The Black Middens is a reef at the mouth of the River Tyne in North East England, noted for the danger it poses to shipping.
The Black Middens is a reef at the mouth of the River Tyne in North East England, noted for the danger it poses to shipping.
The Black Middens is particularly dangerous as it is mostly below the water at high tide when shifting sand bars form around it. Many ships have been blown on to the Black Middens and wrecked – five ships during three days of storms in 1864, whose wrecks resulted in 34 deaths within close sight of the shore. [1] In order to mitigate such disasters, the Lights of North Shields were constructed in 1536 on the orders of Henry VIII, to guide mariners into the river. The first Volunteer Life Brigade was formed in Tynemouth in 1864, to rescue sailors who navigated into danger despite the lights. [2]
Ships have run aground on the Black Middens as late as the 1970s. [3]
Midden is a Scandinavian word, common in a number of north-east English dialects, used to describe a heap or dump of domestic waste; local legend has it that the devil threw the Black Middens into the Tyne to spoil the rich trade in coal shipped from Newcastle. [1]
A fishery was long based here, extending from the Black Middens to Howdon Head. In the 15th century, the Prior of Tynemouth had three fishing weirs; large isolated rocks nearby are known as the Prior's Rocks or Stones. In the 17th century, it was known as Robert Ramsey's fishery. In the 18th century, nets were used and hundreds of salmon were caught. [4]
The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length is 73 miles (118 km). It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.
North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend.
South Shields is a large coastal market town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear. It is situated at the south of the River Tyne. Historically, t was known to Romans as Arbeia and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 2011 census, the town had a population of 76,498. It is the fourth largest settlement in Tyne and Wear; after Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland and Gateshead. It is roughly equidistant (approximately 3.7 miles between the border of Newcastle and the border of Sunderland.
Tynemouth is a large town and former county borough in England, at the River Tyne's mouth. A historic part of Northumberland, it is now administered by the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear.
Tynemouth Castle is located on a rocky headland, overlooking Tynemouth Pier. The moated castle-towers, gatehouse and keep are combined with the ruins of the Benedictine priory where early kings of Northumbria were buried. The coat of arms of the town of Tynemouth still includes three crowns commemorating the tradition that the Priory had been the burial place for three kings.
North Shields is a coastal town on the north bank of the River Tyne in North East England, eight miles (13 km) north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. The town's name derives from Middle English schele meaning "temporary sheds or huts used by fishermen". Historically part of Northumberland, it now falls within the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside.
North Shields Fish Quay is a fishing port located close to the mouth of the River Tyne, in North Shields, Tyne and Wear, North East England, 8 miles (13 km) east of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Monkseaton is an area of Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, in the North East of England. Historically in Northumberland, it is in the north-east of the borough, 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) from the North Sea coast and 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) north of the River Tyne at North Shields. A mile to the north of Monkseaton, the extensive built-up areas of North Tyneside change abruptly into green belt stretching north into south-east Northumberland. It is at an elevation of 130 feet (40 m) above sea-level.
Jingling Geordie's Hole is a cave that has inspired a legend in Tynemouth, England.
Wylam is a village and civil parish in the county of Northumberland. It is located about 10 miles (16 km) west of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Tynemouth is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 1997 by Alan Campbell, a member of the Labour Party.
Elswick is a district and electoral ward of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, 1.9 miles west of the city centre, bordering the River Tyne. Historically in Northumberland, Elswick became part of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1835. Elswick is home to the Newcastle Utilita Arena; and Newcastle College, with approximately 45,000 students.
Rohilla was a passenger steamer of the British India Steam Navigation Company which was built for service between the UK and India, and as a troopship. After becoming a hospital ship in the First World War, She ran aground in October 1914, near Whitby, with the loss of 83 lives.
The Blyth and Tyne Railway was a railway company in Northumberland, England. It was incorporated in 1853 to unify several private railways and waggonways that were concerned with bringing coal from the Northumberland coalfield to Blyth and to the River Tyne. Over the years, it expanded its network to include Ashington, Morpeth and Tynemouth. As coal output increased, the company became very prosperous in hauling the mineral to quays for export and, in addition, a residential passenger service based on Newcastle built up.
Preston is a suburb about a mile north of North Shields, North Tyneside. Its population was recorded at 8419 in the 2011 census. Historically a separate entity, it has slowly been absorbed into the town to the south and expanded as to form a continuous urban area north to Monkseaton.
"The Cliffs of Old Tynemouth" is a Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by David Ross Lietch. This song is a ballad, romanticising about one of the tourist sights of the Tyneside area.
Clifford's Fort was a defensive gun battery established near the mouth of the Tyne during the Anglo-Dutch Wars in the 17th century. It subsequently served as a submarine mining depot and survives today as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in the historic Fish Quay area of North Shields, Tyne and Wear, in North East England.
John Bowes, built on the River Tyne in England in 1852, was one of the first steam colliers. She traded for over 81 years before sinking in a storm off Spain.
The geology of Tyne and Wear in northeast England largely consists of a suite of sedimentary rocks dating from the Carboniferous and Permian periods into which were intruded igneous dykes during the later Palaeogene Period.
The High and Low Lights of North Shields are decommissioned leading lights in North Shields, Tyne and Wear in the United Kingdom. Two pairs of lights survive: the older pair date from 1727 and were operational until 1810; the newer pair then took over, remaining in use until 1999. All four are listed buildings. They were sometimes known as the Fish Quay High and Low Lights, or as 'Fish Quay ' and 'Dockwray Square '.
Coordinates: 55°00′44″N1°25′18″W / 55.0123°N 1.4217°W
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