Place:South Shields, Durham, England

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia

South Shields is a coastal town at the mouth of the River Tyne, about 4.84 miles (7.79 km) downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne in the county of Tyne and Wear. Until 1974 it was located in County Durham. The town has a population of 75,337 in the UK census of 2011, the third largest in Tyneside after Newcastle and Gateshead. It is part of the metropolitan borough of South Tyneside which also includes the towns of Jarrow and Hebburn.

South Shields became a municipal borough in County Durham in 1835 and was upgraded to a county borough in 1889. The municipal/county borough contained the civil parish of Westoe and was increased in size at various times by absorbtions of parts of Jarrow and Boldon.

History

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article South Shields.

Economy

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article South Shields.

Research Tips

• County Durham Archives. Durham County Record Office is located on the Lower Ground Floor of County Hall, the administrative headquarters of Durham County Council, in Durham City.
• Northumberland and Durham FHS covers both Northumberland and the northern part of County Durham. The Family History Society have a research centre in Percy House in central Newcastle upon Tyne (full address on website), open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm. Browse the website to see what else the society can provide.
• The Cleveland, North Yorkshire & South Durham Family History Society covers the southern part of County Durham as well as the Tees Valley and North Yorkshire on the south side of the River Tees. Their homepage includes a map to show the society's coverage. (Once again, full address and other details on the website)
• Further information from GENUKI
• Ordnance Survey map of Durham 1832 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time. This map includes the boundaries of the various Wards (or "hundreds") in existence at that time.
• Ordnance Survey map of Durham 1900 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• Ordnance Survey map of Durham 1944 provided by A Vision of Britain through Time
• English Jurisdictions 1851, a parish finding aid provided by FamilySearch, particularly helpful in large towns and cities.
• Unfortunately, the Victoria County History for Durham is limited in its coverage. It only includes the cathedral city of Durham, including an account of the cathedral itself. Also covers Stockton Ward in the south-east of the county (bordering North Yorkshire) including Hartlepool and Stockton on Tees.