Explore the multi-period archaeology of the landscapes along Hadrian's Wall from the comfort of your armchair with new state of the art 3D models created with enhanced, multi-directional hill-shaded lidar.

Airborne lidar (light detection and ranging) measures the height of the ground surface and other features in large areas of landscape with a very high resolution and accuracy. Such information was previously unavailable, except through labour-intensive field survey or photogrammetry.

It provides highly detailed and accurate models of the land surface at metre and sub-metre resolution. This provides archaeologists with the capability to recognise and record otherwise hard to detect features.

More details are given on the Historic England website.

Lidar (1m DSM © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2022. All rights reserved).

Enhancement of the lidar images was carried out using tools made available in the QGIS plugin, Relief Visualization Toolbox.
Kokalj, Žiga & Hesse, Ralf. (2017). Airborne laser scanning raster data visualization: A Guide to Good Practice.

3D models were made using the QGIS2threejs plugin.

I prefer the DSM version rather than DTM as I feel trees and buildings enhance the landscape if I don't particularly want to see features hidden below trees.

If you know where to look, you can even find the old sycamore tree still standing below the Wall in the 2022 imagery, in so-called Sycamore Gap to the north of The Sill and Twice Brewed.

If you want, look for the elements of Hadrian's Wall, the wall itself, the north wall ditch, the parallel ditches and mounds of the vallum, the milecastles and forts, and the many Roman temporary camps. However, much remains of earlier archaeology if you look hard: Bronze and Iron Age settlements and field systems along with native settlements of the Roman period. You will also find Medieval and Post-Medieval shielings, farmsteads and deserted villages draped with an extensive amount of rig and furrow ploughing. A good tool for comparison or feature identification is:Historic England's Aerial Archaeology Mapping Explorer.

On their map, locate yourself on the Wall with a search for  a placename or an OS grid reference, Try NY 75249 66884. It will take you straight to the Sill, in the heart of Hadrian's Wall Country (with no car parking charges).

The models below can be viewed from the blog in their tiny windows, but for a more immersive experience open as full screen (click control at bottom right). You should be able to use the mouse (or fingers on a touch screen) to pan and zoom about.

If you want more 3D (and who wouldn't?) go to sketchfab or specifically the collection of North of the Wall Tynedale Archaeology Group: NOWTAG. All our models are free but you don't need to download them anyway to view.

Some Roman Forts (in more detail)

A recent interest of mine has been in using LIDAR for archaeology research and as part of this I've been looking again at my local area.

One of the features that has caught my eye is a LIDAR Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the disused Jenny Pit which is located at NZ143662, just SE of Heddon Hall. Heddon Hall was named Mount Pleasant on the 1st edition 6" OS map. The old coal pit lies on Heddon land but just west of the boundary with Throckley.

I have always considered it likely that some of the early waggonways to the many coal pits on the east side of Heddon parish may have crossed the Throckley boundary to connect up with the changing routes of Throckley waggonways leading eventually to the staiths at Lemington.

Like many of the old pits and spoil heaps in our area, Jenny Pit was reclaimed by planting its area with trees, as was also done on Throckley land. The extent of the plantation now hiding Jenny Pit is, however, larger than many of the others nearby. For example, it is several times larger than the near circular plantation which surrounds Engine Bank Pit just to the south.

Luckily LIDAR DTM can see through trees. The data within the LIDAR image has been processed (exagerated) to reveal more detail.

What is revealed below the trees is a impression shaped like a tennis racket, with the handle pointing to the SE where it ends at the fence which forms the Throckley boundary. The field to the east has been cultivated for many years and appears completely smooth on LIDAR unlike the narrow rig & furrow ploughing which remains around the disused pit in the pasture land below Heddon Hall.

This looks very much like the pit-head terminus of a former waggonway extending onto Heddon land.

