This tunnel was discovered during development in 1996. The roof of the tunnel was found just below the surface. The tunnel had been built in a cutting and then covered with loose rubble fill. It was constructed of roughly dressed sandstone blocks bonded with white lime mortar. The tunnel floor, after the removal of 10cm depth of silt, consisted of a trackway of large finely dressed sandstone blocks with a channel cut into them, laid in parallel with cobbles in between. The trackway blocks on the south side of the tunnel were half the length of those on the north side, with a slightly narrower channel and not as finely dressed. Access to the tunnel was made through a collapse in the roof. There was a clear 30 metres stretch to the south-west before the tunnel was blocked by loose clinker at a point corresponding with Elswick Row. About 2 metres before this point, what had up to this point been a very slight incline, fell steeply away (300 metres over 2.5 metres). The tunnel was of remarkably fine construction and was surprisingly free of coal or coal dust which would have been expected had this been a wagonway associated with coal extraction. The absence of rails would indicate an early date. It is considered to be related to the continued quarrying of stone from the large nearby quarry (HER 4095) in the mid 19th century. Houses were being built in the immediate area of the quarry workings, making transport of the stone to the main road difficult. The construction of the tunnel by a quarry company would explain the sole use of stone in the construction of the tunnel and in the "rutway" along which animals drew carts from the quarry faces to the surface near the road.

Completed in 1892. Stella Coal Company donated £500 towards it, members of the Simpson family, John Simpson of Hedgefield House being one of the directors of Addison Colliery, also donated smaller amounts. Stella Coal Company donated £100 towards the organ. Significant as it one of the only surviving buildings related to Addison Colliery Village {1}.
Building recording was undertaken in 2008 by North Pennines Archaeology to produce an archive record of this listed church before the interior fittings were removed to change the building into a children’s play centre. The church is built in Arts and Crafts style and includes mock battlements, arrow slits and Gothic windows. The roof was originally tiled, but was re-covered with slates in 1920.
Inside, the chancel was originally painted in vivid reds and greens. Some of the original paintwork is visible on the coving. Illustrative canvases on the chancel ceiling, completed in 1896 at a cost of £150, showing representations of Ven Bede, St Cuthbert, St Helen, St Hilda, St Aidan and Poet Caedmon, were removed in the 1950s due to their poor state of repair, but their design can still be seen as a ‘ghost pattern’. Another features of interest is a memorial to Dr Thomas Randell, rector of Ryton 1910-15. He presented two engravings which hang at the west end of the church – ‘The Resurrection’ and ‘Return From Cavalry’. The Litany Desk, which has already been removed, was presented by the women of Addison Colliery in 1903. The octagonal stone font with wooden cover and altar frontal was provided by the Mothers’ meetings of Stargate and Addison. The carved oak altar was made by Miss Tate of Stella in 1892. It is decorated with shields and fleur-de-lys and displays the date 1892. The organ, which was been moved to St. Joseph’s in Chorley, Lancashire in 2006 was by Harrison and Harrison and dated to 1903.
The church was listed Grade II in 1985 with the following description:
'Parish Church. 1889-92 by Oliver and Leeson. Snecked yellow sandstone and irregular sections of red sandstone; plinth and ashlar dressings; Welsh slate roof with flat stone gable copings. West tower, 4-bay nave with south aisle, 2-bay chancel with north vestry and stair tower to undercroft built into hill. Arts and Crafts Gothic style. Wide west tower has pointed- arched, boarded double door in ornamental square surround;3-light mullioned and transomed traceried window above; traceried paired belfry openings and battlemented parapet; angle and diagonal buttresses. 2-light windows to nave, 3-light to chancel; 5-light east window. 5-sided stair tower to vestry has 3 cusped lancets in each plane under traceried band and battlemented parapet. Interior: plaster above sill level wainscoting; rear arches to windows; double-chamfered, pointed 5-bay arcade to nave and tower. Wagon roof to nave, Tudor bosses to square-panelled chancel roof.' {2}. LISTED GRADE 2

Mineral lines from Crawcrook and Greenside ran to Stargate Pit (HER 3319) where the coal was transferred on to wagons that ran down the incline, through a tunnel (HER 5032) under the road in the grounds of the coal company offices (HER 5036) to Addison Colliery. A second tunnel was eventually built because the first was too small for the 17 ton trucks that replaced the older 10 ton trucks on the incline. The coal was then taken by rail to markets all over the country via the Newcastle and carlisle Railway (HER 3292). The wagonway is shown on the 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map. Shown as Hedgefield Incline Railway on an undated plan of Addison Colliery.

