The Towns of
From: Encyclopædia Britannica
Barnard Castle, a market town and railway station, in the Barnard Castle parliamentary division of Durham, England, on the Tees, 15 miles W. of Darlington. Recent erections are a large county school, two Methodist chapels, and a fever hospital. The Bowes Museum has been extended and endowed. Area of township, 7790 acres; population (1881), 4269; (1891), 4725. Area of urban district, 533 acres; population (1881), 4096; (1901), 4421. [10th edition, vol.26 (1902), p.148.]
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Bishop Auckland, a market town and railway station in the Bishop Auckland parliamentary division of Durham, England, on the Wear and Gaunless, 11 miles S.S.W. of Durham city. Recent building are a temperance hall, church institute, memorial hall, fever hospital, accident hospital, and theatre (rebuilt). Area of urban district 950 acres; population (1881), 10,097; (1901), 11,966. [10th edition, vol.26 (1902), p.262.]
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Blaydon, a town in the Chester-le-Street parliamentary division of Durham, England, on the Tyne, 5 miles W. of Gateshead by rail. There are parish churches and Methodist chapels. The chief industries are coal mining, iron-founding, pipe, fire-brick, chemical, manure, and bottle manufactures. Area of urban district, 9339 acres; population (1881), 10,687; (1901), 19,617. [10th edition, vol.26 (1902), p.275.]
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Chester-le-Street, a town in the Chester-le-Street parliamentary division of Durham, England, 6 miles north of Durham city by rail. Two Roman altars with inscriptions have been found. A church founded towards the end of the 13th century, and containing interesting memorials, has been restored. There are congregational and Methodist chapels; also a mechanics' institute and a church institute; an infectious diseases hospital has been opened. Confectionary is manufactured. Area of civil parish, 2900 acres; population (1881), 6911; (1891), 8623; (1901), 11,753. [10th edition, vol.26 (1902), p.761.]
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Consett, a town and railway station in the north-western parliamentary division of Durham, England, 12 miles north-west of Durham city, and 14 miles south-west of Newcastle. Besides the parish church there are Baptist, Wesleyen and other chapels; also a town-hall. There are extensive collieries in the district, and large ironworks. Area of urban district, 1024 acres. Population (1891), 8460; (1901), 9694. [10th edition, vol.27 (1902), p.212.]
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Darlington, a municipal and parliamentary borough (one member) and market town of Durham, England, on the Skerne, 1 mile from its confluence with the Tees, 18 miles south of Durham city by rail. There are now, in all, seven established churches, two Roman Catholic churches and a school chapel, and twelve Non-conformist churches or chapels. The training-school for schoolmistresses has been enlarged and a school for children added. Recent erections are a cattle market, a corn exchange, hospital, library, and new theatre. A technical school has been formed, the public park enlarged to an area of 44 acres, and the baths twice extended. The worsted spinning mills of Pease & Company have upwards of 18,000 spindles, and employ between 500 and 600 hands. The Pease Partners Company (Limited) employ in their collieries, ironstone mines, quarries, brickworks, &c., over 6000 workmen, and raise about 3,000,000 tons of minerals per annum. Darlington possesses important works for the manufacture of iron and steel bars, and the specialties required for engineering, bridge-building, ship-building, locomotive engine-work, railway waggon building, collieries, &c. At the Rise Carr Rolling Mills (belonging to Sir Theodore Fry & Company, Limited) about 700 men are employed, and in 1899 the output of finished iron and steel amounted to 25,840 tons. The Darlington Forge Company (Limited), with premises of 100 acres in area, of which about 40 acres were in 1901 occupied by their rapidly extending works, employ from 1000 to 1200 men, and besides turning outsteel castings and steel and iron forgings for engineering purposes, manufacture gun work, shells, &c., for British and foreign shipyards and arsenals; the annual output, of all descriptions, being from 10,000 to 12,000 tons, representing a value of about £250,000.
Extended municipal area, 3945 acres. Population on this in 1881, 35,104; in 1891, 38,060; in 1901 44,496. Parliamentary area since 1885, 3602 acres. Population on this in 1881, 34,831; in 1891, 38,033; in 1901 44,496. Rateable value of municipal borough in 1900, £183,725. [10th edition, vol.27 (1902), p.381.]
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Durham, a city, municipal and parliamentary borough (since 1885 returning only one member), and county town of Durham, England, on the Wear, 256 miles from London by rail. The cathedral has undergone extensive repairs and the chapter-house been restored. The grammar school, the diocesan colleges for schoolmasters and schoolmistresses, and the County Hospital have been enlarged. A mission church, a high school for girls, and the Shire Hall and County Buildings have been erected. Manufactures of hosiery and iron-works have been introduced. Area of municipal borough, 880 acres; population (1881), 14,932; (1901), 14,641. [10th edition, vol.27 (1902), p.553.]
