Tyne Dock

The Tyne Dock was originally planned in 1838, but final permission to build the dock was obtained by George Hudson in 1847. Construction began in 1855, with foundations made by dumpling material from the South Shields ballast hills. The dock opened in 1859. It was served by a two level railway system with the staiths at the High End and general cargo at the Dock Bottom. From 1883-1917 shipments of coal alone were over 5 million tons/year. In 1938 the LNER sold the dock to the Tyne Improvement Commission. The dock complex included a wide range of features, including the stone-build dock itself, dock gates, dock-side cranes, staiths (HER ref. 2557) and railway lines, a timber pond (HER ref. 2558) and various storage and administrative buildings. Amongst the latter, the Tyne Dock Hydraulic House (at NZ 354 654) is a stone building of highly characteristic form, now very rare, where hydraulic machinery was invented and developed. The Tyne Dock Offices (NZ 356 651) are also of interest. Most of the Tyne Dock gates are no longer in use and some have been dismantled and replaced with concrete.