Dunston Staiths, one of the River Tyne’s most striking landmarks, needs your support; quite literally. The Staiths, a proud symbol of Gateshead’s industrial heritage, has stood since 1893, and is in need of repair, starting at the very beginning, with Frame 1.

This grand, Grade II listed timber structure and Scheduled Ancient Monument is the last remaining staith on the Tyne and is thought to be the largest wooden structure in Europe. Staiths were large structures built onto river banks to allow coal to be transferred from trains to collier ships.

When coal trucks came through Teams from the coal fields of County Durham, they entered the Staiths at the west end, onto the timber platform on the top deck. And the very first frame supporting that platform was Frame 1. You’ll pass by it as you walk or cycle beneath the Staiths near the bridge over the River Team and, as you’ll see, it needs some love and care. The base of the frame is rotten, and the estimated cost to repair it is £6,500. Friends of Dunston Staiths have donated £2,000 towards this and a further £1,500 has been raised through sales of former deck planks etched with a depiction of the Staiths. We are asking for your support to raise the remaining £3,000 needed.

The donations you make here will go directly towards repairing Frame 1. I

You can find out more about Dunston Staiths by visiting the Tyne Derwent Way hub on Staithes Road in Dunston, or at https://www.twbpt.org.uk/building/dunston-staiths.