North Shields, small fort

Before the erection of Clifford's Fort there was a fort of baskets filled with sand and mortar, with a gun placed between each basket. It was positioned on the seaward side of the later Clifford's fort, a little distance from the old Low Light lighthouse, and formed a pair with another on the opposite shore, erected by the Marquis of Newcastle in 1642. There was action at the fort in October, 1644, when the Scots won it, lost it and won it again all in one day.