The site of this timber yard is shown on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey plan.

As early as 1757 "Mr Hilcot" transferred his pottery business from the South Shore, Gateshead to the Ouseburn. In 1769 William Hillcoat had a factory in the Ouseburn and a shop on the quay. He appears as potter in the Directory of 1778. By 1786 a partnership took over: Backhouse, Hillcoat & Co. In 1790 the firm was Hillcoat, Brown & Backhouse; Brown being half owner. By 1801 Robert Yelloley took over the works, which existed well into the C19. All kinds of fine pottery were made, including cream ware. Shown on Wood's Plan of 1827 (owned by M. Elliot) and on Oliver's map of 1844.
Messrs T & J Thompson Flint Grinders & Earthenware Manufacturers were tenants of the Elliot family who owned the two flint grinding mills; Elliots were very successful, having begun with water-powered flint mills they acquired or had built the earthenware works that they subsequently let to Messrs T & J Thompson. The ground flint was for use in the earthenware trade, so it isn't surprising that Elliot also invested in that trade. Certainly by the 1830s, Elliot owns that pottery, as Thos Oliver records in his survey of 1830 (the pottery buildings - item 6 on map - freehold, Hy & Wm Elliot). Trade directories record T & J Thompson thus:
1827 Thompson, Thos & Co, flint & mineral grinders, Ouseburn and Thompson, T & J, earthenware manufacturers, Ouseburn Pottery.
1829 Thompson, Thos & Co, flint grinders, Ouseburn and Thompson, Thos & Jos, earthenware manufacturers, Ouseburn.
1831 Thompson, Thos, R Reay & John Harrison (57, 58, 58a) flint mill, terrace (back Stepney Bank) & terrace (foot of Stepney bank) Thos Oliver’s Survey & Schedule.
1833 Thompson, T & J, earthenware manufacturers, Ouseburn and Reay and Thompson, flint & mineral grinders, Ouseburn.
1834 Thompson, Thos & Jos, earthenware manufacturers, Ouseburn Pottery and Thompson, Thomas, flint grinders, Ouseburn.
1838 Thompson, T & J, earthenware manufacturers, Ouseburn and Reay, Thompson & Co, flint & mineral grinders, Ouseburn.
Could this be the 'Railway Bridge Pottery' run by E. Rogers between 1857-8? Rogers took over from Morrow and Parke. He enlarged the pottery but left in 1858, succeeded by William Blakey. Archaeological remains consisting of sandstone and brick walls were located during a 2010 watching brief by NPA relating to 19th and 20th century industrial use of the site. A brick structure was found during a WB in 2009.

These works are shown on Oliver's map of Newcastle, 1844. The rise of the glass industry in the Ouseburn led to an increased demand for alkali (sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate) which could be produced by copperas works in a process which involved sulphuric acid. In a directory of 1821-2 the copperas manufacturer is listed as Angus Caleb & Co. The works had disappeared by 1855 but its yard and one of its kilns appear on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey plan of the area.

Two Roman brooches on display in the museum at Arbeia Roman Fort are unusual in belonging to a type rarely found outside Romania. They were found in the 19th century so it is impossible to say whether they were found in the fort or within the vicus. The first brooch is P-shaped and made of copper alloy. It is 53 metres long and 23 metres wide. It is plated with white metal and parts of the brooch are decorated with grooves, giving the impression of wire wrapped around the brooch. This type of brooch dates to end of the 2nd century A.D. or beginning of the 3rd century A.D. The South Shields example may be a later development. The second brooch is also P-shaped of copper alloy, measuring 43 metres in length and 20 metres in width. This too is plated in white metal and has simple decoration with 3 horizontal grooves and cut out strips. It dates to the first half of the 3rd century A.D. when the fort was at the height of its importance as a supply base. It is not clear why Roman brooches of Eastern European type should be found at South Shields. They show slight variations to those found in Dacia, so may have been made by a local craftsman, copying Dacian originals.

Copper-alloy beads from a native British beaded torc were found during excavations north-east of the mid-Antonine principia at South Shields Roman Fort. The bead fragments are plain and simple in design. There are two separate beads, almost certainly a third, plus a further fragment. The beads are flat, three of them decorated with transverse grooves. The fourth piece is undecorated and smaller than the others, and may have been part of the bead resting against the neck. Similar examples of beads have been found at Corbridge and Settle. Beaded torcs are only found in Britain and usually in the north.

A complete ring mail shirt was found during excavations of barrack II at Arbeia Roman Fort in 1997. The barrack was constructed in the early 3rd century A.D. and destroyed by fire in the late 3rd century A.D. or early 4th century A.D.. The shirt was found in a thick layer of burnt daub from the collapsed walls of the barrack, in a lobby area containing a hearth in front of the doors leading to the residential area. The shirt had been sealed between layers of hot dry daub and thus survived in very good condition. The suite of rooms in which the shirt was found was possibly junior officers' accomodation. The shirt was of standard Roman construction, with four links looped on to one, with alternate lines of riveted and solid links. The wire used was 1-1.8 metres in diameter. Few complete Roman mail shirts have been recovered from Britain (a shirt has been found at Wallsend and another at Housesteads). After conservation the shirt weighed 5.440kg.

It is possible that a Roman shipwreck lies off the Herd Sand, but there is no conclusive evidence for this. Over the last 150 years many coins (e.g. HER ref. 908) (64 coins up to 2001) and other objects, Roman and Medieval (HER ref. 911-13, 927, 928, 936, 929), have been found on the beach. These may have come from wrecks, or dredged from the river bed at Newcastle and redeposited at the river mouth. The objects could also have been dumped here in ships' ballast. Another possibility is that they were deposited for ritual purposes. Factors in favour of the shipwreck theory include the fact that a Roman patera found in the 1880s was said to have been found in the "wreckage of a sailing ship". Around the same time, Robert Blair, a local antiquary, recalled having seen the remains of a small ship to the east of Salmon's ballast hill (i.e. on Herd Sand). Reports of shipwrecks in this area were frequent in 17th century, and there are references to wrecks here as early as 1195. Arguments against the theory that the objects were brought here from dredging material or ballast are that the objects do not display the degree of wear you would expect from something washed in from the far out to sea. The coins found on the Herd Sand are mostly silver denarii, and most were issued between the reigns of Nero and Marcus Aurelius (1st & 2nd centuries A.D.). It has been suggestd, therefore, that the coins could represent a hoard, perhaps savings in transit which, with the other finds, came from a ship carrying a soldier of legio VIII Augusta (inscribed on the shield-boss) which was wrecked while entering the Tyne.

A Pillbox constructed during World War Two.

A Pillbox constructed during World War Two.

A Pillbox constructed during World War Two.