Interesting Facts About North Shields

North Shields has a longer and richer history than many realise, and plenty of surprises tucked away in its streets and its story. Whether you have lived here all your life or are just getting to know the town, here are some interesting facts about North Shields.

The town is nearly 800 years old

North Shields was founded in 1225, when the Prior of Tynemouth created a fishing port to supply the priory. The name comes from the "shiels", the fishermen's huts that first stood on the riverside. That makes the town almost eight centuries old.

The Wooden Dolly is on her fifth incarnation

The Wooden Dolly is North Shields' most beloved landmark, a carved figure of a fishwife that has watched over the town since 1814, when the first was made from a ship's figurehead. Successive dollies were worn away or defaced over the years, and the current, fifth Wooden Dolly, a fishwife, has stood in Northumberland Square since 1958.

Best for: The Wooden Dolly has stood over the town in one form or another since 1814.

Stan Laurel grew up here

Long before Hollywood fame, the comedy legend Stan Laurel lived in Dockwray Square, high above the Fish Quay, as a boy. A statue of him now stands in the square, complete with a nod to the view over the river he would have known.

Sam Fender is a proud son of the town

North Shields' most famous modern export is the singer-songwriter Sam Fender, whose songs are steeped in the town, its people and its landmarks. He remains closely tied to the place, and his Brit Award has even been spotted on the bar of the historic Low Lights Tavern.

It built hundreds of ships

The town's Smith's Dock built over 280 ships in its lifetime, and shipbuilding, alongside fishing and rope-making, was one of the industries that powered North Shields for generations.

Its streets were shaped by rope

The town's distinctive steep, narrow street grid, "the banks" that climb from the Quay, was shaped in part by the ropeworks, whose long ropewalks needed straight runs of land in the 19th century.

The Fish Quay still lands a catch

Unlike many old fishing towns, North Shields still has a genuinely working Fish Quay, where boats land their catch and fishmongers sell it fresh, and the town celebrates that heritage every year at the Fish Quay Festival.

---

Know a great fact about North Shields we have missed? Get in touch.