Images of Tyneside

Author: Peter Fairley

Images of Tyneside

Newcastle is far more than just that distinctive bridge across one of Britain’s mightiest rivers – the Tyne – or merely another northern citty whose growth came about with the reign of King Coal and the birth of the Victorian steam-powered age of the Industrial Revolution.

Newcastle, the capital of Tyneside, is a city whose history is much richer, as visitors soon discover. The whole of Tyneside, too, can offer a rich diversity of experience, for the other communities which grew up on both banks of the river all developed their own distinctive personalities.

The history of the Tyne’s development dates back to the earliest recorded times when settlers, pre-dating the Romans by several thousand years, discovered that the steeply-banked spot ten miles from the mouth of the Tyne, the area that was to become Newcastle, was an ideal place for a fortification.

The wealth and, with that growth, came from the black gold beneath the ground which had been mined on a small scale for centuries. By the late 19th century, the North-East coalfield was the most productive in the world. Iron-making, steel and mass-production heavy industry was to follow.

There was also, though, another important resource on Tyneside – its people. They proved to be hardy, adaptable and capable of meeting every challenge. It was that almost infinite resourcefulness which was to make possible an early programme of rebuilding which left a superb legacy of town planning at its best.

Tyneside is an area of vast contrasts – but one to which most people invariably want to return. Very often many of them stay for good. There is an old saying, “Wherever you go you’ll find a Geordie.” But you’ll also find that, at heart, no matter how far away, ‘home’ is still somewhere within striking distance of the River Tyne.

Images of Tyneside, drawn from the archives of the Newcastle Evening Chronicle, is a fascinating portrayal of the people, places and events of Tyneside, from the last century to the present day.