AUGUST 8TH, 2010
By ADMINISTRATOR

South Shields

Nursing Homes near South Shields

Tyne and Wear

Approximate Population: 82, 854

Strategically situated on the south bank of the Tyne Estuary, South Shields became famous for shipyards, coalmines, saltpans and glassmaking, all of which achieved major importance until the last shipyard closed in 1984, the last pit in 1991, when it had the highest unemployment rate in mainland Britain.

A fierce Celtic tribe, Brigantes, were the earliest inhabitants of the town, which they named Caer Urfa meaning ‘fortified place’. On the Lawe Top, overlooking the Tyne, stands a large Roman fort, Arbeia, founded around 120AD containing the only permanent granaries yet found in Britain. Long associated with a community of Yemeni merchant seamen, referenced by the colloquial term ‘sandancer’, Arbeia means ‘fort of Arab troops’. King Oswald often visited due to the strong fort and strategic military position, his son Oswin, born in South Shields and granted 15 acres of land on which, in 647AD a nunnery was built at St.Aidan’s request but which was later burned to the ground by Danish raiders.

The Vikings’ influence on the culture and language of the town can still be identified to this day. Home to the first electrically-powered lighthouse and the first self-righting lifeboat, South Shields’ extensive beaches stretch for miles, along the Leas to Marsden Bay, now protected by the National Trust and home to one of the country’s largest seabird colonies.