Directly below the site of the pit, running straight west to east (not entirely level as slightly downhill to the west) is what I had considered to be an old field boundary. Indeed it is shown as such on the 1st edition map, with trees shown along its length. The LIDAR image suggests that it is double banked, some 7m in width, although possibly with a ditch on its N (uphill side). Could this also be the remains of a waggonway. Its direction takes it just to the north of King Pit, on the 1st edition map. This eventually became the location of Heddon Margaret Colliery. There is also a Richard Pit to the north.

A waggonway connection to these Heddon pits with the Throckley waggonway system would have predated the collieries eventual connection to the south, with the railway successor of the Wylam Waggonway.

Beyond the racket-handle of Jenny Pit, on Throckley land, there are the small tree-covered remains of another coal pit, shown as Coronation Pit on a plan of Throckley estate. This could also have been served by the suggested waggonway as could several other old pits to the north of Reigh Burn, e.g. West Engine & East Engine Pits. There is a similar sized depression shown on the LIDAR image, close to Jenny Pit on the Heddon side of the boundary, which could be the remains of a ventilation shaft.

I contacted Les Turnbull about the LIDAR observation at Jenny Pit and he suggested the similarity to the waggonway termini depicted at The Far Pit (E) and The Middle Pit (D & C) of Heaton Main Colliery, shown on Watson's plan of 1805.

It has to be said that there is speculation of other waggonways or tramways across these fields around Heddon Hall. For example, Historic England's Aerial Archaeology Mapping Explorer shows several possible features, but these appear to me less convincing. For example, one is the straight bank running W-E just above Jenny Pit, and another is one of the two converging features to the west.

The Aerial Mapping Explorer also shows a crop or soil mark, interpreted as the route of a waggonway, running diagonally through Throckley from the jucntion of the Hexham Road and Coach Road, through what is now a housing estate, towards the Leazes on the west side of Hallow Hill. It is recorded as Monument Number 1437960. Lidar shows its likely course running across the south face of the hill. It appears to join the line of the former mineral railway which runs just north of the Reigh Burn which served Throckley Isabella Colliery and  probably on the line of the former waggonway discussed here from Jenny Pit.

Although a different interpretation of this line clearly doesn't preclude it from being the former course of a waggonway. it seems to me that the line observed here is close to that used by the pipelines of 24" and 30" (1869), for trade and domestic water supplies respectively, from a well originally constructed at the terminus of the Throckley Aqueduct (1866). Filter beds were built on the site of this well in 1875, and a valve house even later (a listed building c1890) located south of the Hexham Road, below the filter beds, and immediately west of the Coach Road junction, very close to where this supposed waggonway starts. Information taken from R W Rennison (1979) Water to Tyneside. See Map 9, p.112.

If the LIDAR image of Jenny Pit does suggest a waggonway terminus, presumably branching sidings where waggons could be stored, waiting to be filled or transported, then what could the circular feature at the northern end be. It is about 15m in diameter, too wide for a mine shaft. One possibility could be the platform of a horse-drawn gin. Perhaps something similar to the winding machinery for a close-by shaft sketched by Sir John Clerk and reproduced in Les Turnbull's book on page 48. Maybe Jenny Pit was operated in the pre-steam era or too far out to be considered for conversion.

If the feature does represent a waggonway serving Jenny Pit on Heddon land then its trajectory onto Throckley land would appear to take it along the gently curving boundary to the east (now a footpath into land which is now part of Tyne Riverside Park). The area further east has been greatly altered by the subsequent location of Throckley Isabella Colliery and eventual restoration of the land. The waggonway would have run north of the Reigh Burn, joining the Wylam Waggonway somewhere just below Newburn Grange Farm. Part of this route could have been later used by the mineral line which served Isabella Colliery.

I have plotted the conjectured line (the lower purple line) on my revised plan of the Throckley Coal Pits & Waggonways.

If the line running across the field just south of Jenny Pit, also represents the line of a waggonway, perhaps later modified as a field boundary along which trees were planted, this could have served a pit (spoil heap and shaft) located close to the east of Station Road. This is just north of Flocktons and the location of Heddon Colliery. Another shaft is in the wood on the same side of the road just to the north, and, as it has sunk slightly in the centre, reveals a few courses of fine stone-built masonry. Perhaps this was a ventilation shaft.

