The Keelmen

Most people associate keelmen with the transportation of coal by river, but in the case of our area on the river Wear, stone was also carried from the quarries at Low Lambton and Cox Green.

It has been argued since Roman times that the most efficient way of moving heavy loads large distances is by water. Keelmen therefore played a very important role in the industrial life of the river up to the 19th century as they provided an effective means of transporting the coal and stone from the local mines and quarries by keelboats to the port at Sunderland where it was then transferred to waiting ships for onward transportation by open sea to its final destination. This process lasted for many years before the arrival of mechanisation in the form of steam engines and, later, railways, for the movement of goods.

The keel boats were flat-bottomed vessels made of wood, capable of navigating relatively shallow waters. They were pointed at both ends and approximately forty feet in length. Propulsion was via oars or poles though most were also fitted with a sail which could be used under favourable wind conditions and the experienced keelmen knew full well how to take advantage of the tide, as the river was tidal to beyond Chatershaugh. By 1628, coal was being delivered to Sunderland in keels of "Lambton Measure" which underlined the fact that the keel boats were of uniform size and as such, became accepted as a unit of measure.

The above image shows keelboats at work on a river. On the bank are two chaldron wagons bringing coal to the river along a horse-drawn wooden wagonway. The coal was then emptied into the waiting boats by gravity chute from the staith. Not all staithes used this exact arrangement but the principle of the wagonway / staith / river / keel was commonplace.

Nowadays, when one considers how peaceful and rural the riverside is, it is difficult to imagine how busy this waterway and its riverbanks once were. By the 1790's, 25 local pits were supplying coal to 10 staithes on the Wear near Penshaw to load keel boats. There would have been a constant flow of keels up and down river, tides permitting, to handle the transportion of raw materials to the river mouth.

Many inns and public houses supported this industry, providing food, drink and shelter to those keelmen who required it. Each inn would have a room specifically for the keelmen (the "keelers' room") where they could rest and eat between the loading of their keels and waiting for the tide.

The coming of the railways meant the end for keels and horse-drawn wagons by around the mid 1860's. Employment changed to see men now employed building and working on the new railways and two railway stations were built in our area - at Penshaw and Cox Green. Mineral lines were constructed too, to transport coal and stone to the coast and it can be argued that this became the new industry of the area. Huge feats of railway engineering took place: the Victoria Viaduct was built in 1838 from local sandstone - see the Victoria Viaduct page of this site for further information.

Newspaper Article, December 27, 1933: