The North East : 1800-1828
Early colliery railways of the 1700s were using horse-drawn wagons to haul coal to the Tyne and Wear. Later, stationary engines hauled coal along inclined railways, but locomotives, effectively steam engines on wheels, were the next stage of development. Locomotives were developed at collieries like Wylam, Killingworth and Hetton by George Stephenson and William Hedley and these developments eventually led to the creation of The Stockton and Darlington Railway of 1825.
👈 18th Century | Timeline | 1828-1839 👉
1800 – Sunderland shipwrights ‘make’ ships
In this year a Sunderland shipwright was recorded as making a small ship in his own time on the village green at Bishopwearmouth before towing it to Southwick a mile away. According to the historian William Fordyce, writing much later in 1857, it was noted that during this earlier age of timber-built sailing ships, Sunderland shipbuilders could either build or make a ship, (make of course, likely being ‘mack’ in the local dialect). Fordyce, who gives more than one example of such an enterprise, notes that the idea of these skilled men making potentially lower quality ships at a cheaper price in their own time as an alternative to building them in an official capacity, (presumably to a higher standard), came to be a derisory comment in reference to Sunderland shipwrights.
1800 – Gateshead Fell a home to muggers
Gateshead Fell is described as a wild uninhabited heath studded with “miserable huts” and cottages occupied by muggers, cloggers and tinkers. The danger of crime and pickpocketing on this important but bleak upland part of the London turnpike road was accentuated by the presence of a gang of criminals called the Gateshead Fell-Bishop Auckland gang of which prominent members seem to include a family called Clark.
1801 – Middlesbrough’s population : 25
Middlesbrough, a farmstead of four houses, has a population of only 25 people. Stockton’s population is 3,700, Hartlepool 993, Darlington 4,700 and Yarm 1,300. Middlesbrough will grow as a result of railway developments.
1801 – Eldon is Lord Chancellor
Newcastle man, John Scott, Lord Eldon becomes Lord Chancellor. Eldon Square in Newcastle recalls his name.
1802 – Pilgrim gate demolished
The medieval Pilgrim gate on Newcastle’s Pilgrim Street is demolished, as it is restrictive to the movement of traffic. It was an important part of the town walls on provided access to Newcastle on the main north-south route.
1803 – Stephenson’s son born
Future engineer, Robert Stephenson is born in a cottage close to the River Tyne at Willington Quay. His father, George Stephenson is a young engineer who is responsible for the maintenance of a ballast-tipping engine.
1804 – The Cleveland Tontine
A coaching inn opens near Osmotherley in Cleveland on a turnpike road that will be used by the Sunderland to London mail coach (now the A19). It will become a popular place of rest for travellers. A tontine was a loan paid in annuities.
1805 – Trevithick and Stephenson
Last year, Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick invented a locomotive for use on rails. It follows his development of a road locomotive in 1801. Meanwhile George Stephenson becomes an employee at Killingworth Colliery.
Dec 10, 1805 – High tide makes lights redundant
An extraordinary high tide at North Shields which wrecked wooden breakwaters and sank several boats has caused a permanent alteration to sand bars and the navigational course of the mouth of the Tyne. It renders the pair of old lights that guide ships there useless. A new pair of lights will need to be constructed to correctly guide the ships.
Oct 6, 1805 – Colliery disaster at Hebburn
Thirty-five lives are lost in a colliery explosion at Hebburn.
Oct 21, 1805 – Battle of Trafalgar
Britain defeats the French and Spanish in a huge naval battle in the Atlantic off Cape Trafalgar. Second in command to Nelson at the battle was the Newcastle-born Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, who takes command after Nelson is shot in the shoulder and falls into a coma and dies. Many North East seamen serve in the ships at the battle.
Nov 29, 1805 – Colliery disaster at Oxclose
Thirty-eight lives are lost in a mine explosion at Oxclose Colliery near Washington.
1806 – Elizabeth Barrett
The poet Elizabeth Barrett (later Elizabeth Barrett Browning) is born at Coxhoe Hall near Durham.
