George Gibsone was born in Deptford, Kent in 1762, the son of an architect. George was brought up to follow in his father’s footsteps and joined his father’s practice on leaving school. Like his father he travelled to Italy before commencing practice, later designing several London residences and country mansions. In 1796 Gibsone married Elizabeth, daughter of Prebendary Waring and some time later the whole family moved to Newcastle upon Tyne. Father and son worked with local lead works owner Richard Fishwick on designing and erecting an iron works at Lemington. This venture was short lived and ended with the collapse of the enterprise and the ruination of all three partners. Gibsone then became manager of his brother John’s colour manufactury at Bill Quay, near Gateshead. In 1812 Gibsone’s wife, Elizabeth, opened a school for girls in Forth House, Newcastle. By 1827 the school is listed in a Newcastle directory as a “ladies’ day and boarding school” at 5 Saville Row. It is not known whether George took any part in the running of the school but it is possible that he taught drawing. This enterprise proved so successful that the couple were able to retire in 1831 to Belle Vue Cottage in Low Fell, Gateshead. For many years after moving to Newcastle, Gibsone had taken a keen interest in the natural sciences, and was a member of what is today the Natural History Society of Northumbria. He painted coins, plants, minerals, shells and acquired great dexterity in illustrating conchology. He travelled the coasts of England, Scotland and France to obtain specimens for his illustrations and olleagues provided him with specimens from more distant countries. When he died, in 1846, he left behind him a vast number of watercolours consisting of 7,260 prints of 3,025 species in 16 portfolios. This collection was purchased by public subscription in 1890 and presented to Newcastle Public Library where it has been housed ever since. In 2007, with the help of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the collection has been preserved and made more accessible to visitors.

This seems to be the only documentary reference to a cross at Whitburn: '4 September 1329. Simon son of John of Kelloe and John of Wingate (Wyndgates) had an argument in the exchequer in Wingate opposite the forge over a small hay-rick on 19 August. Afterwards Simon's son Nicholas stabbed John in the arm with a long knife. He died on 29 August.
18 September 1329. Matilda Corter of Chester, coming to Durham, was travelling towards Beutroue manor on 4 September. Crossing the Wear around vespers at Ryolford, she fell in and (m2) drowned. She was washed up at Trollesden. William Gilet of Whitburn (Whitberme) and John Dunyng of Whitburn had an argument in Whitburn opposite the cross at night on 3 September. William struck John in the head with a long knife. He died on 6 September'. Dated C14th.

Built as an assembly rooms in 1892. Designed by W.G. Newcombe. Minor modifications in 1894. In or before 1906 the building had become a drill hall, possibly because of the Second Boer War (1899-1902). It was altered in 1924 (front elevation) and again in 1952, by which time it was occupied by The Northumberland Territorial and Auxiliary Forces Association. The building had been used by the army in WW2. In 1969 the building was converted into a magistrate's court. It closed in 2010. The building is built in smooth orange brick in English Garden Wall Bond. It is pebble-dashed at first floor level on the north and east elevations. The roof is slate with red ridge tiles. The building consists of a two-storeyed wing with the small entrance block at its north-west corner. Set back to the west is a larger hall with a lower single-storey section on the street frontage. In front of the entrance are a pair of decorative cast-iron lamp posts. The modern double-glazed doors are set under a three-centred arch. On the first floor there is a big canted oriel window. Above that is a Dutch gable with slit vent. The single storeyed section to the west of the entrance has a projecting bay window carried on shaped timber brackets. A renewed door has an overlight and small window. To the east of the entrance is the two-storey wing with a bay window at ground floor and a casement window on the first. The interior has been remodelled. The only old features are moulded door architraves, four-panel doors and some skirting boards. An entrance lobby opens into a hall, with rooms coming of it. The rooms on either side of the lobby each have a pair of pilasters. The eastern room has a moulded cornice as does a large room on the east side of the hall. The large hall in the western block has been divided into a series of passages and two court rooms. The northern court room has a dais at its north wall. Behind it the wall is decorated with square panels with crosslet patterns. On the west of the entrance hall is a dog-leg stair with square newels and turned balusters (probably original).

Farmhouse and stables and barns. Shown on Ordnance Survey first edition. Planning permission is in place to convert the south-west redundant farm buildings into two dwellings. The buildings were recorded by The Archaeological Practice in 2014. Although much altered and rebuilt, the buildings are a rare example of the multi-phase development of a traditional pre-industrial linear farm. The farmstead is likely to date to the early 18th century or earlier. The main buildings were present in 1840. The best-preserved part of the old farm is the cartshed and granary block which was built after 1840. The gingang and an outshut at the rear of the farmhouse were added by 1860. The gingang had been removed by 1895. The present farmhouse was built by the 1930s. The earliest fabric is in the former farmhouse which is at the latest early 18th century in origin. The barn attached to the west of the former farmhouse has been virtually rebuilt. Attached to this is another barn probably of mid 18th century date. The west gable end shows evidence of having had a thatch roof. This was heightened before 1800. The cross range was probably built in the early 19th century.

Public house. Rendered and painted white. Slate roof. The shopfront is painted dark blue with bright blue detail. Two doors, one on main elevation in-between two large windows and another in the end of the building.