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GATESHEAD, a municipal and parliamentary borough and market-town of England, county of Durham, is situated on the right bank of the Tyne, opposite Newcastle, of which it practically forms a part, being united with it by three bridges. The town consists of two principal and nearly parallel streets, from which others diverge in various directions. A great fire which occured in 1854 was taken advantage of for the carrying out of improvements in the old part of the town, and it is now much less crowded than formerly. In the suburbs there are a considerable number of fine mansions. The parish church, recently restored, is an ancient cruciform edifice surmounted by a lofty tower; and several of the other churches and chapels are handsome buildings. The Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists, the Congregationalists, Baptists, Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics are all represented. The town possesses a fine cemetery, a well laid out public park, a new town-hall, a grammar school, a hospital (St Edmund's) for fifteen indegent persons, a reformatory, a mechanics' institute, and a dispensary. There is a large iron works (including foundries and factories for engines, boilers, chains, and cables), shipbuilding yards, glass manufactories, chemical, soap, and candle works, brick and tile works, breweries and tanneries. The town also contains the principal depot of the North-Eastern Railway, with large stores and locomotive works. Extensive coal mines exist in the vicinity; and at Gateshead Fell are large quarries for grindstones, which are much esteemed and are exported to all parts of the world.
The large number of Roman relics found at Gateshead would seem to indicate that it was originally an outwork of the Roman station at Newcastle. The name is mentioned as early as 1080, and in 1164 the bishop of Durham granted to its burgesses equal privileges with those of Newcastle. On the dissolution of the see of Durham in 1552, an Act was passed for uniting the town to the borough of Newcastle, but on the restoration of the rights of the bishopric it was again placed under that jurisdiction, being governed, from 1317 to 1695, with the exception of that short intermission, by a bailif nominated by the bishop. From 1695 to 1826, when it became a municipal borough, it was governed by two stewards, elected by the inhabitants. Gateshead returns one member to parliament. The population of the municipal borough, which in 1861 was 33,587, was 48,627 in 1871. [9th edition, vol.10 (1879), p.108.]
Gateshead, a municipal, parliamentary, and county borough of Durham, England. It has greatly extended, but although one of the largest towns in the county, neither its streets nor its public buildings, make any claim to architectural beauty. The area of the borough is 3300 acres; population (1881), 65,845; (1891), 85,692; (1901), 109,887. Between 1881 and 1899 the rateable value increased from £220,000 to £359,562. The birth and death rates, 36.2 and 20.4 per 1000 respectively, show no great change over a series of years. The number of voters for the borough member of parliament is (1900) 17,065. For municipal purposes the town is divided into ten wards, each of which returns three members to the Town Council. The town possesses a children's hospital, a very efficient school of art, and public library, and a workhouse, built at a cost of £40,000, providing accomadation for 1000 inmates. The School Board has seventeen schools under its control. Technical education is provided in the Higher Grade School (1891). A large day school for girls has also been established. Steam trams run through the main streets, and the Corporation have built suitable swimming-baths and wash-houses. More than 2000 hands are employed in the North-Eastern locomotive depot. Large gas works of the Newcastle and Gateshead Gas Company are also situated in the borough. [10th edition, vol.28 (1902), p.608.]
