High and Dry at Seaton Sluice

Prior to 1550 salt produced at Hartley Pans had been transported to Blyth to be exported, but after this date it was shipped directly from the small, natural harbour. The village henceforth became known as Hartley Haven, and was used for the export of coal as well as salt. However the harbour was prone to silting, which limited access by ships. This problem was tackled by Sir Ralph Delaval (1622–1691), who had a pier constructed, and sluice gates that trapped the seawater at each high tide. At low tide the gates were opened, flushing the sand out of the harbour. Henceforth the village became known as Seaton Sluice.
The harbour remained like this until the 1760s, when Sir John Humphry Delaval had a new entrance made for the harbour by blasting a channel through solid rock, providing what was known as 'The Cut', 52 ft deep, 30 ft wide and 900 ft long. The new channel was opened in 1763 and, as a result, the land between the old harbour entrance and the new channel became an island, known as 'Rocky Island'. The new channel could be sealed off at both ends to allow loading to continue no matter what the state of the tide. On the other side of the old channel, opposite Rocky Island, was a ballast hill known as Sandy Island, built up from the ballast of ships entering the harbour. The ballast hill can still be seen.
The new entrance proved to be a success, and in 1777, 177 ships sailed out of the harbour carrying 48,000 tonnes of coal. The coal was brought to the harbour from nearby collieries via wagonways, with coal wagons being drawn by horses. Salt continued to be exported from Seaton Sluice until 1798, when a new salt tax put an end to the trade.
The large building on the horizon is The Kings Arms Pub.