Gibside Estate, mound

Irregular, sprawling mound c.0.7m high with small pieces of sandstone rubble visible and the stump of a tree near its crest. A large wrought-iron strap embedded in the mound at this point may have been a support for the tree. The mound is not shown on any map, though Fryer's 1803 plan shows a small circular feature in this approximate location - perhaps a well serving the Lodge or even a mine shaft. No coal or shale waste is visible in the animal scrapes, suggesting this feature is not a bell-pit spoil mound. It has been suggested by Harry Beamish that the mound represents spoil dumped when cutting the late 19th century realignment of the carriage way. There is however, a possibility that the tree-stump belonged to one of the trees marked on the 1856 OS map, in which case the mound would predate the carriageway realignment. Another alternative may be that it is an artificial rabbit warren, giving the haugh its name.