Victoria Tunnel

The Victoria Tunnel is an underground tramway tunnel constructed between 1839 and 1842 for the Leazes Main Colliery, later converted for use as an air-raid shelter in 1939. Made of brick and rubble stone, the tunnel is two miles long and descends a total of 222 feet from the colliery to the coal staithes on the River Tyne. The original round-arched tunnel is approximately two meters high, with the lower walls primarily of rubble stone and the upper sections and barrel vault made of brick.

During its conversion to an air-raid shelter, various new entrances were created, some sections were widened, and blast walls were installed at intervals. Facilities such as toilets, washrooms, bunk beds, and electricity were added at this time, although most of these features have since been lost. The engineer for the project was Mr. Gillespie, with leading miner John Cherry and builder David Nixon involved. The colliery closed in 1860, and certain sections of the tunnel were adapted for air-raid shelter use starting in 1939. This tunnel is a rare and unusual example of a tramway tunnel designed to provide a direct route for coal from the colliery to its shipping point on the banks of the Tyne.