History of South Shields facts for kids
South Shields is a historic town in northeast England. Its story began with the Brigantes, an ancient British tribe. Later, the Romans built a fort here to help supply Hadrian's Wall. Many parts of this fort can still be seen today. After the Roman Empire weakened, the fort was left behind.
In the 6th century, northeast England became an important place for learning, as part of the Kingdom of Northumbria. However, in the 9th century, Vikings raided the area. They later settled down, controlling much of northern England.
The town of South Shields was officially founded in 1245. It grew into a busy fishing port. Salt-making also became important from 1499. During the English Civil War, the town was captured by Parliament's Scottish allies. This led to a battle nearby called the Battle of Boldon Hill.
In the Victorian era (1800s), coal mining brought a huge boom to the town. The population grew from 12,000 in 1801 to 75,000 by the 1860s! This fast growth caused problems with cleanliness. In the 1850s, shipbuilding also became a major industry.
During World War I, German Zeppelin airships attacked the town. In World War II, Nazi air raids caused damage and deaths. Throughout the 20th century, many industries in South Shields slowly declined. Today, services and tourism are becoming more important for the town's economy.
Contents
Ancient Times and Roman Forts
The very first people in the South Shields area were the Brigantes. They were a strong and independent British tribe. But there's no proof they built a town exactly where South Shields is now. A writer named John Leland in the 1500s first suggested the town was once called 'Caer Urfa'. 'Caer' is an old British word meaning a fortified place.
A large Roman fort has been found and dug up in South Shields. It's on a hill called the Lawe Top, overlooking the River Tyne. This site was even featured on the TV show Time Team. The fort was built around AD 120. It was known as Arbeia, which means "place of the Arabs." This is because some of the soldiers stationed there were from places like modern-day Iraq.
Life at Arbeia Fort
Arbeia was built to be the main supply fort for Hadrian's Wall. It has the only stone-built granaries (places to store grain) found in Britain from Roman times. The Romans stayed here until they left Britain in the 5th century.
Today, you can see a reconstructed Roman gatehouse and barracks built on their original foundations. A museum at the site holds many interesting items. These include an altarpiece to a god no one knew about before. There's also a Roman gravestone put up by a man from Palmyra for his freedwoman and wife, who was a Briton from the Catuvellauni tribe.
The fort was at the end of a road called Wrekendike. This road connected to a bigger one that went between Newcastle (called Pons Aelivs by the Romans) and Chester-Le-Street (Congangis). Parts of this old road can still be seen today near Gateshead. The Romans also built a small dock in nearby Marsden Bay. They used it to load sandstone from a quarry. Not much of this dock remains today.
Arbeia was left by the Romans around AD 400. This was when Emperor Honorius told the people of Britain they had to defend themselves. One of the groups who took advantage of the Roman Empire's decline were the Anglo-Saxons.
Dark Ages and Viking Influence
The 6th century in Britain is often seen as a confusing and violent time. The Romans had left, taking their laws, gods, and armies with them. However, the northeast of England became a bright spot for learning and education across Europe.
King Oswald of Northumbria united two kingdoms, Bernicia and Deira. This created the powerful Kingdom of Northumbria. In AD 647, King Oswy of Northumbria (Oswald's brother) allowed a monastery to be built. This was at the request of St. Aidan. Today, this site is in the very center of South Shields and is home to St. Hilda's Church. The original Anglo-Saxon building is now a small part under the current Norman church. St. Hilda's was one of many monasteries along the northeast coast, including Jarrow, where the famous Venerable Bede lived and worked.
Around AD 865, the monastery at St. Hilda's was raided by the Vikings. But the Vikings, also known as Danes, weren't just raiders. They also created settlements. They brought new customs, laws, and gods. They ended up controlling all of northern England. This system of government was called the Danelaw. You can still see the Viking influence today. For example, the Geordie accent, spoken in this area, has words of Danish origin. It also keeps many more Anglo-Saxon pronunciations than standard English.
Middle Ages and Early Growth
In 1100, the Normans built St Hilda's church where the old nunnery once stood. This church, located in the town's market place, is one of the oldest churches in the UK.
The first mention of 'Scheles' (which means fishermen's huts) was in 1235. The town of South Shields itself was officially founded in 1245 by the Prior and Convent of Durham. At first, the people of Newcastle upon Tyne complained. So, in 1258, an order was made that no ships should load or unload at Shields. Also, no docks should be built there. Despite this, South Shields still grew as a fishing port.
Salt production along the Tyne began in 1499 and became very important. Daniel Defoe wrote about the huge clouds of smoke from the salt pans. In 1743, someone else mentioned two hundred boiling-pans! Glass manufacturing started in the 1730s with Isaac Cookson. By 1827, there were eight glass works. Coal mining and chemical manufacturing also became important. South Shields even had the largest alkali works in the world at one point.
