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NORTH EAST TIMELINE

Above: St. Aidan's Statue, Holy Island, Northumberland. Photo courtesy of freefoto.com

Prime Minister Tony Blair and The Millennium History of North East England by David Simpson. Photo courtesy of The Northern Echo

 

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Timeline of North East History

THE VICTORIAN AGE (General) 1837AD - 1901AD

By David Simpson

The Victorian Age was a period of great changes and developments in the North-East. It was an age of increasing travel, leisure, tourism and political reform. It was also a period of booming industry and rapidly expanding towns.

** For Victorian Industrial Development some of the additional links below
1837 June 20, - VICTORIA CROWNED
(Britain)
Queen Victoria ascends to the throne.

September 7, 1838 - GRACE DARLING RESCUE
(Farne Islands)
Lighthouse keeper's daughter Grace Darling rescues survivors from a wreck off the Farne Islands. Grace becomes famous overnight, receives offers of marriage and even has a play written about her. She dies of consumption in 1842.

1839 - CANADA REPORT
(Canada)
John George Lambton, Earl of Durham and the new Governor General of Canada, compiles the Durham Report laying down the future of Canada as an independent country.

1840 - MIDDLESBROUGH CHURCH
(Middlesbrough)
Middlesbrough's first church is built. Its first school was built in 1838.

1841 - BAINBRIDGE STORE
(Newcastle)
Weardale's Emerson Bainbridge establishes Bainbridge’s general drapers in Market Street, Newcastle.

1844 - PENSHAW MONUMENT
(Penshaw)
Penshaw Monument is erected in honour of John George Lambton, Earl of Durham.

1844 - OLD SHIRES ABOLISHED
(North)
The County Durham districts of Bedlingtonshire, Norhamshire and Islandshire, become part of Northumberland.

1846 - FARM DEMOLISHED
(Middlesbrough)
Middlesbrough farm is demolished.

1847 - SEASIDE TRIPS
(Coast)
Railways extended to the coast make the seaside a more accessible place of recreation. Railways reach Redcar in 1846 and Tynemouth this year. The London railway, which reached Newcastle in 1844, makes it to Berwick in 1847. Robert Stephenson's Royal Border Bridge is built.

1849 - BARNEY CHOLERA
(Barnard Castle)
143 people die of Asiatic Cholera.

1850 - NEWCASTLE STATION
(Newcastle)
John Dobson’s magnificent Central Station is opened.

1850 - ANCIENT FINDS
(Weardale)
A Bronze Age discovery is made at Heathery Burn cave in Weardale. One of the earliest known wheels is discovered.

1851 - IRISH AND SCOTS
(North-East)
Many workers have come to the North-East from Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Twenty per cent of Tyneside's population is Irish and another fifth Scottish. Sunderland has 4,000 Irish and 2,300 Scots, most of whom are employed mainly in the ship yards. Coalmining is also attracting outsiders.

1853 - NEWCASTLE CHOLERA
(Newcastle)
Cholera kills 1,500 people.

1854 October 6, - THE GREAT FIRE OF TYNESIDE
(Newcastle)
At 1am a fire at a Gateshead worsted factory spread to an adjoining warehouse containing a lethal range of chemicals and 3,000 tons of brimstone. Crowds gathered along the Tyne and at 3.15am the building exploded, sending out "debris like flying fish". The explosion was heard as far away as Berwick and is said to have damaged houses in Shields. Miners at Sunderland came to the surface in alarm and the glow from the fire could be seen at Smeaton near Northallerton. Flying debris set alight ships and caused a second fire on the Newcastle side of the river which destroyed the medieval quayside buildings. Hundreds were made homeless and at least 50 died. Most bodies were incinerated and unidentifiable.

1857 - VIADUCT AND STATION
(Durham)
Durham railway station and viaduct are built.

1862 - BLAYDON RACES SONG
(Newcastle)
Music Hall is popular and Geordie Ridley is one of the leading entertainers. Tyneside's 'National Anthem' The Blaydon Races is first sung by Ridley at Balmbra's Music Hall in Newcastle.