Keys to the Past (N10871)
Houghton is one of a small category of earthworks which, in general, are circular or oval in form, and are situated on slopes. They have an internal area consistent with other forts and settlements, and are usually univallate, with an internal mound, median ditch, and counterscarp bank. They possess few other distinguishing features; some may be merely stock enclosures.

Both inner and outer banks, where still apparent, are very slight, and the ditch is largely silted up, except for the north side where it attains a depth of 1.3m. Opposing entrances in the east and west sides are probably original. There are no internal features. Quite clearly the earthwork pre-dates the surrounding medieval field system, but there is little other dating evidence.

Listed by Challis and Harding as a slight univallate hill slope enclosure (Iron Age).

NZ 123 666. Heddon-on-the-Wall. Listed in a gazetteer of British hillforts as a ?univallate structure enclosing 1.1ha.

The enclosure survives as earthworks and is visible on air photographs, centred at NZ 1224 6657. It has medieval ridge and furrow within the enclosure and surrounding it (see NZ 16 NW 124). It has an inner an outer bank and opposed entrances as described above. It lies north of the River Tyne.

Although it states above that there are no visible internal features, the LIDAR image above does perhaps suggest the possibility of two roughly circular depressions on opposite sides of the enclosure. Could these be ploughed out platforms for Iron Age round-houses? The one on the west side is more irregular in shape and is perhaps the result of quarrying.

A long causeway, clearly visible on LIDAR, which heads towards the east entrance of the enclosure from the road close to Houghton North Farm may be a later feature. It is described by Historic England (Mon. No. 1440602) as a medieval holloway (sunken track) and boundary ditch. It lies within an area of medieval ridge and furrow between two plough headlands. They suggest that it may be associated with Houghton medieval deserted settlement recorded from documentary evidence.

The Keys to the Past entry for the defended settlement also refers to two small finds made in the area.

An oval cornelian intaglio, largely complete, showing the figure of Mercury carrying a herald's wand and an elongated money bag has been recovered from High Close House, west of Heddon-on-the-Wall. The intaglio dates to the early 2nd century AD. A pair of glass beads of Guido's Groups 6iia and 6ivb have also been recovered. These types of bead continue well into the post-Roman period.

The reference given for these finds is:
Tolan-Smith, M, and Tolan-Smith, C, 2011. 'Miscellaneous Antiquities From The Tyne Valley', Archaeologia Aeliana 5th series 40, 259-267 (263 & 265). Link.

The location for these finds given in the reference is NZ117667 which is located north of Hexham road and north-west of the enclosure. However, the discussion states that:

The intaglio and two glass beads were all retrieved from within the boundaries of Close House West Romano-British enclosure.

The location of this second enclosure (only visible as a crop mark on aerial photographs) is closer to NZ117657, in the field immediately west of High Close House and the strip of West Wood.

This enclosure is recorded on Keys to the Past (N10877). I found it very hard to see on freely available satellite imagery (e.g.historical imagery from Google Earth, or Bing Virtual Earth) but there is a hint of it on these enhanced images shown below. It is not visible on the ground and leaves no surface trace on LIDAR.

The western enclosure is recorded by Historic England as
Monument Number 22882

Grid Ref : NZ 11811 65743

Summary : Iron Age or Roman rectilinear enclosure is visible as cropmarks on air photographs. The ditched enclosure (55 x 58 metres) has an entrance on its eastern side. Also on its eastern side is a possible small (20 metres wide) enclosure, with only three sides visible.

More information : NZ 118 658. High Close House West. Crop-mark of a single-ditched rectangular enclosure with rounded corners and an east-facing entrance. The sides measure between 150 and 200 feet. Situated circa 200 yards west of High Close House at an altitude of 200 feet. (Listed under rectangular enclosures some of which are likely to fall into the pattern of Romano-British rectilinear settlements.) (1-2)

Nothing visible on the ground, but the crop-mark is consistent with that of a rectilinear type native domestic enclosure. NZ 1182 6572.
(3)

Iron Age or Roman rectilinear enclosure is visible as cropmarks on air photographs, centred at NZ 1180 6574. The ditched enclosure (55 x 58 metres) has an entrance on its eastern side. Also on its eastern side is a possible small (20 metres wide) enclosure, with only three sides visible.
(4)

Immediately west of this (in a field now part of Close House Golf Course) is recorded another rectilinear enclosure.

