Northumberland Coast - Tynemouth to Dunstanburgh
Above: Warkorth Castle photographed by David Simpson
South Shields is linked to North Shields on the north side of the Tyne by means of a ferry. North Shields is the site of a famous fish quay and the terminus of sea ferries to Norway and Denmark. During the French Wars at the end of the eighteenth century North and South Shields were regular victims of Press Gang raids which were once a common occurence on the North Eastern coast. Tyneside suffered particularly badly from the Press Gangs, because of its large community of seamen and its reputation for skilled boatmen, like the keelmen of Newcastle upon Tyne; North Shields, was particularly prone to Press Gang raids and in 1796, 250 mechanics and seamen were pressed into service here during a raid in which the town was cordoned off by troops. One of the naval vessels involved in such Press Gang raids, `The Peggy' is remembered in the name of Peggy's Hole, by the River Tyne near North Shields Fish Quay.
"Here's the Tender comin',
Pressing all the men;
Oh dear hinny, what shall we dee then:
Here's the tender comin',
Off at Shields Bar
Here's the tender comin',
Full of men o' war.
They will ship yer foreign,
that is what it means
Here's the tender comin',
full of Red Marines.
So hide me canny Geordie,
hide yorsel' away,
Wait until the frigate makes for Druridge Bay,
If they tyek yer Geordie,
whes te' win wor breed ?
Me and little Jacky would better off be deed.
Press Gangs were greatly feared on Tyneside, as once a man had been unwillingly pressed into naval service, his wife and family would have to rely on the local parish for support. Indeed the Poor rate in those districts of Tyneside with large communities of seamen and boatmen rapidly increased following Press Gang raids.Because of their importance to the national coal industry the keelmen of Newcastle were supposed to be exempt from the Press Gangs but even they did not escape the naval raids. The residents of Sandgate, Newcastle, home of the keelmen community, lived in constant fear of the Press Gangs of a certain Captain Bover whose men operated on the Newcastle quayside;
"Where has't the been me canny hinny ?,
Where has't the been me winsome man ?,
Aa've been te' the norrard,
Cruising back and forrard
Aa've been te' the norrard,
cruising sair and lang;
Aa've been te' the norrard,
cruIsing back and forrard,
But daren't come ashore for fear of Bover and his gang "
TYNEMOUTH, BURIAL PLACE OF NORTHUMBRIAN KINGS
A large monument to Admiral Lord Collingwood (1750-1810) dominates the coastal scene to the east of North Shields at Tynemouth. Tyneside's most famous man of the sea, he was the second in command to Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The Admiral was opposed to the activities of the Press Gangs.Collingwood's monument overlooks the imposing Black Middens rocks at the entrance to the Tyne, which according to local folklore were thrown there by the devil in an attempt to curb the wealthy sea trade of Newcastle. Although this was never acheived, over the centuries the rocks have certainly claimed a victim of many a ship entering the mouth of the Tyne.
These dangerous rocks, may have played an important part in bringing about the formation of the first ever volunteer life brigade service, which was established at Tynemouth in 1869.Tynemouth is one of the most historic and picturesque towns of Tyneside. Its two most notable buildings are a fourteenth century ruined castle and a ruined Norman priory both situated on the lofty Benebal crag, overlooking the sea.
History revolves around this part of the town, where in Anglo-Saxon times there stood one of Northumbria's many coastal monasteries. Tynemouth priory was originally built in stone by Oswald, King and saint of Northumbria in 637 A.D. The site was the burial place of three notable kings, namely Osred and Saint Oswy of Northumbria and Malcolm Canmore, King of the Scots whose body was interred here in 1094.
Like all other wealthy Northumbrian monasteries Tynemouth was a regular victim of raids by the Vikings who finally destroyed the Anglo-Saxon monastery in 875 A.D.Viking raids seem to have continued into Norman times as according to tradition a local Norman baron called Lord Delaval defeated a Viking chieftain called Red Eric during a raid on Tynemouth. The following verses record the event;
"Their bucklers were splintered,
their helmets were riven,
In their flesh the sharp edge of the fragments were driven
Till a heart splitting stab caused Red Eric to fall
With a howl of despair before brave Delaval.
He has hacked off the head ere the blood ceased to flow,
He has hied to the horde who were feasting below,
He flung it among them, his war cry he raised;
The Norsemen all rushed to their galleys amazed.
