By Simmie Harper
Recently, I had the opportunity to delve into the North Shields Library, and what I found was nothing short of amazing! Thanks to Joyce Marti, who generously took the time to show me around, I uncovered a treasure trove of resources, brimming with our town’s rich history. For someone like me, deeply interested in social history, this library is an absolute hidden gem.
North Shields Library offers a world of discovery, particularly for those researching their ancestry. From birth, death, and marriage records to census data, parish registers, and old copies of the Shields Daily News, the resources are vast. The library even provides free access to premium genealogy platforms like Ancestry, FindMyPast, and British Library Newspapers, making it easier than ever to trace family history.
What really struck me was the community’s enthusiasm for sharing their findings. Many locals contribute their family trees to the library’s research files, helping others in their own genealogical searches. Some have even indexed parish records, making it easier for everyone to explore the past. It’s heartening to see how North Shields’ residents come together to preserve and share their history. But the library’s resources go far beyond just family trees. Whether you’re investigating the history of your home, researching old businesses, or looking into local landmarks, the library has something for everyone. With trade directories, photographs, maps, and local history books penned by North Shields authors, the opportunities for exploration are endless.
The library is also deeply involved in collaborative heritage projects with schools, TV companies, and community groups. These projects ensure that the history of our town is not just remembered but celebrated by future generations. They work on everything from intergenerational projects to TV documentaries, constantly keeping the town’s stories alive.
If you haven’t yet explored the North Shields Library, I highly recommend paying a visit. Whether you’re a history enthusiast or just curious about the past, the library’s wealth of resources will surprise you. The library, located at Northumberland Square, North Shields, is a gateway to discovering the untold stories of our town.
Family Roots
With so much history in North Shields, I’ve started digging into my husband’s family roots and uncovering surprising links to the area’s rich maritime past.
My father-in-law has a box of old documents from his dad, James Harper, who served as a chief officer in the Merchant Navy. Tragically, James lost his life at sea at just 26 when his ship was attacked by a German U-boat, leaving behind a wife and two young children. As we reminisced, my father in law Jimmy, recalled how their mother would often say, “I’m sending you to Bearwood!” At one time, by far the largest proportion of pupils at Bearwood were from the North East, especially North and South Shields and Sunderland.
In 1827 the Royal Merchant Navy School was established under the name of the Merchant Seaman’s Orphan Asylum to provide a home for the destitute offspring of British Merchant Navy Seamen, with a view of assisting and benefiting them when disease, accident or calamity at sea deprived them of their chief support. The school was later renamed ‘The Royal Merchant Navy School’, eliminating the word ‘Orphanage’ which so many men and women who had been educated there alleged carried a stigma and in order to remove the objections of so many widows of Captains and Officers to place their children in a school entitled an orphanage.
We will continue researching and find out what we can uncover in the local library! If anyone has information to share,we would love to hear from you!
In Response
Hello Simmie,
I was amazed to read in I Love North Shields that your father in law’s dad used to live at 65 Balkwell Avenue. My aunt and uncle lived there from early-mid 1940s until 1951, when they emigrated to New Zealand. My cousin Jack, on a visit here about 30 years ago, went to see his old home and was invited in by the lady who lived there then. She, in turn, had a story to tell him – she’d been walking past no. 65 many years earlier, when my relatives lived there, and sat on the wall outside, weeping because of personal circumstances. My aunt had seen her, and invited her in for tea and sympathy. The lady had never forgotten and was delighted to be living in that same house.
Dorothy Brownlee