Keys to Past: N27218 & HE Monument Number: 1440761
NZ 12299 65629
Iron Age or Roman rectilinear enclosure is visible as cropmarks on air photographs. The ditched enclosure (62 x 60 metres) is incomplete.

I can see no trace of this enclosure on Goggle Earth imagery.

Horsley Wood hillfort (Horsley)

Keys to Past (N10919)
This is the site of an Iron Age hillfort. It was discovered in 1989 during survey of an ancient woodland. It stands on a hill above Howdene Burn, close to its junction with the Tyne. It is surrounded by a large bank and ditch.

This hillfort is recorded in the following reference:
Tolan-Smith, M. (1997). A Newly Discovered Promontory Fort in the Tyne Valley. Archaeologia Aeliana (5th Series) 25, 145-7. Link.

The rectangular enclosure separated from the hillfort by the stream on its west side, is recorded as N28957. It may be associated with the hillfort or a later feature.

A rectangular enclosure is visible as an earthwork on lidar imagery beneath woodland. It measures about 60m by 40m and has rounded corners. A road or track crosses the north-western corner of the enclosure and runs down the hillside.

The tree-penetrating LIDAR (DTM) picks out many small depressions in this area of the woodland which are probably coal mine pits.

In a field to the west of Horsley Wood (NZ 094 647) another enclosure has been identified on aerial photographs. It is recorded on Keys to the Past as N10127:
A ditched enclosure, about 60m east-west by 55m north-south, enclosed by a spread earthen bank. The sides are slightly bowed. The eastern side of the enclosure coincides with the boundary of Horsley Wood and may be attached to it and contemporary with it. Some aerial photographs show a vague circular structure within the enclosure which is interpreted as the possible remains of a round house, as well as a possible sunken yard in the south east corner.

The enclosure is clearly visible in Google Earth historic imagery from September 2007. No upstanding earthworks have been seen and no features associaioted with it were seen during xxcavation of a pipeline trench in 2012.

A Conservation Area Character Appraisal of Horsley village published by Tynedale Council in 2009 records:

The Tyne valley would have been inhabited in prehistory. Its rich hunting grounds, agricultural fertility, defensive topography and supply of fresh water would have attracted nomads and settlers for millennia. The lower slopes and base of the valley would have been densely forested and visited and crossed rather than settled. There is clear evidence of prehistoric settlement in and around Horsley.
There is the site of an Iron Age hillfort which stands on a hill above Howdene Burn close to its junction with the Tyne about a kilometre to the south east of the village. It is surrounded by a large bank and ditch and was discovered in 1989 during survey of an ancient woodland. Another set of earthworks, probably an Iron Age settlement, with associated prehistoric field boundaries sits on top
of Horsley Hill just to the north of the village.

Aerial photography has revealed more of the area’s prehistory. These include a rectangular enclosure which was destroyed as a consequence of the development of Horsley Crofts and a rectangular enclosure including a round house in a field immediately west of Horsley Wood.

Defended settlement and field boundary on Horsley Hill

Keys to the Past (N10018)
Historic England Research Records (Mon. No. 20423)
Scheduled Monument (1016470)

A preliminary attempt at drafting a summary of the history of coal mining in Throckley. The problem as always, what to leave out?

Throckley – coal mining
 
Primary source for this summary is:
Morrison, Jennifer (2007) Newburn Manor: an analysis of a changing medieval, post-medieval and early modern landscape in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Masters Thesis, Durham University.

