The traditional explanation of the street name 'Oakwellgate' is that "there had been anciently a well, with an oak hanging over it" (Brand, 482). A stone-lined well 5'9" in diameter and 20' deep was found to the south-east of the old rectory in 1921. From the brief description the well cannot be dated, but was probably a domestic supply for the rectory.

Between 1802 and 1827 a bank of two lime kilns was constructed against the escarpment immediately west of Abbot's Stairs. The kilns were probably operated by William Hymers & Co, the only lime burners in Gateshead at that time (Williams 1841). The kilns were no longer marked by 1898 (OS 2) but a short railway branch line was shown leading from the incline to their site. A public house called the Lime Kiln Inn, presumably catering for thirsty limeburners, was established on the west side of Abbot's Stairs by 1858.

By the late C17 there were two staiths in this part of Gateshead. Rock Staith, and some 70m to the east, Dock Staith. The space between the two was possibly the wet dock referred to in a lease of 1705. These were collectively known as 'the Bishopps Staiths', suggesting that they originated when the Bishops of Durham controlled the Manor of Gateshead. By 1835 the former Dock Staith accommodated the Kibblesworth Coal Staith, Hawk's Anchor Works and Abbot Quay. Shortly before WW2, Joseph Rank Ltd established the Baltic Flour Mills on the site of both Rock and Dock Staiths.

By the late C17 there were two staiths in this part of Gateshead. Rock Staith belonged to the Liddell Partnership in 1687 and served their Bensham mines. It occupied the site of the present Tyne Bridge. A lease of fields in 1691 to Thomas Grayson of 'Gateside Rocksteath, yeoman' suggests that there was permanent occupation at the staith, and cottages are marked there on a19th century plan. Together with Dock Staith some 70m east, these were collectively known as 'the Bishopps Staiths' suggesting that they originated when the Bishops of Durham controlled the Manor of Gateshead. By 18th century40 part of the buildings on the site of Rock Staith were used as a warehouse for iron merchants Cargill, Mounsey and Co., with a quay and bond yard to the east. Shortly before the Second World War Joseph Rank Ltd established the Baltic Flour Mills occupying the site of both the Rock and Dock Staiths.

In 1838 the Brandling Junction Railway Company obtained permission from the Corporation to erect a quay at the east end of Hillgate, which was in place by 1844. This was the terminus of the inclined tubway from Oakwellgate Station goods depot, and included a timber drop for transferring coal and lime to shipping. By 1864 the Brandling Junction Quay had become the North east Railway Wharf. By 1940 it was cleared of buildings, and rebuilt as a GPO sorting office by 1985. The site is now occupied by HMS Calliope.

The Coal Drops were added as a secondary feature to the Oakwellgate station, built across open ground held by Cuthbert Ellison on lease from the Bishop of Durham. A clear butt joint separates the piers of the drops from the station's east retaining wall which formed the rear of the drops. There are no precise records of the date of construction of the drops themselves, though they are likely to have been built after 1838 and before 1844. The drops consist of a series of 15 piers built of local sandstone rubble with dressed quoins. Two phases of construction are apparent in the drops themselves, with the eight southernmost drops having thinner piers than the remaining six to the north. The eight southerly drops are shown on an undated plan by Thomas Bell. This increase in thickness may have been dictated by the fall of ground towards the river, and compensated for the additional weight of masonry in the higher piers. The Coal Drops did not as has previously been thought, serve the incline to the quay. On the undated plan by Thomas Bell the drops are clearly set off to the east of the incline and this arrangement is confirmed by Oliver's plan of 1844 which shows the seven southernmost drops covered with a long building, while the remaining six are open. The Bell plan makes it clear that from the outset the drops were an independent facility, presumably providing a landsale outlet for coals and lime, without any physical connection to the incline which began on the north side of Oakwellgate station. The 1857 1:500 Ordnance Survey town plan for Gateshead marks the drops as 'Oakwellgate Depot (Coal and Lime)', supporting the interpretation that it was a terminus for these products, where they were unloaded for local sale and distribution by road {1}. Circa 1840. Associated with Brandling Junction Railway. Coursed squared stone with vermiculate rusticated outer faces. Eleven tall bays whose walls support railway track above. Stout timber butt purlins at four levels support sloped timber chutes for dropping coal into wagons below. Listed as a rare and interesting industrial survival with some architectural pretension. {3}

The Oakwellgate Public Baths and Washhouse (laundries), designed by William Hall the Borough Engineer, were erected at a cost of £4,300 in 1854 on a site previously occupied by several small buildings belonging to the Rectory. The Baths opened in 1855. In 1884 it was reported that the laundry facilities were heavily used by the working class, but the Baths less so, due to high charges. By the First World War the Baths had become Reay Gearworks, and remained as commercial and manufacturing premises until burned down in 1986, after which some archaeological investigation was carried out. The Baths were a Grade II listed building. A carved stone goat's head, which surmounted the Corporation crest on the central gable of the façade has been built into the stone wall around the present car park.

