AUGUST 9TH, 2010
By ADMINISTRATOR
Tyne and Wear
Approximate Population: 177,739
Sunderland is a city on the north east coast of England in the conurbation area known as Tyne & Wear. The name is reputed to have originated from an Anglo-Saxon term meaning ‘to part’ probably from the valley carved by the river Wear which runs through the middle of the city.
Three settlements originated on the site of the modern city. Monkwearmouth in the north was settled in 674AD when Benedict Biscop was granted land by King Ecgfrith of Northumbria to build St.Peters’ monastery, the first stone building in Northumbria, where the venerable Bede once studied. Bishopswearmouth in the south was founded when Athelstan the Glorious in 930AD gave land to the Bishop of Durham. To the east, at the mouth of the river, lay a small fishing village called Sunderland, which was granted a charter in 1179 by the then Bishop of Durham, Hugh Pudsey. Growing as a port trading coal, by the 14th century ships were being built and salt was being made from which a coal-mining community began to grow.
Sunderland found itself in competition with its’ neighbouring Newcastle which had been given coal-trading rights by Charles I. Resentment grew so when the Civil War began, Sunderland sided with the Parliamentarians, who blockaded the Tyne, crippling Royalist Newcastle’s coal trade which in turn allowed the Sunderland trade to flourish and by the 19th century, the port had grown to absorb the other settlements. Sunderland was the first British town struck with the Indian Cholera epidemic.
Tyne and Wear
AUGUST 8TH, 2010
By ADMINISTRATOR
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.
Tyne and Wear
AUGUST 1ST, 2010
By ADMINISTRATOR
Nursing Homes near Newcastle
Tyne and Wear
Approximate Population: 189,863
Located on the northern bank of the River Tyne, Newcastle was formerly the county town of Northumberland, now one of the largest and most populated cities in England, in the conurbation area known as Tyne & Wear. Founded by Hadrian, the Roman Emperor, in the 2nd century AD it was originally called Pons Aelius, designating the bridge across the Tyne and given his family name.
After the Roman withdrawal, the settlement became part of Northumberland, a powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom where it was known as Monkchester but then almost destroyed after several conflicts with the Danes and the rebellion against the Normans in 1080. Due to its strategic position, Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror, erected a wooden castle there and it became known as New Castle or Novum Castellium and was Englands’ northern fortress against the Scots during the Border Wars.
The town prospered when a royal charter issued in 1530, restricted all coal shipments from Tyneside to Newcastle quayside creating a monopoly which lasted some time at the expense of the growth of neighboring city Sunderland, creating a rivalry which still exists today. In 1644 during the Civil War, Cromwell’s Scots allies, who were based in Sunderland, stormed Newcastle, which supported and defended the King.
Nursing Homes near Newcastle
Tyne and Wear
JULY 20TH, 2010
By ADMINISTRATOR
Nursing Homes near Gateshead
Tyne and Wear
Approximate Population: 78,403
Located on the southern bank of the River Tyne, little is known about the origins of Gateshead. Always overshadowed by Newcastle, it is thought to have been a minor settlement of little importance, probably a base camp which grew around the gates to the main fort on the southern side of the bridge built by the Romans. Real growth appears not to have started until the establishment of the Norman Bishops of Durham in 1072, when much of the local forestry was used as a hunting reserve. In the Boldon Book survey of 1183, Gateshead is listed as having watermills, salmon fisheries and bake-houses, no longer completely dependent on agriculture.
By the late 12th century, shipbuilding and dyeing are mentioned with the first market recorded in 1246. The land was leased from the bishops and the manors of Whickham and Gateshead became known as the best coal mining areas in Europe, to the envy of Newcastle merchants. Throughout the Middle Ages, wealthy merchants from Newcastle tried to take control to benefit from increasing trade and the bishops of Durham struggled to keep it.
John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland tried to take over in 1553, thwarted when Edward died and Mary became Queen. The coalmines were leased to Newcastle and the town enjoyed some prosperity although the coalmines were exploited and surrounding land suffered. The Industrial Revolution revived the town, adding steel and locomotive works, power stations and foundries and the population grew rapidly.
Nursing Homes near Gateshead
Tyne and Wear
