Show on map All that remains of Sandsend Alum House is one wall which is now the entrance and exit to a car park which was built in the 1960s when the sea wall damaged.
It is believed to have operated between 1733 and 1860 although building were still standing on the site in more recent time
Show on map In what it now a car park are the remains of Grosmont Ironworks built in 1862 and demolished in 1892. Despite now being a rural setting the immediate area contains numerous ironstone mines.
The most promenant feature is a large brick structure which is believed to be part of the system which carried raw materials to the top of the three blast furnaces. Apologies for the dark photos but it was getting late and I only had a basic camera.
 
 
Closer to the railway station is the base of the third blast furnace, added in 1876
Show on map Despite being very close to Lumpsey pit, this item has no relation to the ironstone site.
The wheel was donated to the “Blooming Lights” group in September 2003 and originated at the Boulby Potash mine.
At 18ft I have read elsewhere it is the largest Sheave wheel in Europe.
Show on map The footpath down Hummersea steps cuts right through the remains associated with the Alum House for the Loftus Alum Quarries.
The remains of the building are fast eroding out of the cliff and will likely be gone within a few years. The largest remaining stucture is thought to be a kiln for cementstone.
Nothing remains of the three story building with a large chimney which was photographed on the site around 1900, by 1910 it was a complete ruin with only a couple of small wall remnants left.
Show on map Loftus Alum works began operation in the 1650’s and ran until the 1860’s and cover roughly half a mile on a quarried shelf below the cliff. Alum is a mordant for fixing dyes to cloths.
The quarrying process has left large sandstone cliffs at the back of the quarries
The quarries themselves are still barren with little vegetation ever having returned to the slopes.
After quarrying the alum shale was burned for many months in large mounds called clamps, a process called calcining. Areas of burned red shale can be seen on the site, although its possible these are from natural fires at a later date rather than clamps.
There are the remains of several steeping pits, where the burnt alum shale would then have placed in water to dissolve the alum salts, these are rapidly nearing the cliff edge and will erode away in a few years time.
Carved stone troughs can also be found which would have transported liquids around the site.
The alum liquor would have been transferred into a tank or cistern to allow any particles to settle out, a double walled circular cistern can be still be seen protruding from the edge of the cliff.
The settled liquor would then have been transferred to the Alum House where it was concentrated by evaporation until a specific concentration was reached, said to be the point where an egg would float in it. Akali (usually kelp or urine) was then added and the alum crystals formed as the liquid cooled.
Show on map The whole area around Kettleness is heavily scarred by industry (despite now being very picturesque) there are workings for Jet, Alum, Ironstone and Cementstone all in a small area.
Ironstone was quarried on the foreshore and around the edge of the headland there are many inaccessible jet workings located high in the cliff.
Down at sea level there are also numerous jet workings accessible at low tides
Traces of jet can still be found in the rocks in the area
The headland has also taken victim much shipping over the years, with two wrecks identifyable.
One may be the Golden Sceptre which ran aground on 16/01/1912
Show on map The sun dial was donated by Henry Bolckow in 1879 (aong with the park itself in 1868)
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It was designed by John Smith of Stockton and gives the times in New York and Melbourne as well as Middlesbrough.
The plaque below it shows corrections for the time of year, accounting for BST its pretty much spot on for the time I took the photo.
 
Show on map This 42 tonne slag ladle was designed by Ashmore, Benson and Pease in Darlington. It operated at the Bessamer plant close by.
It was placed at the Business Centre in 2004 after being in storage at Kirkleatham for many years.
Show on map Henry Bolckow is acknowledged as one of the founding fathers of Middlesbrough, having been its first mayor. The statue by D.W.S.Stevenson dates from 1881 and was unveiled to a crowd of 65,000 by Lord Frederick Cavendish
His statue stands with its back to the flyover that caused the demolition of the Royal Exchange, although it is now near its original position having been in Albert Park between 1924 and 1986
Around Exchange Square are some other remnants of the former Royal Exchange building.
 
Show on map The Vulcan Street wall is a very impressive structure, hidden away in a neglected part of Middlesbrough, it dates from 1887 and is the southern wall of the Cleveland Salt Works, and also near the site of the 1841 Bolckow Vaughan Ironworks.
The wall bears a grand total of three commemorative plaques
 
