Lime Works

The lime works is shown on Woods plan of 1826. It was built on land owned by Collingwood and Partners. This development may have been stimulated by accessibility to the materials carried by the Whitley Wagonway, built in 1811 which carried coal from Cullercoats Main Colliery and lime from Whitley quarries. The wagonway ran east of Tanners Bank, along the west side of Cliffords Fort, to the Low Lights staith. It was abandoned in 1848. The lime kiln, crushing mill and Whitening Works (where lime was made into a bleaching agent) may have prompted the development of the iron foundry (HER 2054) on adjoining ground to the north and east, since lime could be used as a flux in iron and steel making. It was also an important commodity in the tanning industry (see HER 2051). The lime kiln is clearly labelled on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map. By the second edition, this area was occupied by North Shields Glazed Brick Works and Flint Mills.