Kenton Waggonway

Circa 1700-1715. Kenton Estate is bisected by the 90 Fathom Dyke. Extraction of coal from the part of the estate to the south, upcast, side of the dyke, where the coal seams were shallower had begun by the 16th century. By the early 18th century a waggonway carried coal from West Kenton and Montague Main pits down to the River Tyne at Scotswood. This waggonway was closed by 1715 when the coal workings were flooded. Kitty’s drift (HER 6959), a subterraneous waggonway, ran between East Kenton and Bell’s Close on the River Tyne at Scotswood, exploiting untouched seams to the north of the dyke.