1806 – Fenham Barracks
The Fenham military barracks open. They will give their name to Newcastle’s Barrack Road.
1806 – Buddle Wallsend colliery manager
County Durham-born John Buddle, the former manager at Benwell Colliery succeeds his father as manager at Wallsend Colliery. He gains a reputation as a skilled self-taught engineer and builder of locomotives.
Dec 1806 – River cuts off church
On Christmas Day, the hill on which the old church of Alnmouth stands is permanently cut off from Alnmouth by a change in the course of the river.
1807 – Alkali works on Tyneside
Losh, Wilson and Bell establish an alkali works after Losh had acquired Walker Pit. Coal is used in the heating of brine to make salt used in the manufacture of alkali.
1807 – Cale Cross removed
The market cross known as the Cale Cross (from the sale of cabbages) is removed from the street called Side in Newcastle. It is relocated to Blagdon Hall in Northumberland.
1808 – Ushaw College opens
Ushaw College is established near Durham for training of Catholic priests. Its roots go back to Elizabethan times and the university town of Douai near Lille in France where English priests were educated during the Tudor suppression of Catholicism. Catholic mass was legalised in 1791 and at about that time revolution took hold in France. Priests returned to England with the northern contingents setting up for periods at Tudhoe, Pontop Hall and Crook Hall near Leadgate before settling at Ushaw where the grand college is built.
1808 – Beacon blows down at Beacon Lough
A prominent beacon at Beacon Lough on the fells of Gateshead has been blown down.
1809 – Gateshead Fell to be divided
An act of parliament is obtained for dividing Gateshead Fell, which forms something of a wild open space. The act allows for the development of roads, drains, wells and quarrying. Basic housing or hovels on the fell will be demolished.
1810 – Stockton and Darlington railway idea
In a meeting at Stockton Town Hall, Leonard Raisbeck, Recorder of Stockton, suggests a railway as an alternative to a canal for moving south Durham coal to Stockton.
1810 – Tees short cut
It takes as long for ships to travel from the Tees estuary to London as it does from the estuary to Stockton. The Tees Cut, a short canal, at Mandale near Thornaby reduces this journey time. The short channel or canal that is cut through the 220 yard neck of a two-and-a-half mile long meander leaves the old meander stranded as a marshy man-made oxbow lake on the south side of the River Tees.
1810 – 10,000 pitmen
Around 10,000 miners work in the North East of England by this time.
1810 – Smith’s First Dock
Thomas Smith (as William Smith & Co) acquires a shipyard on the riverside at St Peter’s near Byker in 1810 where his business will prove a success. The company will later come to be associated with North Shields.
1810 – Durham Prison
Durham prison is built at Elvet in Durham city. It replaces an earlier prison in the city’s Great North Gate. Bishop Barrington pledged £2,000 towards the construction of the new building which will house prisoners from 1819.
1810 – New Lights at North Shields
The lights in the two new towers that guide ships into the Tyne at North Shields, to avoid hazardous hidden rocks, were used for the first time this year. They replace earlier low and high lights dating back to 1727 which were made redundant by a recent change in the course of the river.
1811 – Coal exists in eastern Durham
The eastern part of County Durham, where the geology is dominated by a deep layer of magnesian limestone remains untouched by coal mining and there has long been speculation about whether there is any coal there. A test sinking at Haswell near Easington to the east of Durham by a Dr William Smith proves its existence deep below the layer of magnesian limestone. Doubts will remain about the quality and thickness of the coal and the cost of mining at such depths. This will deter speculative developments until the successful opening of Hetton Colliery in the 1820s. At this time eastern Durham villages like Easington and other settlements close to the coast are quiet rural backwaters untouched by the coal mining activity that has been present in parts of central and northern Durham for centuries.
1812 – Moot Hall
Newcastle’s Moot Hall is built by William Stokoe for Northumberland Council near Newcastle castle. It was built as a court house but also served as a site for Northumberland county council meetings up until 1910. (It will be superseded as a crown court by the new crown court on the quayside in 1990-91).
