Latest Images by Andrew Curtis http://www.geograph.org.uk/ 2013-05-20T01:18:33GMT text/html 2013-05-19T18:59:51GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 54.973517 -1.713307 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3466860 See description here [[[3466644]]] text/html 2013-05-19T16:57:43GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 54.973607 -1.713306 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3466680 See description here [[3466644]] The left side of the now silted up former bed of the River Tyne known as Lemington Gut, is strengthened by a massive masonry quay wall. Another possible interpretation of these structures is that the higher remaining timbers in the near distance are actually the remains of a footbridge, shown on the 1:2,500 OS map of 1936, crossing Lemington Gut to the former island of Lemington Point. In this case, the remains of Lemington Staiths would be the fragmentary lower wooden structures in the foreground, best seen looking back up the former water course [[[3466860]]] Both the footbridge and Lemington Staiths are marked as 'disused' on the 1952 map. text/html 2013-05-19T16:36:43GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 54.973786 -1.713149 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3466644 Lemington was about the highest point upstream on the north side of the River Tyne suitable for coal staiths. Coal, transported in waggons along railed waggonways, initially horse-drawn on wooden rails, but later pulled by steam locomotives on iron rails, was loaded here onto shallow-bottomed keel boats for transport down river, where the cargo was then transferred to sea-going colliers. Staiths were recorded here by 1640, and in the C18th several waggonways terminated near this point, notably the Holywell Reins Way (1767), the Walbottle Moors Way (1781), the Wylam Waggonway (1748) and the Throckley Way (1751). The last of the staiths to remain in use, of which this structure is probably a remnant, were the Walbottle Staith of the Walbottle Coal Co. Ltd., and the Throckley Staith of the Throckley Coal Co. Ltd. Lemington coal staiths were marked as disused by 1952, superseded by transport by main line train. There is another photo here [[3466680]] River improvements by the Tyne Improvement Commissioners in the 1880s cut a new channel across a large meander, closing upstream river access to this channel (known as [[3466582]]). Dredging of the former river bed continued to provide access for boats down river near to Lemington Point [[47391]] while the staiths remained in use, but it has now largely silted up. http://sine.ncl.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=345 The brick building behind is the Lemington Electric Power Station which was constructed in 1903/4 on part of the site of a former ironworks. The station ceased generating in 1919, but continued in use until 1946 as a substation, supplying power for the local tramway route to Throckley (which ceased in 1946). http://sine.ncl.ac.uk/view_structure_information.asp?struct_id=348 The low building on the left is described here [[1986758]] text/html 2013-05-19T15:52:26GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 54.972956 -1.704406 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3466582 There is a wider view and description here [[1991980]] In the distance can be seen the cone of Lemington Glassworks [[359878]] and the former power station [[38925]] built on the site of the Tyne Iron Works. text/html 2013-05-17T20:37:38GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 54.700281 -2.648263 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3464175 text/html 2013-05-17T20:31:09GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 54.700819 -2.648427 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3464166 text/html 2013-05-12T15:59:50GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 55.561022 -1.887250 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3456663 text/html 2013-05-12T15:48:10GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 55.561291 -1.887407 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3456624 'A short distance north-east of the probable site of St. Edmund's chapel and on the north side of Chatton Park Hill, or Chatton Law, as it is more commonly called, is a miniature corrie or dell scooped out of the hillside by diggers for sand or lead ore or by storm water rushing down the hill. A spring, now buried in sand, may once have flowed here and in the days of 'the king's wood of Chatton' there can have been few better hidden or more secluded hollows in the district. The entrance is guarded by two rock buttresses rather like the abutments of a bridge, on one of which is a small post hole about seven inches deep and of unknown date and purpose. A little way further out where the dell begins to die away, two weather-worn blocks of freestone project from its eastern bank, and the top of one of them has been roughly hewn down so as to leave partly in relief the stone bowl shown below. The vessel is nearly circular and is two feet in external diameter and six and a quarter inches deep, with a nearly flat bottom and a surrounding groove, half of which has been deepened with a sharp pointed chisel at a later date. On the nearly flat top of the boulder, east of the basin, are two rough depressions which appear to be part artificial and which afford comfortable footholds to a person standing so as to face westwards over it. Very diverse opinions have been expressed as to the date and purpose of this nameless and legend-less monument and in the present state of our knowledge it is best to leave these as open questions. The name Ketley or Kettley applied to this side of Chatton law has been said to be a corruption of Cat Law (which occurs as a place-name in Chatton in 1616) but some have seen in it an allusion to the stone bowl or 'kettle' while others think that it is related to the Scots word caterthun'. History of Northumberland Vol. 14, p.67 (1935) There is a local legend that hundreds of years ago a defrocked priest used the Kettley Stone as a font for secret baptisms. http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=5497 text/html 2013-05-12T15:28:33GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 55.486430 -1.874170 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3456564 Above the wood, there is a dry valley, the top of which is shown here [[3455354]] text/html 2013-05-12T15:20:14GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 55.488055 -1.881444 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3456538 The northern of two closely situated pillboxes on Bewick Hill, part of the World War II defences known as the Wooler to Alnwick Stop Line viewed from the outer rampart of the eastern section of the Iron Age hillfort. See description here [[3456327]] text/html 2013-05-12T14:55:56GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 55.488594 -1.881601 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3456477 The northern of two closely situated pillboxes on Bewick Hill, part of the World War II defences known as the Wooler to Alnwick Stop Line [[3456327]] text/html 2013-05-12T14:48:20GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 55.487619 -1.896162 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3456450 text/html 2013-05-12T14:41:42GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 55.488057 -1.883660 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3456430 text/html 2013-05-12T14:27:46GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 55.487697 -1.883344 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3456386 The hillfort of Old Bewick is of the 'spectacles' type, having twin adjacent semicircular forts, their diameters meeting on the edge of a steep cliff. The western fort seen here is defined by two wide ramparts. The outer rampart has breaks in parts and a narrower external ditch. Two entrances are visible and two interior hut circles have been identified. http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=5743 text/html 2013-05-12T14:04:02GMT http://www.geograph.org.uk/profile/32242 Andrew Curtis 55.487336 -1.881446 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3456327 Another view [[3456278]] of the southern of the two pill boxes on Bewick Hill, situated within the eastern section of the Iron Age hillfort. Both are of the lozenge or polygonal type, built in concrete as part of the Northern Command Wooler to Alnwick Stop Line in 1940. The pillboxes were dispersed at intervals of approximately 1 to 1 1/2 miles, although sometimes closer, depending on the lie of the land. Many are positioned on high ground like those on Bewick Hill to take advantage of the views. Another stop line ran just north from Wooler to Belford, dividing the terrain into sections. The purpose of the stop lines was to prevent the enemy, having landed on the Northumberland coast, moving along the coast to mount a flanking attack against a port or other landing point. The intention was to keep the enemy troops contained within the sector where they had landed, until they could be counter-attacked by forces from the mobile reserve. Wooler was a 'defended village' or nodal point, being at the junction of two stop lines and defended on all sides. The defence of Wooler was the responsibility of the Wooler Company of the 1st (Berwick) Batallion, Northumberland Home Guard. The town also hosted the headquarters of 225th Infantry Brigade, set up at the requisitioned Ryecroft Hotel, and an army camp was also built later in the war. http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue//adsdata/arch-455-1/dissemination/pdf/Text_Reports/DA76_TEXT_-_WOOLER.pdf