Port of Tyne

Last updated

Port of Tyne
Port of Tyne
Location
CountryUnited Kingdom
Location Tyne and Wear
Coordinates 54°59′08″N1°27′38″W / 54.9855°N 1.4605°W / 54.9855; -1.4605 Coordinates: 54°59′08″N1°27′38″W / 54.9855°N 1.4605°W / 54.9855; -1.4605
UN/LOCODE GBTYN
Details
Owned byPort of Tyne trust port
Employees459
Chief ExecutiveMatt Beeton
Statistics
Annual cargo tonnage4.4 million tonnes
Annual container volume66,000 TEU
Passenger traffic748,000
Annual revenue£57.5 million
Cars imported/exported526,000
Website
www.portoftyne.co.uk OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Port of Tyne comprises the commercial docks on and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear in the northeast of England.

Contents

History

There has been a port on the Tyne at least since the Romans used their settlement of Arbeia to supply the garrison of Hadrian's Wall. Around 1200, stone-faced, clay-filled jetties were starting to project into the river in Newcastle, an indication that trade was increasing. As the Roman roads continued to deteriorate, sea travel was gaining in importance. By 1275 Newcastle was the sixth largest wool-exporting port in England. The principal exports at this time were wool, timber, coal, millstones, dairy produce, fish, salt, and hides. Much of the developing trade was with the Baltic countries and Germany. Coal was being exported from Newcastle by 1250, and by 1350 the burgesses received a royal licence to export coal. This licence to export coal was jealously guarded by the Newcastle burgesses, and they tried to prevent any one else on the Tyne from exporting coal except through Newcastle. The burgesses similarly tried to prevent fish from being sold anywhere else on the Tyne except Newcastle. This led to conflicts with Gateshead and South Shields. [1]

From 1600 the growth in the export of coal brought prosperity to Newcastle. Until the 19th century the port was the responsibility of the City of Newcastle, but navigation became difficult, and in 1850 the Tyne Improvement Commission (TIC) was established to better maintain the port and river. In 1881 they published a review of their achievements. [2] One significant action was the removal by dredging of Kings Meadow Island. A major force through this period were the Keelmen.

The TIC deepened the river to 9.83 metres, and built the North and South Piers, and the Northumberland, Tyne and Albert Edward Docks. In 1928 the TIC opened the Tyne Commission Quay at North Shields, now known as the Northumbrian Quay, to handle mail and cargo trade with Bergen in Norway. [3]

In 1968 the TIC was dissolved and replaced by the Port of Tyne Authority. Since then, with the decline in the coal industry, the port has switched to the export of cars manufactured in the northeast of England. [4]

The port today

The Port of Tyne is the navigation authority for the tidal reaches of the River Tyne, from the mouth to the Tidal Stone at Wylam, a distance of 17 miles. It also has jurisdiction for one mile past the roundheads at the piers at the river mouth. [5]

The port handles conventional and bulk cargoes at the Riverside Quay. There are two car terminals, one on either side of the river, a cruise terminal at Northumbrian Quay on the north side, and a ferry terminal at North Shields. [6]

The Port of Tyne applied to become a freeport after the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 but the application was rejected. [7]

Police

The Tyne Improvement Commission Docks and Piers Police was a police force maintained by the TIC from 1874 to police its property. Its officers were sworn as special constables under the Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847 and had full police powers on TIC property. The force was disbanded on 1 September 1949, although its members remained in the Commission's employment as Watchmen in the Traffic and Engineering Department. Policing on Commission property was taken over by the River Tyne Police. [8]

Related Research Articles

River Tyne River in North East England

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'.

Sunderland City in England

Sunderland is a port city and the administrative centre of the City of Sunderland metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, North East England. Sunderland is situated near the mouth of the River Wear which flows through the city and as well as the city of Durham, situated roughly 12 miles (19 km) south-west of Sunderland city centre. Sunderland is within the historic county of Durham.

South Tyneside Metropolitan borough in England

South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, North East England.

North Tyneside Metropolitan borough in England

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 Town in Tyne and Wear, England

South Shields is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear. It is situated at the south of the River Tyne. Historically, it 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 75,337. 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.

North Shields Human settlement in England

North Shields is a coastal town on the north bank of the River Tyne in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, North East England. North Shields is 8 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 North Shields was part of the Tynemouth County Borough in Northumberland until 1974, when it became part of Tyne and Wear.

North Shields Fish Quay Port

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.

