So little remains of the original streets of Grangetown due to demolition and the A66, its taken me over 10 years to drive through and notice this ingot mould on Bolckow Road.
Grangetown Ingot Mould
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Show on map Show on map Back from the dead
The site is back up and running after being unsuccessfully hacked to sell dubious pharmaceticals (but breaking it in the process). I’ve had to make a lot of changes and updates as everything was pretty much untouched since 2007, part of the reason it was vulnerable to hijack.
For anyone who’s interested the following upgrades have been made.
- WordPress 2.0.5Â to 3.2
- Akismet Spam Filter 2.0 to 2.5.3
- Dagon Design Sitemap Generator 2.7 to 3.0
- Flickr Photo Album 0.85 to 1.1
- Geo Mashup 1.0.4 to 1.3.11
If you spot anything broken let me know.
Eston Mines Walk Saturday July 9th
The will soon be an opportunity to pick the brains of local author and mining expert Simon Chapman.
A Guided Walk to look at the Ironstone Mining Remains at Eston on Saturday 9th July 2011.
Meet in the public car park behind Eston Institute at 10 a.m
We shall look at the Site of Trustee Drift, Old Bank, then across to New Bank before taking the route of the former railway to the S.S. Castle and Wilton Lane
The route is not too steep to the level railway track, but likely to be muddy
Return to the start point possibly around 4 p.m., perhaps
Don’t forget to bring lunch
Simon Chapman
Vicars Trod, Marske
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Grangetown Railway Station
Show on map Grangetown Railway Station originally dated from 1885 (when it was named Eston Grange and served that long lost community) The station has been disused since November 1991. The location is actually about 1km from the current Grangetown so its usage probably dropped to nothing when the industury it served closed.
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The sizes of the ramps shows the volume of people who must have passed through it.
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This rubbish filled subway leads to a set of steps would have gone towards the South Bank Ironworks
 
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Although most of the station is relatively modern, there are some heavy sandstone blocks alongside the black path which hint at its earlier 1800s incarnation.
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An internal railway line to the ironworks runs immediately alongside the station.
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Newham Bridge / Devils Bridge – Acklam, Middlesbrough
Show on map This small packhorse bridge stands where Marton West Beck meets Newham Beck
Its known as Devils Bridge as there was supposedly a cloven hoof mark on one of the stones, but I was unable to locate it, I suspect its long since worn away.
St Helens Church and East Lodge, Eston
Show on map St Helens Church in Eston was a Grade II listed building, it originated in the 12th Century and was in use until 1962, before becoming a cemetary chapel until 1985. The church was heavily vandalised and by 1987 was ‘in a critical state of disrepair’. A fire followed in December 1992 and during this time the church was being illegally demolished and stonework stolen. Thankfully in 1998 the remains of the church were removed to Beamish who have an excellent set of photos
The church is currently being rebuilt at Beamish as of May 2011.
Nothing remains on the site except a plaque and outline of the church
 
The East Lodge of cemetary seems to have suffered a similar fate and it currently completely burned out.
 
It is however the subject of a relatively recent planning application, so it may be on the verge of being restored.
Beached Sperm Whale – Redcar
Show on map On the morning of 31/05/2011 this 44 foot long, 35 tonne beached sperm whale was found on Redcar beach, sadly it died shortly afterwards.
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For a few days the efforts to remove it from the beach became an unlikely tourist attraction.
Chop Gate ROC Post – Open Day
Show on map The Royal Observer Corps post at Chop Gate has recently been restored and a fantastic job has been made of it, its such a nice change to see a post in good condition rather than being stood in knee deep water with rotting artifacts floating around you.
On the surface the entrance was fitted with its Ground Zero Indicator (GZI) which is a pin-hole camera to record the position of any nuclear bomb bursts.
The ventilation shaft is in great condition with a fresh coat of paint.
The dome for the Fixed Survey Meter was also present, which has normally long since vanished.
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A great collection of the kit associated with the post was also on display, such as a set of maroon launchers used to warn the public of fallout.
 
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A hand cranked air-raid siren and generator to charge the posts batteries.
 
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Then it was time to get underground !
Underground the post is in stunning condition.
 
An early Teletalk and Warning receiver were present as well as their later BT replacements
 
The Bomb Power Indicator is suspended from the roof.
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The probe for the Fixed Survey Meter which would be sent up a tube to the dome outside to monitor radiation.
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With the old and new versions of the Fixed Survey Meter to actually monitor radiation.
 
It was also very nice to see some of the more ephemeral items such as METAR weather report forms, Triangulation calculators and post maps.
 
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And finally of course the post important piece of equipment in the whole place, the toilet.
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I can’t compliment this place enough, its great that we now have a local restored post, further information on the restoration and details of future open days can be found on the Attack Warning Red site. Huge amounts of information about the ROC can also be found on numerous sites 1 2 3
NOTE : None of the items in these photographs are stored in the post, it is completely stipped when there’s not an open day in progress.
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Westworth Reservoir
Show on map Westworth Reservoir was built by the Guisborough Water Company around 1871, it has in recent years been abandoned.
I don’t know the exact date of closure and remodelling, but a 2002 report talks about the cross-section of the dam being left.
 
The overflow tower is the most striking reminder, along with a stone spillway which is gradually becoming overgrown.
 
A small building and plinth remain for an “interpretation panel” that clearly never materialised.
Plan of Spa Wood workings under the reservoir (triggered by discussion in the comments)
