Hidden Teesside

The Auxiliary Units were to be Britains own resistance should a German invasion have been successful.

Their existance was top secret and only acknowledged by the government in the 1990s.

Little remains of this local “OB” or Operational Base except a few depressions in the ground which become covered in wild garlic most of the year,

There is an excellent diagram here that lets you relate to what’s still visible.

Its most easily located by walking to the end of the promentary above where two stream meet.

Despite being on the same level as Cat Beck trial and only about 500m away getting to this one is a real challenge, it opens out below the edge of the cliffs, a climb down would be very risky and the climb from below is challenging and covered in brambles already, later in the year gardening gloves and very thick trousers would be in order.

The difficulty of access is reflected in there being only empty beercan in the drift (regulars of this sort of thing will know you cannot usually move for them)
The drift goes into the cliff before reaching a T-junction perhaps 25m in.

To the right there is fair bit of collapsed roof which quickly leads to what looks like a purposefully filled face, the abandonment plan for this mine show the major continuation of the mine back towards the inland shaft to be in this direction

Turning around and going back to the left at the T-junction there is a much longer section of drift, which has a slight dog-leg

It continues for about the same distance again after the dog-leg at which point there are some pretty large roof-falls after which the tunnel looks to come to an end (although I didn’t fancy climbing over as there were large cracks in the ceiling)
 

The co-ordinates I’ve given are a bit of a guess but its pretty easy to see where you need to be due to an overhang of  rock, here are a couple of photos from the entrance.

The entrance to the Cat Beck trial drift can be seen from the Cleveland Way.

Upon entering the drifts are flooded to above wellington height.

Heading to the North West is a small drift less than 10m long

Another drift of a similar length runs off West

A much more sizeable drift perhaps 40m runs off to the South West, although we were unable to explore due to the depth of water

The loading ramp for the Huntcliffe mine borders the railway line which still runs to Boulby Potash mine. 

Just to the south of the ramp are the foundation of an engine house used for haulage.

The fanhouse itself is on the opposite side of the railway.

In the field on the landward side is a small area of collapsed tunnel which allows access to the base of the shaft inside the building.

Heres the same shaft seen from inside

A large void remains in the middle of the structure where the fan was once located.

In the bottom of the pit is a doorway and a view up the chimney.

However much time you spend here, its hard to escape the prying eyes.

There are three sculptures by Richard Farrington at the top of Huntcliff, erected in 1990 as part of the Common Ground’s ‘New Milestones’ project.
The first is based on a Trawl Door with a large fish and plankton

The second Pillar is a ridged marker post, supporting a chain of four metal sculptures

The third and most well known is the Circle or Charm Bracelet represent aspects of local life, the original ended up vandalised and at the bottom of Huntcliff in 1996.

The ferry ran from 1854 - 1952 to the now non-existant village of Middleton.

The last true ferry man Bull Boagey slipped on these steps in 1951, cracking his head which killed him.

Sandwell Gate is named after the long gone chalybeate spring on the beach. It was most likely built in the 14th Century.

It lead directly into Sandwell Chare and the Croft which were in-filled and demolished in the 1930s.

More details on the town walls here 

Andy Capp creator Reg Smythe was born and died in Hartlepool and based the characters on his own parents.

The bronze statue was erected in 2007

The open air bathing pool opened in 1923, there a photo here, it was damaged beyond repair by the 1953 storms

The outline of the pool can still be seen on the shore at low tide.

The Royal Exchange was sadly lost to the A66 flyover in the 1980s.

The are some nice pictures of it on the Lost Teesside page

One small scrap of it remains outside the Corus Steel House offices near Redcar.

Site where Methodist founder John Welsey preached in 1772 

Armouth Wath is located at the meeting of two small streams at the head of Baysdale. 

A pair of old stone bridges cross the streams, as well as some more modern pipes.

A ruined building stand by the track, it looks more industrial than the domestic as I couldn’t spot any chimneys or fireplaces.

About 100m to the South-West is a small single roomed structure

The main area of mining is to the side of the stream, north of the buildings. Three collapses running perpendicular the stream can be seen, the first of which contains a lot of rubble.

Within this largest depression stands a small arch, which presumably was once the mine entrance.

Downstream is a nice waterfall probably rarely seen due to the remoteness of the site.

To the South-East is evidence of the existance of Black Hagg Pit.

We found a fair amount of coal lying around in the area, and found it to burn very well in the pub at Commondale on the way home.

The current lighthouse was built in 1926 after the previous lighthouse was removed to give the Heugh Battery and Lighthouse Battery a clearer view of the sea.

The position of the orignal stopped retaliatory fire during the Bombardment of Hartlepool on 16th December 1914

1500 shells were fired at Hartlepool during the bombardment by the German Cruisers Seydlitz, Moltke and Blucher. Leading to the death of the first soldier killed on British soil during the First World War

This cannon was captured from the Russian Army at the battle of Sebastopol, during the Crimean War 1854-1856.

The cannon was transported from London on the steam ship Margaret at a total cost of £2 19s 3d and arrived in Hartlepool in September 1858.

Throston Engine House was built between 1838-1840.

It contained a steam winding engine which hauled the coal waggons of the Stockton and Hartlepool Railway up 14ft to the staithes of the Hartlepool Railway.

The roof was originally flat and held a water tank.

The Engine house was redundant within 10 years with the development of the West Hartlepool Docks. 

Donna Cross is a boundary marker between Cold Moor and Cringle Moor.

Only the base and a small length of the upright now remain.

A letter ‘E’ is engraved on the base representing the Emmerson family of Easby Hall, and a letter ‘F’ for the Feversham family of Duncombe Park.