Blyth Bebside Railway Station (Northumberland Line). Archaeological Watching Brief

Wessex Archaeology

The watching brief focused on an area to the east of the existing railway line in order to record any potential remains pertaining to Bebside colliery.

However, no evidence of activity related to the Bebside Colliery extended into the development site. Three modern ditches or furrows and a pit were uncovered in the northern and south-eastern parts of the monitored area. Historic mapping shows that the area was an unoccupied field during the 19th and 20th centuries, so it is probable that the uncovered features related to agricultural activity.

A small assemblage of finds was recovered, comprising pottery, ceramic building material and glass. All finds were of late 19th to mid-20th-century date. Environmental remains recovered from the pit had a low potential to inform on the nature of the feature or the wider site, due to the low amount and poor condition of the wood charcoal.