Nor yet they escaped, for a tempest arose,
And wrecked on the beach fair Northumbria's foes.
Some perished engulphed in the depths of the waves,
And some to the serfs they had mocked became slaves."
On the whole, the Vikings who invaded Tynemouth and other parts of the North East coast, were raiders rather than settlers. Evidence suggests that Viking settlement on the North Eastern coast of England was confined mainly to Yorkshire, south of the River Tees.
WHITLEY BAY AND CULLERCOATS FISHWIVES AND ST MARY'S ISLAND.
Up the coast from Tynemouth, is Cullercoats once famous as the home of Tyneside's famous fishwife fraternity. The fishwives could still be seen at the time of William Tomlinson's Guide to Northumberland of 1888 which records;
"Very familiar indeed is the figure of the Cullercoats fish-wife, as, clad in blue serge jacket, short petticoats with ample skirts, large apron and black straw bonnet she trudges along with a heavy creel of fish on her shoulders calling in, shrill and not unmusical tones of voice, `Buy fee-s-ch' "
Further to the north of Cullercoats is the town of Whitley Bay, the main seaside resort for Tyneside and the site of the `Spanish City' amusement area. The main coastal feature at Whitley Bay, is St Mary's Island which like a miniature version of Lindisfarne further north, is linked to the mainland by a short causeway at low tide. St Mary's Isle is also known as Bait Island after an inhabitant of Tudor times called Thomas Bates. The island with its lighthouse is a popular `picture postcard view'.
At Seaton Sluice, up the coast from Whitley Bay we have officially entered the county of Northumberland (Whitley Bay, Cullercoats and North Shields are in the Borough of North Tyneside).Seaton Sluice is notable for its small harbour, drained by means of a 900 feet long cut. Fifty two feet deep and thirty feet wide, the cut was made in the 1770s by a member of the Delaval family. Not far inland, to the east of Seaton Sluice, is Seaton Delaval Hall which was built by Vanbrugh in 1720. It is recognised as one of the finest old houses in North East England. The hall is strongly associated with the Delaval family who can trace their origins back to Norman times when a certain Guy De La Val came over to Britain with William the Conqueror.
The most notorious members of this family were the practical joking brothers Lord Delaval and Sir Francis Blake Delaval, who lived here in the eighteenth century. Their pranks included placing trapdoors under the beds of house guests who haplessly dropped through the floor into huge tanks of water in the middle of the night. On one other occasion after retiring for the evening, unfortunate guests found themselves exposed to each other after undressing and dewigging in their bedrooms. The Delavals had fitted sliding walls to the rooms, which were pulled up into the ceiling by means of a pulley.
This most south easterly portion of Nothumberland's coast encompasses the county's coalfield and most of the towns in the area are former coal mining settlements. Today Northumberland's only colliery is at Ellington near the mouth of the River Lyne.Blyth, a coalport on the River Blyth, is the site of a large imposing power station which is located at Cambois on the northern side of the river. Cambois (pronounced Cammus) seems a rather exotic name for the site of a power station. Its name derives from an old Celtic word meaning `bay'. The River Blyth separates the Northumberland County district of Blyth valley from Wansbeck district, which takes its name from another local river. Wansbeck has been described as the only beck in Northumberland, but is in fact not a beck at all as the `Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names' says Wansbeck derives from the Anglo-Saxon `Waeganspick'. A `spick' was a bridge made from tree trunks and a Waegan was a wagon so Wansbeck litterally means `Wagon Bridge' - a reference to a river crossing.
BEDLINGTON AND BEDLINGTONSHIRE
Much of the area on the coast between the Wansbeck and the Blyth once formed a district called Bedlingtonshire which until 1844 formed part of the County Palatinate of Durham, belonging to the Prince Bishops. Bedlington town was the capital of the shire which had been created because of an association with St Cuthbert. The saint's coffin had been brought here for a short period, at the time of the Norman Conquest.For centuries Bedlingtonshire was administerred separately from the rest of Northumberland and had its own justices, sherriffs and coroner. The larger districts of Islandshire and Norhamshire, in North Northumberland, also belonged to the Prince Bishops and collectively, the three areas, were long known as `North Durham'. In 1183 Bedlingtonshire was surveyed in Bishop Pudsey's `Boldon Buke' ; the Domesday Book of County Durham.
