North Shields, Customs House Quay, wooden dolly 3

HER Number:
5962

District:
N Tyneside

Site Name:
North Shields, Customs House Quay, wooden dolly 3

Place:
North Shields

Map Sheet:
NZ36NE

Class:
Gardens Parks and Urban Spaces

Site Type: Broad:
Sculpture

Site Type: Specific:
Statue

General Period:
Early Modern

Specific Period:
C19

Form of Evidence:
Destroyed Monument

Description:
The third wooden dolly was formally the figurehead of the barque 'Expert', which belonged to Peter and John Stephenson. In 1864 the ship was being repaired by chandlers Harcus & Stroud and the figurehead was removed to be used as a wooden dolly. At the time the foundatation stone of the Low Lights Dock was being laid and it was considered a good time to remove Mr. Hare's old wooden dolly (HER 5961) and replace it with a new and more beautiful dolly. The figurehead from the 'Expert' was set up by Mr. John Larkus and Mr. James Pringle on 22nd June 1864. This figure too suffered from being chipped by sailors wanting good luck souvenirs for their journey. When the dolly's nose was hacked off, Robert Pow, a blacksmith in Liddell Street, had to insert an iron nose. Sailors began nailing coins with holes drilled through them onto the wooden dolly for good luck. The third dolly was replaced in 1901. The third doll reappeared in the 1930s in an antique shop in Newcastle, after the dealer, Mr. Seery, bought her from a fisherman's widow. She was bought by a Dane and is thought to be part of a collection in a Denmark museum. Mr Seery commented that 'she had not a flake of paint on her - her nose was missing and she appeared quite a formidable sight' {1}.

Easting:
3583

Northing:
6820

Grid Reference:
NZ35836820

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
Keith Armstrong (ed.), 1994, The Wooden Dolly - the story of the North Shields Wooden Dolly