The gruesome story behind the name of the Cat and Dog Steps
For as long as anyone can remember, the Cat and Dog Steps which intersect the cliff at Roker have been a popular destination for Wearsiders on sunnier days.
Sunderland’s glitterati can often be seen disporting themselves at the bottom of the steps, which lead to a magnificentsandybeach.Butwhat a peculiar name.
Weshouldsayattheoutset, no one knows with absolute certainty why the 49 winding steps were so called. However, there is a favourite among the possibilities.
Unfortunately it’s not a remotelyappealingtale.Nordoes it, as might be hoped, involve some charming Doctor Dolittle or James Herriot figure. It’s actually rather gruesome.
It has been claimed, somewhat optimistically, that “cat and dog” is a 19th Century corruption of “cannonball” rocks; the near-spherical limestone shapes found nearby.
Unlikely. Our ancestors wereperfectlycapableofuttering the simple word “cannonball”,withoutresortingtosome other phrase which is neither easier to say nor particularly similar sounding.
A second suggestion is that it was a convenient spot for drowning unwanted pets. In fairness, pets might have been unwanted because they were seriously ill or injured when “veterinary arts” were simply unaffordable.
This horrendous explanationdoesn’tsoundlikelyeither. Whywouldthesitebeanymore suitable for this grim purpose thanotherlocationsalongSunderland’s coast?Nevertheless, this is very close to what is generally supposed to be the real reason why the steps got their name.
When we say very close, we mean that pet owners were depositing their expired or sick pets into the River Wear, rather than directly into the North Sea. It may well be that the corpses were washed up at the steps.
This conjures up an appalling image of canine and kitty carnage there. But like many goodstoriesitprobablygotbetter with every telling.
Roker has had a south pier since 1730; a north pier since
1796. Therefore, while the occasional deceased cat or dog could credibly have washed up there in the 19th Century, theresurelycan’thavebeenthe hordesassupposedbywhatbecame mythology.
It would only take one person to see a single cat and dog there, then tell everyone in the pub. The story subsequently
makes its own way in life and oneunpleasant,butnotnecessarily traumatic, discovery becomes a tale of mass slaughter.
Incidentally, have you ever wondered why the section of promenade beside the Cat and Dog Steps, where the Hideout coffee house now stands, is so much wider than the rest of it?
In 1911 Sunderland Corporation decided to build a rose garden there. Lovely, but a silly idea. The trouble was that those making the decision seemingly didn’t notice the North Sea, the adjacent halfmillion square kilometre expanse of water.
The flowers didn’t stand a chance. The sea (then called the German Ocean before a name change for obvious reasons in 1914) soon exterminated the flora. Within two years thesitewascleared,leavingthe extra space for a stroll that we enjoy today.
The whole promenade was completed in 1922.
* Many thanks to Philip Curtis of Sunderland Antiquarians.