• Documentary references to coal mining in the Throckley area date back to the C14th (medieval period). Seams close to the surface could be exploited by drifts dug into the valley sides or by digging of 'bell pits' or 'day holes' (shallow vertical shafts).
• In  1536, coal workings passed to the King, who then leased them to individuals. The Newburn mines passed to the Lord of the Manor, the Earl of Northumberland, and the mines at Throckley passed from the Crown to the Radcliffe family in the early C15th.
• Radcliffe estates (Earl of Derwentwater) confiscated by the Crown and passed to Greenwich Hospital in 1735.
• The tiny village of Lemington had been established at the staiths some time before 1620 when a few coal pits were being worked. ‘Sea-coal’ was transported from the staiths to colliers via the River Tyne.
• George Stephenson’s father left Wylam to become fireman at Dewley Colliery. George’ first job  (age of 8), was for Grace Ainslie, farmer at Dewley Farm, guarding the cows which grazed the wagonways. He went on to become assistant fireman at the colliery before moving to Newburn.
• The boundary between Newburn and Throckley was not fixed until the C17th. Remaining woodland in the area was felled for use in wagonways, pit props, staiths, wagons, keels etc.
  
• Wagonways brought coal from Wylam & Throckley to Lemington Staiths from 1748. In the early 1800s, wooden horse-drawn wagonways were being replaced by new technology: metal rails, stream locomotives replacing horses (e.g. Puffing Billy & Wylam Dilly on the Wylam Wagonway).
• By 1781 the main coal pits in Throckley had gone out of use and several former wagonways became  paths.
• William Brown, colliery viewer, was brought up in Throckley. He had been appointed manager of Throckley Colliery by the lessee, Mr Bell, in 1756. Having erected a steam engine at Throckley, Brown went on to build engines at over twenty-one other collieries. In 1765 a new winning at Throckley was completed, and because steam-driven pumps helped solve the problem of pit drainage, shafts could be sunk to a greater depth.
• In 1785, there was a list of 52 pits at Throckley, connected by wagonways to Lemington staiths, all worked by Bell and Brown. This colliery was worked out by 1794.
• Messrs. Bell and Brown built the row of houses on the Hexham Road in 1796 that were to become known as Frenchmen's Row.
• By 1858, the OS map shows several coal pits, most at the edges or corners of fields surrounded by small copses of trees. Some are out of use. The most extensive colliery workings were located at Throckley Colliery (Meadow Pit), which was served by a wagonway. To the east of this lay Throckley Brick and Tile Works.
• At Throckley C19th mining involved the continuation of working of some of the pits which had been sunk in the C18th (such as Meadow, Maria, Rye, Nymph and Thristle) but most of these were out of use by 1895.
• The Throckley Coal Company was formed in 1862 and Throckley Colliery opened in 1867. Maria Pit, which had been in existence in 1767 was expanded during the 1800s and was in operation until 1954. Isabella Colliery was in operation from 1869 to 1954.
• In 1867, Throckley Coal Co. brought the extensive Isabella Coke Ovens complex into production, mainly for use at Spencer's steelworks. Twenty-two coke ovens was built using Stephenson's bricks, close to the Isabella Pit. Other coal-dependant industries of the period included brick and tile making.
• Throughout the nineteenth century industrialisation continued. In 1875, the route of the Wylam Wagonway became a branch of the North Eastern Railway. The old Throckley Wagonway was re-used for a mineral railway which served the colliery and brick-works.
• Margaret Pit, in Heddon, was sold  to the Throckley Coal Co. in 1902. This allowed them improved control over water ingress in the Throckley pits. In 1906, Throckley merged with the brickmakers, Wm Stephenson & Sons and sank a third mine, the Maria. They continued to work Heddon Colliery until the early 1930's, when it was closed, and the remaining coal reserves accessed from Throckley Isabella.
• The Stephensons and Throckley Coal Company provided their employees with many facilities including chapels, school, houses & institute.
• Coal production ceased at Throckley Colliery in January 1954 and land was reclaimed. Opencast mining in 1991 destroyed the remains of the water mill, a section of the C18th wagonway, and several old pits. A69 (by-pass) built.

