South Shields

South Shields is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne, with a population of about 90,000.

Related Topics:
South Tyneside - Tyne and Wear - England - River Tyne

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South Shields is famous for its maritime industries, both building and educational. Many warships were built on the Tyne in both world wars. The world's first self-righting lifeboat was designed and built in South Shields.

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It is a town of wide ethnic diversity. There is a large Asian population, and also a long-established Yemeni community, the largest outside of Yemen. The main reason for the Yemeni arrival was the supply of seamen, such as engine room firemen, to British merchant vessels. At the time of the First World War there was a shortage of crews due to the demands of the fighting and the Yemenis were recruited to serve on British ships at the port of Aden, then under British protection. Eventualy a small community was established in South Shields as they paid off the ships. After the end of the war, when returning local seamen went to get their jobs back, they found Arabs had taken them all, which caused the anger that would fuel one of the first race riots in the UK. The slang term for people from South Shields is Sandancers, a term that derives from the town's attractive beach, as well as its Yemeni population. The Sand-dance was a popular music-hall act that parodied Egyptian and Arab culture as it was understood in Britain at the time.

Related Topics:
Yemeni - Slang - Sandancers - Sand-dance - Egypt - Arab

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The town has extensive beaches and the Leas, which stretches along more than three miles of the town's coastline, is a National Trust protected area. Marsden Bay, with its once famous arch-shaped rock, is one of the largest seabird colonies in UK. Sadly, the central arch collaped in a storm in 1996, and the smaller of the surviving stacks was deemed unstable and demolished for safety.

Related Topics:
National Trust - Marsden Bay - 1996

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The Grotto, a pub built into the cliff opposite Marsden rock, is the only pub/restaurant of its type in Europe, having been dug from a cliff face.

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A large Roman fort, Arbeia, has been excavated in South Shields. It was the maritime supply fort for Hadrian's Wall, and contains the only permanent stone-built granaries yet found on any Roman frontier. A Roman gatehouse and barracks have been reconstructed on their original foundations, while a museum holds artefacts such as an altar piece to an previously unknown god, and a Roman-era gravestone set up by a native Palmyrene to his freedwoman and wife, a Briton of the Catuvellauni tribe.

Related Topics:
Arbeia - Palmyrene - Catuvellauni

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