Early Times
North Shields stands on the north bank of the Tyne, close by the river entrance. It was for centuries a “town where no town should be, only huts for fishermen”. This was the verdict of a legal action in 1279 between the burgesses of Newcastle and the Prior of Tynemouth. I t was not unknown for Newcastle townspeople to band together to attack the people of Shields and burn their property in an attempt to suppress trade at the harbour mouth.
The name comes from the old Northumbrian word for a simple hut or shiel. The town probably owes its existence to the church and castle built on the north cliffs overlooking the entrance to the Tyne. They survived the Danish raids of the 9th and 10th centuries but the Norman invasion of 1066 caused a great deal of upheaval. In 1083 a monastery was founded but monks did not arrive until 1090.
The monastery flourished and also became a fortress for the defence of the Tyne. From the early thirteenth century the Priors were engaged in frequent legal battles for the right to establish a trading port at North Shields, against the wishes of the people of Newcastle.
Despite this opposition the town developed local industries and basic port facilities; it was the loss of trade and taxes which led to the hostility from Newcastle. It was not until the 1700s when the silting of the river persuaded ship’s captains to victual at Shields rather than risk the journey to Newcastle that the latter’s grip began to loosen.
Modern Times
The town grew along the foot of the steep northern bank. Quays were built, warehouses for chandlers, shipbuilders moved in, and an extensive salt industry grew up. Dixon says the smoke from the industries could be seen from Simonside, near Rothbury, some thirty miles away.
Eventually, the growth was recognised by the creation of the Port of Shields in 1848. In 1849 Shields became the centre of the Borough of Tynemouth, which became a County Borough in 1904.
The Tyne Improvement Commission was set up in 1850 and took control of the river from Newcastle. The TIC began the construction of the North and South piers, not completed until 1909.
It was during the 1800s that Shields began to grow, drawing in people from all over the region and the banks of the river became built over. A t times the waterfront area had a very dubious reputation.
Up to the 1930s much of the population lived on the bankside but a new estate (originally the Ridges then in more recent times the Meadow Well) was developed and the banksides were cleared. Since then the urban development has continued and the town is much bigger than when I was a child.
