Our proud past
Industrial Heritage
Mining was important at Hebburn from early times, though Hebburn Colliery itself opened in 1792. Hebburn Colliery and Hebburn Hall played a role in the development of mine safety, after there was a major disaster at Felling Colliery in 1812.
Sir Humphry Davy stayed at Hebburn Hall in 1815 whilst developing a miner’s safety lamp. The resulting Davy Lamp was a significant milestone in mining safety. By 1857 Hebburn village was a mining settlement of modest proportions. By the late nineteenth century much of the riverside stretching east to Hebburn Colliery was a home to shipyards. The Hawthorn Leslie yard continued building ships until 1982.
Hebburn Village
By 1857 Hebburn village was a mining settlement of modest proportions. Later in the nineteenth century, Hebburn New Town developed just south of Hebburn Quay, close to Hebburn Hall. Hebburn’s present town centre is focused on this area. By the late nineteenth century, industries along the river included Tharsis Sulphur works established in 1869.
Much of the remaining riverside stretching east to Hebburn Colliery was a home to shipyards. The Hawthorn Leslie yard (later acquired by Swan Hunter) continued building ships until 1982.
Carr Ellison Park
In 1658 the Ellison family purchased the Hebburn Hall Estate (also known as Ellison Hall). In 1897, Colonel Ralph Henry Carr Ellison allowed the residents
of Hebburn the use of the pleasure gardens. Access to the grounds of Hebburn Hall provided the first and key recreation area for the town.
In 1920 Colonel Ralph Henry Carr Ellison presented 25 acres to the town as a park. Carr Ellison Park is Hebburn’s heritage and landscape park and was given a “facelift” as a result of a quarter of million pounds grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund in 1988.