Jarrow, Drewett Playing Fields, barrage balloon

Aerial photographs of Drewhett's Park in Jarrow show a parch mark which appears to represent a curvilinear, ovate banked enclosure, 30 metres long and 20 metres wide with no obvious entrances. The oval terminates into a linear bank to the west that extends some 20 metres before being lost in the park path. Geophysical survey suggested that the edge of the feature is stone or concrete. The lack of internal features and the association of the terminal line with the path suggests that this is not a feature of antiquity. Elderly local residents recall that there was a barrage balloon emplacement and winch here during the Second World War, used to protect the River Tyne from enemy bombing. The enclosure is therefore assumed to be connected with the balloon, perhaps protecting it when it was inactive.