South Gare
| South Gare | |
|---|---|
 South Gare breakwater |
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 South Gare
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| South Gare shown within North Yorkshire | |
| Population | 0 |
| OS grid reference | NZ551274 |
| • London | 220 mi (350 km) SSE |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Redcar |
| Postcode district | TS10 |
| Dialling code | 01642 |
| Police | Cleveland |
| Fire | Cleveland |
| Ambulance | North East |
| EU Parliament | North East England |
South Gare is an area of reclaimed land and breakwater on the southern side of the mouth of the River Tees in Redcar and Cleveland, England. It is accessed by taking the South Gare Road (private road) from Fisherman's Crossing at the western end of Tod Point Road in Warrenby.
Before the building of South Gare, permanent dry land stopped at Tod Point, at the western end of Warrenby and there was only Coatham Sands and the mudflats of Bran Sands. The creation of South Gare extends this by a further 2.5 miles (4.0 km). The building of South Gare offers a safe harbour in stormy weather to ships off the coast and allowed for the dredging of the River Tees entrance. South Gare itself was a settlement but the houses there were demolished many years ago.
Building the 22 miles (35 km) of slag training walls in the Tees was started in 1859. Blocks of solid blast furnace slag were cast and moved into position along the banks of the River Tees, then back filled using 70,000 tons of material dredged from river bed. This canalised the river allowing it to keep itself clean by the action of flow and tides.
The Gare was constructed from January 1861 to 1884 using 5 million tonnes of blast furnace slag and 18,000 tons of cement at a total cost of £219,393. The slag was supplied free from Tees-side blast furnaces by ironmasters who paid for its removal. The north end of the breakwater carrying the lighthouse uses blocks of concrete weighing from 40 up to 300 tons in weight.
Work was planned and supervised by John Fowler, engineer to the Tees Commissioners. With construction complete, the breakwater was formally opened by the Right Hon W.H. Smith, First Lord of the Treasury on 25 October 1888.
To construct South Gare a rail line was built from the Warrenby iron works to carry men and materials. When construction was complete the rail line was used, wind permitting, with a sail bogey to move visitors, servicemen, lifeboatmen and lighthouse crew out to the lighthouse and gun installations close to the end of South Gare. The rail line still exists in places and is easiest to see near the remains of the coastal battery.
South Gare battery was built in 1891 as part of the Palmerston defence programme. The anti-aircraft batteries, and mortar emplacements have been partially demolished. There are a number of defensive concrete pill boxes still scattered around the area in the dunes and on the beach.
There has been a lifeboat at Teesmouth since 1829 when the RNLI was founded. The present Teesmouth Lifeboat Station was founded in 1911 and in 1914 a boathouse and slipway was built to launch the lifeboat. The lifeboat station has had a Tyne class lifeboat since 1986 and in 2003 new lifeboat crew facilities were built however the lifeboat station was closed a few years later with coverage being supplied by Hartlepool lifeboat.
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Wikipedia