THE TIDE STONE

This weathered, carved stone on the north bank of the River Tyne marked the former tidal limit of the river, 19 miles from the sea. Dated 1783, the stone bears the faint image of the “three castles” emblem of Newcastle and became the boundary for the work of the Tyne Improvement Commission established in 1850 to manage the river which had been “abandoned to itself” by the City Corporation to the detriment of Newcastle’s prosperity. By 1900, when the river had been dredged up as far as Ryton, the high tide mark had moved 1.5 miles further upstream towards Wylam