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Gateshead in Durham County England History and GeographyGATESHEAD, a parish in the eastern division of CHESTER ward, county palatine of DURHAM, I mile (S.S.E.) from Newcastle, and 14 (N. by E.) from Durham, containing, with the seamen of registered shipping, 11,767 inhabitants. This place is situated on the southern bank of the Tyne, opposite to Newcastle, with which it has a communication by a stone bridge. It is supposed by some antiquaries to have been a Roman station, called Gabrosentum, which signifies Goat's Head, this having been the sign of the principal inn, and corresponding with the appellation of Caput Capr' referred to by Bede; but the only indication of Roman residence here arises from the discovery of Roman coins, and from the vicinity of the Watling-street. The earliest authentic notice of this place is connected with the account given by Simeon of Durham, of the insurrection of the Northumbrians, and the murder of Bishop Walcher, who was slain whilst endeavouring to make his escape from the church of Gateshead, which had been set on fire by his assailants, in 1080. Hugh Pudsey, Bishop of Durham, in 1164, granted to the burgesses a charter of privileges nearly similar to those enjoyed by the burgesses of Newcastle. The subsequent history of Gateshead relates to the frequent contests between the bishops of Durham and the corporation of Newcastle, concerning the navigation of the Tyne, and the right of building quays on its banks, which ultimately terminated in favour of the latter. On the dissolution of the see of Durham, in 1552, an act of parliament was passed for annexing this town to the borough of Newcastle; but the rights of the bishoprick having been restored soon after by Queen Mary, Gateshead reverted to its former jurisdiction. From the earliest period of authentic record, this town was governed by a bailiff appointed by the Bishop of Durham, till 1695, since which the supreme municipal authority has been exercised by two stewards, who are annually elected by the borough holders and freemen. The borough contains one hundred and forty-four burgage tenements, but, as more than one of these may be held by the same individual, the number of borough-holders seldom exceeds one hundred, and in addition to these, are ten or eleven freemen. The town comprises a line of irregular edifices distinguished by the appellations of High-street and Bridge-street, from which diverge Hillgate, formerly St. Mary's Gate, and several streets of inferior importance. Some local improvements have been effected under the authority of an act of parliament for cleansing, lighting, and watching the streets, passed in 1814; and an act passed in 1824, empowering the trustees, under the Durham and Tyne Bridge road act, to form a road from the eastern side of the High-street to the southern gate of the church-yard. In 1818, a company was formed for the purpose of lighting the town with gas. The inhabitants are plentifully supplied with water from a reservoir at a short distance from the town, whence it is brought by means of pipes. There were anciently several incorporated trading companies, similar to those of Newcastle, but they have long since become extinct. The principal manufactories at present are those for cast and wrought iron and glass, which are very extensive; there are also collieries, chemical laboratories, and whiting manufactories. A market formerly held here, on Tuesday and Friday in each week, was discontinued about the commencement of the sixteenth century. Two fairs for the hiring of servants were established in 1822, and are held on the second Monday in April, and the first Monday in November. A halmote court is held annually before the steward of the manor; and petty sessions for the district are held here every Saturday. The living is a rectory, in the archdeaconry and diocese of Durham, rated in the king's books at £27. 13. 4., and in the patronage of the Bishop of Durham. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a cruciform structure, appearing to have been founded at a remote period, but considerably altered by modern reparations. The tower and part of the western end of the nave were rebuilt in 1740, and the roof was altered in 1764; but there are some decorated pillars and arches remaining, and a Norman south door-way under a modern porch. A handsome window of painted glass, representing the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, and adorned with armorial bearings, was presented by Mr. Joseph Price, in 1819, and put up in the southern transept; and an organ, which cost five hundred guineas, raised by subscription, was completed in January 1824. The chapel of St. Edmund was built by subscription in 1808: divine service is performed in it on Sundays, and it is used for a National school on the other days of the week. The hospital of St. Edmund, to which it belongs, was founded in 1248, by Bishop Farnham, who endowed it for a master and three chaplains: this establishment survived the Reformation, but its charters having been lost, and its revenue partly converted to purposes of private advantage, it was refounded by James I., in 1610, for a master and three poor brethren, the master to be the rector of Gateshead. In 1810, an act of parliament was procured, which altered the constitution of the hospital, and the brethren are now thirteen in number, three elder, and ten younger, who are all appointed by the master. The annual revenue is about £455, of which sum, the master receives one-third, the chaplain £40, each of the elder brethren £25 with a house, and each of the younger £12. The ruins of the old chapel of St. Edmund, affording a beautiful specimen of early English architecture, are still remaining, as is also a portion of the old house of the brethren. Here are two places of worship for Methodists of the New Connexion, four for Wesleyan Methodists, and one for Presbyterians. The Anchorage school, held in an apartment over the vestry-room of St. Mary's church, is stated to derive its name from the circumstance of anchorage dues of that part of the Tyne which formerly belonged to the Bishop of Durham having been paid here. Its establishment took place previously to 1658, and its endowment arises from the interest on £300, given by Theophilus Pickering, D.D., in 1701, towards the support of a free school, for instruction in English and classical literature, and navigation: the master, besides his salary, receives one shilling a quarter from each of the fifteen boys who are upon the foundation, and is permitted to take as many other pupils as the schoolroom will accommodate: the master and free scholars are appointed by the rector. The National school was formed in 1808, and removed in 1810 to St. Edmund's chapel, whence it is called the Chapel school. An almshouse in the High-street, founded in 1731, through the bequest of Thomas Powell, is now used as the poor-house for the parish; and there is an unendowed almshouse in Hillgate for six poor women, given to the parish by John Bowman, in 1689. A subscription news-room was established in 1920; there is a society for the prosecution of felons, the oldest institution of the kind in Great Britain. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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