Happy Sunday everyone! Not too many of these earlier, quite little docks still exist as they were often superseded and upgraded into larger ones. Even these are often filled in by now so it makes for quite a remarkable survival.

If you enjoyed stuff like this, I’m hosting some walks this year showing off the best little historical nuggets the North East has to offer. A few tix left for Newcastle’s industrial Quayside, the sports and shipyards of the Wear and the spiritual trek through Bothal Woods 🧘‍♂️

Morning ⛅️ Where in the North East can you find a Roman road between two collieries, a medieval priory, a bastle house and a POW camp? Well I’ve got my walking boots out to go have a mooch!

Time to take a deep breath as we dive into the deluge of North Shields pubs. Too many to count, so I'll be taking a tour of a few over the next week or two. The Old Black Lion was one of the first you would have confronted leaving the New Quay, right next to the Golden Fleece.

Last addition to the site this week is the Sailors Home adjoining The Jungle. This was later a Customers House and HM Pensions and Insurances office. Have a great Friday everyone :-) Link below

Afternoon everyone! We continue our trek along the river at North Shields to the Sailors' Home - one of the most distinguished Victorian buildings in the town and build upon the philanthropic motivations of the time, though underpinned by a desire for temperance.

Good morning! The High Brewery has now been added to the site as its own entry, sitting behind the Quayside Bonded Warehouses and 36 Lime Street. This one is over 150 years old and is in great nick. Link below!

38 Duke Street, though now apartments, is an old building plain to see as an old warehouse. A bit like the Bonded Warehouses on the Newcastle Quayside, it poses as a striking landmark to anyone passing thanks to its tall and dominating presence over Duke Street.

#Tynemouth On this day 24th February 2003 photographs of the Tynemouth Priory Theatre on Percy St, Tynemouth. Originally built as a Wesleyan Chapel in 1810 and converted into a Wesleyan School in 1882. Became a theatre in 1972. mywesleyanmethodists.org.uk/content/chap...

This morning I've added William Pile's yard to the Shipbuilding Archive. Pile is the Stephenson of the ship-making world - he changed the industry forever with his Clipper. One of which still exists, which we can't say often in this research. Link below!

The roundabout is close to where the bull ring stood, which gave its name to the area. From medieval times to the early 19th c bull baiting was a fairly common, brutal pastime in working class precincts. A cow would be tied up to a ring in stone to be used as bait for dogs.

Still some remains, just buried under the turf! www.northeastheritagelibrary.co.uk/features/aln...

Our Bull Ring Docks piece has been incorporated into the existing entry on the Shipbuilding Archive. Peruse at your leisure! Link below

Today's post is on the Bull Ring Docks at North Shields, once one of the most important employers at Shields. 500 odd ships built here and many more repaired. It's a Patreon exclusive simply because it's bloody massive! You can view by becoming a free supporter. Link below.

Good morning! Feels like the first time I've seen a clear sky in months today.☀️ Driving lesson cancelled, so this one is now up on the site as its own entry. Thanks for everyone letting me know that this place may soon be a veterinary practice. Link below

👀 come along! Tickets still available on the link in the enclosed tweet. Always great fun and some brand new stuff coming this year.

A pub known by many but now a sight for sore eyes perched behind the palisade fencing and flanked by scaffolding. Woolsington House was once a proud institution now sadly balancing on the precipice of demolition.

Good morning! I've added the Royal Albert Hotel to the site as its own entry, with a raft of contect around it. Interestingly, I find out it sits next to the alignment of the old Burdon Main Waggonway, which is partially in situ behind that palisade fence. Link below.

One of the histories of Shields' I have somewhere (reference temporarily lost!) described Milbourne Place as "a splendid row of mansions, which commanded a beautiful outlook on the river [Tyne] .. a promenade and fashionable visiting place for ladies and gentlemen", a far cry from today.

The south east of North Shields has changed beyond all comprehension in the past 70 years or so. Prior to the 1950s, this district was as dense as anything with terraced housing and shipyards sandwiched between the high bank and the riverside.

Delighted to add the first of many amazing essays from last years Compendium. The first covers Peter Laurence's fantastic research on the many WWI POW camps along the Weardale Valley, specifically played for prisoners to extract resources for industry. Link below!

No in-depth post today, but I just wanted to draw some attention to this murky bit of swamp land near Smiths Dock. Limekiln Shore was Smith's first yard at Shields from 1814 repairing and fitting out, but 1839 was when Smiths first built ships. Their first was named Kestrel.

Some more additions to the site today, including a chunky history on the Albert Edward Dock and 2 more Blyth cricket fields added to the Sports Archive. These stood at Waterloo and the "Ballast Wharf", likely where the staiths were later located. Links below!

