Ashington

Milecastle 9

Blucher · 13 miles

The remains of a Roman milecastle can be found in West Denton, a short distance west of Newcastle upon Tyne and about 300 yards (270 m) from Chapel House Farm. Known as Milecastle 9 (or Chapel House), the site survives mainly as a low platform; the northern section is now largely hidden beneath the A69/B6528 road network. The structure formed part of Hadrian’s Wall, erected in the early 2nd century AD under Emperor Hadrian to mark the northern frontier of Roman Britain. Built as a long-axis milecastle with a Type IV gateway – a variation of the broad-wall design – it is one of only three milecastles identified with this gateway type, the others being Milecastle 27 and possibly Milecastle 10. Internal dimensions were roughly 14.9 m wide by 18 m long, with gates about 2.7 m wide and side walls 0.8 m thick. Archaeological evidence suggests a small garrison of eight men, later expanded in the third century, and a post-hole hints at an earlier timber phase. Excavations have yielded a range of artefacts, including pottery from each phase of the Wall, coins of Tetricus I and Valentinian I, a gaming board, a sword-scabbard chape and a relief of a female figure. A Roman or post-Roman cist burial was discovered outside the south wall, containing several skeletal remains. The Military Way, a road running east–west, lay about 9.8 m to the south, though later field work found little trace of it. The site lies on cultivated land and shows signs of plough damage; English Heritage has noted that removal from cultivation would be needed to prevent further loss. The nearest settlement is the town of Blucher, and no visitor facilities or admission charges are recorded for the archaeological feature.

Milecastle 10 (Walbottle Dene)

Walbottle · 13 miles

Roman milecastles marked the intervals along Hadrian’s Wall, and Milecastle 10 (Walbottle Dene) lies close to the modern village of Throckley in Tyne and Wear, with Walbottle identified as the nearest town. The structure occupies a position where the otherwise straight wall makes a 20-degree turn before crossing a valley and heading towards the Great Hill at Heddon-on-the-Wall. Although much of the milecastle is now beneath a road, a fragment of the north wall survives in the front garden of Dene House, where twelve foundation slabs and three stone blocks can be observed; some blocks bear an asterisk, pivot holes for a gate and a lewis-hole. The southern side appears only as a low mound about 0.4 m high in a field, and a short section of the ditch is also visible. The building measured 78 ft 2 in (23.83 m) north-to-south and 67 ft (20 m) east-to-west, with walls roughly 10 ft (3.0 m) wide. It is classified as a long-axis milecastle with Type IV gateways, a form thought to have been erected by the legion XX Valeria Victrix based at Deva Victrix (Chester). Excavations have taken place repeatedly: in 1864 the north and south gateways were uncovered, revealing a centurial stone now held by the Black Gate Museum; later work in 1928, 1966, 1979, 1988, 1999 and 2000 documented the surviving walls, flagstone surfacing and an oven, while noting considerable damage from ploughing. Two associated turrets were linked to the site. Turret 10A, situated 509 yards (465 m) west beneath the B6528 Hexham Road, shows no surface remains but was examined in 1930 and 1980, revealing three-foot-thick walls, a south-wall entrance and artefacts dated to before 140 AD, together with earlier Neolithic or Bronze-Age plough marks. Turret 10B remains unlocated, also presumed to lie under the same road, with only burnt wood fragments suggesting activity during the wall’s construction. No admission fee, opening hours or visitor facilities are recorded for the site.

Mining Institute

Grainger Town · 14 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.

Throckley Hall Grounds

Throckley · 14 miles

Private grounds of Throckley Hall Manor House.

Site of Kings Meadow Island

Teams · 14 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.

Souter Lighthouse

Marsden · 16 miles

The former electric lighthouse on Lizard Point, a mile north of Whitburn in South Tyneside, stands on high cliffs that give it superior sea-visibility. Built to serve the hazardous Whitburn Steel reefs, it was the world’s first lighthouse specifically designed for alternating current. Its carbon-arc lamp, first lit on 11 January 1871, produced an 800,000-candle-power flash every thirty seconds that could be seen for up to 26 miles, and a red-white sector highlighted local shoals. The tower’s daymark was enhanced in December 1891 by a broad red band, and a foghorn, originally a reed signal later replaced by a siren, added an audible warning. Designed by Trinity House chief engineer James Douglass and supervised on site by Henry Norris, construction began after the foundation stone was laid on 9 June 1869 and was completed in 1870. The complex includes a quadrangle of rubble-masonry buildings, an engine house with two magneto generators and steam engines, and five keeper’s cottages. After decommissioning by Trinity House in 1988, the National Trust acquired the site and now operates it as a museum, charging an admission fee. Visitors can explore the lantern, engine rooms and surrounding grounds, and the top of the lighthouse offers a line-of-sight view of St Mary’s Lighthouse on the opposite side of the River Tyne. Holiday lets are also available within the historic cottages. The nearest town is Marsden, and the site is accessible via local roads leading to Lizard Point.