1812 – Staiths at Sunderland
John Neasham who owns coal mines in the Newbottle area, builds coal staiths at Galley Gill on the Wear at Sunderland. Staiths enable the direct loading of coal into ships and cut out the need for keelmen.
1812 – Quayside Exchange
The Quayside Exchange opens in the port area of Sunderland. It is designed by father and son architects, John and William Stokoe.
May 25, 1812 – Felling pit disaster : 92 dead
In a terrible tragedy, 92 men and boys lose their lives in a colliery explosion at Felling near Gateshead. In its aftermath, concerted efforts begin to improve mine safety and develop a safety lamp. The efforts are headed by Dr Clanny of the Sunderland Society and the Reverend John Hodgson of Heworth at whose church the men and boys are buried.
Oct 10, 1812 – Colliery disaster at Herrington
Twenty-four lives are lost in a mine explosion at Herrington near Sunderland.
Dec 24, 1812 – Colliery explosion at Felling again
Twenty-two lives are lost in a colliery explosion on Christmas Eve at Felling. Nine men, thirteen boys and twelve horse are killed. Only last year, 92 lives were lost in a similar explosion here.
1813 – Puffing Billy
The Puffing Billy and Wylam Dilly locomotives are developed by William Hedley at Wylam colliery.
Sep 28, 1813 – Colliery disaster at Fatfield
Thirty-two lives are lost in a mine explosion at the Hall Pit, Fatfield near Washington.
1814 – Stephenson’s first locomotive
George Stephenson builds his first locomotive, Blucher, at Killingworth Colliery.
1814 – Fawcett Street
A new street in Sunderland is built on land previously belonging to a Christopher Fawcett. The opening of the Wearmouth Bridge in 1796 has stimulated development in the area.
1815 – Safety lamps invented
A miners’ safety lamp is invented by Sir Humphry Davy and George Stephenson. It should reduce the number of colliery gas explosions. Much experimentation and research has been invested in devising a safety lamp, particularly since the Felling Colliery explosion of 1812. Stephenson acknowledges the work of the Sunderland-based Irish physician, Dr William Clanny for his contribution to the development.
1815 – Poet’s wedding
The poet Lord Byron marries at Seaham Hall. His bride is Ann Isabella Milbanke.
1815 – French help to make Houghton Cut
French prisoners captured during the Napoleonic Wars are employed in blasting and cutting into the hill side at Houghton-le-Spring for the creation of Houghton Cut.
March 20, 1815 – Keelmen riot
Keelmen at Sunderland riot and pull down a small railway bridge leading to a coal staith on the Wear.
May 3, 1815 – Colliery disaster at Heaton Main
Seventy-five lives are lost in a mine disaster at Heaton Main Colliery near Newcastle after an inrush of water caused the colliery to flood.
Jun 2, 1815 – Colliery disaster at Newbottle
Fifty-seven lives are lost in a mine explosion at Newbottle near Houghton-le-Spring.
Oct 18, 1816 – Corn riot at Sunderland
Corn riots occur at Sunderland. There were also riots here in 1807.
1816 – History of Durham
The first volume of Robert Surtees’ History and Antiquities of the County Palatine of Durham (4 volumes 1816-1823) is published.
1816 – Hartlepool in decline
Sharp’s History of Hartlepool (Old Hartlepool) describes the little fishing community as “a place that had seen better days now facing a continuing decline”.
1816 – Killingworth Billy
A locomotive or Billy called Killingworth Billy is built at West Moor Killingworth under the supervision of George Stephenson.
1816 – Hangings move
Public executions (hangings) which had previously taken place at Dryburn on the north side of Durham city (where they have taken place for centuries) are transferred to the new court house at Elvet. Hangings continue to be held in public until 1868.
Dec 1816 – Russian grand duke in region
Nicholas, the Grand Duke of Russia (the future Russian Emperor, Nicholas I) visited the region. Arriving at Sunderland he inspected the pier and the iron bridge across the Wear. He then headed to Newcastle and onward to Wallsend where he was shown around the Wallsend Colliery by John Buddle. The duke, who was on a fact finding mission could not be persuaded to enter the Wallsend pit, comparing its entrance to the “mouth of hell”.
