Oakwellgate Station
Oakwellgate Station
HER Number
4368
District
Gateshead
Site Name
Oakwellgate Station
Place
Gateshead
Map Sheet
NZ26SE
Class
Transport
Site Type: Broad
Railway Transport Site
Site Type: Specific
Railway Station
General Period
POST MEDIEVAL
Specific Period
Victorian 1837 to 1901
Form of Evidence
Ruined Building
Description
The Gateshead depot of the Brandling Junction Railway was situated on a high artificial mound east of Oakwellgate. The original intention had been to build the depot at a lower level on the same site, but the decision to carry the branch line from Redheugh Quay across Gateshead on a viaduct instead of a tunnel, necessitated a change in the plans for the depot. The level of the mound had to be raised from 12 feet to 32 feet. The mound was surrounded on three sides by a brick and masonry retaining wall, that on the north side having 12 arched recesses which were intended to be let as warehouses; a further arch, of larger size, was formed over an inclined plane leading down to a coal drop on Gateshead Quay. A broad inclined carriageway led up from Oakwellgate to the north-west corner of the depot, and at the same corner was "a sort of tower which encloses a spacious staircase intended for those who arrive on foot". This wooden staircase cost £515 15s 10d. In addition to the passenger terminus of the B.J.R. there was room in the depot area for a carriage shed, warehouse, and engine repair shed. Oliver’s plan of 1844 is the earliest to represent Oakwellgate Station in any detail. The 1st edition Ordnance Survey plan shows the station in use as a Goods depot, the terminus buildings and engine shed apparently enlarged, and 13 sidings. The 2nd edition Ordnance Survey plan shows the terminus building had been demolished and the number of sidings increased to 15. The raised mound survives, almost cleared of buildings.
Easting
425620
Northing
563640
Grid Reference
NZ425620563640
Sources
<< HER 4368 >> Thomas Oliver, 1844, Plan of The Borough of Newcastle….together with Gateshead
Northern Counties Archaeological Services, 1998, Gateshead Regional Music Centre, Archaeological Assessment
J.M. Fleming 1977, Stations on the Brandling Junction Railway - Gateshead, TIAG Newsletter, No. 17, Feb 1977; W.W. Tomlinson, 1914, The Morth Eastern Railway - Its Rise and Development, p 320
Northern Counties Archaeological Services, 1998, Gateshead Regional Music Centre, Archaeological Assessment
J.M. Fleming 1977, Stations on the Brandling Junction Railway - Gateshead, TIAG Newsletter, No. 17, Feb 1977; W.W. Tomlinson, 1914, The Morth Eastern Railway - Its Rise and Development, p 320