The History of Tyne and Wear
The Local Government Act 1888 constituted Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland as County Boroughs, in 1904 Tynemouth also became a County Borough. Between the boroughs there were many settlements forming Durham and Northumberland. The land ranges from coastal regions like Whitley BAY, Suburbs like Killingworth New Town and industrial areas like Wallsend.
Tyneside was used by The Romans as the most northerly frontier of their empire in the UK. They erected a huge camp called Segedunum which was 4 acres and formed a vital military strong hold.
Today there is an award winning museum at the site of the fort which has a World Heritage site status. More remains have been found at Tynemouth, a 14th Century gatehouse, historians believe the site used to house a church that existed since the 7th century. The church was destroyed by the Danes in 865 and abandoned in 1008. Malcolm Canmore A King of Scotland was laid to rest there after his death at Alnwick in 1093
There are many ship relics housed at The Watch House, ships that ran aground and were badly damaged on the rocks of Black Midden. The Watch House is also Headquarters of the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade, which was founded in 1864.
The long coastline of Tynemouth Long Sands brings you to a sheltered Bay of Cullercoats, which is sheltered by cliffs. Close by there is Whitby Bay that has golden sandy beaches and an old lighthouse.
Whitby Bay was the scene for coal mining in the 17th Century when wooden wagons were used to move the coal to the pier at Cullercoats. Around this time the fishing industry was also quite important in this area being right on the coast, when the industrial revolution started the area produced locomotion and steam turbine which gave the industries a massive kick start during the industrial revolution.