In 1644, during the English Civil War, Parliament's Scottish allies wanted to capture the Tyne and Newcastle upon Tyne. Their leader, Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, captured the fort on the Lawe Top after a long fight. After this, the Royalist forces moved south. It's thought that a small battle, known as the Battle of Boldon Hill, happened in the nearby town of Boldon.
Victorian Era Boom
After the Reform Act of 1832, which was supported by Lord Grey, County Durham was able to send two members to Parliament. The towns of Gateshead and South Shields also gained their own representatives.
The coal industry really grew during Victorian times. This attracted many people to move to South Shields. The town's population jumped from about 12,000 in 1801 to 75,000 by the late 1860s!
Coal Mining in South Shields
Some of the main coal mines in South Shields included:
- Templetown (1805–1826)
- St. Hilda's (1810–1940)
- West Harton (1844–1969)
- Boldon (1869–1982)
- Marsden (1879–1968)
- Whitburn (1879–1968)
- Westoe (1909–1993)
Coal mining was very dangerous. Mine shafts could collapse, and before the safety lamp was invented in 1815, open flames used by miners could cause gas explosions. Many people died in these accidents. Some mines even had tunnels that stretched for miles out under the sea.
The rapid growth of the town led to problems with cleanliness. This was partly solved by the Cleadon Water Pumping Station. This large tower was built in 1858 after an outbreak of cholera.
Maritime Innovations
South Shields is located at the mouth of the River Tyne. The river had shifting sandbars and channels, which meant ships often got stuck. After one such incident, the world's first self-righting lifeboat was designed by William Wouldhave in 1790.
In the 1850s, the Tyne's shipbuilding industry was growing. South and North Shields needed to stop sand from blocking the river mouth. So, in 1854, work began on the North and South Piers. Both were finished in 1885.
An engineering challenge arose after the piers were built. Sand from Littlehaven Beach started flowing up the Tyne with the incoming tide. To fix this, the Herd Groyne Pier was built in 1882.
Charles Palmer, who was born in South Shields, opened his shipyard in 1851 in Jarrow. He first built wooden ships, then moved to iron. His shipyard even patented rolled armor-plate for warships. In 1865, Alderman John Readhead founded his shipyard, John Readhead & Sons, in South Shields. It built small cargo ships and colliers for customers worldwide until it closed in 1968. You can still see various slipways and dry docks today, stretching from Tyne Dock towards the mouth of the Tyne.
The famous artist Turner made an engraving of Shields on the River Tyne in 1823. This artwork is now in Tate Britain in London. He also painted Keelmen Hauling Coals by Night in 1835. He even had himself rowed out into the Tyne at Jarrow Slake to do so.
South Shields became well-known for its maritime industries. The Marine School was founded by Dr. Thomas Winterbottom in 1837. It's now part of South Tyneside College and is known internationally. From the late 1980s to 2008, it had a special combined public observatory and planetarium. This provided education and fun for thousands of children each year. During the industrial boom of the 19th century, many impressive public buildings were built in the town, showing its wealth. These included the Customs House from 1848.
South Shields became a municipal borough in 1850. It then became a county borough in 1889. It stayed this way until 1974, when it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear.
The Shields Gazette newspaper, started in 1849, is the oldest local evening newspaper in the United Kingdom.
20th Century and Beyond
Between 1908 and 1909, the Harton Coal Company (which owned all the coal mines in South Shields) decided to electrify almost all of their mines. This included the railway lines connecting the mines to the docks on the river. Siemens did the electrical work and supplied the electric trains. For a while, the electricity used by the Harton Coal Company was about 6% of all the electricity used by the coal industry in the whole country! The last of these electric trains were retired in 1989. Four of them are now preserved in museums.
The impressive South Shields Town Hall, built in 1910, has a copper weather vane shaped like a sailing ship. The town's old crest (before 1974) featured a lifeboat and the motto – Always Ready. This motto was later adopted by South Tyneside.
Wartime and Modern Changes
German Zeppelin airships raided the Tyne area during World War I. The town's seafront amusement park was attacked in 1915. In World War II, South Shields had over 200 air raid warnings. 156 people were killed. Many houses were damaged, especially by fire bombs and parachute mines. One direct hit on the market place killed over 40 people who were sheltering in tunnels below. There used to be a memorial to them, a cobbled Union Flag on the market square, but it was removed in the late 1990s.
South Shields lost more sailors than any other port in Britain during World War II.
The famous artist L S Lowry often stayed in Sunderland and painted several works in South Shields.
Historically, the town was part of County Durham, but it became part of Tyne and Wear in 1974.
In 1977, the town was visited by the famous boxer Muhammad Ali. His wedding was blessed in the local mosque. This visit has even been the subject of a BBC documentary. Ali came to the town after being invited by a local boys' boxing club.
On September 1, 1987, Johnny Cash performed an open-air concert at Bents Park. A "lost" interview with Cash, given just before this show, was recently discovered.
South Shields has changed a lot as its traditional industries have declined. Now, service industries, including tourism and retail (shops), are playing a bigger role in the town's economy.