Group of interesting buildings. On the street frontage is the former Co-operative Buildings erected 1891. Two storeys, brick, the street elevation latterly painted bright blue, and last occupied by Shiremoor Carpet Centre. Pediments classical in style. Shopfront more eclectic in style with scrolls, circles with rosettes in the centre and other decorative features. Slate roof. The east elevation has domestic scale windows, a door and basement light (blocked up) all with stone cills and lintels. To the rear is another brick building, two storeys, three windows on upper floor of south elevation and a door fitted with a modern steel shutter, and a decorative brick eaves band. The east elevation has a door and two windows at ground level, all bricked up. All have stone lintels and cills. Slate roof and two gable end chimneys. Adjoined to the rear of this building is a brick slate-roofed garage type building. To the rear of this is the grandest building, built in darker brick. Last used as an Ornamental Iron Work Shop. Two storeys. South elevation has two pediments with five windows (painted turquoise) in each pediment, with an ashlar arch with central keystone above the middle three windows. Ashlar pilasters divide the elevation into three parts, the centre part including the shopfront. Slate roof with ashlar ridge tiles and gable end tiles, window cills and lintels. The tenant advised that this building was a butcher's shop, abattoir with adjoining stables. Demolished in 2007 to make way for an apartment building (yet to be built).

Most of the buildings at Low Barmston Farm (HER 6772) were built between 1840 and 1856. However one building is shown on a map of 1802 but is much earlier than that. The form of these remains is possibly representative of a significant high status structure or a defensive structure such as peel tower. The only documentary reference to a high status structure in the area comes from the Hylton estate in 1448 where reference is made to Barmston Manor House (location unknown). A structure shown on the Burleigh River Map of 1737 denotes a building in the area of the modern wildfowl park - could this be the manor house? In 2010 TWM Archaeology recorded the early building at Low Barmston Farm. The main barn building and the building under investigation have within their fabric large square cut well-tooled ashlar blocks. The quality of masonry of this stonework is far higher than the majority of the fabric of the buildings which is mostly made up of smaller rough-cut blocks of sandstone bonded as roughly coarsed sandstone or in places irregular blocks of sandstone rubble bonded with cement. In comparison the ashlar blocks are much larger and heavier and of a regularity and uniformity which display a far greater degree of craftsmanship in their tooling. These elements therefore represent the re-use of pre-existing building material during construction. In the main barn structure these ashlar blocks are typically used to form lintels to doorways and openings due to their size and regularity, and to form the crow step gable and ventilator slots at the north east facing gable-end of the barn. Within the building proposed for repair this re-use of stonework is also evident, in the form of quoins, door and window surrounds, lintels and sills, and detailing such as the ventilator slot and crow step gable of the gable-ended building of the south-east facing elevation. Detailed analysis of the structure however also indicates that elements of the building under investigation may not merely represent the re-use of these ashlar blocks, but may rather represent the incorporation of pre-existing
standing remains of an earlier structure into the design of the buildings. Evidence for this comes from the quality of bonding and construction of sections of the walls of the building which are made up entirely of these ashlar blocks. Here the skill with which the stones are keyed into one another and the sharpness of the jointing between individual blocks appears to evidence a greater level of skill and attention to detail than is exhibited in the construction
of other elements of the building. The gaps within these walls were repaired and in places rebuilt with sandstone rubble in order to create the building present today.

Vagrant ward built in 1902. A long north-south range rising to a two-storey block at the south end. Built of brick with sandstone lintels and bands. The interior has been divided into two sections. The north-south range at ground level contains cells, arranged along a central corridor. A typical cell was entered through a door (none of which survive) and comprised two small narrow chambers one behind the other. The first had a square louvred opening above the door to provide light and ventilation. There was a small square window in the outer wall. This chamber had parquet flooring and narrow chamfered skirting. It may have been the sleeping area. The chamber to the rear was smaller with a window in an iron frame to the outside. This was probably the toilet and washing area. All the windows are now blocked up with brick. Some of which are stamped Blythes Brickworks of Birtley and dated 1960. One window has a wooden side hung shutter. There are traces of hinges or fixings on the exterior of the iron window frames which may have been for security grilles. The central corridor had a concrete floor. Its narrow louvred roof has continuous windows which were opened by a screw system in the corridor. The cells in the northern part of the corridor have more recently been used as hospital stores (CSSD department). Those at the south end of the corridor have been altered and dividing walls removed to create larger spaces. The corridor now ends with a dog-leg to an orginal four-panel exterior door. Access to the two-storey southern end of the building is via an imposing doorway in the west elevation. Here the cells have been remodelled as offices. A large room at the south-west has original architraves to the doorway and windows. There is a mid C20 Saunders fuse-box. A staircase rises to first floor level at the end of the north-south corridor. Here there are some original windows and architraves. A corridor runs along the west side of the building with small rooms on the east side. At least two of these were also cells with parquet floors and small square windows high up in the east wall. Due to be demolished in 2013.

Concrete blockwork air raid shelter, exterior rendered with pebbles and shale inclusions. 2.6m high and 2m x 3.9m in plan. Narrow doorway (0.66m wide and 2.3m high). Internal blast wall. Former ventilation opening has been enlarged to create a large diamond shaped window. Recorded before demolition in 2013.

Shown as a Lay Chapel on the second edition Ordnance Survey map with a hall to the south (now gone). Single storey building in brick with a renewed slate roof. Arched doorway. The front elevation is broken up by large square windows with renewed frames and brick pilasters. To the immediate north is a single storey stable and cart shed (now a storage building), brick with a raised collar timber trussed roof with hipped gables. The original slates have been replaced with corrugated cement sheeting. The brick walls are now pebble dashed.