competing ports such as Blyth, to the north, and the Tyne to the south spent money improving the dock facilities. The new Northumberland Dock on the Tyne was completed in 1857. Seaton Sluice found it difficult to compete with these larger facilities. A further blow to the coal trade from Seaton Sluice was the Hartley Colliery Disaster that occurred at the Hester Pit in the village of New Hartley, about west of Seaton Sluice. The Hester Pit was the main source of local coal. However, in 1862, the beam of the pumping engine broke and fell down the only mineshaft, blocking it and trapping the miners underground. In all, 204 men and boys perished, in some cases several from the same family. The disaster led to the legal requirement in future mines, that there should always be two shafts. The loss of production from the Hester Pit spelled the end of the coal trade from Seaton Sluice and it became a quiet backwater. An attempt in the early part of the 20th century to develop the village as a tourist resort failed because a railway line, intended to lead north up the coast from Whitley Bay, was partly constructed but then abandoned as the First World War intervened. The remains of railway bridges and embankments can still be seen to the west of St Mary's Island. Seaton Delaval Hall The Delavals settled at Seaton Delaval, inland from Seaton Sluice. There was already a Saxon church there and the Delavals built a fortified house near it. In 1100 Hubert de la Val rebuilt the Saxon church as the present Church of Our Lady on the same spot. The fortified house was gradually expanded during Tudor and Jacobean times to become an extensive manor house. In the early 18th century the manor house was replaced by the present Seaton Delaval Hall, designed by architect Sir John Vanbrugh. The hall was devastated by fire in 1822 and was partially restored. Local interest Seaton Sluice contains the following public houses: The Kings Arms – the oldest pub in the village, situated right next to the bridge leading to Rocky Island. It was constructed in the mid-eighteenth century as the overseer’s house, but later became a pub. The Waterford Arms – situated above the quay. It is named in honour of Susanna, Marchioness of Waterford, granddaughter to Lord Delaval, who inherited the estate in 1822.