South Shore Coke Ovens

South Shore Coke Ovens

HER Number
3509
District
Gateshead
Site Name
South Shore Coke Ovens
Place
Gateshead
Map Sheet
NZ26SE
Class
Industrial
Site Type: Broad
Fuel Production Site
Site Type: Specific
Coke Oven
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Form of Evidence
Documentary Evidence
Description
The 'Cinder Quay' belonged to the Marley Hill Colliery, and consisted of a single battery of coke ovens ranged along the north side of South Shore Road. These were fed by coal brought from the colliery via the Lobley Hill branch of the North Eastern Railway to the Oakwellgate depot of the Brandling Junction Railway, which was then transferred to the inclined tubway and carried down to the Brandling Junction Staith from where coal was transferred onto a short railway line into the oven complex. By 1858 the 'South Shore Coke Works' had been supplemented by another battery of ovens closer to the river. These had been built after 1851 and the whole complex was fed by an overhead railway, served by a branch line from the bottom of the Brandling Junction incline. References to the Coke Ovens in the trade directories cease after 1890, from which it might be inferred that production had ended.
Easting
425700
Northing
563860
Grid Reference
NZ425700563860
Sources
<< HER 3509 >> 1st edition Ordnance Survey Map, c.1855, 6 inch scale, Durham, 2; Northern Counties Archaeological Services, 1998, Gateshead Regional Music Centre, Archaeological Desk Top Assessment