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Shields (North) in Northumberland County England History and GeographySHIELDS (NORTH), a sea-port and market town, partly in the township of NORTH SHIELDS, partly in that of TYNEMOUTH, partly in that of PRESTON, and partly in that of CHIRTON, parish of TYNEMOUTH, eastern division of CASTLE ward, county of NORTHUMBERLAND, 8 miles (E.N.E.) from Newcastle, and 276 (N. by W.) from London; the township of North Shields contains 8205 inhabitants, and the present population of the town is supposed to be about 20,000. The earliest notice of this place occurs in the reign of Edward I., from which it appears, that in the preceding reign the only buildings on the site of the present town consisted of fishermens' huts, or Shielings, of which the name is supposed to be a corruption. At about the same period, the prior and monks of Tynemouth erected houses here, formed a harbour, established a market, and encouraged the settlement of ship-builders and tradesmen, thereby exciting the jealousy of the burgesses of Newcastle, who possessed the exclusive trade of the Tyne, and commenced proceedings against the prior, who, by a judgment of the court of King's Bench, was obliged to destroy the buildings that he had erected, and to give up the commerce which he was creating, and the town consequently returned to its former obscurity, and remained in that state until the middle of the seventeenth century, when Cromwell used exertions to remove the restrictions which prevented it from assuming that station as a commercial town which its situation was entitled to, by causing an act to be passed for the erection of quays, &c., and the establishment of a market twice a week; but his death interfered with these plans, and it was not until the close of the seventeenth century, that any of the restrictions crippling its trade were removed: since that period the facilities afforded by the increase of knowledge to the freedom of trade having caused the abolition of the remaining restrictions, North Shields has advanced rapidly to its present importance, and the immense augmentation in its commerce may be estimated from the circumstance of its population having increased, in the period between the census of 1801 and that of 1821, upwards of nine thousand seven hundred persons, being more than three-fourths of the whole number of inhabitants at the former period. The town is situated on the northern shore of the river Tyne, at its confluence with the German Ocean, and opposite to South Shields, which is on the southern bank of the river. The older part consists chiefly of narrow lanes and alleys, and its appearance has been compared to that of Wapping in London, but the more recent additions comprise several spacious streets, three handsome squares, and many houses of a very superior description, both in the town and its immediate vicinity. The theatre is a small brick building, fitted up in a neat and appropriate manner, and is open for a few months in the winter season. A subscription library was established in 1807, and the valuable collection of books of which it is composed is kept in a handsome building erected for the purpose. A scientific and mechanics' institution was formed in 1825, which is rapidly advancing in prosperity. The town is lighted with gas; and water, which formerly in dry seasons was difficult to be procured, is now abundantly supplied from the reservoirs at Percy Main, Whitley, and Waterville, and conveyed by pipes into the town, by a company incorporated in 1786. The harbour is capable of containing two thousand sail of vessels, and in spring tides ships of five hundred tons' burden can pass the bar crossing its mouth in safety. The principal article of trade is coal, which is exported in large quantities to London and places on the eastern coasts of England and Scotland, and this trade employs the greater part of the vessels belonging to the port, the number of which, in 1827, was two hundred and seventy-nine, a few being engaged in the American and Baltic trade, and in the Greenland and Davis' Straits fishery. Ships of three hundred tons' burden can load or unload at the quay, which is spacious, and has a crane for facilitating the landing or shipping of goods. The principal manufactures are such as are connected with the shipping, there being six ship-builders' yards, two sail-cloth manufactories, two salt-works, and a chain-cable and anchor manufactory; in addition to which are rope-walks, and manufactories for tobacco, gloves, and hats. Some inconvenience is felt from ships being obliged to clear out at the custom-house at Newcastle; here is an office belonging to that establishment, and at Clifford's Fort is a watch-house, where officers are stationed, with a lighthouse adjoining to it: a life-boat is also kept here, which was presented to the town by the Duke of Northumberland, in 1798, with a donation of £20 towards keeping it in repair. A weekly market is held on Friday, in a spacious and commodious market-place, formed in 1804, by the Duke of Northumberland, as lord of the manor; and there is a statute fair annually on the first Friday in November. A meeting of magistrates is held every Tuesday; and a court leet and baron, for making presentments, and for the recovery of debts under 40s., is held at Easter and Michaelmas, by the steward of the manor of Tynemouth. North Shields has had no place of worship belonging to the established church (the inhabitants having attended the church at Tynemouth) until recently, when a chapel of ease was erected in the market-place. There are two places of worship belonging to Methodists in the New Connexion, and one each to Particular Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists, Presbyterians, United Secession Church, and Roman Catholics, also a synagogue: that belonging to the Wesleyan Methodists is a spacious building, erected in 1807, at an expense of £2500. A free school, with houses for the master and mistress, was erected by subscription in 1810, in commemoration of the royal jubilee; it is supported by subscriptions, and nearly three hundred children of both sexes are instructed on the Lancasterian plan. Another school was founded and liberally endowed by Mr. Thomas Kettlewell, in 1825, for which a handsome and commodious house has been erected, at an expense of £1200, and nearly two hundred boys are gratuitously instructed. The dispensary, which was established in 1802, is supported by donations and annual subscriptions, and has afforded most extensive relief to the poor. In addition to the institutions already noticed, there are several benefit societies, particularly that formed in 1824, for the mutual relief of sailors suffering from sickness, shipwreck, or want, and consisting of upwards of two thousand members. Steamboats pass regularly every day between this town and Newcastle, and a constant intercourse is maintained by boats with South Shields. It has been frequently proposed to connect this latter town with North Shields, to accomplish which a tunnel, to pass under the bed of the river, was at one period proposed; and it was more recently thought that a chain bridge would be the most desirable mode of opening a communication between the two places; but this appears to have been abandoned, from a fear that it might obstruct the progress of the shipping. From Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of England 1831, courtesy of Databases 4 Sale |
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