Tyne & Wear Sitelines HER No: 1316
Throckley village

General Period: Medieval
Specific Period: C12
Site Type: Shrunken Village

The first reference is 1161 when the dreng (a pre-Conquest term) of Throckley paid 3 marks to the exchequer. A member of the Saxon burgh and later medieval manor, of Newburn. Six taxpayers were recorded in 1296, 8 in 1312. Throckley passed to the Radcliffes in the early 15th century, then to Greenwich Hospital, which in 1777 bought the freeholds scattered in the ancient enclosures of the township. The village originally lay south of the Roman Wall and Hexham Road, on an east-west axis. It appears to have been a 2-row green village, reached from the north by the modern Hill House Road. Its plan shows clearly on a map of 1781, and it still looked fairly substantial in 1847, but on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey plan the only surviving dwellings were 2 cottages in the north row.

Tyne & Wear Sitelines HER No: 3951
Drove Road

General Period: Post Medieval
Specific Period: C18
Site Type: Drove Road

Drove Road, Throckley appears on a 1769 ‘Plan of Enclosure Lands’ (Northumberland Record Office), and the name is marked on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey plan as if it was the name of the road rather than its function. The present Drove Road is still a broad road and may be a medieval or earlier route for leading livestock to and from Throckley Fell, an area now north of the A69. A Roman surface was recorded in excavations in 2002 on Hexham Road in advance of installing renewed water mains. This raises the possibility that Drove Road may be of even greater age, perhaps originally representing a track leading through the milecastle.

Tyne & Wear Sitelines HER No: 1315

NZ1567
General Period: Medieval
Specific Period:
Site Type: Common Land

At the beginning of the 15th century Throckley passed by marriage to the Radcliffes of Dilston and Derwentwater, who therefore became lords of the manor, and from them it went to Greenwich Hospital. There survives a record of late 18th century/early 19th century trespasses and encroachments on the Fell - the running of cattle, sheep and horses without entitlement, and the taking of turf and stones. The act for the enclosure of the Fell was passed in 1816, and the award made in 1830. Some of the Fell has been opencasted. The site of Throckley Fell was mostly north of the Throckley bypass (A 69), and slightly more than half was within the modern boundary of Northumberland.

The Glacial Phenomena of the Country between the Tyne and the Wansbeck. By J. A. Smythe. Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham & Newcastle upon Tyne, vol. 3 (1908-1911).

Aerial photographs of the monument indicate that the barrow is surrounded by a number of cropmarks. These include a circular cropmark, interpreted as a bank and ditch immediately surrounding the barrow, a hut circle and a further enclosing feature, believed to be a boundary bank and ditch enclosing the raised ground around the barrow. Further circular cropmarks, interpreted as hut circles, are evident in the north west corner of the field. These surrounding features are also included in the scheduling.

Whether Bronze Age burial mound or natural glacial feature (a kaim), Dewley Hill is a Scheduled Monument (List Entry Number: 1018678) and protected by law.

Although now safe from the prospects of nearby open-cast coal mining (mainly the result of a local campaign), the Dewley Hill Scheduled Monument was added to Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register (list entry: 27470) with the following assessment:

Assessment InformationAssessment
Type: Archaeology
Condition: Extensive significant problems
Principal Vunerability: Animal burrowing - extensive
Trend: Declining
Ownership: Private

An interactive map of Throckley as an aid to exploring records from the Tyne & Wear Historic Environment Record online as Sitelines.

There is also a summary of the history of Throckley here
https://sitelines.newcastle.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Throckley.pdf

To get a copy of the interactive map, download the zip file (below) and extract the single html file within the compressed folder.

1. Locate the zipped folder that you want to unzip (extract files or folders) from.
2. Do one of the following:
   • To unzip a single file or folder, open the zipped folder, then drag the file or folder from the zipped folder to a new location.
   • To unzip all the contents of the zipped folder, press and hold (or right-click) the folder, select Extract All..., and then follow the instructions.

The extracted html file should open in your default internet browser.