1817 – Bottles and Glass
Sunderland is home to seven bottle works and three glassworks.
June 30, 1817 – Colliery disaster at Harraton
Thirty-eight lives are lost in a mine explosion at the Row Pit, Harraton Colliery near Washington.
Dec 18, 1817 – Colliery disaster at Rainton
Twenty-seven lives are lost in a mine explosion at Rainton Plain Pit near Durham.
1818 – Laing Yard moves
The Laing shipyard at Monkwermouth relocates across the River Wear to Deptford.
1818 – Miners battle with the bishop
A riot breaks out between lead miners and the Bishop of Durham’s men over Weardale gaming rights. It comes to be known as ‘The Battle of Stanhope’ and inspires a ballad called ‘The Bonny Moor Hen’.
Feb 19, 1819 – Blyth ship sights Antarctica
A Blyth ship, under the leadership of Blyth-born captain William Smith makes the first-known sighting of Antarctica. Smith will later return to Antarctica to charter the coast.
Jul 19, 1819 – Colliery disaster at Sheriff Hill
Thirty-five lives are lost in a mine explosion at Sheriff Hill Colliery near Gateshead.
1819 – Hetton Coal Company
The Hetton Coal Company is established. It is the first major public company in County Durham.
1819 – Malleable iron railways
John Birkenshaw, an agent at Bedlington Iron Works invents malleable iron rails, a major moment in the history of railways, allowing railway lines to be mass produced.
Feb 1820 – Yarm meeting favours railway
In 1818, George Overton surveyed the possible route of a horse tramway through south Durham to the Tees. The idea develops into the Stockton and Darlington Railway. A meeting held in a public house at Yarm decides in favour of a railway.
1820 – Eden sells Preston Hall
The Eden family of Windlestone Hall, County Durham, sells Preston-on-Tees to David Burton Fowler of Yarm.
1820 – History of Northumberland
The first volume of the Reverend John Hodgson’s History of Northumberland is published.
1820 – Plans for Seaham port
Engineer William Chapman prepares a plan for developing a port (Seaham harbour) on the Durham coast for Lord Londonderry. The following year Londonderry buys the Seaham Estate.
1820 – Wrekenton
A Mr Warburton establishes a new village to the west of Gateshead which he calls Wrekenton. The name is suggested by local Reverend and historian John Hodgson inspired by the nearby Roman road called the Wrekendyke (or Leam Lane).
June 29, 1820 – KING GEORGE IV
George IV succeeds as king following the death of his father, King George III who has reigned for almost sixty years.
1821 – Railway gets Royal assent
The Stockton and Darlington Railway gains Royal assent.
Oct 23, 1821 – Colliery disaster at Wallsend
Fifty-two lives are lost in a colliery explosion at Wallsend.
1822 – Morpeth court house
The imposing court house is built by John Dobson at Morpeth.
May 23, 1822 – First section of S&D
George Stephenson is appointed the engineer for the Stockton and Darlington Railway project. The first section of rail is laid near St John’s Well at Stockton by Thomas Meynell of Yarm.
1822 – Smiths open quay at North Shields
The shipyard company, William Smith & Co of St Peter’s near Byker set upon expansion with the opening of a ballast quay further down the river at Limekiln Shore, North Shields.
1822 – Carbonate of Soda works
The Cookson family establish a Carbonate of Soda Alkali works in the Templetown area of South Shields. The factory will also make sulphate of copper, iodine and bleaching powder.
1822 – Fire at Seaton Delaval Hall
A major fire causes devastating damage to Seaton Delaval Hall. The hall by Sir John Vanbrugh had already suffered a serious fire in 1752.
Nov 18, 1822 – Hetton Railway complete
George Stephenson’s Hetton Colliery railway is complete – it is the largest in the world and is worked by locomotives. It will serve as a model for the future Stockton and Darlington Railway. Hetton Staithes are built on the River Wear for loading coal into ships. Deep mining begins in eastern Durham beneath the magnesian limestone with the opening of Hetton Colliery. The colliery and railway signal a new age of mining in the region.
