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| Cliff House. |
What a treat! We are staying in a house that was built 2 years before Captain James Cook found Australia, 20 years before Australia was colonised. Cliff House has history!
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| The view from the top of the cliff (or the front of the house). |
It was built in 1768 by Captain Thomas Armstrong. He was a Customs Officer and commander of His Majesty's Cutter "Bridlington". This was a customs vessel that patrolled the sea from Newcastle to Sunderland.
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| The house was once adjoined to another house that at one point belonged to an artist. |
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The view of the sea is quite captivating.
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The 18th Century was considered the "golden age of smuggling" in Britain. Smuggling is the illegal trade in goods to avoid paying taxes or in this case customs duties. It still happens today (in Australia it's drugs, weapons, animals and people). But back in the 1700's it was tea, wine, spirits and lace. It was usually brought in by organised gangs who chose secluded parts of the British coastline to land cargo from ships. Usually this would be in small coves or river estuaries. Cullercoats has a small bay which may be good for landing boats.
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| The house is now a private home. |
We are looking forward to beach walks (there is actual sand here). Visiting Wallsend...which, like the place in Australia, is near Newcastle, but is named for its actual location...the end of Hadrian's Wall. And quite likely there will be many quiet times reading in the drawing room or the parlour.
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| A view from the attic |
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