1862 - ROWNTREE’S CHOCOLATE
(York)
Henry Isaac Rowntree acquires the cocoa and chocolate side of the business from York Tea Dealer William Tuke & Son. Tukes have been selling cocoa as a sideline since 1785.

1862 - INFANT HERCULES
(Middlesbrough)
Gladstone describes Middlesbrough as "an infant Hercules" during a visit.

1867 - HARTLEPOOL TREASURE
(Hartlepool)
A hoard of Spanish silver dollars is revealed beneath the sands at Seaton Carew following a heavy storm.

1868 - SALTBURN BY THE SEA
(Saltburn)
The railway reached Saltburn in 1860 and the Zetland Hotel was built to accommodate tourists. Saltburn is developed as a resort by Henry Pease of Darlington and a pleasure pier is built.

1869 - BOWES MUSEUM
(Barnard Castle)
John Bowes starts the Bowes Museum. It is completed in 1892.

1871 - UNIVERSITY ACQUIRES COLLEGE
(Newcastle)
Durham University acquires Newcastle School of Medicine and the Newcastle College of Science.

1873 March 24, - MARY ANN COTTON
(Durham)
Mary Ann Cotton is hanged at Durham Jail for poisoning her son Charles at West Auckland. She is said to be responsible for 21 deaths including her mother, three husbands, one lover and a number of children, including her own.

1873 - LEAZES PARK
(Newcastle)
Newcastle's Leazes Park opens. Many public parks are opening in the region's towns.

1878 - HANCOCK MUSEUM
(Newcastle)
The Hancock Natural History Museum opens.

1879 - GUMS AND PASTILLES
(York)
York Chocolate manufacturers Rowntree & Co diversify into gums and pastilles.

1882 - NEW CITY
(Newcastle)
The town of Newcastle becomes a city and St Nicholas’ Church becomes a cathedral. The first Fenwick's shop opens in Northumberland Street.

1883 - MUSIC HALL DISASTER
(Sunderland)
182 children die of suffocation at the Victoria Hall Theatre during a crush.

1884 - MARKS AND SPENCER
(Leeds)
Michael Marks opens a Penny Bazzar in Leeds, with everything priced at one penny. Marks, a Lithuanian Jew who had entered the country via Stockton-on-Tees, later establishes a partnership with a Mr Spencer in Wigan.

1885 - BERWICK LOSES STATUS
(Berwick)
Special references to Berwick in Acts of Parliament are abolished.

1887 - DARLINGTON STATION (Darlington)
Bank Top opens and becomes the town's main station.

1896 - WOMEN AT UNIVERSITY
(Durham)
The first women students are admitted to Durham University.

1898 - SMALLPOX
(Middlesbrough)
Smallpox kills 202 people in Middlesbrough.

August 15, 1900 - POLICE CHASE
(Newcastle)
The world's first pursuit of a criminal by motor car takes place at Newcastle. A car is borrowed by a policeman who orders the driver to chase a drunken horse-rider. The chase lasts one mile.

1901 January 22, - END OF AN ERA
(Britain)
Queen Victoria dies at her home on the Isle of Wight. She is succeeded by her son Edward VII.

THE TIMELINE BY ERA

ROMAN PERIOD

ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD

VIKING PERIOD

NORMAN PERIOD

MEDIEVAL PERIOD

TUDOR AND STUART PERIOD

GEORGIAN PERIOD

VICTORIAN PERIOD

TWENTIETH CENTURY

 

THE MILLENNIUM HISTORY OF NORTH EAST ENGLAND

by David Simpson

Published by leighton in association with The Northern Echo

ISBN 0-9536984-3-2

The Millennium History of North East England by David Simpson is published by Leighton, The Teleport, Doxford International, Sunderland, SR3 3XD, Tel +44 (0) 191 5252400 Fax +44 (0) 520 1815 www.bepl.com. The book is a 322 page full colour hard back book covering the history of the region from Roman times to the present day. To order copies of the book you can e-mail Andrea.Murphy@bepl.com

Author David Simpson and Paul Callaghan, Managing Director of leighton at the book launch held at Lumley Castle, Durham December 1999

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