Ravensworth Park, The Trench

The Trench was part of a scheme by Sir Thomas Liddell to drain several hundred acres of the Team Valley and Ravensworth. It was a long and circuituous leat, approximately 3km in length, constructed for Sir Thomas Liddell to provide sufficient water to power pumps at the coalmill (HER ref. 1663 ). It followed the 225 foot contour and powered three water wheels which in turn drove a battery of pumps in interlinked shafts. The deepest shaft was c.460 feet (128 metres). The whole system was recorded in 1672 by George Sinclair. The Trench also provided water for Cowclose Mill (HER ref. 3775). The locations of the shafts and wheels are not shown on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey plan. The Trench was fed from the Black Burn, which bounded the Ravensworth estate to the north. It now serves as a field drain for most of its length and has been partly recut. An associated rectangular holding pond is now mostly dry.
A portion survives at NZ2271159850 and was added to the Gateshead local list in 2023. The local list description reads:
'Earthwork ditch running through the north part of Ravensworth Park via Coxclose Wood, Coxclose Dene and north of Trench House. It was built by Sir Thomas Liddell in the 1670s to power the coalmill which forms part of the Scheduled Monument NHLE 1015922 (900m to the south-east).'