Shield Row Post Office

Gibside

Lockhaugh · 3.7 miles

A Georgian landscaped park set in the Derwent valley on the Tyne and Wear–County Durham border offers a range of historic structures within a largely wooded estate. The grounds lie between Rowlands Gill and Burnopfield, close to the village of Lockhaugh, and are managed by the National Trust. Visitors can walk the avenue of oaks to the Palladian chapel designed by James Paine, explore the ruined shell of Gibside Hall – a Grade II* listed 17th-century house – and view the orangery built for Mary Eleanor Bowes in the early 1770s. The banqueting house, now in the care of the Landmark Trust, and other features such as a column of Liberty, a stable block and extensive forested areas remain part of the public landscape. The estate originated in the mid-13th century, passing to the Blakiston family in about 1540 and later to the Bowes family through the 1693 marriage of Elizabeth Blakiston and Sir William Bowes. Sir George Bowes expanded the park in the 18th century, employing designers Stephen Switzer and William Joyce, while later Bowes-Lyon owners added the chapel (1760-1812) and further landscaping. Throughout the 20th century the property was sold piecemeal; today the National Trust holds most of the land, preserving the historic ambience for visitors.

Derwent Park (Rowlands Gill)

Rowlands Gill · 3.7 miles

Derwent Park is situated in Rowlands Gill, Tyne and Wear, England. The park is often incorrectly called Rowlands Gill Park as a result. The park has a caravan site and has many play areas for children. Fishing on the River Derwent, which runs through the park, is priced at £2.50 per permit. The fish include brown trout, grayling and Atlantic salmon.

Hamsterley Hall

Hamsterley Mill · 3.7 miles

A castellated Gothic-Revival mansion set in the hamlet of Hamsterley, near Rowlands Gill in County Durham, stands as a notable example of an 18th-century English country house. Recorded on mapping services as a stately castle, the building is situated close to the village of Hamsterley Mill and carries a Grade II* listing, indicating its particular architectural and historic interest. The estate entered the Swinburne family in 1762 when Sir John Swinburne, Baronet, transferred it to his younger brother Henry. Henry Swinburne commissioned extensive works in 1769, reshaping the earlier house into the present two-storey, four-bay structure with a castellated roofline that defines its Gothic character. After Henry’s death in 1803, the property changed hands in 1806, being bought by Anthony Surtees. His son, the novelist Robert Smith Surtees, acquired the hall in 1838 and later served as High Sheriff of Durham in 1856. Following his death in 1864, the estate passed to his daughter Eleanor, who married John Gage Prendergast Vereker, the 5th Viscount Gort, in 1885. Their lineage continued at Hamsterley Hall, with John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, and later his brother Standish Vereker, 7th Viscount, residing there until the latter’s death in 1975.

Site of Kings Meadow Island

Teams · 6.2 miles

A former flat island once stretched across the River Tyne between Elswick on the north bank and Dunston on the south, close to Gateshead. In the 17th-century siege of Newcastle, Scottish sentries were stationed on the island and recorded at least one fatal shooting of a man attempting to pass. By the 18th century the site supported a public house called the Countess of Coventry, and it later hosted an annual regatta and horse racing programme until 1850, with occasional greyhound racing as well. Nearby, the smaller Little Annie island lay to the south-west and the Clarenee Islands were situated to the north of its eastern end. The island disappeared from the river surface after dredging work carried out by the Tyne Improvement Commission between 1862 and 1887, intended to improve navigation. Today the location is marked as the “Site of Kings Meadow Island”, classified as ruins, with the nearest town identified as Teams. No specific visitor facilities or admission charges are recorded for the ruin site. The name survives locally through Kingsmeadow Community Comprehensive School, which lies close to the former island’s position. Access routes, parking provisions or opening hours are not detailed in the available material.

Path Head Watermill

Barlow · 6.2 miles

Path Head Mill is an 18th-century watermill at Summerhill on Blaydon Burn, between Blaydon and Stella, near Gateshead in north-east England. The Vale Mill Trust has been restoring the site to include a water-powered joiners' workshop and a visitor centre since 1994/1995.

Mining Institute

Grainger Town · 6.8 miles

The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers – frequently referred to as the Mining Institute – occupies a prominent position in Grainger Town, Newcastle upon Tyne. Established in 1852 and granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1876, the institute was created to unite mining professionals, improve safety, and promote technical knowledge. Its library, named after the first President Nicholas Wood, holds more than twenty-thousand volumes covering mining, geology, mechanical engineering, government reports, mine rescue, mineralogy, law and related subjects, forming one of the world’s most extensive mining collections. OpenStreetMap records the site as a museum, reflecting the public display of the institute’s historic archives and technical literature. In 2019 the building, known as Neville Hall, entered a period of refurbishment and its assets – the structure, library and archive collections – were transferred to the charity The Common Room of the Great North, which aims to celebrate regional engineering history. Despite the hand-over, the institute continues as an independent professional membership organisation, drawing members chiefly from local industry and the academic communities of Durham and Newcastle universities, and is currently formulating a new strategic plan to broaden its activities. The venue therefore offers visitors insight into the development of mining engineering and the broader industrial heritage of the North of England.