Seaham Blue Plaque Heritage Trails
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Seaham Blue Plaque Heritage Trails Take a walk through 200 years of the history and heritage of Seaham and experience the rich and diverse culture of our town. The Clock site, bottom of North Railway Street Visit the Clock site and read the interpretive panels. Follow the two gentle but instructive trails which each take about 1 ½ hours to complete. North Terrace (early 1900’s) 1 Discover the to start that journey is to follow the hidden stories blue plaques that have been about our erected on buildings of historical significance. These offer a taste of town’s past what went before and, when If you'd like to find out more about viewed as a group, begin to build up our historic town of Seaham there's a picture of the town’s past. no better place to start than on our Seaham Blue Plaque Heritage Walks. Take two circular walks through Seaham's past taking in the blue plaque buildings providing a Seaham Infirmary 1917 fascinating insight into the rich history of our town. Seaham is a wonderful town to The Seaham Blue Plaque Heritage stroll around and find hidden gems, Walks take you on a journey past interesting buildings and many points of interest, spectacular architecture; industries that have coastal views and buildings that will enrich your understanding of Seaham’s remarkable history. Seaham Bottle Works circa 1880 flourished and declined and visit places where historical events have played out in the past. Wherever we stand we are surrounded by history. Sometimes that history is highly visible. Other times it lies beneath the surface and requires a journey of exploration for the unique character of our town to Dawdon Colliery under construction Circa 1900 be truly appreciated. An ideal way 2 Seaham Blue Plaque Heritage The church of St Mary the Virgin* is an Anglo-Saxon church listed as being one of Walk “A” (See map on Page 8) twenty pre-Viking churches in the country. Founded This circular walk begins at the around the 7th location of the oldest part of century, the Seaham. This was the ancient chancel was rebuilt in the Norman period and a tower around the beginning of the hamlet between the Church of St 14th century. It overlooks the cliffs and the Mary’s and the manor house which sea of the Durham coast. Still in use, the was cleared to build Seaham Hall. church is a quiet and valued part of the The walk then proceeds to blue historic settlement of Old Seaham, with its plaque sites and places of interest in links with Byron and the coal-owning Seaham Colliery. Londonderry family. Seaham was a very poor parish, very sparsely populated; in The walk will take between 1.5 the year 1821 it only contained 40 hours and 2 hours depending upon inhabited houses, occupied by 44 families, the time spent at each blue plaque and had a total population of only 198. site and the ability of the walker. Retrace your steps for 10 yards and take the path bearing to the left. Difficulty: Medium, Mostly flat, Mixture of grass, gravel and urban Follow the path pathway, one flight of steps. with the Seaham Hall boundary Start fence on your Seaham Hall car right. park (Tonya’s Café Carry on over the old coach bridge. and toilets) After approximately 30 yards there Cross the road and go through the are steps on the right. Going down big gates for Seaham Hall. After the first 15 steps we turn left, walk a twenty yards go through the small few paces along this almost hidden gate to the left of the road and little path. The brick egg-shaped follow the grass path for 200 yards. structure in front is the Grade II listed “Ice House” built c1800 to store and preserve ❶ St Mary’s Church (Time to ice for Seaham Hall. Return back up this point 5 mins/Cumulative 5 the steps to the main track and mins) 3 continue right along the track. At industrial plant (Coal and Allied Industries) the top of the path take the left fork for the production of coke and motor spirit from coal opened in 1935. This Continue along “The New Drive.” experimental plant on the 59 acre site never made a commercial success and The “New Drive” was built for Lady closed in 1940. Frances Anne (Marchioness of Continue along The New Drive to Londonderry) after her Seaham Rail Station. husband died in 1854. It was built to shorten Seaham (Colliery) station on the Seaham her drive to the Londonderry Offices and Sunderland railway was opened in overlooking the harbour. 