Bedlington is of course noted for giving its name to a famous breed of dog, the Bedlington Terrier, which was originally bred by the miners of the area.
Ashington, situated on the northern bank of the River Wansbeck was once described as the world's largest pit village, but no longer has a colliery. The town is mainly a product of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Followers of English soccer, know Ashington as the place that produced three famous footballing sons, namely the legendary Jackie Milburn, known to fans of Newcastle United as `Wor Jackie' and his nephews, the footballing brothers Bob and Jack Charlton who represented England in the World Cup winning team of 1966. A mile north of Ashington near Newbiggin by the Sea, is the Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary the Virgin, it is reputedly the oldest in Northumberland.
DRURIDGE BAY AND COQUET ISLAND
To the north of Newbiggin and Ashington are Lynemouth, Ellington and the village of Cresswell at the southern edge of the seven mile long Druridge Bay. This is undoubtedly the best known strand of the North Eastern coast. Typically of Northumbrian beaches it is backed by long stretches of dunes but also by a number of small lakes and ponds which form nature reserves for wildfowl and sea birds. At the northern edge of Druridge Bay, are the villages of Hauxley, Amble, Warkworth and a mile out at sea the historic Coquet Island.
The island was the site of a Benedictine monastery in Anglo-Saxon times and was the place where Elfleda the abbess of Whitby and sister of the King of Northumbria, persuaded St Cuthbert to become a Bishop. Many centuries later during the Civil War, the island was the home of a Royalist garrison which surrendered to the Scots in 1643.Today there is no public access to Coquet Island, which is protected as a nature resderve for sea birds. Its main residents are rabbits, gulls, puffins and eider duck which are known in the North East as Cuddy's Ducks because of their association with St Cuthbert.
Coquet Island takes its name from the River Coquet which enters the sea on the shore opposite Amble by the Sea. "The Coquet forever the Coquet for aye! The Coquet the king o' the stream and the brae; From his high mountain throne, to his bed in the sea, Oh! where shall we see such a river as he? Then blessings be on him, and lang may he glide, The fisherman's home and thehe fishermen's pride; From Harden's green hill to old Warkworth sae grey, The Coquet forever the Coquet for aye! "
Amble by the Sea, a former coal mining village at the mouth of the River Coquet, is the harbour for the tiny town of Warkworth which lies just inland. Warkworth, an old fortified village, is situated within a narrow loop of the River Coquet and as at Durham City, the exposed neck of the river meander is protected by a castle which adds to the natural defences of the site.The castle, now a deserted but picturesque ruin, under the protection of English Heritage, was built in the 12th century on the site of an Anglo-Saxon stronghold belonging to the Northumbrian King Ceolwulph. The Anglo-Saxons are said to have used Warkworth as a natural harbour for their boats which were called keels (ceols).In 1332 Warkworth became the principal residence of that great northern family, the Percys, Earls of Northumberland. Alnwick Castle, further north was also associated with the Percy family.
Warkworth was once the home of the war hungry Harry `Hotspur' Percy, whose father was an Earl of Northumberland and mother a Neville, of Raby Castle in County Durham. Warkworth is the setting for a number of scenes in William Shakespeare's `Henry IV'. Hotspur is a principal character of `Henry IV' and in one scene this most notorious of Northumbrians, is described by Henry, the Prince of Wales;
"I am not yet of Percy's mind, the Hotspur of the North; he that kills me some six or seven dozen of Scots at a breakfast washes his hands and says to his wife - `Fie upon this quiet life! I want work' `O my sweet Harry,' says she `how many has thy killed today?'.... `some fourteen,' an hour after; `a trifle a trifle." From HENRY IV, PART1, ACT 2, SCENE 4
AN AMERICAN ATTACK ON ALNMOUTH
From north of the Coquet, a long stretch of sandy bay, leads three miles on to Alnmouth. In its pleasant situation at the mouth of the River Aln, it is hard to believe that John Wesley once described Alnmouth as "a small sea port town famous for all kinds of wickedness."During the American War of Independence, Alnmouth was the surprised victim of an attack by the American privateer John Paul Jones. On September 23rd 1779, Jones fired a canon ball at the defenceless Alnmouth church from his boat offshore. Fortunately for the church it missed and landed in a field, bounced three times and hit a farmhouse roof. Jones also attacked the town of Skinningrove on the Cleveland coast further south.
