Winlaton Way II

In about 1693, the Winlaton (Brockwell) Way was subject to the first recorded case of physical assault on a waggonway - a trench, or ditch, was dug across it. In 1713, the Brockwell Way was radically reorganised and it was taken upstream to new staiths at Stella. This necessitated the building of a bridge over the Blaydon Burn, whose northern abutments still remain. Unfortunately, the track on the south bank is hard to follow but the course of the new waggonway up the valley to the Brockwell area, and ultimately Barlow Fell, is still clear on the ground. The way ran to two staiths at Blaydon – ‘panncoale’ and ‘shipcoale’ staiths (‘pancoal’ a low quality product used by Shields salt pans, and ‘shipcoal’ the quality product destined for the London market). The use of Blaydon Staiths necessitated the retention of the original approach by the old Winlaton Way through the Horsecrofts.