River Don (Tyne and Wear)

The River Don is a tributary of the River Tyne. It rises near Wrekenton in Gateshead, flowing east for about 6 km, then heading north to join the River Tyne at Jarrow. Tributaries of the Don include Bede's Burn, Monkton Burn, Calfclose Burn, Station Burn, Usworth Burn, and Whittle Burn. The Don (including it's tributaries) has a catchment area of 42.7 km² and is 15.4 km long.^[1] A short section of the Don, roughly east of the A19, and up to its confluence with the Tyne, is tidal i.e. within the tidal limit of the River Tyne.

The area around the lower reaches of the river, in Jarrow, were important site of early Christian settlement. Upstream, a watermill at Boldon, on the Don, was recorded in the 14th century.[2] There are potential earlier connections with the Viking era; in 1894, workers found the "backbone" of an ancient, potentially Scandinavian-built vessel, roughly 8 feet below the surface, near the Stanhope and Tyne Railway viaduct.[3] However, the exact age of the timber remains has not been established.

Later, the Don Valley became a focus for the industrial growth of South Tyneside, particularly in the 19th and early 20th century when the region became a major centre for manufacturing and shipbuilding. The mouth of the Don was altered in the mid-20th century.