Redcar

Coatham Marsh

Carl Mole and I had planned to walk from Kirkleatham to South Gare. On the morning of the walk the skies were grey and sleat was falling. We changed our plans and decided to take a walk around Coatham Marshes. When we arrived at the frozen marshes the sky was still overcast but we could see blue skies heading our way, by the time we walked out onto the marshes the skies were gin-clear and blue. From a high point we could the snow-capped Pennines on the western horizon and the tower blocks of Sunderland on the coast.

Erasing Ironopolis – A Sad Day

Large drinks all round for Mayor Ben Houchen and his ‘independent’ Teesworks Heritage Committee.

Committee Members

Co-Chair – Kate Willard OBE Chair of the Board of Directors Teesside International Airport Ltd and also its holding company Goosepool

Co-Chair – Jacob Young MP. Director Teesworks – South Tees Development Corporation

Member – John Baker. Former Member of South Tees Development Corporation, Director South Tees Site Company

Member – Dr. Tosh Warwick. Heritage Consultant

Member – Laura Case, Head of Culture & Tourism. Representing Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council

Image via Change.org

What price?

“More than 200 people have contributed to a total of 199 individual submissions over the two consultation phases. One third of respondents specifically express a view on the blast furnace, just over half calling for its demolition whilst the remainder call for its protection.The widest common support for a particular view is that there should some form of lasting museum or extension of an existing museum, put forward by around a third of respondents, with different ideas about its detail. About one sixth of respondents expressly suggest that the Dorman Long tower be preserved, with very few expressly calling for its demolition.” Source

The decision to demolish the Blast furnace was informed by the opinions of ‘just over’ 30 people

Heritage – The history, traditions, buildings and objects that a country or society has had for many years and that are considered an important part of its character

Redcar Fossils

There are a number of plaques built into the path of the promenade along Redcar seafront. Each plaque is comprised of smaller plaques, which presumably represent different aspects of the town and coast.

This lovely plaque shows Ammonites, a fairly common fossil which occurs in the Jurassic rocks of the coast and are often found on the beaches from Staithes to Robin Hood’s Bay.

If I were to chose a fossil to represent Redcar, it would be Gryphea, known locally as Devil’s Toenails. Gryphea are the fossil remains of a member of the oyster family and are commonly found on the beaches from Redcar to Marske. Large fossil oyster beds can be easily seen at low tide on the mudstone scars that run from Redcar beach into the sea.

There are also ammonites to be found at Redcar, they are nowhere near as common as the Devil’s Toenails and they don’t frequently weather-out of the rocks as they do further down the coast. The specimens that I have seen in the oyster beds at Redcar are generally quite large, typically between 20-50 cm across.

Fossilised fragments of large Ammonites do occasionally wash up onto the Beach. I found the one below on Marske beach.

Redcar Rocks have official protection, the scars have been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Please do not try and cut any fossils out of the rocks, it’s possible to walk along the beach from Redcar to Marske and collect a pocketful of fossils, especially Devil’s Toenails, from the foreshore.