Getting offline does the world of good, so we’re hosting another social on the 27th August at @thetynebar. Doesn’t matter if you’re a big history buff or just want to get out on a summers night - come along and meet us all down on the river!. RSVP here:

A new generation for the project as we head into the production phase of this years North East History Compendium. Our fourth edition will be available for pre-orders next month. In the meantime, we've had a little freshening up of the site!.

Morning! . A little reminder we're hosting our summer social over at the Tyne Bar on the 27th August. Come along, have a drink and a proper natter on the Tyne - absolutely everyone is welcome. RSVP here:

(Annfield House still exists I think).

Here’s a job advertisement from 1833 for laying of the Stanhope & Tyne at Annfield Plain before the village was even laid. I didn’t know TE Harrison was the engineer and lived nearby. Harrison designed all the bridges along the Newcastle to Berwick Railway + the Victoria Viaduct

Still in Annfield Plain, but edging towards Leadgate on its western outskirts now. This is Loud Bank, which the Stanhope & Tyne once climbed up to reach the smoggy horizons of Consett. Something a bit different this time - reservoirs (with a twist)! We talk about them far too

We also need to talk about how batshit the Stanhope & Tyne was in this area. Annfield Plain & Leadgate were connected by a rope-hauled railway literally on the West Road, with an engine house at the peak. The line was on the road for about 3/4 mile. Any other examples of this?

Morning!. If we added a commemoration for every colliery that existed in Durham the ground would subside from the weight of them, but I am always struck there's a lack of recognition for the pits which created the communities that rest on them. One such is the South Derwent

Happy Thursday! . I've popped up The Queens Head at Annfield Plain onto the site as its own entry. This is the second iteration of the inn, with the previous one a fairly grand dwelling built as a house in the 1830s/40s when the Pontop Colliery was sunk.

Just over the road at Annfield Plain is the Railway Inn, or the Railway Hotel depending on the era. There's been one here since the 1850s, though that one was originally directly adjacent to the railway. By that, I mean it was situated where the furthest building away on the 20th

If you enjoy the stuff we put out, get a bit sick of being online and like a pint, then BOY have I got the night for you:

I try not to post self congrats posts lol, but yesterday the website had the most traffic ever in a day some 5 years on. Free, accessible and authentic local history is so important. Thanks to everyone who continues to support the project!.

RT @hexhamtv: A press release from @N_landCouncil . -Starts -. Early medieval settlement discovered in Northumberland. An early medieval s….

Another interesting one I’ve just seen down Byker, and think it’s the first I’ve seen where they’ve bothered to cast an apostrophe!. I’ve never come across James Smart before, so not sure how old this one is.

Morning! . My first Wednesday available in ages so finally managed to get some work done for the Shipbuilding Archive. I've added the yard of Thomas Lightfoot, who operated at the mouth of the dene from 1835 - 1859. William Pile apprenticed here.

RT @billy6715: Screen workers at Netherton Colliery, Hall pit near Bedlington, Northumberland c1908. Men & boys with injuries or disabiliti….

Might know by now that I love a good utility cover, and this is the first time I’ve seen one from Willington Quay!. It was owned by Brigham & Co who also produced marine engines for Tyneside ships. This one was probably placed here at Walkergate in the 1920s.

RT @lastdyingwords1: On Tuesday 31 March 1925, the imminent closure of Newcastle Prison was commemorated in a newspaper photograph, of ‘Pri….

John Dodd is very likely the man on the doorstep with his wife.

The last stop of day 1 on 2025's History Hike was Annfield Plain, and the end point of my diversion along the Beamish Deviation. Annfield Plain embodies the ambition of the humble Victorian pit village. Despite being a fairly small settlement, it pulls its weight in

Thank you to all you lovely folk who have RSVP'd - I'll see you there. If you're unsure, feel free to drop me a DM!.