The earliest recorded incumbent of St Mary's was Robert de Plessis in 1275 (Mackenzie, 123). It is possible that even at this date the rector's house stood on the site of the later rectory on the east side of Oakwellgate; it was certainly there by 1428, when a document refers to 'a tenement by the name of an aqueduct and a messuage built thereon, on the east side of Oakwellgate between the tenements of the Rector of Gateshead and John Dolphanby' (Welford, 277). Archaeological investigations in 1990 and 1991 revealed at least one structure on the east side of Oakwellgate, possibly part of the medieval Rectory. A number of 18th century plans show the Rectory as a large rectangular building, standing in its own grounds with a formal-looking garden plot to the east. Thompson's map of 1746 (the earliest plan covering the east side of Oakwellgate) shows an imposing structure apparently facing south, two stories high with a row of three dormers and three large chimneys. In 1783 the rector of Gateshead was given licence to rebuild and enlarge the premises and over £65 was spent on rebuilding the east end (Mackenzie and Ross, 89). The Rectory was further altered in 1814 during the incumbency of the Rev. John Collinson, at which time it probably acquired the bay front to the east. In 1834 it was described as being 'a commodious house, with gardens, and commands a fine view towards the river' (Mackenzie and Ross, 89). By 1839 however it had been abandoned in favour of a new building in Bensham (Manders, 138) and the western part of the old Rectory was converted into a public house run by Susanna Stobart - the name of which - The Brandling Arms - reflected local interest in the then current Brandling Junction construction works and appropriately commemorated that family's contribution to the industrial development of this part of Gateshead. Between 1861 and 1863 the Co-operative Society had its first store in the old rectory (Manders, 91). Only one photograph of the old rectory appears to have survived, dated to the 1880s, showing the western part of the building then used as the Brandling Arms public house. This shows a two storied building of squared stone with a pantiled roof. The Rectory and public house became a 'muniment office' for the North East Railway by the late 1880s, and was subsequently converted into gas and water offices for the company. The Rectory was mostly pulled down c.1914 and rebuilt as stores and offices for the Judge Brand Co. Ltd. Dated C15th.

'Lawses Close' is shown north of the Rectory on a pre-1771 plan of the Ellison estates. An undated copy of a plan probably made in the early 18th century marks the same field as 'Laws Close' and this form of the name can be traced back at least as far as 1690. The spelling 'Lawless' has been used by extrapolation to make this field the scene of the murder of Bishop Walcher in 1080, which is recorded by Symeon of Durham as having taken place 'outside' the church at a place called ad caput caprae or Gotesheved. According to a tradition dating back at least to the beginning of the 18th century, St Mary's Church was the successor to an earlier foundation which 'stood before in the Field below where Brick-kilns now are' (Bourne, 1736, 168). Mackenzie (1827, 751) says the church 'stood in the field on the north-east side of the rectory, once called Lawless Close, and afterwards the Miller's Field'. It has further been postulated that this early church was the site of the 7th century monastery referred to by Bede (SMR 273). No plans have been yet found indicating the presence of brick kilns sufficiently near to the Laws Close to equate this with the field in Bourne's description. Church sites do not tend to move, and the present church of St Mary's was almost certainly in existence by mid C12. A church or monastery would also be expected to have a burial ground and there are no records of human remains being found in the area of Laws Close. On the available evidence it would be difficult to sustain an argument for an earlier church on another site.

'Lawses Close and Ropery' is shown north-east of the Rectory on a pre-1771 plan of the Ellison estates. Leases of a ropery 'near the River Tyne' apparently in the vicinity of Laws Close occur at least as early as 1691, when a Newcastle roper, William Davidson, took a lease on a ropery in Hillgate, with a ropewalk parallel to the Tyne. This is presumably the one shown on Isaac Thompson's map of 1746. Edward Softley, ropemaker, appears in Trade Directories as working on the South Shore in the 1780s and 1790s (Whitehead 1782 and 1790). Rope making continued to be the dominant industry along this part of the riverside until the late 1830s. About 1800 Peter Haggie took over the existing ropery along what is now South Shore Road, later forming a partnership under the name of Haggie and Pollard, finally becoming known as Haggie Brothers. Haggie's Works, which in 1858 included a timber yard and saw mill beside Sculler Stairs at the east end of Hillgate and an open rope walk on the south side of South Shore Road, was one of the principal employers of labour in Gateshead at this time and David Haggie Jnr was mayor at the time of the Gateshead explosion of 1854. By 1864 part of the saw mill was converted into a wire rope factory. This had become the firm's principal product, with new wire-roperies being built in 1873 and 1899. Hemp ropemaking was discontinued in 1884. After a fire in 1884 the wire ropery was expanded. This period saw a number of subsidiary works being formed, including a general engineering works and the Tyne Wire Drawing Company. By the 1890s the firm enjoyed a high reputation. In 1918 a new wire drawing shop was built on part of the former Abbot Works. This began a move away from the riverside and by 1940 the quayside was cleared of buildings. The company became part of British Ropes in 1926, and manufacture on the former Abbot's site continued under the name of Bridon Ropes until the 1980s.