Monkton Coke Works was opened in 1938 as a result of the unemployment in Jarrow and finally closed in 1990.
The land has now been redeveloped into small business units and this striking piece of art was commissioned.
The entrance to the site features two award winning sculptures 'the swarm' and 'the hive.' and there is a connection with the former cokeworks as beehives are not only where bees live but also an early type of coke oven - the last of which in the UK was on Tyneside at Garesfield High Spen - at one time there were more than 100,000 beehive ovens in the UK.
The former coke works at Monkton hold
memories in South Tyneside as a dark landmark
belching smoke and fire. One NorthEast’s
redevelopment of the site enabled Helix Arts
to begin an arts project that looked forward
to a new life for the site. Lead artist William
Pym’s role was to design a thematic landmark
and to involve local trainees in the production
of the sculpture, which now marks the gateway
to the new Business park
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