3 houses, now one residence. Late 18th century/early C19. 2 builds: earlier build sandstone rubble with quoins; later build at left of coursed squared sandstone with quoins; pantiled roofs with rendered chimneys. One storey and attics, 2 and 4 bays. Renewed door in second bay; blocked doors in bays 2 and 6. Flat stone lintels to doors, to renewed sash windows with projecting stone sills and to 2 half dormers. Sundial dated 1816 set at slight angle above door and memorial tablet to George Stephenson who lived here 1803-15 and is said to have made the sundial; he built his first locomotive (Blucher) at the adjacent colliery wagon shops and on July 25th 1814, it was placed on the nearby wagonway, according to the inscription above the door. Adjoins similar stone built Georgian cottage. A watching brief in 2002 during the conversion of the cottage into a school caretakers house revealed that below extensive redecoration, the core of the original building fabric survives.

By the middle of the 19th century the easterly part of the Rector's Field was occupied by the tracks and sidings of the Coal, Coke and Lime depot and the inclined tubway. The incline ran north from the raised Oakwellgate station, ran under what by 1898 was called Abbot's Road, and descended the escarpment bridging across South Shore Road to terminate at the Brandling Railway Staith. A sandstone bridge abutment for this incline survives on the south side of South Shore Road at the junction of Bank Road.

Possible mine shaft identified on Oliver 1830.

The traditional explanation of the street name 'Oakwellgate' is that "there had been anciently a well, with an oak hanging over it" (Brand, 482). A stone-lined well 5'9" in diameter and 20' deep was found to the south-east of the old rectory in 1921. From the brief description the well cannot be dated, but was probably a domestic supply for the rectory.

Between 1802 and 1827 a bank of two lime kilns was constructed against the escarpment immediately west of Abbot's Stairs. The kilns were probably operated by William Hymers & Co, the only lime burners in Gateshead at that time (Williams 1841). The kilns were no longer marked by 1898 (OS 2) but a short railway branch line was shown leading from the incline to their site. A public house called the Lime Kiln Inn, presumably catering for thirsty limeburners, was established on the west side of Abbot's Stairs by 1858.

By the late C17 there were two staiths in this part of Gateshead. Rock Staith, and some 70m to the east, Dock Staith. The space between the two was possibly the wet dock referred to in a lease of 1705. These were collectively known as 'the Bishopps Staiths', suggesting that they originated when the Bishops of Durham controlled the Manor of Gateshead. By 1835 the former Dock Staith accommodated the Kibblesworth Coal Staith, Hawk's Anchor Works and Abbot Quay. Shortly before WW2, Joseph Rank Ltd established the Baltic Flour Mills on the site of both Rock and Dock Staiths.

By the late C17 there were two staiths in this part of Gateshead. Rock Staith belonged to the Liddell Partnership in 1687 and served their Bensham mines. It occupied the site of the present Tyne Bridge. A lease of fields in 1691 to Thomas Grayson of 'Gateside Rocksteath, yeoman' suggests that there was permanent occupation at the staith, and cottages are marked there on a19th century plan. Together with Dock Staith some 70m east, these were collectively known as 'the Bishopps Staiths' suggesting that they originated when the Bishops of Durham controlled the Manor of Gateshead. By 18th century40 part of the buildings on the site of Rock Staith were used as a warehouse for iron merchants Cargill, Mounsey and Co., with a quay and bond yard to the east. Shortly before the Second World War Joseph Rank Ltd established the Baltic Flour Mills occupying the site of both the Rock and Dock Staiths.

In 1838 the Brandling Junction Railway Company obtained permission from the Corporation to erect a quay at the east end of Hillgate, which was in place by 1844. This was the terminus of the inclined tubway from Oakwellgate Station goods depot, and included a timber drop for transferring coal and lime to shipping. By 1864 the Brandling Junction Quay had become the North east Railway Wharf. By 1940 it was cleared of buildings, and rebuilt as a GPO sorting office by 1985. The site is now occupied by HMS Calliope.

The Coal Drops were added as a secondary feature to the Oakwellgate station, built across open ground held by Cuthbert Ellison on lease from the Bishop of Durham. A clear butt joint separates the piers of the drops from the station's east retaining wall which formed the rear of the drops. There are no precise records of the date of construction of the drops themselves, though they are likely to have been built after 1838 and before 1844. The drops consist of a series of 15 piers built of local sandstone rubble with dressed quoins. Two phases of construction are apparent in the drops themselves, with the eight southernmost drops having thinner piers than the remaining six to the north. The eight southerly drops are shown on an undated plan by Thomas Bell. This increase in thickness may have been dictated by the fall of ground towards the river, and compensated for the additional weight of masonry in the higher piers. The Coal Drops did not as has previously been thought, serve the incline to the quay. On the undated plan by Thomas Bell the drops are clearly set off to the east of the incline and this arrangement is confirmed by Oliver's plan of 1844 which shows the seven southernmost drops covered with a long building, while the remaining six are open. The Bell plan makes it clear that from the outset the drops were an independent facility, presumably providing a landsale outlet for coals and lime, without any physical connection to the incline which began on the north side of Oakwellgate station. The 1857 1:500 Ordnance Survey town plan for Gateshead marks the drops as 'Oakwellgate Depot (Coal and Lime)', supporting the interpretation that it was a terminus for these products, where they were unloaded for local sale and distribution by road {1}. Circa 1840. Associated with Brandling Junction Railway. Coursed squared stone with vermiculate rusticated outer faces. Eleven tall bays whose walls support railway track above. Stout timber butt purlins at four levels support sloped timber chutes for dropping coal into wagons below. Listed as a rare and interesting industrial survival with some architectural pretension. {3}

The Oakwellgate Public Baths and Washhouse (laundries), designed by William Hall the Borough Engineer, were erected at a cost of £4,300 in 1854 on a site previously occupied by several small buildings belonging to the Rectory. The Baths opened in 1855. In 1884 it was reported that the laundry facilities were heavily used by the working class, but the Baths less so, due to high charges. By the First World War the Baths had become Reay Gearworks, and remained as commercial and manufacturing premises until burned down in 1986, after which some archaeological investigation was carried out. The Baths were a Grade II listed building. A carved stone goat's head, which surmounted the Corporation crest on the central gable of the façade has been built into the stone wall around the present car park.