Using the map you can change the background mapping (menu top right), search for markers by colour or text (menu top-left). Click on markers for pop-up information and links.

Triangle symbols (in black) refer to coal mining sites (pit shafts, collieries) and waggonways. Circle symbols are colour-coded depending on their historical period:
prehistoric - red
Roman - pink
Medieval - green
Post-medieval C17/C18 - yellow
Post-medieval C19/C20 - blue

Information on the reclamation of former industrial land between Throckley & Newburn in the creation of Tyne Riverside Country Park.

Hesselberth A & Hobson D (2003). Land reclamation in the North East: the last 30 years.
Chapter 4 (p. 81-89) in: H.M. Moore, H.R. Fox, S. Elliott, Land Reclamation - Extending Boundaries: Proceedings of the 7th International Conference, Runcorn, UK, 13-16 May 2003.

ABSTRACT: The North East of England has a long and glorious industrial heritage. This has led to a legacy of derelict land, but also to opportunities for reuse and regeneration. Government priorities and means of funding have changed over the last 30 years. The paper examines how land reclamation has progressed from the 1960s to the present time. It also looks at what has happened to land reclaimed during the earlier times and draws conclusions about the lessons that can be learned.

4 Case Studies

4.1 Isabella colliery
An area of approximately 50 ha of land on the North bank of the River Tyne between Newburn and Throckley lay derelict for many years following the cessation of mining and the closure of a railway line. The site contained a number of interesting features including a scrap yard, railway track bed, waste heaps, lagoons, shafts from which mine water continuously discharged, and an area used by the water company for the disposal of liquid sludge from its settlement beds at a nearby treatment works, Natural drainage of the area had been disrupted by mining subsidence and flooding of the surrounding fields occurred during winter periods. The mine water was badly discoloured with yellow ochre and this was discharged via approximately 1.5km of open water course into the River Tyne. The site was not considered to be contaminated and therefore was not subject to chemical testing.

The site was reclaimed to create what is now known as the Tyne Riverside Park at Newburn. It was financed through l00% Derelict Land Grant. additional funding from the County Council and a small contribution from the Sports Council.

For a period of about three years prior to reclamation, surplus soils were brought onto the site from various sources. These were mainly from private developments being undertaken in the region and soils primarily comprised subsoils and clays. In most cases a small charge was made for accepting the materials and this provided additional funds for the project. These operations were not considered as waste disposal and therefore were not licensed under the Control of Pollution Act 1974.

The scheme involved the creation of a new land-form by regrading and covering over with the imported soils to form a growing medium. The scrapyard was cleared and visually dirty materials were removed off site for disposal in landfill. Mine shafts were capped but not filled and the drainage of the area improved as tar as possible by cleaning out channels and the installation of a flap valve upstream of the mine water discharge in order to prevent back flow into the areas worst affected by flooding.

The most challenging part of the scheme was the treatment of the area used for disposal of water company sludge. This had collected in a depression to a depth of about 3m and was of a consistency similar to jelly paint. Dewatering of this material was achieved by spreading it in thin layers and allowing it to freeze during the winter. The material was also found to. be useful as a soil enhancer although. because of the high moisture content it was extremely difficult to handle. Provision for future disposals of sludge was provided in cooperation with the Newcastle and Gateshead Water Company. The water company agreed to spray future discharges of sludge in order to spread it in a very thin layer that would be capable of drying over the winter. A large grassed area was therefore created under which a layer of gravel and system of pipes were installed. This would not have been feasible without a ready source of a large quantity of gravel. This was obtained by the excavation of a large slope into the bank of the River Tyne which comprised excellent quality river gravel. This operation was considered eligible for Derelict Land Grant because it was essential to the restoration of the site. The excavated area conveniently produced a slipway which was concreted over and this is still the largest access into the river for recreational purposes today.

The whole site was landscaped creating areas of grass and woodland with about 30% being returned to grazing land and the remainder being made available as a country park. The scheme was awarded first prize in the RICS/Times Conservation Awards RICS (1982). It is now a well used and mature country park.