Day 47 - North Shields and Newcastle

22 May 2023

First thing this morning, we spent time in the North Shields library researching the local history. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to create files containing records, photos and newspaper clippings, both on specific streets and also on specific surnames. We were able to find further details on Dockwray Square and the Clark family, plus Mum found lots of interesting information in the directories, including some addresses that we weren’t previously aware of. Yay!

It was then a short walk to the Metro and then a quick 20-minute train ride into the centre of Newcastle – so much easier than driving a car in and trying to find parking. We decided to spend today in Newcastle visiting the ‘family sites’, such as churches, graveyards and street addresses, and to save the Newcastle records for tomorrow. Our first stop was the stunning St Andrew’s Church, where many of our Hogg family had married in the 1700s. Mum’s 3^rd Gt Grandparents, Cuthbert Clark and the mysterious Christiana Gray, married here in 1834. The church was built in the 13^th and 14^th century, and amazingly it was open so we could go inside to see the wonderful stained-glass windows, and the font with a font cover that dated from the 15^th century. It is amazing to think that we had family who were baptised nearly two hundred years ago in this same font. It was very special to have the opportunity to spend some quiet time in this church.

Something that I have been looking forward to was visiting Side, the street where John Nichol had his confectionery business in the mid-1800s. Mum previously had found an old photo showing the street with John’s business sign above his shop, so it was very exciting to finally be standing in the same street. We had thought that now it might be a bit of a run-down area of Newcastle, however it instead was a vibrant street running down towards the river with lots of high-end looking hotels and restaurants. So pleased that we got to visit it.

 

The two top photos are of the beautiful St Andrews Church. The middle photo and the bottom left photo are of Side, one looking up the street and the other looking down. The bottom right photo was taken after we walked across the river to Gateshead, looking back towards Newcastle, with the spire of All Saints Church clearly visible. 

Of course we also visited a few graveyards, and very excitedly found the grave of Cuthbert Clark and Christiana Gray in the Preston Cemetery in North Shields, plus the grave of Cuthbert’s grandparents, Cuthbert Hogg and Dinah Ash in the All Saints graveyard in Newcastle. Again, I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to pay our respects to these ancestors, and it is quite humbling to be visiting their final resting places. The stone in Preston Cemetery is really starting to weather, and I'm not sure for how much longer it will be legible. 

Top left is Mum with Cuthbert Hogg and Dinah Ash's gravestone at All Saints Church. Top right and bottom left photos are of Cuthbert Clark and Christiana Gray's gravestone at Preston Cemetery. We discovered the little bookshop in North Shields - a three-bedroom house with every available space containing floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with books. 

Today has been a big day of walking (nearly 20,000 steps), and we did find ourselves in an ‘interesting’ part of Newcastle as we were trying to find our way to a Metro station. However, once again we have found the locals to be friendly and helpful, and very interested in where we are from and what we are here for.