SHIELDS (SOUTH), a sea-port and market-town,
partly in the chapelry of SOUTH-SHIELDS, and partly
in that of WESTOE, parish of JARROW, eastern divi-
sion of CHESTER ward, county palatine of DURHAM,
20 miles (N. N. B.) from Durham, and 278 (N. N. W.)
from London; the township of South Shields contains
8885 inhabitants, and the present population of
the town is supposed to exceed 17,000. Although this
town has only attained its present size and importance
in very recent times, its origin appears to lay claim to
considerable antiquity; many remains of the Romans,
consisting of altars, an hypocaust, coins, and other
memorials, discovered on Lawe hill, near the town,
indicating that it was one of the stations occupied by
that people, though the name by which it was then
known has not been ascertained. The military road,
called the "Wreken Dyke," terminated here, and an elevated
pavement at the western end of the town appears
to be a Roman work. It is situated on the southern
bank of the Tyne, at its junction with the German
Ocean, nearly opposite to North Shields; the old part
of the town consists principally of a long, narrow, and
inconvenient street, running along the shore of the
river, but the higher and more modern part of it comprises
many spacious and well-built houses: it is
lighted with gas, supplied by works completed in 1824,
at an expense of £4000. In the large square near the
centre of the town is the town hall, erected, about 1768,
by the Dean and Chapter of Durham, in which the
petty sessions for this part of the eastern division of
Chester ward are held, on the second and fourth Wed-
nesdays in each month; and a court leet and court baron
by the Dean and Chapter, as lords of the manor,
for making presentments, and for the recovery of small
debts; it is also used as an exchange by the merchants,
and as a public news-room; the under part is composed
of a colonnade, in which the market for butter, eggs, and
poultry, is held. A subscription library was established
in 1803, and "a Literary, Scientific, and Mechanics'
Institution " in 1825; the latter, in addition to its library,
possesses apparatus for mechanical and scientific
experiments, and has very much contributed to increase
a desire for knowledge in its neighbourhood. The theatre,
erected in 1791, on the Bank Top, is a neat building.
This town owes much of its present importance
to the salt trade, which was established about 1499;
and during the reigns of Elizabeth, James, and Charles I.,
it attracted many strangers, who settled here. When in
its most flourishing state, in 1696, it employed nearly
one hundred and fifty salt-pans, and many hundred individuals
but it has so much declined, that the number
of pans does not now exceed five, producing about six
tons of salt weekly. It has, however, been succeeded by
other branches of business, from which the town derives
equal benefit, the principal being the coal trade; in addition
to the coal brought down the river in keels and
shipped here, two mines are worked in the immediate
neighbourhood; connected with them are staiths on the
banks of the river, for facilitating the loading of vessels,
by means of which a cargo is frequently shipped in one
tide. The number of vessels belonging to the port in
1827 was two hundred and fifty-nine, though within the
last century the number was only four or five: the majority
of them are employed as colliers, and a few in the
American, Baltic, and Indian trades. Here are thirteen
dry docks, which will contain nineteen large vessels, and
extensive yards for ship-building are attached to each
dock: during the late war, when the trade of the port was
most flourishing, thirty vessels have been launched in
a year, but the number is now very far short of this.
There are nine glass-houses in the neighbourhood, in
which the different kinds of crown and flint glass, and
glass bottles, are made, and some mills for grinding it;
the duty paid in one year, during the war, on this branch
of manufacture amounted to £89,334. There are also
three breweries, and seven rope-walks, in some of which
patent cordage is made. The market is on Wednesday;
and fairs, granted by charter of Bishop Trevor, in 1770,
are held on June 24th and September 1st, but they are
indifferently attended.
The living is a perpetual curacy, in the archdeaconry
and diocese of Durham, and in the patronage of
the Dean and Chapter of Durham. The chapel, dedicated
to St. Hilda, is of great antiquity, although verylittle
remains of the original edifice, it having been, with
the exception of the old tower, modernised and nearly
rebuilt in 1810, at an expense of nearly £5000; the
altar is placed in a circular recess, ornamented with
three transparent paintings of scriptural subjects: a
lectureship has been established, with an allowance of
about £200 per annum, raised by subscription among
the inhabitants, who appoint the lecturer. A chapel of
ease was erected in 1818, in that part of the town
which is in the township of Westoe, at an expense of
about £2400, raised by subscription, towards which,
£1000 was given by the Dean and Chapter of Durham,
and £500 by the trustees of Lord Crewe; it contains
one thousand two hundred sittings, seven hundred of
which are free. The ground-floor of the building is
used for a school, which was established at the same
time, and in which upwards of three hundred children
of both sexes are instructed on the National system.
There are two places of worship each belonging to the
Particular Baptists, Wesleyan Methodists, and Presbyterians,
and one each to Independents, Methodists of
the New Connexion, and Primitive Methodists, and
the United Secession Church: nearly all of which
have Sunday schools attached. A charity school was
founded, in 1772, by subscriptions amounting to upwards
of £1400, which, by the aid of subsequent
liberal donations, affords instruction to about one hundred
and twenty children; it is under the superintendence
of five trustees, elected annually, one of whom
is always the minister for the time being. The dispensary,
established in 1821, has been productive of
great benefit, having afforded relief to nearly three
thousand poor persons; there are several other benevolent
and benefit societies established in the town.
The invention of the life-boat originated with a few
benevolent individuals of the town, who assisted Mr.
Greathead to construct one, which was found effectual
for its purpose, and to whom parliament voted a reward
of £ 1200. To Mr. Marshall, another native, the
seamen of the eastern coast are indebted for the construction
of the floating-light off Newarp Sand, on the
coast of Norfolk.