Clifford's Fort Trinity House Almshouses and Boundary Stone Attached is a Grade II listed building in the North Tyneside local planning authority area, England. First listed on 19 February 1986. Lighthouse, almshouse.

Clifford's Fort Trinity House Almshouses and Boundary Stone Attached

WRENN ID
veiled-keystone-wind
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
North Tyneside
Constituency
Tynemouth MP: Sir Alan Campbell (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
19 February 1986
Type
Lighthouse, almshouse
Address
Clifford's Fort Trinity House Almshouses and Boundary Stone Attached, Union Road
OS grid reference
NZ 363 684
Coordinates
55.00959, -1.43382
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Clifford's Fort Trinity House Almshouses and the attached boundary stone are located on Tynemouth Union Road. Originally built as a lighthouse in 1727, it was raised in 1775 and converted into almshouses in 1830 for Trinity House, Newcastle upon Tyne. The building is constructed from brick in varying bonds, with quoins on the right side. The ground floor is rendered, while the right return features painted sandstone ashlar, and the left return has sandstone rubble in the lower courses. The roof is made of Welsh slate and the structure stands three storeys tall with eight irregular bays.

On the ground floor, there is a rendered lintel above the door in the fifth bay, and flat arches over the windows. The upper floors feature elliptical brick arches for the windows, some of which have been bricked up, while others have sashes that are burnt or removed. There are also inserted double loading doors on the first floor. A deep moulded brick string course runs along the first floor, with moulded brick brackets supporting the second floor band. Three commemorative panels, which are eroded, can be found on the first and second floors, with one dated 1775. A sundial is positioned on the second floor, slightly right of center. The hipped roof does not have any chimneys.

Historically, Trinity House, Newcastle, received permission from Henry VIII to construct leading lights at Shields, making this the earliest surviving building from those started in 1539. It became redundant after the new low light was completed in 1808. The boundary stone attached to the left return is a sandstone block inscribed with WD/BS/No7, located about 12 cm above ground. At the time of the survey, the almshouse was empty and in a derelict state.

Local climate

Clifford's Fort Trinity House Almshouses and Boundary Stone Attached receives an average of 750 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 69% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 74% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 20 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 79% of listed buildings. Of these, 11 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

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