On 24th May 1913, a public meeting was held to establish a golf club at Tynemouth. The course was laid out on the old lands of Spital Dene Farm, owned by the Duke of Northumberland. The original course consisted of only 15 holes and was designed by Mr. Willie Park Jr., a renowned Scottish golfer and course architect. The former farm buildings which stood nearby … [Read more...]

Ward’s 1930 directory shows William Outram residing at No. 85 Cauldwell Lane, Monkseaton. Little is known of the Outram family; however, in 1926 William Outram established and built a service station known as South Grange Garage on Earsdon Road, West Monkseaton which continued under this name into the 1940s. The actual building was based on a South American … [Read more...]

Percy Gardens consists of a sweeping crescent of large Victorian houses on Tynemouth Seafront overlooking the North Sea and commanding spectacular views of Tynemouth Priory and Cliffs, King Edward’s Bay and the North Pier. During the 1800s, when the railway came to Tynemouth and connected a link to Newcastle, the residential popularity of the area began to grow … [Read more...]

Fondly remembered by many people in the area is “Hunter’s Bus”. Hunter’s distinctive dark brown and cream buses were a familiar sight for many years as they travelled part of their route through Monkseaton Village. H.W. Hunter operated from Westbourne Garage on Westbourne Terrace, Seaton Delaval and commenced operations in 1929 when three second hand … [Read more...]

Local artist F. W. Reaveley was perhaps one of the most under-rated and lesser known artists of his time. Born in Tynemouth in 1870, his life began in the family home at 1 Pearson Terrace, Tynemouth. Many of his family members lived in and around Cullercoats and Tynemouth, and his uncle John Reaveley was a local baker who, for a number of years circa 1861, kept a … [Read more...]

During the French Wars at the end of the eighteenth century North Shields and Tynemouth were regular victims of Press Gang raids which were once a common occurrence on the North Eastern coast. Tyneside suffered particularly badly because of its large community of seamen and its reputation for the skilled boatmen of North Shields and the keelmen of Newcastle. It is … [Read more...]

John Jenkinson (popularly known locally as ‘Jackie’) established the firm of Jenkinson Glaziers soon after returning home from active service in India at the end of the Second World War. Jackie learned his trade when he served his apprenticeship as a Leaded Window Light maker with Elders Walker in Newcastle upon Tyne during the late 1940s. Using the skills … [Read more...]

Tynemouth outdoor swimming pool was first opened on 30th May 1925 and was once one of the area’s favourite and most prestigious attractions. It was automatically filled by the incoming tide and was for many years a popular venue for local families and holidaymakers. This was a ‘boom’ time for seaside lidos and open air pools where some of the hardier folk … [Read more...]

Crawford Park comprises a total of 1.77 acres and sits in an inconspicuous sheltered area between Melbourne Crescent and Wembley Avenue with entrances situated on Seatonville Road and Crawford Place, Monkseaton. When the surrounding streets were built up during the 1920s, the park was incorporated and laid out as a small recreational area comprising little more … [Read more...]

During the recession of the 1880s, Tynemouth alderman John Foster-Spence approached the Duke of Northumberland requesting that a piece of land be made available which would be suitable to be laid out as a park. Accordingly, Henry George Percy, the 7th Duke of Northumberland, provided a large area of land between Spital Dene and Tynemouth Road and, following a … [Read more...]