Lemington

Lemington, Bell’s Close and Sugley were adjacent villages which developed in the nineteenth century around the new industries which took advantage of the coal and clay deposits as well as the nearby water transport.

They were all part of the parish of Sugley. In the sixteenth century there was a Lamedon Mill and a Lamedon House and in 1638 the staithes at Lemendon are recorded. There was also a brickyard, tileshed, blacking factory and boatyard at Bell’s Close at this time.

In 1787 the Northumberland Glass Company obtained a lease on some land at Lemington from the Duke of Northumberland and set up four glasshouses. Glass manufacture continued on the site until 1882 when it stopped and the land was leased to Spencer’s Iron Works. Glass making moved to a different site in Lemington.

In 1797 the Tyne Iron Works was established in Lemington 'for the cast iron extracting by the action of fire in large furnaces from ironstone…… to produce everything from an anchor to a needle' but in 1869 it was taken over by John Spencer & Sons and restarted as the Tyne Haematite Iron Company in 1871 using Spanish ore. The furnaces finally closed in 1886 and in 1903 the Newcastle & district Lighting Company erected a power station on the site.

Lemington Staithes and Lemington Point were the termination of many coal wagonways including the Wylam and Wallbottle wagonways. The coal was delivered to the staithes and then dropped into the many waiting Keel boats to take it out to the collier ships anchored in the River Tyne.

In 1876 with the coming of the railways a 'new' Lemington developed 'up the bank' north of the railway line. In the same year the Tyne Commissioners cut a new channel in the river near Blaydon and the entrance to Lemington Loop was cut off and silted up. This area is now called 'The Gut'. Continuous dredging was needed to keep the staithes clear.

By mid nineteenth century Lemington Point was the finishing line for skiff races starting at either the Tyne or Scotswood Bridges. The famous oarsman, Harry Clasper, frequently entered these races.

There was an island at Lemington Point which was locally known as 'Canary Island' during World War I because of the effect cordite had on the skins of the munitions workers. The land was reclaimed after World War II and in 1958 the Anglo Great Lakes Corporation Ltd. Built a plant for the conversion of carbon into graphite for use in the nuclear industry. This was the beginning of the Lemington Industrial Estate.

Holy Saviour Church was originally called Sugley Parish Church when it was built in 1837. It was designed by Benjamin Green and is unusual because it is oriented north-south, rather than east-west, to avoid an unused pit shaft underneath it. The Parish Day School was attached until 1937 when it closed. There were three churches in the area. 1838 a Weslyan Chapel was built by the Keelmen who ferried the stone form Heworth in Gateshead and in 1868 St. George’s Roman Catholic Church was built with an attached school, which is still in use.

On 12 July 1875 Lemington Station opened on the Scotswood, Newburn & Wylam Railway. On 15 September 1958 the station closed to passengers and on 4 January 1960 the station was closed to goods, but the lines weren't lifted until 1992, when the Ever Ready battery factory in Newburn closed.

Description harvested from Lemington Heritage

Lemington Glassworks Cone

Lemington Methodist Church

The Parish of the Holy Saviour - Sugley

St Georges RC Church

The Lemington Centre

Lemington Labour Club

Waverley Park Doorstep Green

Lemington Road Area

Lemington Middle Club

Valley View Play Area

Waverley Lodge Care Home

Lemington Gut

Lemington Streets
Mouse-over for the street names

Riverside Way area

More information:
Lemington Newburn Heritage on the Web - Home
Ward News - Lemington
Wikipedia - Lemington Glass Works
Northumberland and Newcastle Society - Lemington Glass Works
Subterranea Britannica: Lemington Station
The Lemington Centre

OLD PHOTOS OF LEMINGTON

Portrait photo showing one of the large segmental arches at the base of the glass cone being reopened.
Image from October 1992.
©SINE Project

Portrait photo showing a wooden staith and the old power station at Lemington Gut.
View from the southwest.
Image from 24 November 1968.
©SINE Project

Portrait photograph showing a section of the North Eastern Railway Scotswood, Newburn and Wylam Branch running through Lemington.
View from the west.
Image from 3 March 1968.
©SINE Project

Portrait photo looking at the junction of the glass cone and adjacent works buildings. Behind the red door marked 'KEEP CLEAR' is the entrance of the tunnel to the glass cone furnace hearth and ashpit.
Image from July 1972.
©SINE Project

Portrait photo looking at the scaffolded cone of Lemington Glassworks during restoration works.
View from the west.
Image from October 1992.
©SINE Project

Portrait photo looking at the cone and sheds of Lemington Glassworks, with a number of pigeon crees in the foreground.
View from the southeast.
Image from 24 November 1968.
©SINE Project

Portrait photo looking at the upper part of the Lemington glass cone.
mage from September 1972.
©SINE Project

Landscape photo of housing to the north of Lemington Glass Works, built for glass workers.
Image from September 1972.
©SINE Project

Landscape view of the No.4 furnace from the interior.
Image from 9 January 1973.
©SINE Project

Landscape photo of Lemington Glassworks c.1900. The cone to the left of shot is the only surviving element of the site.
View from the southwest.
Image from around 1900.
©SINE Project

Landscape photo looking at the lower half of the glass cone at Lemington, with blocked arches visible behind a wall.
View from the west.
Image from September 1972.
©SINE Project

Lemington Glassworks with workers' housing in the foreground. The surviving glass cone is to the right of shot.
View from the northeast.
Image from around 1900.
©SINE Project

Landscape photo showing the reheating of a blown gather in the ‘glory hole’ of a glass melting pot, using an annealing furnace.
Image from 9 January 1973.
©SINE Project

Landscape photo looking at the Lemington glass cone, with a small Police station in the foreground. View from the west.
Image from September 1972.
©SINE Project

Landscape photo showing the unblocking of a segmental arch at the base of the glass cone, revealing a possible lehr (annealing furnace).
Image from October 1992.
©SINE Project

Landscape photo looking at a reopened arch at the base of the glass cone from inside.
Image from October 1992.
©SINE Project

Landscape photo of the Anglo Great Lakes Graphite Plant.
Image from August 1972.
©SINE Project

Landscape photo looking at the remains of the quayside at Tyne Iron Works.
View from the south.
Image from March 1976.
©SINE Project