Single ditched rectilinear enclosure visible as a cropmark from the air.

Single ditched rectilinear enclosure visible as a cropmark from the air.

Single ditched oval enclosure visible as a cropmark from the air. With one south-facing entrance. Stevenson suggests that it could be as early as Neolithic in date given the polished stone axe head which was found in Earsdon in 1932 (HER 729). He suggests that it could have been an enclosed settlement, ritual site or stock corral.

Alison Deacon Air Photo and LiDAR Interpreter:
A large curvilinear enclosure of uncertain date is visible as cropmarks on air photos. This feature is located to the north of Earsdon on the banks of Brierdene Burn. The cropmarks are rather indistinct and there may be internal and external features that have not been mapped. The enclosure measures approximately 97x70m and there are suggestions of an internal enclosure abutted to its western side. This feature appears to underlie medieval ridge and furrow.

Single ditched rectilinear enclosure with interior round houses visible as a cropmark from the air.

Single ditched sub-rectilinear enclosure visible as a cropmark from the air. Adjacent to another enclosure, SMR 177 which is a SAM.

At least three enclosures can be identified on APs and ditches between them may be the remains of other enclosures. The enclosure measures 60X46m and contains traces of a round house. This is abutted to the south by the third enclosure, which measures 52x24.

A near D-shaped sing ditch enclosure is visible as cropmarks on historical verticals and more recent specialist oblique air photos. It is located in a field to the north-east of High Barnes and lies c, 430m south of Sandy’s Letch. It measures approximately 63x54m and its north-west corner is divided off by a ditch. A slight narrowing of the perimeter ditch on the eastern side may indicate the presence of an entrance. Given a likely Iron Age or Roman date by Alison Deegan Air Photo and LiDAR Interpreter.

There is documentary evidence from the medieval period that the coal deposits under the Town Moor were being exploited. The statement of title to the Town Moor dated 1357 gives "power to dig and have mines of coal and stones therin". As the Town Moor was held in common, no profit could be made from the coal mining. The mines were run by the common council on the premise that all coal was used to supply the citizens of the town with a plentiful supply of cheap coal. Documents from 1562 describe payments from the city to carpenters, miners and ropers for the sinking of pits. The earliest evidence for mining on the Moor are the spoil heaps called shaft heads which may represent bell-pit mining. A group of thirteen shaft heads form a diagonal line across the Moor as they follow a seam from east to west. An area of possible bell pits can be seen between Ponteland Road and the dual carriageway to Cowgate (NZ 230 660). There are several other shaft heads, some arranged in clusters, others more scattered (these isolated examples are probably short lived exploratory pits). As the technology of draining mines and supporting the roof improved, mines became more long-lived and greater quantities of coal could be extracted. Where horizontal seams of coal were present the technique of pillar-and-stall mining was used. This involved cutting interconnecting horizontal headings out of the bottom of the shaft, leaving pillars of coal to support the roof. This type of mining meant the shafts could be spaced wider apart. The best example is on Nuns Moor where four shaft heads form a grid pattern. These shaft heads have larger spoil heaps indicating deeper shafts. A diagnostic feature of the landscape indicating pillar-and-stall mining is the subsidence of the surrounding ground surface due to the caving in of the galleries especially after the removal of roof supports. Such areas of mining subsidence effects large areas of the Moor, so dramatically in some areas that at every point on the ground surface there is a mound or a crater. The subsidence occurs in the area centred around the higher ground of Cow Hill and to the west of Grandstand Road.

Followers of George Fox who visited Tyneside in 1653 set up a meeting house in Gateshead to escape the jurisdiction of Newcastle. His followers met in an old house in Pipewellgate which later became the Fountain public house. From this time is also said to date the existence of steps leading from Pipewellgate to the river at the foot of Bottle Bank, often referred to as the Quaker Steps. The date of the founding of the Fountain Inn is not known. The appearance of the building on a photograph of 1879 could indicate that it was C17th in origin. It is recorded in Parson and White's Directory of 1827 and is identifiable in Carmichael's painting of Gateshead in 1825. Also in situ at the time of the painting is a three storey warehouse which stood two building plots to the west of the Fountain Inn. The Fountain is thought to have been pulled down in 1905. By the 1950s a single extensive building, used as office furniture works, covered the sites of the inn and warehouse. This was later used by Fife Engineering.

Now the La Riviera Ristorante. Encouraged by local ship owners, the Admiralty formed the first River Police on 4th August 1845 with 21 men and 6 rowing boats. This station was built in 1910. Fenwicke and Watson, architects. {1} It originally included cells used for holding illegal immigrants and other prohibited persons taken from ships entering the Tyne. It is now an administrative headquarters and houses the Police Diving Team. Local list entry - This double-fronted 2½ storey restaurant was formerly the Tyne River Police Station, built for the Tyne Improvement Commission in 1910 to house the River Police, established in 1845 to ensure security on the Tyne. The grandiose red brick building was designed to make a statement, and with its primary frontage towards the river, the focus of its attention was made clear. It boasts substantial stone-built features including square mullioned and transomed bays, adorned with shapely parapets. These embrace double doors set in a deep round-arched double surround, elevated and accessed by a stone staircase. Above this a carved plaque bearing a coat of arms ascends to a matching recessed window. The steeply pitched, gabled Welsh slate roof creates visual drama, and is finished with elaborate water tables and neat chimneys. Above the bays are simple window openings to the 1st floor and two 9-pane oculus windows to the 2nd floor. On the other hand, the south elevation is relatively plain. Happily the main building retains timber sashes and doors (though not original), whilst the single storey element to the west (originally housing the cells) has been significantly altered with much new fenestration to the front. The signage relating to the restaurant is poor and any opportunity arising for improvement should be taken. Though the building was intended to represent authority, the slightly theatrical element in its stateliness strikes a quirky, even playful note, and offers a unique and special contribution to the setting of the Listed and Scheduled Swing Bridge, as well as a key route into Gateshead and the Bridges Conservation Area. The first Inspector was G W Mayne (1911 – 12), followed later by J G Hepplewhite. MATERIALS Red brick, stone, timber, slate ARCHITECT Fenwicke & Watson (Newcastle) DATES 1910 (plans approved)

Stone river wall immediately west of Swing Bridge on south bank of River Tyne. Length along River Police Station is of coursed ashlar of varying course heights, bold concrete coping with modern 20th century handrail. Part of the coping is carried on three concrete cantilever brackets at its eastern end. Raking concrete buttress at western end. Stone paved walkway along bottom of wall at low tide. There are steps down to the river at the end of a passage to west of police station. Length along Fife's office is of mass concrete with face of wall protecting by vertical timber baulks. Next stretch of wall (where the Fountain Inn used to be) is a rubble wall of smallish stone topped by two or three courses of later, much larger squared stones. Appears to be the oldest section. Next section is of coursed ashlar blocks with cantilevered concrete walkway over. End section angles to pass High Level Bridge pier in north-west direction. The form and construction of the quay walls in this area appear to be directly related to the construction of the Fountain Inn (formerly a Quaker meeting house) and a three storey warehouse which stood two building plots to the west of the inn. Both buildings are shown on Carmichael's painting of Gateshead in 1825.