Curling came to the North East in the 1840s and was surprisingly popular. Robert Heughan brought the sport from Dumfriesshire and established a club at Chirton. There were ponds at Pelaw Junction (1st), Berwick (2nd extreme left) Ryton Willows, Durham, Alnwick among many others.

Well we can't talking about the Tyne Commission Quay without discussing its wider environment, and the fact that's even here is because of the Albert Edward Dock.

Great thread about the history of passenger ships sailing to and from the mouth of the Tyne, to various points east and north, with railway links too. Thanks @neheritagelib.bsky.social!

Good morning! Starting the week with 2 new additions to the site around Percy Main - the old Burdon Street Prim and Tyne Commission Quay which was once the gateway to Scandinavia. Have a great week :-) www.northeastheritagelibrary.co.uk/grid

Afternoon! This is the spot you or I 60 years ago would have fled on our jolly travels to Scandinavia aboard one of the old steamers. You could once, too, travel on a British Railways service all the way from Kings Cross to the quay too. Those days have long vanished, sadly.

Limited tickets, especially for the Quayside walk in April! If you’re interested in local history, come along to one of our walks where we’ll take you to crumbling chapels, old lime kilns and dead houses. Absolutely everyone is welcome 💚 Quayside, Bothal and Wearside first.

Here’s a photo I took of it in the late ‘80s

People like slagging off Spoons etc but there is absolutely a world where this building would be crumbling apart unoccupied without their custodianship. Think this is the oldest building on the Quayside in use, with parts of it dating from the 16th century

Happy Valentines Day everyone ❤️

Hello! We discussed the Anglican church, so let's look at its Methodist cousin which had a presence here far before. Faaaaar before. The building we see below stood here from the turn of the 20th century, but its predecessor occupied the spot right behind.

V delighted that our Book Club patrons will be receiving @HistoryMick’s brand new title next month - Novacastrian! Mick is one of the best local historians out there. Support Mick, and us, via Patreon by pre ordering by the 28th! 💚 Link below.

Hello! As mentioned yday, Percy Main is one of North Tyneside's last true pit villages. The pit actually stood right next to where this church was constructed only a few years after the pit closed, meaning the same people who hewed the coal actually worshipped in this church.

Morning! A HUGE addition to the Shipbuilding Archive. I've written up a definitive short history of the Pickersgill yard - arguably the most innovate and robust yard in the whole North East shaping the industry for decades in the 20th century. At least 370 ships built here.

We start a new series this week from Percy Main - one of North Tyneside's last true pit villages. This place sprung out the ground thanks to the stuff that lie beneath it - coal. The pit was relatively short lived, sunk in 1799 and lasting til the 1870s, tho its legacy remains.

This one marks the end of our long voyage along the Tees. My biggest takeaway is the re-affirmation of spirituality here. Quakers, Methodists and early Christians have all found this place to be special. Hope you all enjoyed this series. Plenty to read on the site!

Smashing info found this morning on Blyth Links, which has been subsequently added to the Sports Archive. The Links were effectively Blyth's public common, with sports played here since about the 1830s. Cricket, dog fighting, bare knuckle boxing, quoits and bowls all recorded.

Darlington is synonymous with the Quakers. Its ruling dynasties - the shrewd Pease's and the Backhouse's, transformed this land into an industrial powerhouse with Quakerism forming the spine of this engine.

Some cracking times there back in the day. Mow, Egypt Cottage, Riverside. What a run that used to be….

Best pub in the world back in 1990

After years on life support the Barley Mow has finally been demolished. Its 200th anniversary would’ve been next year.

Sad state of affairs when the rarity of vessels beyond Walker leave you having the urge to take a photo of a dinky survey vessel 😫 Anyone know what it might be up to?

Evening! Cheeky reminder that you can book onto our v good (if I may say so myself) urban safaris through the most compelling parts of the North East. Burial grounds, collieries, ancient churches and shipyards all covered 🙌 Be smashing if you can come. Link below.

Darlington is not given enough credit!!!! I will say it until the cows come home! It has its own absolutely magnificent Mechanics Institute - something you find in almost any industrial (or industrious) town in the 19th century.

And that's our last site update this week! The captivating Bondgate Church - one of the oldest Methodist churches in the North East beating the Brunswick at Newcastle by a decade. Link below.

This is, without doubt, one of the most impressive early Methodist churches you'll find anywhere in the North East. It is one of the finest examples I've seen of a Regency period church, and is very well looked after over 200 years after it was built.

Morning :-) The Majestic has joined the 16 other cinemas we have on the Library across the North East. Out of those this is one of the very few still operating! Link below

Blimey, it’s nice to talk about an old independent cinema which is actually still open for once. Not just that, but it’s one where the façade has been restored to its former glory which is all the more gratifying.