Wear at the end of the New South Pier. Made of wrought and cast iron it stands 50 feet high In 1983 the pier was shortened to make passage through the entrance easier and the lighthouse was dismantled - public concern led to it being re-erecting on the Roker Sea Front. |
Whitburn Windmill The present tower dates from 1779 when the previous mill blew down - by 1896 the mill was marked as disused on Ordnance Survey maps. Its last use was as a lookout post for the Observer Corps during the Second World War. South Tyneside Council carried out extensive restoration in 1990/1 and again 2001 Unfortunately no internal machinery remains |
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Souter Lighthouse NT Opened in 1871 and the lighthouse in the British Isles to be designed specifically for electric illumination. The light is housed in a 75 ft. high tower and is surrounded by dwellings for an engineer and four keepers - along with engine house, boiler house and workshops. it is reputed to have the loudest foghorn in Britain and used to blow for 7 secs every 30 secs day in day out during foggy weather and could be heard for miles around. The lighthouse is actually situated on Lizard Point but to avoid confusion with the Lizard Point, Cornwall is named after Souter Point which is slightly further south. The lighthouse is now in the care of the National Trust. Click here for NT web site about Souter Lighthouse. |
Marsden Lime Kilns A bank of industrial lime kilns dating from 1870's set into a magnesium limestone coastal outcrop. Limestone came from the Marsden Quarries and coal for the kilns from the nearby Whitburn Colliery. There are two types of structure here - the original type consisted of a bank of seven complete kilns within a long stone battery and the later two kilns built of brick. The large metal bands around these are to prevent collapse as the brickwork expands and contracts during the firing. In front of these kilns stand a low platform along which a rail line ran for loading the railway trucks. |
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Marsden Rock and Grotto The Rock In 1996 the arch collapsed during a severe storm after a period of very cold weather. The tall thin pillar was found to be very unstable and had to be blown up for safety reasons. In Victorian times there was a ladder and staircase to the top of the rock - today the rock and nearby cliffs are home to thousands of seagulls who nest here. The Grotto PH and Restaurant It used to cost 1p to go down but 2p to come back !! Click here for an excellent web site about the Grotto which gives the full history on how it came to be built. |
St. Hilda's Engine House Standing adjacent to the St. Hilda's Shaft - it was probably a pumping engine house. St. Hilda's Colliery closed in the 1940's and the extensive site cleared. This engine house - along with a small modern winding engine was retained as an additional emergency shaft for the now closed Westoe Colliery. |
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Cookson's Glassworks Chimney Situated at Mill Dam, South Shields near to NCN 1 + 14 - the structure is all that remains of the Cookson's Glassworks and dates from 1865. The remaining structure is about 30 ft. high and 10 ft. square. Glass manufacture began here in the early 18th. century - up until the 1890's. Later the site was taken over and used to ship coal from the nearby collieries via the Harton Low Staithes. Today the site is awaiting re-development - possibly with an iconic futuristic building to store the Tyne & Wear Museum's Archives. |
© Doug-on-the-Tyne - 2004