Show on map 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.Â
Show on map Between Cold Moor and Cringle Moor is a large bright red scar on a field.
 
On closer inspection it appears to be a large amount of burnt shale, very different in colour to the dozens of shale tips in the area.
Back in 2008 I originally thought this could be the remains of an Alum Clamp which was an early stage in the Alum making process, or that it may just have caught fire naturally
In 2013 I came across a book which describes jet shale being burnt at Cringle Moor to provide material for road making.
About 50m up the slope there is a recent collapse in the ground which has since been covered. This was a collapse into jet workings associated with the burnt tips.
 
Show on map Very easy to locate due to the small waterfall just to the north of the only path in the area.
Nearest to the path is a sizeable chamber thats big enough to crawl around inside.
Theres a lot of what i’m assuming to be jet in the walls of this area.
Slightly further towards the waterfall is another open area that would require crawling on the stomach, again vein of jet are visible on the sides. The second shot is HDR to try and bring out some details.
 
After a third hole which is only big enough to stick your head in, theres the largest open area behind the waterfall
 
Its extremely muddy inside but almost high enough to stand in places, there an area which goes off to the left.
 
With a second area going deeper and to the right, again lots of jet in the walls.
 
A good amount of light comes in from outside although due to flat torch batteries (doh) we had to return to the entrance rather than going deeper.
Show on map Firstly if you intend to visit this site double check the tide tables before setting off, to give yourself enough time to get there are back and avoid an air-sea rescue. The cliffs are also very unstable we heard numerous small rock falls and you don’t want to be underneath one.
There are numerous caves and what looks like the remains of a ships boiler on the the way around from Cowbar.
The remains of the 17th Century Alum Tunnel were revealed by coastal erosion in the 1990s. Subsequent landslips and erosion are rapidly removing the tunnel at a rate of several feet per year, and its only a matter of time before a further landslips buries it, or its completely lost to the sea.
The left-hand tunnel is now eroded nearly all the way back to what looks like a wall, it appear to be built against this wall, rather than actually being a blocked entrance although I cannot be certain if there is another tunnel behind or not. The outside edge of the inner course of bricks has been recently exposed to reveal symbols (perhaps masons marks, or maybe even something to indicate the order of construction ?) A row of bricks is also visible under the tunnel base.
The right-hand tunnel is open and contains the remains of sleepers and rails as well as a large pile of washed in stones and debris.
Shortly after the pile of debris the tunnel opens into a slightly wider area with a large room off to the right hand side.
At this point there is a very large roof collapse with a chasm open in the cliff above, knowing the instability of the cliffs I though it wise not to progress any further, despite the tunnel looking in good condition further on.
Tracks can be seen leading off into the distance after the collapse, they would presumably at some point connect with a shaft from the Alum Works at the cliff top.
For anyone intending visiting I cannot say enough times, always remember this site is extremely dangerous.
Show on map The kilns are adjacent to the remains of a quarry, and can be found fairly easily from the Commondale road.
There are two entrances with short tunnels leading into the kilns, the right hand tunnel is mis-shapen and will likely collapse in the future.
The kilns themselves are collapsed, but there are the remains of the entances to the left and right at the end of the tunnel.
Show on map There is evidence that the mill existed in 1649 and it was used for milling until the 1920s. The site contined as a farm but was eventually demolished in 1971.
There are a number of remains in the area, as well as the obvious buildings, theres a dam upstream from which a mill race can be traced to the mill.
An archaeological dig was performed by Stephen Sherlock in the last 80s, the report from this can be found in Redcar Library.
Etching of the mill.
Hunters Scar is a jet mine, beleived to have been converted for water storage around the time of the First World War. Possibly for the nearby Gribdale Terrace when the Ayton Bank and Ayton Monument ironstone mines were operational.
The mine is accessed via a tight tunnel with a water pipe down the center.
Inside the mine has concrete dividers storing deep pools of water, and a ladder leading vertically into the woodlands above.
The ladders look very unsafe so its best to back track through the tunnel and look for them in the woods.
UPDATE : The woodland in this area has been harvested since my photos were taken and both entrances are now in open land.
Show on map The huge deserted site of Steetleys Magnesite works in Hartlepool, partly demolished and partly a huge adventure playground for the local kids. Hardly a fence to be found and definitely no security in sight.
Vast tanks, uneartly blue lagoons, a 200ft chimney, a pier.
View this on the map to see the vast scale of the place. Catch it before its demolished and probably turned into “luxury flats”
UPDATE :
The chimney was demolished on 29th July 2012, the pier has already been cut to stop access and I believe many of the pools have now been demolished too. So i’m moving this into the ‘Too Late’ category