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Marsden Rock is an imposing 100-foot sea-stack of Magnesian Limestone lying 100 yards off the mainland of South Shields. Marsden Bay, the cliff-top Leas, and nearby Souter Lighthouse are owned by The National Trust.
In 1830, Peter Allan, landlord of The Marsden Grotto located on the beach opposite the rock, along with two assistants, constructed a flight of steps up the side of the rock. The steps took two weeks to erect, and eventually visitors could climb to the top and purchase refreshments from a tent.
In 1903 several choirs climbed onto the rock to perform a choral service.
In 1911 a large section of the rock collapsed into the sea, leaving a magnificent natural arch that featured in postcards and visitors' photographs over many years NZ4064 : Marsden Rock Bird Sanctuary, NZ4064 : Marsden Rock (1974)
This arch collapsed during the severe winter of 1995-96, splitting the rock into two separate stacks. In 1997 the smaller stack was declared unsafe and was demolished in the interests of public safety Link
The rock can be reached on foot during low tide, but is completely surrounded by water at high tide. It is being actively eroded by the action of the sea and its base contains several caves and small arches NZ4064 : Arch in Marsden Rock
The rock is home to large numbers of nesting cormorants, kittiwakes and fulmars and remains one of the most important sea bird colonies in England NZ4064 : Seabirds on Marsden Rock.
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There is an amazing and typically-uncompromising poem called 'At Marsden Bay' by Peter Reading (Diplopic 1983)that combines Permian Geology, wildlife and the destructive force of youth. It is said to be based on an event which actually happened at the bay and sadly these things still occur Link

The first stanza is reproduced below:

Arid hot desert stretched here in the early
Permian Period - sand dune fossils
are pressed to a brownish bottom stratum.
A tropical saline ocean next silted
calcium and magnesium carbonates
over this bed, forming rough Magnesian
Limestone cliffs on the ledges of which
Rissa tridactyla colonizes -
an estimated four thousand pairs
that shuttle like close-packed tracer bullets
against dark sky between nests and North Sea.
The call is a shrill “kit-e-wayke, kit-e-wayke”,
also a low “uk-uk-uk” and a plaintive
“ee-e-e-eeh, ee-e-e-eeh”

A review can be found here Link
Here's another image that illustrates the poem NZ3965 : Gulls nesting on the cliff in Marsden Bay

Marsden Grotto is a pub located in caves and buildings on the beach at the foot of the cliffs in Marsden Bay, opposite Marsden Rock. It is considered to be unique as the only 'cave bar' in Europe.
The rock in the cliffs is composed of Magnesian Limestone and is relatively soft and easy to work as can be seen in the numerous caves, arches and sea stacks within Marsden Bay.
Jack 'The Blaster' Bates, who worked at Marsden Quarry, and his wife, set up home in, and extended a natural cave here using explosives, in the late 1700s. The couple sold refreshments to visitors to the Bay.
It was further developed in the 1830s and 40s by Peter Allan, a Scotsman, once employed as a gamekeeper at Whitburn Hall. He moved into the Grotto with his family and began to excavate several new rooms including a kitchen, bedrooms and a ballroom. His inn became a great success much to the annoyance of the Excise authorities who thought that he was involved in smuggling. A catastrophic cliff fall in 1865 almost destroyed the inn. Large retaining walls were built to protect the internal structure.
More recent owners have been the Harton Coal Company, Vaux Breweries and then a series of large chains and the inn has experienced periods of refurbishment, success, decline and neglect. In September 2007, South Tyneside Council, who are responsible for the stairs adjacent to the pub NZ3964 : Stairway adjacent to Marsden Grotto, closed them off due to a damaged step, pending repair. Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service ordered the pub be temporarily closed to the public until the stairs reopen as they are the only means of safe evacuation from the pub, especially at high tide. The Grotto reopened on 21 March 2008.
There have long been tales of hauntings at the Grotto, mainly relating to a smuggler who was reputedly murdered by his fellow criminals after selling information to H.M. Customs. A previous landlord used to leave out a full tankard of beer every night which was reputedly always emptied Link
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