Dunston Staiths

This enormous shipping staithe loaded coal from railway wagons into ships on the south bank of the River Tyne near Newcastle. It was built using American pine and is among the largest timber structures in Europe. Similar staithes were used on the river from the seventeenth century onwards. The Dunston staithe is 525-m long and carries four railway lines to three ship berths on each side. It was tall enough to drop coal by chutes directly into the ships’ holds. Full waggons were pushed up a gradient by locomotives and then rolled down by gravity when empty. Construction of the staithe by the North East Railway Company began in 1890 and it opened in 1893. In the 1920s, it loaded around 140,000 tons of coal a week. It closed in 1980 and became derelict but was recognised as an iconic monument. Phased restoration since 2015 by Tyne and Wear Building Preservation Trust allows access to parts of the structure.