Great Tyneside Fire 1854

Returning briefly to the subject of local history, I have long had something of a fascination for an event that took place on Friday 6 October 1854.

In the early hours of that morning, a fire began in the upper stories of a large building occupied by worsted manufacturers, Wilson & Sons in Gateshead on the south bank of the river Tyne. The alarm was raised and efforts were made to confine the fire to the upper floors while rescuing stock from below. Unfortunately all efforts failed as the amount of flammable material, including oil used to treat the wool, fueled the flames and within two hours the upper floors collapsed allowing the fire to spread.

Crowds of people thronged along both banks of the river to witness this spectacle. Even the bridges crossing the river were used as viewing platforms by the onlookers. These bridges included the old Tyne Bridge a nine-arched stone construction that had been built in 1771 and the much more recent Robert Stephenson designed, High Level Bridge which had only opened five years earlier in 1849.

As teams of firemen on primitive horse drawn appliances rushed to the scene and fought to contain the fire, the inevitable happened. 

The Gateshead shore was a mass of warehouses and industrial works including many manufacturing and storing toxic chemicals. Between these and stretching up the hill away from the river were many densely populated slum dwellings. The close proximity of these meant that the chances of flames spreading to other buildings were high. Close to Wilson's factory stood a seven storey bond warehouse owned by Charles Bertram. The items stored within this vast space included on that night, sulphur, nitrate of soda and many other combustible materials. As the flames gradually consumed this building also, the melting sulphur streamed in bright blue rivers from the many windows. An even greater spectacle for the onlooking crowd.

The first explosion was felt by the firemen and the spectators on the bridges. That and the following two explosions were ignored. The reverberation of the final explosion was heard or felt as far as 40 miles (64 km) away. Even coal miners working deep underground 11 miles (18 km) away in Monkwearmouth colliery thought that part of their mine had collapsed and came to the surface.

Debris was hurled high into the air and some landed almost a mile away. Gravestones from the nearby St Mary's Church were uprooted and tossed into the night sky. Some burning debris crashed down onto the stone bridge, some onto the masses of wooden ships moored on the river and some even onto the buildings of Newcastle on the opposite bank. As this blazing debris landed on other wooden structures, the fire extended well beyond it's original source. Within hours, both sides of the river were ablaze, as were dozens of ships.

The fires raged for the remainder of that night and for much of the following day until eventually they were brought under control and extinguished. A total of 53 people had lost their lives and it is believed that almost 500 were injured, some terribly so.

My own interest in this horrific event stems from the fact that I discovered through my family history research that some of my ancestors were residing in the tenement dwellings clustered around the church and the factory where the fire began. My paternal great grandfather was only three years old at the time and lived in Blackwall, Deptford House while other family members lived at Saltmeadows and Church Walk. Fortunately none were among the numbers killed or those treated at Gateshead Dispensary or Newcastle Infirmary. I can only try to imagine however, what they must have gone through on that night.



The tragedy was commemorated in 2004 with a plaque which is now attached to the southern support of the new Tyne Bridge. 

Now, Lonely Tower Film & Media have produced a short documentary film about the incident. Written and narrated by Mark Thorburn, the film is well worth a watch and you can do so by clicking on the following link.

Great Tyneside Fire 1854

Reflections on the Tyne

Yesterday early evening as I was making my way towards a music lesson at the Sage, I was struck by the view from the Millennium Bridge, as indeed were a number of 'proper' photographers with their expensive looking tripod mounted cameras. Undeterred, I took out my mobile phone and captured this picture for posterity.

Pausing to take in the scene, I reflected upon how much it has changed in the past 20 years or so. Considering that some of my ancestors lived and worked in the slums and chemical works that dominated the Gateshead banks of the Tyne in the mid 19th century, I wondered what they would make of it all. In fact my destination, the Sage, was built upon the very site where they spent the majority of their adult lives.  This picture of the Gateshead Cement Works on South Shore Road dates from about 1850.

I was lost in thought about past times for a few minutes until I remembered my purpose for being in that place. As L. P. Hartley wrote (in 'The Go-Between'), "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."

SummerTyne Americana Festival 2013 - Tom Russell & Thad Beckman

The Sage at Gateshead is annually the venue for the SummerTyne Americana Festival. From a vantage point on the south shore of the Tyne between the iconic Tyne and Millennium Bridges, one can enjoy basking in the afternoon sunshine whilst being entertained by an assortment of Americana acts. And it is all for free!

Of course there are some 'big name' acts who play inside the venue and charge for the privilege. This year they included Martha Wainwright, Willy Mason, Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys, The Heritage Blues Orchestra and Mud Morganfield. However, on this occasion I decided to restrict myself to the free music and was particularly delighted that the late Sunday afternoon act was Tom Russell, an artist I have paid to see more than once.

To be honest there was not much sunshine to speak of though it was a pleasant enough afternoon. Musically, I was distinctly underwhelmed by the acts until second from last came David Wax Museum who gave a very spirited and quite enjoyable performance. Then Tom Russell and guitarist Thad Beckman took to the stage. To see Tom, one wouldn't know that this was a summer's afternoon as he was well wrapped in a dark long sleeved sweater, scarf and of course his trademark stetson hat and dark shades. Perhaps he had been warned about the biting winds that can whip up the River Tyne even on summer days.

I have not heard his latest album 'Aztec-Jazz', so I was unfamiliar with a couple of numbers but thankfully he delivered two of my personal favourites, 'Blue Wing' and 'Tonight We Ride'. Introducing each number with humorous anecdotes, Tom had the crowd captivated from the start and his set ended all too soon.

After the set, we wandered across the Tyne via the Millenium Bridge into Newcastle to a bar called Brew Dog. Playing there were a group of five young ladies who call themselves Rainbow Girls. Some of my friends had seen them play at the SummerTyne Festival the previous day and were well impressed.

Crowded into a corner at the end of the bar, the girls managed to give an energetic performance, constantly swapping an array of instruments that included guitar, mandolin, banjo, electric bass, washboard, keyboards and harmonica.

The more their set went on the more I warmed to their music and their enthusiasm for what they clearly enjoyed doing. 
They have a current album, 'The Sound of Light' and I will be ordering my copy soon.


Tonight I'm off to the local cinema to see the global launch of the Ridley Scott movie, 'Springsteen & I'. No doubt I will be reporting my views on that in due course.