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HARTLEPOOL and WEST HARTLEPOOL, respectively a municipal borough and a town of England, county of Durham, and included in the parliamentary borough of the Hartlepools, are situated the one on the north and the other on the south side of Hartlepool Bay, about a mile apart, but having connexion by railway, and practically forming portions of one town. By railway Hartlepool is 10 miles and West Hartlepool 12 miles N.N.E. of Stockton-on-Tees. The principal buildings of Hartlepool are the parish church, in the Early English style, dedicated to St Hilda; the borough hall in the Italian style, erected in 1866, behind which there is a large market; the Durham militia artillery depot, erected in 1861; the temperance hall, the mechanics' institute, and the theatre. New schools for boys, girls, and infants have been erected by the school board; and Prissick's schools, founded in 1826, have been constituted elementary schools under the Education Act of 1870. Among the other schools are Crook's endowed school, founded in 1755, and the school in connexion with Henry Smith's charity. The town was originally surrounded by walls, of which considerable remains may yet be seen. It is well supplied with water. The principal buildings of West Hartlepool are the athenaeum, the town- hall, the exchange, in the Gothic style, erected in 1875 at a cost of £10,000, the mechanics' institute, and the theatre. A Government school of art was established in 1874. The manufactures of the two towns are much alike: they possess iron-works, puddling furnaces, brass and iron foundries, engine and boiler works, sawmills, cement works, tile works, and breweries. With the addition of the new docks, completed in 1879, the dock area between the towns is 86 acres. Considerable difficulty has been found in maintaining a sufficient depth of water at the harbour bar of Hartlepool, and although the use of a powerful dredge has been so far effectual, it is probable that the only adequate remedy will be the extention of the breakwater. A large lighthouse for guiding the entrance of vessels was erected in 1846-47 at a cost of nearly £6000. In the shipping returns Hartlepool and West Hartlepool are classed together as one port; in 1878 the number of vessels that entered the port, including those in ballast, was 4640 with a tonnage of 885,762; the number that cleared 4662, with a tonnage of 992,370. For the five years ending 1878 the average number of vessels that entered was 5371, with a tonnage of 975,039, while 5447 cleared, with a tonnage of 1,005,740. The principal exports are coal, coke, machines, and cotton, linen, and woollen goods, and the principal imports, timber, cattle, corn, provisions, and wool. The fisheries are considerable. The town is much resorted to in summer for sea-bathing. Several caverns, which may be explored for nearly fifty yards, have been excavated by the sea out of the rocks on the shores of the peninsula. The parliamentary borough of the Hartlepools has an area of 7267 acres, and besides Hartlepool includes Stranton (in which parish West Hartlepool is situated), Seaton Carew, and Throston. Its population in 1861 was 27,475, and in 1871 38,203. The population of the municipal borough of Hartlepool in 1861 12,245, and in 1871, 13,166; and the population of Stranton and 1861 was 13,601, and in 1871, 22,166.
The name Hartlepool means the pool or lake of Hart. The town grew up around a monastery which had St Hilda as its abbess, and the harbour was of some consequence as early as 1171. In the 13th century Hartlepool belonged to the Bruces's of Annandale in Scotland, the progenitors of the royal family of that name. The town was erected into a borough about 1200. After Bruce ascended to the Scottish throne his English possessions were forfeited, and Hartlepool was granted to the Cliffords. It suffered severely from the Scots in 1312, and again in 1315 after the battle of Bannockburn. During the great northern rebellion in the reign of Elizabeth it was seized by the insurgents. In 1644 it was taken by the Scottish army, and it remained in the possession of Scotland until 1647. West Hartlepool was founded in 1844 by Mr R.W. Jackson, the first M.P. for the borough of the Hartlepools. Its first dock was constructed in 1847, after which it increased with great rapidity. [9th edition, vol.11 (1880), p.497-8.]
Hartlepool (sometimes called East Hartlepool) and West Hartlepool, twin seaports on the coast of Durham, England, the latter 12 miles, the former 15 miles, north-east from Stockton-on-Tees. The harbour, which embraces two tidal basins and six docks aggregating 83½ acres, in addition to timber docks of 57 acres, covers altogether 350 acres, and stretches between the two Hartlepools. The depth of the water on the dock sills varies from 17½ feet at neap tides to 25 feet at spring tides. A breakwater three-quarters of a mile long protects the entrance to the harbour. Officially the two Hartlepools are considered as one port. They carry on an important trade in the export of coal, ships, machinery, iron and other metallic ores, woollens and cottons, and in the import of timber, sugar, iron and copper ores, and eggs. The exports increased from a total value of £624,531 in 1896 to £1,491,346 in 1900, and the imports from £1,630,486 to £2,004,481 in the same two years. Timber makes up 59 per cent. of the imports, and coal and ships each about 30 per cent. of the exports. The foreign trade employs about 800 vessels of 411,600 tons cleared annually, and the coasting trade some 1550 vessels of 530,700 tons. The port owns about 260 vessels of 380,000 tons, and a small fishing fleet. The principal industries are ship- building (iron), boiler and engineering works, iron and brass foundries, steam saw and planing mills, flour-mills, paper and paint factories, and soapworks. There are five graving docks, admitting vessels of 550 feet length and 10 to 21 feet draught. In 1889 a promenade, 3/4 mile long, was made from the Heugh lighthouse to Throston. In East Hartlepool there are a new chapel of ease (St Andrew's) to the parish church, and a new United Presbyterian church; and in addition a Roman Catholic church and half-a-dozen Nonconformist chapels. The area of the municipal borough is 552 acres, and its population (1891) 21,288, and (1901) 22,737.
