Dunston Staiths Gateshead

Dunston Staiths is located on the River Tyne on the Gateshead side.

The Dunston Staiths is believed to be the largest timber structure still in tact that can be visited in Europe. It is actually a Grade II listed and scheduled monument and owned by a local charity in Tyne and Wear.

Dunston Staiths History

The Dunston Staiths was opened 125 years ago this year at the time of writing this is 2018. It’s original purpose back them like a lot of major establishments on the River Tyne was to provide support to the massive shipping and industrial industry by the North East Railway Company. Who owned the Dunston Staiths back then.

What was it’s actual purpose?

Well the Dunston Staiths was built to allow trains arriving from Durham Coalfields to load their coal directly onto coal ships that would then deviled coal to London and other places in Europe. The industry was ripe and thriving back in the day and over five millions tonnes of coals was moved each year!

But as time when by and the world evolved and technology advanced beyond the need for coal in the later part of the 19th century there is no longer a need for the Dunston Staiths anymore. It’s somewhat just fell into the abyss and was not looked after for quite some time.

In 2003 there was a serious fire that damaged a majority of the Dunston Staiths. This called for action by the local community and the Tyne and Wear Building Preservation Trust (TWBPT) was able to secure funding to preserve the Dunston Staiths as it was a major part of Gateshead history. Today the structure is fully refurbished and is one of the main tourist attractions for visitors plus a nice walking route for locals.

Dunston Staiths Opening Times

You can read more about the Dunston Staithes on the official website at DunstonStaiths.org.uk.

If you would like to visit the structure you can do so during the season.The season is slightly different ever year but the 2018 season is as follows:

Start – 30th March
End – 30 September

Times of the Day:

Wednesday – 10am to 7pm
Weekends – 10am to 5pm

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