Tyne and Wear HER(945): South Shields town - Details
945
S Tyneside
South Shields town
South Shields
NZ36NE
Civil
Town
Medieval
C13
Documentary Evidence
The prior and convent of Durham were confirmed in possession of the vill of Westoe in the late 11th or early 12th century, and it appears that the vill of Shields was founded or grew on Westoe territory, and was certainly in existence by 1235. The rent roll of that year recorded 24 tenants, and by 1256 there were 27 houses, 2 ovens, 4 breweries, and fisheries. In spite of constant opposition from Newcastle and bad times in the 15th century, Shields continued to grow. By the beginning of the 16th century it had attained considerable importance as a seaport, with mill(s) and saltpans. The early town seems to have been a long street parallel with the river, on either side of Mill Dam. Continual riverside development (and presumably reclamation) however has left no trace of the early layout.
359
669
NZ359669
<< HER 945 >> Rev. W. Greenwell,1872, Feodarium Prioratus Dunelmensis, Surtees Society, 58, pp. 119-20, 310
J. Booth, ed. 1889, Halmota Prioratus Dunelmensis, Surtees Society, 82, pp. 32, 198-9
The College Durham D and C MSS, med. Bursar's accounts - Durham University Special Collections 5
W. Hutchinson, 1787, History...of Durham, II, 605-14
R. Surtees, 1820, History...of Durham, II, 94-102
G.B. Hodgson, 1903, The Borough of South Shields, passim
The College Copies of Chancery Decree Awards, 1724, South Shields Mill Dam, 51,- Durham University Special Collections 5
R. Richardson, 1768, A Plan of the Townships of Westoe and Harton... no. 13668, The College Church Commission- Durham University Special Collections 5
The College Ordnance Survey maps, 1st ed. 25 IV.5 -Durham University Special Collections 5
S. Speak, 1990, Wapping Street Excavations; Ian Nairn, 1964, A Townscape Gazetteer - County Durham, Architectural Review, Vol. 135 (1964) p 120