Old Ordnance Survey Maps of North Tyneside

The Metropolitan Borough of North Tyneside incorporates a varied range of towns east of Newcastle. These include Wallsend, where the great shipbuilder Swan Hunter is based; North Shields, a major port, with both a fish quay and, nearby, the berths for the Scandinavian ferries; Tynemouth, a historic town with a castle overlooking the harbour; Cullercoats, an attractive small harbour, whose cobles and fisherwomen became a favourite artists' theme in the 19th century, most famously with Winslow Homer; and Whitley Bay, a seaside resort that was for many years especially popular with Glaswegians. From here it is only a short distance along the coast to the charming St Mary's Island and lighthouse, cut off from the shore at high tide, the extraordinary man made harbour at Seaton Sluice, and Vanbrugh's mighty Delaval Hall - although by then we are beyond North Tyneside and in Northumberland proper.

These are the principal maps for North Tyneside, most of them from our Tyneside series. This group was largely prepared in the late 1980s and for our authors we turned to Eric Hollerton, local studies librarian for North Tyneside, and Iain Watson, then museum curator at Wallsend. Each of the maps also includes extracts from a contemporary directory.