Another building which making progress is the " British Working Man " in Clayport, where the Duke is now erecting public baths and washhouses, and rooms for a working man's club. It may seem somewhat ungracious to find any fault with anything in the carrying out of a design so generous, laudable, and philanthropic. But still it ought to be pointed out—and therefore I take the liberty of pointing out —that on a dark night any foot passenger on that side of Clayport where the works are in progress is in great danger of finding himself, more to his surprise than to his pleasure, tripped up and deposited in the midst of the muddy soil where the flags forming the footpath have been taken up to allow of the passing of carts and horses. A number of large stones have been placed close to the wall there; the footpath is extremely narrow and on the other side of it building materials are also placed so that pedestrians cannot diverge either to one side or the other; and, to complete thing, the stones which are next the wall project in several places on to the already too narrow footpath, and are sometimes rolled right on to the footpath children playing in the street. The result that, after dusk, the passers by, slipping in the mud and naturally stepping somewhat to the wall side in consequence, are continually being tripped and getting thrown down and severely shaken. This has actually occurred in many cases; and to avoid it several persons who live on that side of Clayport have had to cross over and walk on the other side of the street, preferring to do this rather than run the risk of falling in the dark. The thing can easily be remedied; and, as it is undoubtedly an inconvenience to the inhabitants in Clayport, I would suggest that something should be done to make a nocturnal walk on that side of the street less hazardous than it now is.
Alnwick Mercury (23 November 1872)
Historic England listing: 23, Clayport Street
Keys to the past: 23, Clayport Street