Feb 2, 1823 – Snow stops mail
Snow blocks roads and covers the surrounding countryside, preventing mail from reaching or leaving Durham or Newcastle for a week. Mail reaches Darlington but north-bound coaches find it impossible to proceed beyond Rushyford.
1823 – Stephenson’s Works
George Stephenson’s son, Robert, establishes an engineering works in Newcastle. It is here that Locomotion No 1 that serves the Stockton & Darlington Railway of 1825 will be built as will the famous Rocket, winner of the Rainhill Trials in 1829.
1823 – New coal port for Hartlepool
Plans are discussed to bring wagonways to Hartlepool from local collieries in south east Durham to develop Hartlepool as a coal port. It is little more than a fishing community.
1823 – Prison demolished
Demolition begins on Newcastle’s Newgate prison which occupies part of a medieval gateway into the town.
Nov 3, 1823 – Colliery disaster at Rainton
Fifty-five lives are lost in a mine explosion at the Plain Pit, Rainton near Durham.
1824 – Blackett Street beginnings
Developer Richard Grainger demolishes part of the northern course of Newcastle’s medieval town wall and clears a lane that runs alongside it for the creation of Blackett Street. In 1825 Grainger then begins the creation of a new square called Eldon Square.
1825 – Lying-in-Hospital
The lying-in hospital opens in Newcastle. Operating as a charity, it was for impoverished pregnant women, but only for those who were married. The building was designed by John Dobson.
1825 – Lit and Phil
The new home of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne founded in 1793 is opened in Westgate Road. The new building is designed by architect, John Green.
1825 – Mine union
Thomas Hepburn forms ‘The Colliers of the United Association of Durham and Northumberland;. This miners’ union is sometimes simply known as Hepburn’s Union.
1825 – Bedlington Terrier
The Bedlington Terrier breed of dog comes into being. It has been developed by a Mr Ainsley of Bedlington, beginning around 1816 through crossbreeding with dogs from Rothbury and Longhorsley.
Aug 3, 1825 – Sunderland seamen riot
A riot breaks out among seamen in Sunderland in a dispute with coal owners. The Newcastle Militia open fire, killing four men.
Sep 27, 1825 – Railway history made
The opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world’s first public railway. A crowd of 40,000 sees the procession of waggons hauled by the famous Locomotion Number One from Shildon to Stockton via Darlington. Over 300 passengers travel on the train increasing to 600 as the journey progresses. Most are in Chaldron waggons fitted with seats, but local dignitaries travel in a specially made carriage called The Experiment. The railway is the most significant event in the history of Teesside and will bring increasing industrial growth to the area and spur on the birth of Middlesbrough.
Jan 17, 1826 – Colliery disaster at Jarrow
Thirty-four lives are lost in a mine explosion at Jarrow.
May 30, 1826 – Colliery disaster at Towneley Main
Thirty-eight lives are lost in a mine explosion at Towneley Main (Stargate) Colliery near Newcastle.
1826 – Castle Eden Brewery
The Castle Eden Brewery is founded by John Nimmo in County Durham.
1826 – Bulman Village, Gosforth
Job James Bulman develops Bulman village near Gosforth to the north of Newcastle to provide him with extra voters to support him in an election. It will later form the heart of what becomes Gosforth town centre.
1826 – Austin and Son
Austin and Son establish a shipbuilding business in Sunderland.
1826 – Bowes Railway
The Bowes Colliery Railway is built near Gateshead.
1827 – Newcastle prison
A new prison opens in Newcastle’s Carliol Square. It supersedes an earlier prison in Newcastle’s Newgate.
1827 – Stockton man invents friction match
John Walker, a chemist of Stockton invents the friction match. On April 17, the first ever friction matches go on sale in the town.
1827 – Tyneside glass
About two fifths of all English glass is made in the Tyneside area.
1827 – Spring-heeled Jack?
Henry Beresford, third Marquess of Waterford inherits Ford Castle in Northumberland. He is sometimes identified as the mysterious, black-caped, devil-like, ‘Spring-heeled Jack who terrorised London.
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