Tynemouth Tours

05/09/2024

How the Fish Quay Gut looked in the mid-18th century, Notice the bridge over the Pow Burn and how the Herd Sands creates a very narrow channel and bar at the entrance, making Clifford's Fort perfectly placed to intercept river traffic.

05/09/2024

04/09/2024

"Thick sea-frets roll in, wrapping everything in gloom. Dim eyes, hoarse voices, sore throats are the consequence. Spring and summer never come. The north wind is always blowing. Birds nest in the rocks and greedily prey upon the drowned. The people who live by the shore feed upon black, evil-smelling seaweed; the constant eating of it turns their complexions black. The sea air blights the blossoms; you think yourself lucky if you find a wizened apple, but it will set your teeth on edge. See to it, dear brother, that you do not come to so comfortless a place. But the church is of wondrous beauty."

A letter from one of the monks of Tynemouth to a comrade in St. Alban's.

Painting: 'Tynemouth Priory Exterior Conjectural Restoration' — John Storey

04/09/2024

This fascinating booklet was published 100 years ago and is transcribed with inline images here: penbal.uk/a-ramble-in-tynemouth-and-cullercoats-by-william-s-garson/ A Ramble in Tynemouth and Cullercoats by William Garson.

Thanks to Lesley Tan for sharing an original copy.

03/09/2024

This Carmichael was up for auction recently, titled: 'A Brig Off the Coast at Tynemouth' (~1840).

It's a lovely busy painting that contrasts two vessels: a collier brig and a paddle steamer, the old and the new, while a steam tug in the distance approaches relentlessly as if to replace the rigged pilot cutter and foyboats of the past. In the picture, the shiny steam ship glides gracefully out to sea, while the heavily laden brig struggles to manoeuvre against the tide — the tide of time you could say.

Because of these elements I feel this painting is a homage to Turner's 1838 'Fighting Temeraire', which has been a popular draw at the Laing and other local galleries in recent months, and also features two Tyne-built steam tugs.

30/07/2024

"As Harry Houdini once claimed, if you want to gather a crowd to an event, just say that, “someone might die…!” That will always guarantee you a macabre mass of people in attendance."

🛟 𝗧𝘆𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝘀 🛟 penbal.uk/tynemouth-volunteer-life-brigade-through-the-ages-part-1/ I sat down with Brigade Chairman, John D. Wright, who illuminated the story of this famous institution — the first and one of the few remaining shore rescue brigades in the country.

25/06/2024

In 1902 Tynemouth residents collected £1000 for a bronze statue of Queen Victoria. Money was saved by taking the second cast from the mould for the statue destined for Delhi. Today, it sits gathering dust in a corner of the Delhi College of Art.
penbal.uk/tynemouths-bronze-statue-of-queen-victoria-has-a-twin-in-india/
Missing pieces:
👑 Crown
👑 Sceptre
👑 2 figurines - Justice and Peace
👑 Wreath

20/06/2024

Was a Spanish galleon sunk in a battle off Tynemouth in 1588? penbal.uk/a-map-an-anchor/

19/06/2024

18/06/2024

𝗧𝗬𝗡𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛'𝗦 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗨𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗔 𝗛𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗧𝗪𝗜𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗔
penbal.uk/tynemouths-bronze-statue-of-queen-victoria-has-a-twin-in-india/

12/06/2024

𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗣 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗥: A map from 1615 in the Duke of Northumberland's archives shows two Spanish ships exchanging fire with an English ship off Tynemouth: penbal.uk/a-map-an-anchor/ 🗺️⚓

Northumberland Archives Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne (SANT)

02/06/2024

The River Tyne God http://penbal.uk/the-river-tyne-god/

30/05/2024

22/05/2024

20/05/2024

19/05/2024

Sunbeam through the Gatehouse

17/05/2024

07/05/2024

North Shields celebrates its 800th birthday next year. Here's the story of its early growth and how it was attacked and burned down by the merchants of Newcastle: penbal.uk/what-the-first-shields-were-like/

05/05/2024

The story of the Viking longboats that were wrecked on the Black Middens 😱 https://youtu.be/xdZ0BoD1DHM

30/04/2024

Standing on this reconstucted section, above the original, I explain why I think it was called 'Segedunum'.

26/04/2024

24/04/2024

In 794, one year after the first Viking raids in England on the island of Lindisfarne, Tynemouth was attacked by marauding norsemen. This 2-part story, exclusive to Penbal, by the novelist Robert Westall (1929-1993) describes the raids and how the local population fought back! penbal.uk/benebalcrag-may-7th-794-by-robert-westall/

22/04/2024

Many of you will know the tragic tale of Wandering Willie. It is part of Tynemouth folklore and the body of the loyal sheepdog still resides, stuffed, in a glass cabinet in The Turks Head pub. However, we feel there may be one final chapter left in the tale of Wandering Willie — there's perhaps life in this old dog yet...

20/04/2024

The story of St Cuthbert's Miracle, told by Bede in 716, is the first appearance of Tynemouth in the pages of history. You can read about it and the origins of Tynemouth here: penbal.uk/the-beginnings-of-tynemouth/ -miracle

Buy a print: penbal.uk/product/the-story-of-st-cuthberts-miracle/

14/04/2024

The real Jingling Geordie was Captain Thomas Armstrong, ‘the Smuggler King’. Beneath his house on Cullercoats Bay he built secret cellars and a tunnel to hide the tea and brandy he had seized. In this picture his sloop 'Mermaid' lies off the bay. To learn more about him watch this video: https://youtu.be/Y23d6X-c5xU

Buy a print: penbal.uk/product/the-real-jingling-geordie/

12/04/2024

Roman soldiers land on Tynemouth Short Sands in 79 AD. The local population have already fled inland.

These two posts look at what form the interactions between the Romans and the Iron Age Britons of Penbal Crag would have taken:

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆? 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝘆𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 penbal.uk/where-were-they-the-absence-of-roman-settlement-in-tynemouth/
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗚𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗮 — 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 penbal.uk/why-hadrians-wall-didnt-go-to-the-sea-approaching-a-definitive-answer/

Buy a print: penbal.uk/product/roman-soldiers-land-on-tynemouth-short-sands-in-79-ad/

11/04/2024

River Tyne from Arbeia in 80 AD, 40 years before the Wall. A portion of Agricola's fleet are being resupplied before his campaign in Caledonia. Watch this video to learn about the history of the fort at South Shields https://youtu.be/6mCAfDEm3Wg

Buy a print: penbal.uk/product/river-tyne-from-arbeia-in-80-ad/