Gladstone Dock Dock in Liverpool, England

Gladstone Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Bootle. The dock is connected to Seaforth Dock to the north and what remains of Hornby Dock to the south. Part of Liverpool Freeport, Gladstone Dock is operated by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company.

Wylam Human settlement in 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.

History of Newcastle upon Tyne

The history of Newcastle upon Tyne dates back almost 2,000 years, during which it has been controlled by the Romans, the Angles and the Norsemen amongst others. Originally known by its Roman name Pons Aelius, the name "Newcastle" has been used since the Norman conquest of England. Due to its prime location on the River Tyne, the town developed greatly during the Middle Ages and it was to play a major role in the Industrial Revolution, being granted city status in 1882. Today, the city is a major retail, commercial and cultural centre.

Tyne Dock Neighbourhood in Tyne & Wear, England

Tyne Dock is a neighbourhood within the town of South Shields, North East England, on the south bank of the River Tyne. It takes its name from the large dock on the river which was opened in 1859 by the North Eastern Railway to handle Tyneside's coal exports. At its height the trade amounted to seven million tons of coal transported via the four staiths which had been built to facilitate the process. This trade declined in the second half of the twentieth century and the bridges that carried the coal trains into the dock, the famous Tyne Dock Arches, were demolished in the early 1980s. The dock itself has been progressively infilled since closure, allowing for the building of modern storage warehouses. This process concluded with the final 13 acres that were filled in as part of the project to build the second Tyne Tunnel. The Tyne Dock basin was filled with 400,000 cubic metres of sediment dredged from the Tyne.

Royal Quays Area in England

Royal Quays is an area of North Shields, North Tyneside, England, beside the River Tyne.

Lemington Ward in England

Lemington is an area and electoral ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England.

Port of Hull Port in Kingston upon Hull, England

The Port of Hull is a port at the confluence of the River Hull and the Humber Estuary in Kingston upon Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

The Hostmen of Newcastle upon Tyne were a cartel of businessmen who formed a monopoly to control the export of coal from the River Tyne in North East England. They were so known from the medieval practice of "hosting", whereby local businessmen provided visiting merchants with accommodation and introduced them to local traders. The Hostmen acted as middlemen with whom the coal producers and those who shipped the coal to London and elsewhere were forced to deal.

River Tyne Police

The River Tyne Police was a police force established under the Newcastle upon Tyne Port Act 1845 which patrolled the River Tyne in England between 1845 and 1968.

The Keelmen of Tyne and Wear were a group of men who worked on the keels, large boats that carried the coal from the banks of both rivers to the waiting collier ships. Because of the shallowness of both rivers, it was difficult for ships of any significant draught to move up river and load with coal from the place where the coal reached the riverside. Thus the need for shallow-draught keels to transport the coal to the waiting ships. The keelmen formed a close-knit and colourful community on both rivers until their eventual demise late in the nineteenth century.

Newcastle & Carlisle Railway

The Newcastle & Carlisle Railway (N&CR) was an English railway company formed in 1825 that built a line from Newcastle upon Tyne on Britain's east coast, to Carlisle, on the west coast. The railway began operating mineral trains in 1834 between Blaydon and Hexham, and passengers were carried for the first time the following year. The rest of the line opened in stages, completing a through route between Carlisle and Gateshead, south of the River Tyne in 1837. The directors repeatedly changed their intentions for the route at the eastern end of the line, but finally a line was opened from Scotswood to a Newcastle terminal in 1839. That line was extended twice, reaching Newcastle Central station in 1851.

High and Low Lights of North Shields Lighthouse

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 '.

Percy Main is a small village absorbed into North Shields, North East England. Historically in Northumberland, it is now part of Tyne and Wear.

References

  1. Marshall, Michael W (1997). Turning Tides. Keepgate Publishing Ltd. ISBN   1-899506-35-7.
  2. River Tyne Improvement, description by Mr P, J. Messent, C.E. of works completed and in progress by the Tyne Improvement Commissioners with chart of the River Tyne from the sea to Wylam, June 1881. An example of the 8 page and chart original is available at the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers Tracts Vol 11 pages 251ff.
  3. University of Newcastle upon Tyne: SINE project Archived 19 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Port of Tyne website: History
  5. Port of Tyne website: Marine services
  6. Port of Tyne: the Business
  7. UK Government, Trade Secretary announces Freeports Advisory Panel will ensure UK is ready to trade post-Brexit, published 2 August 2019, accessed 21 August 2019
  8. Mearns, Neil W. (1998). Sentinels of the Wear. p. 152. ISBN   0953337707.