1855. On your left is the new East Shore Continue forward down Harbour Village built on the site of Vane Walk. Tempest Colliery. On the left pass St Mary Magdalen Church and continue on for about 20 yards. ❸ Londonderry Dene House (Time to this point 8 mins/Cumulative 28 mins) Londonderry Sunk in 1923 this was the youngest of Dene House Seaham collieries and in the 1950’s was built in employed over 1800 people. It Closed in 1857 for the 1993. Londonderry Continue along the New Drive Agents. The Londonderry Agents acted in the capacity of Managing Director of the ❷Seaham Harbour Cricket Club Londonderry Collieries, Docks, Estates and (Time to this point 15 mins / commercial ventures on behalf of Lord and Lady Londonderry. The Londonderry Cumulative 20 mins) Agents T G Shaw, John Daglish, John B SHCC* was established in 1868 by the Eminson, Sam Ditchfield and Malcolm Londonderry family for the benefit of Dillon lived here. employees and the Retrace your steps to St Mary town. On the other side of the New Magdalene Church. Drive a large 4 Cross the road and Pass the former New Seaham Inn take the right path (now The Kestrel Convenience of the disused Stores). Rainton & Seaham The inquest on Railway heading up towards the the deaths of 26 railway station. men in an explosion at Go through the subway under the Seaham Colliery railway line and pass by the Care in 1871 was held here. In 1882 the New Home on the right (formerly, Seaham Londonderry Benevolent Cycling Seaham Secondary Modern School). Club was formed at The New Seaham Inn. Go straight over the mini ❹ Birkbeck Villa (Time to this roundabout and up Station Road for point 16mins/ Cumulative 44 about half a mile. mins) Take a slight detour just after the This building opened as a joint residence th row of bungalows. Turn left at and post office on 18 October 1886. Birkbeck Villa Cheviot Gardens for about fifty was designed yards to the AT Motors Garage in by Mr Forster Bankhead Street which is (junior) of unrecognisable now but was Seaham originally four colliery houses. Harbour for postmaster, parish clerk and choirmaster The garage is all that is left of the 824 Joseph Birkbeck. colliery houses built for miners at Seaham Colliery between 1861 and 1891. During Pass by New Seaham Conservative World War II the garage was used as a fire Club on the left. station. Over the disused railway line Built at a cost of £1,200 New Seaham stood Seaham Brickworks built in 1868. Conservative Club was opened by Lord Twelve kilns could produce 18,000 bricks Londonderry in October 1895. at each firing. Employing more than 500 men the brickworks closed in 1965. Pass Christchurch on the right Retrace your steps and continue up Christchurch was Station Road. erected at the sole expense of Lady Frances Ann, Marchioness of 5 Londonderry, for the benefit of the mining Parliamentary Election campaign of 1874 community. A scroll was deposited when the landlord held off an angry mob underneath the foundation stone for two hours. The original name of The dedicating the church to the memory of Mill Inn may have been The Windmill and her late husband. was run by Tommy Chilton who was locally known as “knicky knack”. On the opposite side of the road to Christchurch was the entrance to Cross back over the road and enter Seaham Colliery. Seaham Park. Take the path past the children’s play area. On the left up the hill is the original Seaham War Memorial. The memorial was first unveiled by the Marquess of Londonderry on July 1, 1923, Sunk in 1849 the pit began production in after it was bought by the people of 1852. Three major explosions occurred Seaham at a cost of £1,300. It stands 30ft here. In 1852 six miners died; in 1871 high and is topped with a winged and twenty-one miners died and in 1880 in torch-bearing figure of liberty. Pillars at what was to be known as the Seaham each side carry a soldier of the Durham Mining Disaster one hundred and sixty Light Infantry. A Royal Navy sailor, with a four men and boys died. The youngest polished granite panel bearing a fatality is believed to have been in the dedication stood between them. 1852 explosion where Charlie Halliday was Pass the adult exercise area on the thought to have been only eight years old. right of the path. Carry on down the bank and, taking Take the left path great care, cross the busy road at past the bridge and the mini roundabout. continue on up the steps on the left. ❺ Mill Inn public house (Time to this point 7 mins/Cumulative At the top of the steps turn left past 51mins) Seaham School of Technology. The Mill Inn* was built around 1827. It Continue to the end of the cul-de- was the scene of a siege during the sac and take the path on the left leading down to Byron’s Walk.