Historic Trades and Crafts of Whitley Bay and Cullercoats

Modern Whitley Bay is a seaside resort, but for centuries before the railway brought holidaymakers, the coast between Cullercoats and St Mary's was a working landscape of coal mines, salt pans, and fishing boats. The resort industry itself was a trade -- one that employed thousands and created its own economy of hotels, entertainers, and boarding houses.

Coal Mining

Coal mining was the first significant industry on the Whitley Bay coast. Mining was recorded in Whitley as early as the 1660s, when coal from local workings was used to fire the salt pans at Cullercoats.

In 1676, a partnership between the Dove family and Henry Hudson developed coal mines at Whitley and Cullercoats, and they built Cullercoats into a small port for exporting coal in 1677. These early workings were eventually exhausted, and the mines closed in 1724.

Mining returned in 1810, when a new shaft was sunk at Whitley Colliery on the site of what is now Whitley Bay Metro station. The coal was used primarily to fuel lime kilns at the nearby Marsden quarry. The pit closed in 1880 because it was unprofitable -- the seams were thin and the coal was poor. By then, the railway had arrived and the coast's future lay in tourism rather than extraction.

Best for: Whitley Colliery stood on the site of what is now Whitley Bay Metro station -- the coal mine beneath the railway station.

Salt Panning

Salt production was closely linked to coal mining. Seawater was boiled in large iron pans heated by cheap local coal to extract the salt. At their peak, there were nineteen salt pans at Cullercoats Bay, producing salt for the preservation of fish and meat.

The salt pans were notorious for their unpleasant fumes -- thick, acrid smoke from burning coal and boiling brine that hung over the bay and surrounding houses. The industry was never popular with residents, and as the coal supply dwindled, the last salt pans at Cullercoats were moved to Blyth in 1726.

Fishing and the Cullercoats Fishwives

With the closure of the mines and salt pans, fishing became the main industry at Cullercoats. Two piers were built on either side of the harbour in the 19th century to provide shelter for the cobles -- the flat-bottomed open fishing boats that were launched directly from the beach.

Cullercoats fishing was a family enterprise, and the women of the village -- the Cullercoats fishwives -- played an essential role. The fishwives searched for bait, digging sand-worms, gathering mussels, and seeking limpets and dog-crabs. They baited the hooks, mended nets, carried the catch to market, and sold the fish.

The fishwives carried their baskets on their backs, walking miles to sell fish in Newcastle and the surrounding towns. They were a distinctive sight, dressed in their working clothes with heavy creels of fish, and they became celebrated subjects for artists.

In the 1880s, American artist Winslow Homer spent eighteen months in Cullercoats, painting the fishwives and the sea in works that are now regarded as some of the finest American watercolours of the 19th century. The Cullercoats fishwives became internationally known through his paintings.

Best for: American artist Winslow Homer painted the Cullercoats fishwives in the 1880s -- his Cullercoats watercolours are now among the most admired American paintings of the 19th century.

Lime Burning

Limestone was quarried at Marsden, south of Whitley Bay, and burnt in kilns to produce quicklime -- an essential material for building mortar, agriculture (for improving acid soil), and industrial processes. The coal from Whitley Colliery was used to fire the lime kilns, creating a direct link between the two industries.

Lime burning was hot, dirty, and dangerous work. The kilns ran continuously, and workers had to feed them with alternating layers of limestone and coal while controlling the temperature to produce usable lime. The trade declined as cheaper lime became available from other sources.

The Resort Industry

The arrival of the railway in 1862 transformed Whitley Bay from a working coast into a seaside resort. The new industry of tourism created its own economy and its own trades:

• Hoteliers and boarding house keepers filled the terraces along the seafront with accommodation for holidaymakers from Tyneside and beyond.
• Entertainment workers staffed the Spanish City from 1910, running the concert hall, ballroom, and funfair that drew tens of thousands of visitors.
• Beach operators managed the bathing machines, deckchairs, and donkey rides that were the standard attractions of an Edwardian seaside resort.
• Ice cream sellers -- many of Italian origin -- established the parlours and kiosks that remain a feature of the seafront today.

At its peak in the early 20th century, the resort industry was Whitley Bay's largest employer and the reason for the town's rapid growth from a village of 300 people to a town of over 14,000.

Evidence That Remains

• Cullercoats Bay: The harbour piers built to shelter the fishing cobles are still standing, and the bay retains the form of a working fishing village.
• Whitley Bay Metro station: Stands on the site of the former Whitley Colliery, which closed in 1880.
• Spanish City dome: The restored 1910 pleasure palace is the most visible monument to the resort industry that replaced fishing and mining.
• St Mary's Lighthouse: Built in 1898 to guide ships past the coast, the lighthouse served the maritime traffic that the coal and fishing trades created.
• Street names: Colliery Row and Salt Meadows recall the industrial past beneath the resort.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What trades were practised in Whitley Bay?

Before the resort era, Whitley Bay's coast was home to coal mining, salt panning, fishing, and lime burning. The Cullercoats fishwives were one of the most distinctive working communities, and the resort industry itself created a new economy of hotels, entertainers, and ice cream sellers from the 1860s onwards.

Who were the Cullercoats fishwives?

The Cullercoats fishwives were the women of Cullercoats fishing families. They dug bait, baited hooks, mended nets, and carried the fish to market in Newcastle. They were painted by American artist Winslow Homer in the 1880s and became internationally known.

Was there coal mining in Whitley Bay?

Yes. Coal was mined at Whitley from the 1660s. Whitley Colliery, on the site of the current Metro station, operated from 1810 to 1880. The coal was mainly used to fire salt pans and lime kilns.