1790 wreck of English West Indiaman which stranded under the Spanish Battery on arriving at Shields from London to load cargo for Jamaica; a wooden sailing vessel. Master: Cook

Craft, drove upon part of the Herd Sand, 1819. Master: Lewis.

English tug lost in wind conditions following a collision with the French steamship Actif, 1903. Built: 1865
Propulsion: Screw driven, 2 cylinder compound engine
Boilers: 1
Master: B Bootiman
Crew: 4
Owner: R Readhead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

1872 wreck of English craft which was "wrecked off South Shields" with the loss of all hands, suggesting a place of loss on or near the Herd Sand. Since no further details are given, it is unknown whether she was a steam or sailing vessel.

German Brigantine stranded and lost on the coast north of Seaham in windy conditions, 1898. The NMR entry is listed uner South Tyneside, although Rhyope is part of Sunderland. Owner: C. C. H. Bosch, Bremerhaven
Built: 1863
Crew: 8
Master: C. O. Wachter

1787 wreck of English brig which foundered off South Shields following a leak while taking in her cargo of coal; a wooden sailing vessel. `Newcastle, March 31, 1787...Thursday the brig ELIZABETH of Scarborough, taking in coals at South Shields, suddenly sunk in deep water; no apparent reason can be given for this accident, but it is conjectured a rat hole has been the cause; the people on board were all saved.' (Newcastle Courant)

1864 wreck of English brig which stranded off the South Pier, Tynemouth, in the aftermath of the storm which had wrecked the STANLEY (1364862), FRIENDSHIP (1364859) and ARDWELL (1364863) the day before. She was inbound to the Tyne, either as a light vessel, i.e. in ballast, or as a coal-laden vessel, putting back because of the storm. Constructed of wood in 1854, she was a sailing vessel. Built: 1854
Construction: part iron bolts
Master: Richard Wilson
Crew Lost: all, estimated as about 8
Owner: J Morgan

Now the Northumbrian Piper. Said to have been built in 1848 by Matthew Bell as a Dower House for the Woolsington Estate. Owned by the Bell family until June 1913. From 1929 to 1949 the house was occupied by Robin Rowell, then it was bought by Colonel Mould-Graham (once Lord Mayor of Newcastle) and finally sold to S & N Breweries in 1968. Opened as a pub in 1969. The Piper who played at the opening of the pub was Jack Armstrong (1904-1978), official piper to the duke of Northumberland. His only official duty was to play at the Shrove Tuesday football match. Jack Armstrong's picture was on the original pub sign that was painted by Joicey.

The White House was Fawdon Colliery agent's house. Built circa 1809. Attached to the west was a row of miner's cootages with gardens to the rear. The council demolished the houses around 1938.

The Royal Naval Air Service used this site as a coastal landing ground. The main role of the RNAS was fleet reconnaissance, patrolling the coast for enemy ships and submarines, attacking enemy coastal territory and defending Britain from enemy air raids. RNAS Whitley Bay was operational from late 1914. It had four Bristol TB.8s, later BE.2cs, a Bristol Scout C, two Cauldron G.111s and 3 Avro 504Cs. There were two wooden aeroplane sheds. The RNAS station ceased operating by July 1916. There were frequent reports of damage during forced landings, take-offs, crash landings and planes ditched in the sea. The station's only fatality was on 19th September 1915 when a BE.2c was lost in the North Sea and FSL DS Hay was killed. During WW2 aircraft obstructions (HER 12554) were dug on the site to prevent enemy aircraft from landing here.