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Last modified:
September 07, 2006 |
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Mouth of the
River Tyne |
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Garibaldi
The Italian Patriot of the early 1800s stayed in Tynemouth
during a Political visit to England, in a home now part of
King's School noted by an English Heritage Blue Plaque on a wall
as you leave the Historic Rail Station where a Craft & Flea
Market is Held each Saturday & Sunday.
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The name Garibaldi was later given to the
traditional fruity wafer biscuit and he also has a Restaurant &
Bistro named after him within the Platform Buildings of the Stationwhere
there is also a Bofi for passing Cyclists on the Coast to Coast Route
along Hadrian's Wall to Carlisle and a Waiting Room has
been opened as The Porters Coffee Shop with an All Day Breakfast Menu.
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Overlooked by the Life
Guard Station located behind Tynemouth Priory the estuary is protected
by two long piers the longest being on the North side at Tynemouth,
worth a walk to the end in fair weather and a spectacular sight
during a storm.
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The pier still reveals evidence of the Crane
tracks which once were used to load the colliers exporting coal
south to the power stations in London, directly from the trains
which ran along the pier after there journey from the Coal pits of
Northumberland.
Tynemouth
Long Sands to Tynemouth - Lindsay
The headland on the inside of the pier known
as the Spanish Battery has a Museum to the Coastguards of the past
and was the location of the large gun and ammunition bunkers which
protected the river and Shipyards during WW II.
Walk to North Shields Fish Quay
A short walk from the
Headland in Tynemouth over looking the Estuary and Tyne Piers, back up the river
past the Coast Guard
This route gives one a fine view up
the Tyne, once renowned for its Shipbuilding as North Shields was famous for its
Fish and Kippers which are still available from the Smoke Houses on the
Quayside.
The fish merchants still offer a wide
variety of fresh caught fish straight from the boats, as well as the traditional
English Fish & Chips wrapped in paper to eat as you wander along the
quayside.
There are a few bars famous
Worldwide among sailors on the Quayside, one is the Prince of Wales outside of
which stand the famous Wooden Dolly, from which another Pub overlooking the Quay
has taken its name.
The original Wooden Dolly has long
gone and been replaced many times, due to the sailors cutting a piece of to
keeping it in their pockets for good luck while at sea. Their is another
Wooden Dolly in Northumberland Square, in the town centre of a Fisher Woman on
whom on close inspection a number of mice can be found.
0ne of the most prominent buildings which
stood on the seafront at Tynemouth was doomed to failure from the day
it was built until the day it was destroyed by fire in 1996. Historian
C.W. Steel tells of the chequered history
the Plaza over the years.
Originally named Tynemouth Aquarium and Winter
Garden, it was built in 1877 and opened in 1878 at a cost of £82,500
and stood on the cliff overlooking the Long Sands. The architects were Messrs John Norton and
Philip Massey of London it consisted of two floors, the lower one
being devoted to the aquarium and the upper central block to the
winter garden had a large arched glass roof.
At beach level there was a promenade and
refreshment bar with the north section containing a skating rink
which was capable of being flooded to provide a seawater bathing
pool.
Five‑storey towers stood at the north and
south ends of the building which were used as storage areas and
offices and contained huge water tanks which could be used to
flood the building in the event of a fire.
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The original architectural plans were
magnificent, but the building was a complete failure because only two
years after it was opened in 1880, the mortgage holders repossessed it
and sold it at public auction to a Newcastle company for only £27,000
‑ a mere fraction of the building costs.
In 1898 the building was renamed Tynemouth
Palace and by 1926 had changed its name to The Plaza, for a short time
during the 1930’s it was known as Galaland, but was always generally
referred to as the Plaza there after.
The building was sold several times over the
years and despite its conversion for use as an exhibition hall,
theatre, picture hall, dance hall, ballroom, skating rink and such
like it was never well supported and went into a rapid decline within
a few years of having been built.
In latter days the building fell into general
disrepair and part of it was used as a night club, followed by a
partial transformation into shops and an amusement arcade, a sad and
sorry end to what should have been a magnificent Victorian edifice.
A little further south by the Grand Hotel
overlooks the Long Sands, originally built in 1872 it was for 18
years the summer residence of the Duchess of Northumberland and
in 1890 was converted into a hotel.
The building externally is virtually
unchanged, but over the years there have been several
modifications and alterations to the internal structure to
renovate the interior with a view to retaining the elegant
Victorian charm of the 1800’s.
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Grand Hotel - Tynemouth
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Tynemouth Priory 1450
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Benebal Crag is the name of the steep rocky
headland at the mouth of the River Tyne on which stands Tynemouth
Castle and Priory which are closely connected and probably date
back to the early 11th century, however there is
conflicting evidence to suggest that there may have been earlier
Roman fortifications on the site.
Although the Roman forts at Wallsend and
South Shields were sufficient to defend the river it is very
likely that the Romans would have used this location as a good
vantage point to overlook the river mouth.
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Prior to the construction of the north and
south piers at the mouth of the Tyne it was impossible for ships to
leave the river when an easterly gale blew, so in 1852 an Act of
Parliament was passed authorising the building of two piers by the
Tyne Improvement Commission.
Construction work began in June 1854 on the
huge task of building the north pier and lighthouse which was
originally designed as a curve and be a mirror the south pier for
which work began two years later and expected to be completed in a
seven‑year period, but the project was plagued by disasters.
By December 1867 only 1,920 feet of the pier
had been constructed when severe gales and heavy seas had breached and
destroyed almost 480 feet of the stone structure. It was later
established that the foundations had not been sunk deep enough to
withstand the powerful force of the North Sea and repair work soon got
under way.
By 1893 the pier was almost complete when
movement of the structure was detected during severe winter storms,
attempts were made to repair the damaged blocks of stone in 1894, but
in 1895 further movement was detected and several more stone blocks
suffered damage.
Worse was to come in January 1897, when the
pier had been completed and measured at 2,959 feet in length
including the lighthouse, freak gales and heavy seas lasting 48
hours once again breached resulting in extensive damage.
Some 110 feet of stonework had collapsed,
leaving the lighthouse marooned and the breach grew until it was
almost 300 feet wide.
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It was decided in 1898 that the pier would have
to be completely rebuilt and the contract was awarded to the firm of
Sir John Jackson with the design changed from a curve to a straight
line and rebuilding work commenced in October of that year.
Old sections of pier were used as shelter when
work on the new section began, most of the work went according to plan
and on January 15th 1908, the north lighthouse was
commissioned and the new pier was completed in 1910 and was
eventually opened on April 1st , not within seven years as
planned but a mere 56 years after work had first begun!
Tyneside Metro Rapid Transit System
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The Juvan Art Gallery is
between Tynemouth & Cullercoats on the Tyneside Metro which runs in a
loop from Newcastle upon Tyne Central Rail Station through the North
Tyneside Coastal Resorts, with spurs running to and from Newcastle
International Airport and also through South Tyneside to South Shields
and Sunderland. |
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