Seaham Harbour

The original dock at Seaham Harbour is barely recognisable now the area has been rejuvenated into a small marina.

This part of the dock was a maze of massive timber staithes and coal drops.
Once chaldron wagons trundled coal down Dogger Bank to the docks. A tunnel or underpass was opened in 1870 and closed in 1988. The docks were a fascinating place to explore - long before the H&S zealots took control of our lives.

Chaldron wagons or 'black wagons' operated for over 100 years on this site. A pair of wheels from one that went over the top of the staithes and into the sea is still visible at low tide.

One of the Dock Company steam engines, 'Lewin' a coffee pot style with vertical boiler worked the docks from 1877. It had a long life, I can remember it running around 1970 and it is now preserved!

In the 1960s almost 1,500,000 tons was exported through Seaham annually.