Seaton Sluice situated half a mile north of, and formed part of,
the old village of Hartley, of which the earliest records date from
1097, when it was in the possession of the monks of Tynemouth.
Hartley was the name given to the whole of the area between the
Brier Dene at Whitley and the Seaton Burn on the Blyth coastal
road. In the early years, apart from the Rivers Tyne and Tweed,
there were no natural harbours along the Northumbrian coastline and
so with the growth of the coal trade it became a necessity to
develop new ports. Although Seaton Sluice was mentioned in 1565 in
a drawn-up list of Northumbrian ports, it was then just a natural
harbour. Just over 200 years ago Seaton Sluice became the centre of
a flourishing coal and bottleworks trade, exporting to western
Europe, and for its size was the centre of greater commercial
activity than any other town on the North East coast with shipping
of up to 300 tons burden visiting the tiny harbour. It was from the
30-odd pits in the district near Hartley township where the coal
was mined. Employing hundreds of seamen and providing a living for
miners, ropemakers, sailmakers, shipbui1ders, insurance brokers,
also investment opportunities for numerous shareholders, trade at
Seaton Sluice once rivalled that of North Shields and Blyth and its
success was entirely due to the entrepreneurial and engineering
skills of the delavals family.
From a natural rill at the beginning of the 17th century, the
harbour of Seaton Sluice was transformed by Sir Ralph Delaval
between 1660 and l690 to satisfy an increasing demand for Hartley
coal. Stone walls were raised, piers were built at the north
entrance to the harbour and an ingenious system of sluice gates
installed, which enabled the tidal waves to scour the bottom of the
channel to remove sand and silt which continually built up in the
harbour entrance. These early improvements were not entirely
successful due to the limited depth of water in the natural harbour
and ships had to be part-loaded then taken out into deeper water at
the entrance of the harbour to be loaded to their full capacity by
keel boats, adding both to the expense and causing delays. Access
to the harbour was also extremely difficult when a North-East wind
prevailed and the limitations of these early improvements to the
harbour, in coping with the ever-increasing trade in coal arid
salt, were soon realised.
By the middle of the 18th century Sir John Hussey Delaval in
conjunction with his brother, Thomas Delaval, had drawn up plans
and specifications to cut a new harbour eastward through solid
rock. Tenders were invited in August 1761 in the Newcastle Courant
and by 1764 the work was completed. A major engineering feat in its
day the 'cut, or 'gut' as it is now locally known, was some 270
metres long. 9 metres wide, 15 metres deep. On the 22 August 1764
with Captain Curry at the helm, the 'Warkworth' was the first to
sail out of the new harbour with a cargo of 270 tonne of coal.
Today, Seaton Sluice has changed into a quiet resort which shows
little sign of its industrial past. The bottleworks and shipping
have long since gone, and the Seaton Burn trickles gently down into
the once busy little harbour where small fishing boats now occupy
the moorings. Many of the old inns and ale houses of the day have
also disappeared, but despite this Seaton Sluice still has many
hidden secrets and stories to tell!
After you have found the cache, which is a 35mm film canister,
there is a choice of watering holes where you can have a meal and a
pint, or for those that prefer tea and cakes to beer, there is
Castaways Tea Rooms, (only open Friday Saturday and Sunday 11am to
5.30pm).