MARSDEN, COUNTY DURHAM
The Village that Vanished

On the coast of County Durham, just to the south of South Shields, is a broad grassy field. This is all that remains of the village of Marsden which flourished briefly but disappeared after less than a century, a victim of industrial change.

I knew little about Marsden until Ruby Eberhardt (002/068) visited me earlier this year and, having herself paid a short visit to Marsden, presented me with a booklet published by the Whitburn Local History Group which contained pictures of the old village. Since I was on holiday in the north east this summer, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see for myself and to do a little research into Marsden’s past. I found that despite its small size and brief life, Marsden had an interesting history.

The name Marsden has been associated with this area since at least the 18th century and probably much earlier. Local historian C. A. Smith speculated that the original name was really Marston derived from the Old English mersc meaning marsh and tun meaning settlement or enclosure. Marsden’s cliff top location shows little sign of being marshy and there seems to be little evidence of significant settlement there until recently so this derivation may be questionable. Doubt is also cast by Thomas Moule’s map of the county published in 1836 which identifies a Mardon Hill in the vicinity. This may suggest origins in the Old English words mere meaning mare (horse) and denn meaning pasture.

The village of Marsden stood to the south of Marsden Bay. The most striking features of the bay are several magnesian limestone pillars left behind after the erosion of the surrounding cliff by the sea. The largest of these is known as Marsden Rock and stands 100 feet high and some 100 x 200 feet at its foot. The rock is flat-topped and a ladder was at one time fixed to the side. In 1903 a large number of locals scaled the rock and held a choral service from its summit. The rock was, until recently, pierced by a natural arch through which one could walk at low tide but the top of the arch has now collapsed, turning the rock into two separate pillars. The rock provides a home for considerable numbers of sea birds including cormorants and kittiwakes.

Marsden’s earliest recorded inhabitant was the appropriately named "Jack the Blaster" who in 1792, together with his wife, took up residence in a natural cave in the cliff known as "The Grotto". Using explosives Jack enlarged the cave and he may also have cut a staircase into the cliff. From his unusual home, Jack dispensed refreshments to local smugglers and later to the increasing number of visitors to the area. In 1828 The Grotto was taken over by Peter Allan who turned the premises into a hotel and extended them still further by excavating a ballroom. In 1874 Sidney Milnes Hawkes took over. He was a supporter of Italian unification and held meetings of his political associates there. The Grotto was acquired in 1898 by Vaux breweries who are today part of the Whitbread group and continues to be used as a public house.

The first substantial structure to be built in the area was the Souter lighthouse which was completed in 1871 to protect local shipping from the dangers of this rocky stretch of coastline. The lighthouse stands 75 feet high and has the distinction of being the first lighthouse in the world to have been powered by electrical alternators. The 700,000 candle power beam could be seen over 20 miles away. Souter lighthouse closed in 1988, although it still provides a radio navigation beacon to guide local shipping. Fortunately, the lighthouse together with its four keepers’ cottages has been taken over by the National Trust and its future assured. It provides an interesting museum of lighthouse keeping which includes one of the cottages restored and furnished to its original 19th century condition.

The village of Marsden was founded in 1874 and occupied the area on the cliff top immediately to the north of the lighthouse. The previous year the Harton Coal Company had sunk two shafts and established the new Whitburn Colliery. Shortly afterwards, to take advantage of the local coal and limestone supplies, a quarry was opened and lime kilns were built to produce quicklime for use in cement mortar. These industries attracted a sizeable workforce and Marsden was built to accommodate them.

The village consisted of 135 houses, the smallest houses having two rooms only, the largest four rooms arranged "two up, two down". The houses formed nine terraces dominated by the "double row" fronting Charles Street and Hilton Street which, because of its size and because it contained the largest houses, accommodated about half of the population. Around half of the houses had gardens and for those which did not, there were two areas of allotment gardens. The residents’ material needs were met by a large Co-operative store and a Post Office whilst their spiritual needs were catered for by an Anglican chapel (St. Andrew’s) built in 1896 and a Methodist chapel. Such leisure time as the residents were able to find could be spent on the Miners’ Welfare sports field and bowling green or in intellectual pursuits at the Miners’ Institute and reading room. A school was opened in 1882 and immediately attracted 62 pupils.

The arrival of the new industries led to a need for improved transport and a standard gauge railway extension was built to link Marsden to the nearest line at Westoe from where a connection to Newcastle on Tyne was available. The passenger station, Marsden Cottage, was said to be the smallest in England. Because of the outdated rolling stock used on the line the railway soon acquired the name "The Marsden Rattler". Nevertheless, in spite of its reputation, the line continued to operate up to the closure of the colliery.

By 1968 the village was already in decline. One of the local employers, the paper mill founded in 1889, had closed in 1933 and employment in the other industries was reducing. The final blow came with the closure of Whitburn Colliery in 1968. The decision was taken to demolish the village in its entirety and to turn the area into a public open space, now a part of Whitburn Coastal Park. In a short space of time, all of the houses and shops and the church and chapel were swept away. The Rattler railway was torn up and the Miners’ Welfare field turned into a car park. Only the school building was left standing.

The Sunderland Echo marked the passing of Marsden with an interesting series of articles by C. A. Smith recording the history of the village and of some of its inhabitants. These provide perhaps the fullest picture of its history. Today there is no trace of that century of industry and the village to which it gave birth. Marsden has truly become "The Village That Vanished"

References: Pictures of Old Marsden, The Village that Vanished, Whitburn Local History Group, 1991. Souter Lighthouse and the Leas, National Trust, 1995. Articles by C. A. Smith, Sunderland Echo 6, 13, 20 & 27 March 1969. Dictionary of Surnames, Hanks & Hodges.