Anne-Marie, I understand that you don't think that the streets you have mentioned, all of which were close to the riverside and swept away in 1930s slum clearances, were anywhere near Westoe. I suspect that is because to you, Westoe means what is more correctly Westoe Village, about a mile away. However, Westoe is an older name for the district than is South Shields and the original South Shields were just that - fishermen's cottages, perhaps only occupied seasonally, beside the river, and called that to distinguish them from the North Shields on the Tynemouth side. When the land was divided into Townships, that of South Shields was just that very narrow, but highly-populated, strip alongside the river, while the majority of what is now South Shields became the Township of Westoe, a more rural, agricultural, place until South Shields expanded and swamped it. The centre of Westoe was what is now Westoe village, originally a collection of farms, about a mile south of the Tyne. This might be a suitable occasion to remind you of the mediaeval letter of protest sent by Newcastle Corporation to the King, complaining that their rights over the trade on the Tyne were being usurped by the Prior of Tynemouth, who had established a port of his own at North Shields. Near the end of the letter, as almost a throw-away line, they say "..... and the Prior of Durham has established a town at South Shields, where no town ought to be". I just love quoting those last eight words to South Shields people! Geoff Nicholson -----Original Message----- From: bainbridge11 <[email protected]> To: northumbria <[email protected]> Sent: Mon, 4 Feb 2013 5:55 Subject: [NMB] Academy Hill, South Shields, Researching my husbands Bainbridge tree and came across his great ancestors living at 10 Academy Hill on the 1851 census, any idea where this street would have been? 1861 they were at Thames Street, Westoe and that too seems to have gone. Any ideas as to location? Cheers, Anne-Marie .. Please remember to snip most of the earlier message before you post any reply...... Thank you! The NORTHUMBRIA FAQ page is located at http://www.bpears.org.uk/NorthumbriaFAQ/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi Geoff, Thank you for your interest, indeed I was thinking of Westoe Village as it is today. When I visit South Shields later this year I will view it with new eyes and thank you for the history of how South Shields came in to being and yes, I too like that medieval quote. Cheers, Anne-Marie Quoting Geoff Nicholson <[email protected]>: > Anne-Marie, > > I understand that you don't think that the streets you have > mentioned, all of which were close to the riverside and swept away in > 1930s slum clearances, were anywhere near Westoe. I suspect that is > because to you, Westoe means what is more correctly Westoe Village, > about a mile away. However, Westoe is an older name for the district > than is South Shields and the original South Shields were just that - > fishermen's cottages, perhaps only occupied seasonally, beside the > river, and called that to distinguish them from the North Shields on > the Tynemouth side. When the land was divided into Townships, that > of South Shields was just that very narrow, but highly-populated, > strip alongside the river, while the majority of what is now South > Shields became the Township of Westoe, a more rural, agricultural, > place until South Shields expanded and swamped it. The centre of > Westoe was what is now Westoe village, originally a collection of > farms, about a mile south of the Tyne. > > This might be a suitable occasion to remind you of the mediaeval > letter of protest sent by Newcastle Corporation to the King, > complaining that their rights over the trade on the Tyne were being > usurped by the Prior of Tynemouth, who had established a port of his > own at North Shields. Near the end of the letter, as almost a > throw-away line, they say "..... and the Prior of Durham has > established a town at South Shields, where no town ought to be". I > just love quoting those last eight words to South Shields people! > > Geoff Nicholson > > >