The coast becomes increasingly rocky to the north of Alnmouth, near the village of Boulmer, which was once the smuggling `capital' of Northumberland. Contrabanders came from all over Northumberland and the Scottish borders to Boulmer, to deal in illicit goods during the smuggling heyday of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The smuggling fraternity included Isaac `the Smuggler' Addison, landlord of Boulmer's Fishing Boat Inn and the Scottish smugglers Wull Faa, the gypsy king of Kirk Yetholm and Wull Balmer of Jedburgh;
" Blind Wull Bawmer o' Jethart His grips are no guid to come in;
He felled all the gaugers i' Jethart When comin' frae Boomer wi' gin."
Many of the smugglers would make their way to Boulmer, from the wilds of Coquetdale and other border valleys, where numerous camoflagued distilleries were hidden in the hillsides out of the sight of the excisemen. Smuggling was a highly profitable business and many of the participants, became local folk heroes, but it should be remembered that the activity could be of a highly dangerous nature. Those caught in the act would almost certainly face a sentence of death.William Weaver Tomlinson's Guide to Northumberland of 1888 claims that smuggled goods such as silks and casks of spirit were still occasionally dug up on the coast at Boulmer in the late nineteenth century. Today Boulmer is best known as the site of an RAF station.
CRASTER KIPPERS AND WHIN SILL OUTCROPS
Continuing along the coast from Boulmer we pass Howick, once the seat of Earl Grey, a former Prime Minister of England (1830-1834). Further on we find the village of Craster, near a rocky Whin Sill outcrop called Cullernose Point. Whin sill outcrops can be found across the entire length of North East England from Teesdale to the Farne Islands and are are formed of a hard black basaltic rock called Dolerite. The outcrops were caused by a volcanic intrusion 280 million years ago.Craster takes its name from a local family called the Crasters, who have lived in this area since before Norman times. The village is known for its kippers which are smoked on oak chippings to give them the distinctive Northumbrian flavour.
DUNSTANBURGH CASTLE AND THE LEGEND OF SIR GUY THE SEEKER
At Craster a mile long footpath leads to the extensive coastal ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, which are situated on a Whin Sill outcrop overlooking the sea. Said to be on the site of an ancient stronghold of the ancient Britons it was built in 1313, and though today a ruin it occupies the largest site of any castle in the region.According to legend, there is a secret cavern hidden beneath the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle in which a beautiful young maiden lies sleeping in a deep spell cast upon her by an evil wizard. The legend states that on a wild stormy night, many centuries ago, a young knight by the name of Sir Guy the Seeker was looking for shelter at Dunstanburgh when he was approached by the wizard. With a fierce expression and flaming hair, the wizard terrified Sir Guy, but he meant the knight no harm and instead presented him with a challenge;
"Sir Knight ! Sir Knight !
If your heart be right,
And your nerves be firm and true,
Sir Knight ! Sir Knight a beauty bright
In durance waits for you"
Sir Guy accepted the challenge and asked to be taken to the place where the young girl lay sleeping. The wizard escorted Sir Guy along a dark winding stairway. Sir Guy's heart started beating fast - was he the victim of a trick ?, could he trust the wizard to keep his promise that a young maiden lay sleeping awaiting a rescuer ?. He followed the wizard with fear.
And now they go both high and low,
Above and undergound,
And in and out, and about and about,
And round, and round, and round.
Eventually after much walking the stairway finally terminated at a great door which was bolted shut with the aid of a hideous venomous snake. Without fear the wizard removed the snake from the door which opened to reveal a huge but darkened hall. At the end of the hall lay the beautiful young maiden as the wizard had promised. She was indeed beautiful as she lay sleeping in a tomb of crystal which was guided on either side by two ugly skeleton figures, the one on the right holding a falchion bright, the one on the left holding a horn.
The Wizard explained that the young maiden's fate depended on whether he should chose the horn or the sword. After considering for much time, Sir Guy finally chose to blow the horn, but his choice proved disastrous, he fell into an immediate sleep and awoke to find himself caught once more in the storms outside Dunstanburgh Castle. As might be expected Sir Guy was to spend the rest of his life searching for the secret cave where the girl lay sleeping. Alas, it was to no avail, the unhappy knight was to die a remorseful man. The words of the old wizard haunted his mind to the very end;
"Shame on the coward who sounded a horn
When he might have unsheathed a sword."
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