In 1828 the house was occupied by Ed Martinson, Parish Clerk, School Master and Overseer for the Parish of Stella. From 1880 to 1893, Monsignor Canon Thompson lived in the house. Up until 1911, John Robinson, manager of Addison, Stargate, Greenside and Emma Collieries, resided in the house. When he died the job was divided so that each pit had its own manager. Addison Colliery's manager, Harold Marmaduke Charles Bell lived at High Hedgefield {1}.
The house was listed Grade II in 1985 with the following description:
'House, Early to mid C18; C19 alterations. Incised render with plinth and sandstone quoins; Welsh slate roof. Two storeys, 3 windows. East elevation: architrave and bracketed cornice to central 6-panelled door under oblong fanlight. Flanking C19 canted bay windows; sill band to first floor sashes; giant corner pilasters carry eaves band and cornice. West elevation has round-headed window with intersecting glazing bars reset in the C19 addition. Low coped, gabled parapets to roof, 2 ridge chimneys.' {2} LISTED GRADE 2

In the early 19th century Ralph Shipley's House & Garth (as shown on a plan of Stella of 1767) was demolished and replaced by Hedgefield House by William Matthias Dunn. It is shown on Ordnance Survey first and second editions. From 1864 to 1894 Hedgefield House was occupied by Mr John B. Simpson who became one of the directors of Addison Colliery (HER 5033). He then went to live at Bradley Hall. His son Col. Sir Frank Simpson lived at Hedgefield House until 1926, when he joined his father at Bradley. H.E.B. Daniel, Chief Agent of Stella Coal Company, moved in. Hedgefield House is thought to be one of the first houses in Britain to have a telephone installed, because in 1877, Professor Graham Bell conducted experiments linking Addison Colliery to the surface, and the people in the mine could hear the piano being played in the drawing room of Hedgefield House. The first offices of Addison Colliery were rooms in Hedgefield House. In 1894, however, separate offices were built (NZ 1670 6415). These offices were later converted into a hotel which still survives.

The bunker at Kenton Bar (also known as RAF Blakelaw) was opened in March 1940. Some of its functions were transferred to a new HQ (HQ 14 Group) at Raigmore Inverness in 1941 and its responsibilities were eventually split between Watnell and Raigmore in 1942-43. Until then, it carried the heavy responsibility for Northern air defence. The operations bunker lies in the centre of 'Government Buildings'. Filter Rooms (such as the sister site at Blakelaw (HER 5034) were sites where information on enemy raids detected by the radars was fed. Conflicting reports on such raids were reconciled in the filter room, and then the filtered information was then passed on to Group HQ Operations Rooms (such as the Kenton Bar Bunker), and to the principal fighter airfields, known as sector stations. Acting on the instructions of the regional air defence commander at the Group HQ, sector station commanders would dispatch fighters to intercept the approaching enemy. The part played by Group HQ Operations Rooms was of crucial importance, for there all aspects of regional air defence came together, including reports from the Observer Corps and control of Anti Aircraft guns. HQ 13 Group at Kenton Bar, was responsible for air defence of the entire country from Yorkshire to the Shetland Islands. The Kenton Bar bunker is one of only five of its type in the country and is unique in the North East. The bunker lies beneath part of the DSS complex at Kenton Bar and has two single storey brick access buildings at ground level. Apart from minor vandalism, the interior is essentially intact and unchanged. The plant room containing the air conditioning system is also intact. The Kenton site is of great historical significance. The 13 Group Operations Room was a vital link within the sophisticated air defence system which protected Great Britain from air attack by the German Air Force during the Second World War. At no time was this defensive system more important than in 1940 when the Royal Air Force's victory in the Battle of Britain saved this country from invasion and probable defeat by Nazi Germany. Group Headquarters, such as Kenton Bar, were regional nerve centres where all aspects of raid intelligence came together to be utilised under the direction of fighter squadrons for the interception of hostile enemy aircraft. Kenton Bar is one of only five such command structures built. Of the other four, 10 Group Operations Room at Box in Wiltshire has been converted to offices, 12 Group Operations Room at Watnall, Nottinghamshire is under water, 14 Group Operations Group at Inverness was constructed well after the Battle of Britain and 11 Group Operations Room is in the middle of a serving RAF station, so is not available to public visitors. The Kenton Bar site is in very good condition, even the original paint scheme survives. LISTED GRADE 2

