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- 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
Tynemouth is a town and an historic borough located at the mouth of the River Tyne. Since 1974 it has been part of in the administrative county of Tyne and Wear, England, prior to that it was in Northumberland, England.
The modern town of Tynemouth includes North Shields and Cullercoates and had a 2011 population of 67,519. It is now administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough, in its own right. North Shields was one of its component parts even when it was a county borough. Its history dates back to an Iron Age settlement and its strategic position on a headland over-looking the mouth of the Tyne continued to be important through to the Second World War.
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Townships in the Borough
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A nineteenth century description
A Vision of Britain through Time provides the following description of Tynemouth from John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales of 1870-72:
- "TYNEMOUTH, a town, a township, a parish, a [registration] sub-district, and a [registration] district, in Northumberland. The town stands on the N side of the mouth of the river Tyne, at the terminus of the Newcastle and Tynemouth railway, 1 mile W of the market place of North Shields.
- "Occupies a promontory, known to the ancient British as Pendal, and terminating in cliffs; originated in a Roman station, subordinate to Segedunum or Wallsend; acquired consequence from a monastery, founded in the 7th century, and from a subsequent strong castle; retains traces of a St. Leonard's hospital, founded before 1320; suffered devastation, at various periods, by the Danes, and in 1316 and 1389, by the Scots; was visited, in 1278 and 1298, by Edward I., in 1303, by Queen Eleanor, in 1322, by Queen Isabella, in 1633, by Charles I.; was garrisoned, in 1642, for the Crown, taken, in 1644, by the Scots, and stormed, in 1648, at Lilburn's revolt; gave the title of Earl, in 1687, to James Fitz-James, Duke of Berwick; had John of Tynemonth, author of the "Golden History," for a native, and John Wethemstede and Thomas de la Mere as priors. Came into repute, in modern times, as an esteemed watering-place; enjoys a fine climate, charming scenery, and excellent bathing appliances; consists of well built streets, with numerous good private dwelling-houses; and has a post-office under North Shields, a [railway] station with telegraph, good hotels, many good lodging-houses, commodious and elegant baths, a public hall and assembly-room, a county jail with capacity for 22 male and 18 female prisoners, a parochial church built in 1668 and situated at North Shields, a recent church called Holy Saviour's, an Independent chapel with tower and spire built in 1865, a Wesleyan chapel, a free school, and a workhouse.
- The monastery was founded, in 625, by King Edwin; was repeatedly destroyed by the Danes, and repeatedly restored or rebuilt by distinguished persons, prior to the middle of the 11th century; was given, for a time, to Jarrow abbey; was refounded in 1090, by Robert de Mowbray, as a black priory, subordinate to St. Alban's abbey; was fortified soon afterwards by De Mowbray, against William Rufus, and then took the name of [Tynemouth} Castle. [It] had previously been the burial-place of St. Oswyn, King Osred, and King Malcolm Canmore; acquired in 1220 a renovated church 275 feet long, with transept 97 feet long, and with a choir 135 feet by 66; went, at the dissolution, to the Dudleys; and has left extensive and interesting remains. The castle was reconstructed into barracks in 1665; became a depôt in 1783; and is now occupied by infantry. A lighthouse stands within the yard; was built in 1802; and shows a revolving minute light 148 feet above sea-level, visible at the distance of 17 miles.
- "The town shares in the business interests of North Shields; was made a parliamentary borough in 1832, and a municipal borough in 1849; comprises, as a borough, the townships of Tynemouth, North Shields, Preston, Cullercoates, and Chirton; sends one member to parliament; and is governed by a mayor, 6 aldermen, and 18 councillors. Amount of property and income tax charged in 1863: £7,965. Electors in 1833: 760; in 1863: 1,117. Population in 1851: 29,170; in 1861: 34,021. Houses: 4,952.
- "The township comprises 1,173 acres of land, and 652 of water. Population in 1851, 14,650; in 1861, 16,560. Houses, 2,589.
- "The parish includes also the rest of the borough, and the townships of Whitley, Monkseaton, and Murton; and comprises 7,222 acres. Real property: £69,334; of which £1,300 are in mines, £250 in quarries, and £3,293 in gasworks. Population in 1851: 30,524; in 1861: 35,404. Houses: 5,219. The head living is a vicarage, and that of Holy Saviour is a [perpetual] curacy, in the diocese of Durham. Value of the former: £298; of the latter: £200. Patron of both, the Duke of Northumberland. The [perpetual] curacies of North Shields-Trinity, North Shields-St. Peter, Cullercoates, and Percy are separate benefices. Three of the churches were recently built and endowed, at a cost of about £60,000, two-thirds defrayed by the Duke of Northumberland, one-third by the Church Commissioners.
Research Tips
- Northumberland Archives previously known as Northumberland Collections Service and Northumberland County Record Office. Now based within Woodhorn Museum in Ashington and providing free access to numerous records for local and family historians alike.
- Full postal address: Museum and Northumberland Archives, Queen Elizabeth II Country Park, Ashington, Northumberland, NE63 9YF; Phone: 01670 624455
- There is a branch office in Berwick upon Tweed.
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