By Rachel Chapman & Kris Grey
Rowland Lishman is one of North Shields’ unsung heroes. Although his name is not widely known throughout the town, more than 60 years after his death his legacy lives on with local people still benefiting from his good deeds and generosity.
A life-long friend and confidante of Sir James Knott, he became a trustee of the Knott Foundation, playing a significant role in the building of Knott’s Flats and led the development of the Square Building Trust, providing much improved housing for many
He was very interested in sport and set up a sports field on Preston Avenue with neighbouring allotments for local people to grow their own vegetables.
Rowland carried out many influential roles in the borough – a local JP, instrumental in the nationalisation of the coal industry and a visionary of the local YMCA – as well as becoming national vice-chair of the YMCA.
He later bought Patterdale Estate near Ullswater, gifting it to the then Tynemouth YMCA to provide affordable holiday accommodation for young people from urban areas.
It is thought by his death in 1958 Rowland had donated around 90% of his income to fund improvements in the town but remained a modest man – often spotted cycling around in his trilby and overcoat!
This feature focuses on Rowland’s leadership of the Square Building Trust and his generosity in ensuring local people could enjoy the beauty of the Lake District.
It started with a brick …….the Square Building Trust
If it had happened today it would have been emblazoned on the front pages of the media and gone viral on the socials – but an amazing feat during the Great Depression in 1929 was quietly achieved by a church congregation selling shilling bricks to solve a housing crisis in North Shields.
The congregation listened to a talk by the borough’s social services chief and were so moved by the appalling conditions of some of the town’s housing that they went out and sold shilling bricks and raised an outstanding £2,400 in one week – the equivalent in today’s money of around £120,000.
And so, the Square Building Trust (SBT) was set up – under the leadership of unsung local hero Rowland Lishman, head of the men’s bible class of what was then Northumberland Square Presbyterian Church – now St Columba’s United Reformed Church.
Rowland organised the building of a number of much needed family houses off Hawkey’s Lane in the early 1930s, employing many local trades people. This was followed in 1936 by the building of the Trust’s flagship properties, 48 flats running along Howdon Road with a pioneering nursery between the blocks for the working families.