Group Filter Room for HQ 13 Group Fighter Command built on site of Blakelaw Quarry (HER 4254). Built after the Battle of Britain because the Filter Room at HQ Fighter Command was becoming swamped by the volume of information being received from radars and other sources. Filter Rooms were sites where information on enemy raids detected by the radars was fed. Conflicting reports on such raids were reconciled in the filter room, and then the filtered information was then passed on to Group HQ Operations Rooms (such as the Kenton Bar Bunker (HER 5035)).and to the principal fighter airfields, known as sector stations. Acting on the instructions of the regional air defence commander at the Group HQ, sector station commanders would dispatch fighters to intercept the approaching enemy. The part played by Group HQ Operations Rooms was of crucial importance, for there all aspects of regional air defence came together, including reports from the Observer Corps and control of Anti Aircraft guns. HQ 13 Group at Kenton Bar, was responsible for air defence of the entire country from Yorkshire to the Shetland Islands. LOCAL LIST

Addison Colliery was the property of the Stella Coal Company, the pit being sunk in 1864. Addison Pit was situated close to the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway, to which it could be connected by a loop line. The mine workings ran westwards because of a large geological fault east of Addison village. It was eventually possible to walk underground from Addison to Clara Vale Pit. The name Addison came from Mr Addison Potter, whose family was connected with Towneley Colliery. Mrs Addison Potter cut the first sod of the Addison Pit in an impressive ceremony on January 26th 1864. Addison Pit was the first colliery in the world to have underground telephone. Experiments using Professor Graham Bell's telephone were carried out in 1877. It was connected to Hedgefield House in which John B. Simpson, one of the colliery directors, lived from 1864 to 1894. The first offices of the Coal Company were rooms in Hedgefield House. In 1894 separate offices were built.Hedgefield House is now a hotel. In 1883 the output of coal was 120,000 tons, with about 500 men and boys employed. In 1894 the output of coal was 254,000 tons and 1,000 workmen. By 1923 the output was 1,058,740 tons with 5,500 workmen. A little west of Addison Pit was an old shaft, formerly used as a pumping shaft to clear Stargate from water. The shafts at Addison were sunk in 1865 but coal was also drawn from two drift mines, the Kitty and Atkinson Drifts. The winding engine was steam driven, installed by Sir William Armstrong of Elswick in 1864. In 1924 the Atkinson Drift was closed. It was later used as an air raid shelter in WW2. In 1946 there was an explosion in the pit which killed two people. The pit went into decline. The village was depopulated and finally abandoned in 1958. The houses were then demolished. The pit finally closed in 1963.

Mineral lines from Crawcrook and Greenside ran to Stargate Pit (HER 3319) where the coal was transferred on to wagons that ran down an incline (HER 5038), through a tunnel under the road in the grounds of the coal company offices (HER 5036) to Addison Colliery. A second tunnel was eventually built because the first was too small for the 17 ton trucks that replaced the older 10 ton trucks on the incline. The coal was then taken by rail to markets all over the country.

This was a horse training and marshalling area for military horses before they were posted to the front in France {1}. The site consisited of a series of stakes to which the horses were tethered.