South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade Watch House

The South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade Watch House, built in 1867, is a significant structure that reflects the founding of the South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade. An octagonal lookout tower and a small surgery were added in 1875. The building features a wood frame with timber cladding and slated roofs, characterized by overhanging eaves and decorative bargeboards on the gable ends. The surgery extension is constructed of brick and consists of one bay. The watch house is a single storey, measuring four by six bays, with the lookout tower located at the north-east corner, topped with a low-pitched pointed roof and decorative eaves brackets. It includes wood mullioned and transomed casements, as well as low retaining walls with cast iron railings. This building is listed primarily for its historic significance as one of only two surviving structures associated with their founding organizations, the other being located in Tynemouth, with only three such organizations still active in the rescue of shipwrecked individuals.