Local people are invited to a Community Day at the Linskill Centre to celebrate North Shields’ history, heritage and culture a part of the town’s 800th anniversary.
This will take place on Saturday 28 June from 10am to 4pm, with free entry to a programme of six talks, music, displays and demonstrations, and a community marketplace promoting the role of around 30 local organisations.
Alan Fidler, from Northumbria WW1 Commemoration Project who has been leading preparations for the day, with support from North Shields Heritology Project and the Old Low Light Heritage Centre, said: “Our town has so much history, heritage and culture to celebrate, and we really hope that local people will come to our event, hear some of the talks, listen to the music that helps to make our area special and visit the displays and activities by local organisations working in many different ways.”
The talks will cover a broad range of topics including the early history of North Shields and its conflict over trading rights with Newcastle, women’s work on the fish quay, the development of the River Tyne from the earliest days up to the present time, the legend of the wooden Dollies, the legacy of an acclaimed local artist and a coastal rescue service that was the first of its kind.
Music in the Burnett Hall will include Northumbrian pipes, sea shanties, primary schoolchildren and community choirs.
The Northumbrian pipers will begin the music programme, with Richard Heard from North Shields, who is a member of the Northumbrian Pipers Society, explaining about the history of the pipes, with music by internationally acclaimed musician Andy May, who is also an accomplished Northumbrian pipe maker, and Gosforth-based piping group Robson’s Choice.
Pupils from New York Primary School will sing The Spirit of the North, a beautiful song about local pride in community and heritage, repeating the performance that delighted guests at the launch of North Shields 800.
The Mariners and Marras Mariners, who describe themselves as ‘a rum old bunch of community singers’ will entertain with their unique mix of sea shanties, Northeast traditional working songs and poetry.
A highlight will be when Linskill Community Choir, led by Irene Anderson and Paul MacDermott present for the first time, Riversong, a heartfelt tribute to their home town. Written by local resident Raymond Anderson, this original script brings to life the rise, fall and regeneration of North Shields, told through verse, narration and song. The choir has been rehearsing this performance since January.
Later in the afternoon, the Can’t Sing Choir will lead a singalong outside to songs of the sea, the river, the town’s fishing heritage, and much-loved local area.
Several organisations including North Shields Heritology Project, North Shields Steam Railway Association, a local group of Northumbrian pipers, largely members of the Northumbrian Pipers Society, Northumbria World War One Commemoration Project and the Old Low Light Heritage Centre will have displays in rooms around the building, showcasing their work.
In the Trevelyan Hall, around 30 local organisations will promote their role in the local community, many of them relying on volunteers.
Outside, in the Trevelyan yard, the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade will demonstrate its breeches buoy coastal rescue equipment. Tynemouth RNLI will also be present with some of their equipment.
Finally, there will be a craft beers stall and the Linskill’s café and bar will be open during the day.
The event has been funded by North Shields 800 with additional support from Radar Taxis and the Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board (SSAIB).
Talks programme
There is no need to book for any of the talks – just turn up and you will be signposted to the rooms where these are taking place.
North Shields – an overview of 800 years by Mike Coates
10.30am – 11.30am
Mike Coates, author of several books on the history of North Shields, will provide an overview of 800 years of his home town, describing the highs and lows of the town’s fortunes and how, over centuries, conflict with Newcastle over trading rights, impacted on North Shields’ early history.
That’s Women’s Work by Nina Brown
10.30am – 11.30am
Nina Brown, a founding trustee of the Old Low Light Heritage Centre, will talk about women who have played an important part in the local fishing and maritime industries, including the ‘Scotch herring girls’, who travelled from the Scottish islands in spring, working at ports along the way, following the ‘silver darlings’.
History of the River Tyne and its three conservators by Phil Collinson
12noon – 1pm
Port of Tyne marine manager, Phil Collinson, will talk about the history of the River Tyne from the earliest of times to the present day, explaining how three statutory bodies – the Corporation of Newcastle, the Tyne Improvement Commission and the Port of Tyne – were set up to conserve the economic viability of the river and the safety of its navigation.
Dolly, a North Shields Legend by Susan Lynn
12noon – 1pm
A local historian with strong family ties to North Shields will talk about how the wooden Dolly has become a legend and an important part of North Shields streetscape and seafaring history for over 200 years, starting in 1814 with the original Dolly, a ship’s figurehead from a collier brig.
The history of the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade by Dave Bell
1.30pm – 2.30pm
Dave Bell, honorary captain and honorary life member of the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade (TVLB), will talk about the history of the organisation – the first of its kind when it was set up over 160 years ago – including some of its rescues and the famous North Shields people behind it.
Lyd Sawyer – the Sheriff of Shields, by Dave Young
1.30pm – 2.30pm
Dave Young, a founding member of the North Shields Heritology Project, who has extensively researched local artists, will talk about Lyd Sawyer, who rose from humble beginnings to became one of the Victorian era’s most gifted art photographers, winning more than 50 of the highest honours in the photographic industry.
For more information, go to www.northshields800.com
