North Shields

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Map sources for North Shields at grid reference NZ3568

North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England. It is located eight miles east of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Clifford's Fort is a fortification of 1672, and is an important survival. Samuel Pepys landed here on his way to be made a Freeman of Newcastle in May 1682.

Traditional industries in the town include fishing and shipbuilding.

North Shields is a conurbation comprised of villages, farms, and other landmarks which have been absorbed into it. These places survive as area place names within North Shields, such as Chirton, which used to be Chirton village, Preston, Billy Mill, Percy Main among others. Percy Main and Meadowwell were previously mentioned in this article as smaller surrounding towns. This isn't accurate as the Meadowwell is a housing estate which covers a significant portion of North Shields and is located not quite centrally but within the town. Percy Main is located west directly next to the Meadowwell and was a pit village. Percy Main is still known as Percy Main village though it now forms part of the western edge of the town. The Meadowell was originally called the Ridges estate and is still referred to by that name. It was built to house people during the clearance of the Dockwray Square slums, where the famous comedian Stan Laurel lived for a period in his childhood; Its current name appears to be taken from a well that was situated in the corner of a meadow that the Meadowwell now covers. The town is known as 'Shields' by its residents.

Locals who have played a large part in the towns history include Ralph Gardener who opposed Newcastle and fought for Shields when Newcastle tried to stop ships form docking in North Shields to deliver and receive coal. Newcastle wanted the ships to continue up the river Tyne to Dock there and therefore reap the financial rewards. Ralph Gardener had a High School named in his honour near the former site of his cottage, the school being named Ralphies (pronounced Rah-feez)by its students. He also had a momument put up nearby the school.

Admiral Lord Collingwood had a large mansion built in North Shields. The house became Public House called The Collingwood Arms which has since been demolished early in 2005 to make way for a retirement home. He was originally from Newcastle and fought with Nelson in the battle of Trafalger. Without Collingwood Nelson could not have won the Battle of Trafalger and he has large monument in his honour overlooking the Tyne at Tynemouth. However he never spent one night in the house he had built in Shields and consequently the house was not considered a listed building. It was recently demolished and now a retirement home stands on the site.

The town has recently undergone an extensive regeneration programme which has seen the revitalisation of the redundant docks. The Wet 'n' Wild indoor water park, an outlet shopping centre, a new Bowling alley, a JJB Soccer Dome and a marina form the centrepiece to the Royal Quays. Similarly, major regeneration of the Fish Quay to the south of the town centre has included the construction of luxury apartments and the conversion of existing buildings into restaurants and bars. The North Shields Fish Quay is home to a semi-annual festival to celebrate the history of the importance of the fishing industry to the town's history.

The Stephenson Railway Museum and internet radio station Youth Voice FM are located here.

1 Famous residents past and present
2 See also
3 Transport
4 References

[edit] Famous residents past and present

Steve Watson Premiership Footballer
Hastings Kamuzu Banda Physician and dictator of Malawi
Thomas Burt Miner M.P.
Myles Birket Foster Artist
William Harbutt Inventor of plasticine
Stan Laurel Famous film comedian
Thomas Walter Manson Biblical scholar
Neil Tennant Musician
Henry Treece Poet, novelist and teacher
Hilton Valentine Musician
Ian Watson Prize-winning science fiction author
Robert Westall Prize-winning children's author
Alan Young Actor
Dan Craig focal point of the universe

Paul Van-Zandvliet Premiership Rugby Player (Newcastle Falcons)

[edit] See also

[edit] Transport

The Tyne and Wear Metro links North Shields to Newcastle city centre, and to other destinations in Tyne and Wear including Whitley Bay, Newcastle Airport, and Sunderland.

An international ferry terminal based at Royal Quays is a gateway to overseas destinations, including Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. A half-hourly ferry service connects the North Shields Fish Quay to the town of South Shields on the opposite bank of the Tyne.

The ferry to Gothenburg, Sweden (currently run by the Danish company DFDS Seaways), will cease at the end of October 2006<ref>"DFDS scraps Newcastle-Gothenburg line", The Local, 7 September 2006: "Danish shipping company DFDS Seaways is to scrap the only passenger ferry route between Sweden and Britain, with the axing of the Gothenburg-Newcastle route at the end of October."</ref>. The company cited high fuel prices and new competition from low-cost air services, especially Ryanair (which now flies to Glasgow Prestwick and London Stansted from Gothenburg City Airport), as being the cause. DFDS Seaways' sister company, DFDS Tor Line, will continue to run scheduled freight ships between Gothenburg and several English ports, including Newcastle, and these have limited capacity for passengers, but not private vehicles. It is unclear if the Newcastle (North Shields)-Kristiansand, Norway, route will continue.