BLACK PATH PROJECT
The Black Path is a historical footpath running adjacent to the south-eastern banks of the River Tees between Middlesbrough and Redcar. It is an ideal location for celebrating the industrial heritage of Teesside which developed rapidly following the discovery of iron ore on the nearby Cleveland Hills in the 1850s. As early as 1866, over forty blast furnaces had been constructed alongside the path and in the years since the path has continued to run through a range of manufacturing industries: e.g., iron: steel: slag; engineering; shipbuilding; chemical; salt; and shipbuilding. However, there was a path known as the Sailor’s Trod in advance of industrial development of Teesside. It ran from Newport to seaports at Cargo Fleet, Todd Point in Warrenby, and Whitby. As the name suggests it was a route that linked various ports and was primarily used by mariners. It may well have been the route taken by a young James Cook. The “trod” was diverted in 1861, to follow the railway line between Middlesbrough and Redcar. It eventually became known locally as the Black Path and was the primary route by which workers travelled to their places of work. Although most of the industry they were walking to is now gone, the path continues to be an important thoroughfare: it is the end section of the Teesdale Way, part of the English Coastal Footpath. and still an important walking route between local settlements, as well as to and from the Riverside football stadium.
The Project
The Black Path Project was part of a Great Places initiative funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the English Arts Council. It was a celebration of the industries and communities that have existed alongside the Black Path since the birth of industrial Teesside. It engaged past and present members of the South Bank community in action-based deliberation of their heritage and led to publication of a series of books and a representational artwork on a wall adjacent to South Bank’s Station Road entrance to the path.
Foundation Press were commissioned to take the lead in provision of community workshops that used heritage as the theme for developing individual artworks and developing a design for an artwork on the wall. The development process involved working with groups of current and past members of the South Bank community, to explore their varying perspectives on the meaning of heritage to them. Each workshop led to the production of a book and these books now form a Black Path library that records the process leading to the design of the final artwork. The books are available in local libraries and other venues in Redcar and Cleveland. or by clicking here.
The mural was completed in September 2019. Click here for a video of its installation
And click here to see some artwork on a former steelworks bridge that goes over the Black Path
The Black Path is a historical footpath running adjacent to the south-eastern banks of the River Tees between Middlesbrough and Redcar. It is an ideal location for celebrating the industrial heritage of Teesside which developed rapidly following the discovery of iron ore on the nearby Cleveland Hills in the 1850s. As early as 1866, over forty blast furnaces had been constructed alongside the path and in the years since the path has continued to run through a range of manufacturing industries: e.g., iron: steel: slag; engineering; shipbuilding; chemical; salt; and shipbuilding. However, there was a path known as the Sailor’s Trod in advance of industrial development of Teesside. It ran from Newport to seaports at Cargo Fleet, Todd Point in Warrenby, and Whitby. As the name suggests it was a route that linked various ports and was primarily used by mariners. It may well have been the route taken by a young James Cook. The “trod” was diverted in 1861, to follow the railway line between Middlesbrough and Redcar. It eventually became known locally as the Black Path and was the primary route by which workers travelled to their places of work. Although most of the industry they were walking to is now gone, the path continues to be an important thoroughfare: it is the end section of the Teesdale Way, part of the English Coastal Footpath. and still an important walking route between local settlements, as well as to and from the Riverside football stadium.
The Project
The Black Path Project was part of a Great Places initiative funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the English Arts Council. It was a celebration of the industries and communities that have existed alongside the Black Path since the birth of industrial Teesside. It engaged past and present members of the South Bank community in action-based deliberation of their heritage and led to publication of a series of books and a representational artwork on a wall adjacent to South Bank’s Station Road entrance to the path.
Foundation Press were commissioned to take the lead in provision of community workshops that used heritage as the theme for developing individual artworks and developing a design for an artwork on the wall. The development process involved working with groups of current and past members of the South Bank community, to explore their varying perspectives on the meaning of heritage to them. Each workshop led to the production of a book and these books now form a Black Path library that records the process leading to the design of the final artwork. The books are available in local libraries and other venues in Redcar and Cleveland. or by clicking here.
The mural was completed in September 2019. Click here for a video of its installation
And click here to see some artwork on a former steelworks bridge that goes over the Black Path