WEST HARTLEPOOL, which is of quite modern growth, but now the larger, was only incorporated in 1887. Its municipal area is 2454 acres, and its population (1891) 42,815, and (1901) 62,614. The municipal area embraces the three townships of Seaton Carew, Stranton, and Throston. There are several new churches, e.g., St Aidan's and St Paul's, both in the Early English style, the Roman Catholic church (1893-4), the Swedish church, and the Presbyterian church; and conspicuous amongst the older sacred edifices are Christ Church, in the Gothic style, and St James's, Early Decorated. There are, further, several Nonconformist chapels. Stranton parish church dates from the middle of the 14th century, but was restored in 1889. The more important of the recent secular buildings are the municipal offices (1889), the free public library (1895), the technical institute and public hall (1896), and the market hall (rebuilt). The town possesses three clubs, three theatres, and the Ward- Jackson Memorial Park, opened in 1883. [10th edition, vol.29 (1902), p.229.]
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Hebburn, a town and railway station in the Jarrow parliamentary division of county Durham, England, on the Tyne, 4 miles east-north-east of Gateshead. The churches are - three Established, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Methodist (various). There are also a mechanics' institute, a drill-hall, and a theatre. It has extensive shipbuilding and engineering works, rope and sail factories, and chemical, colour, and cement works. Area of urban district, 1180 acres. Population (1881), 11,802; (1901), 20,901. [10th edition, vol.29 (1902), p.246.]
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Houghton-le-Spring, a township in the Houghton-le-Spring parliamentary division of county Durham, England, 6 miles north-east of Durham city. St Michael's church is ancient, of Early English and Decorated styles, and has been recently restored. St Andrew's, built in 1876, was enlarged in 1883. There are also a Roman Catholic and various Nonconformist chapels. Bernard Gilpin, "the Apostle of the North," was rector of this parish from 1556 to 1583, and the founder of the grammar-school. There are almshouses, church institutes, and a town-hall and market-place. The Durham to Sunderland main road here passes through a romantic limestone rock cutting 80 feet deep. The district affords frequent evidence of ice activity in the Glacial Period. The town is the radiating centre of a large projected scheme of electrical tramways. The population is mainly dependent on the neighbouring collieries, but limestone quarrying is carried on to some extent. Area of township (an urban district), 1551 acres. Population (1881), 6041, (1901), 7858. [10th edition, vol.29 (1902), p.342.]
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JARROW-ON-TYNE, a town and municipal burgh of Durham, is situated on the south bank of the Tyne, 3 miles south-west by west of South Shields, and 7 miles south -east of Newcastle, with which it is connected by rail. The parish church of St Paul, rebuilt in 1783 and again in 1866, still retains some fragments of the original Saxon edifice founded about 685. Close by are the scattered ruins of the monatery begun by the pious Biscop in 681, and consecrated with the church by Ceolfrid in 685. Within the walls of this monastery the Venerable Bede spent his life from childhood; and his body was at first buried within the church, whither, until it was removed under Edward the Confessor to Durham, it attracted many pilgrims. The other chief buildings are the various chapels and mechanics' institute, and the hospital. Jarrow Slake is a river bay, 1 mile long by ½ mile broad, in which it is said the fleet of King Egfrid found a station. On its banks are the new Tyne docks, formed at great expense by the North-Eastern Railway Company. These with the quays and adjacencies cover about 300 acres, of which 50 are water surface with a tidal basin of 10 acres. The erection of the docks gave a great impetus to the trade of Jarrow. In 1877, 4,000,000 tons of coal were shipped thence. Iron shipbuilding (one yard employing 5000 hands), iron- founding, and the manufacture of paper and chemicals are the chief sources of wealth, in addition to coal mining. In 1875 Jarrow was constituted a municipal borough, with an extent of 851 acres. The population in 1881 [sic] was 25,296. Previous to 1875 Jarrow had been a local board district; this had a population in 1871 of 18,115. [9th edition, vol.13 (1880), pp.593-4.]
JARROW-ON-TYNE, a municipal borough (1875, extended 1884) in the Jarrow parliamentary division of County Durham, England, 6 miles east of Gateshead by rail. St Peter's Church was erected in 1881, and a chapel of ease in 1885, besides a mission church and Roman Catholic, Congregational, Baptist, Presbyterian, Wesleyan, and other places of worship. The area of the borough is 1064 acres. Population (1881), 25,483; (1902), 34,294. [10th edition, vol.29 (1902), p.734.]
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Seaham Harbour, a parish, urban district (1894), and seaport town of Durham, England, in the South-Eastern parliamentary division of the county, 6 miles south of Sunderland by rail. Besides the coal trade there are extensive bottle works, and electrozone works. The population of the urban district was in 1891 9044; and in 1901, 10,163. [10th edition, vol.32 (1902), p.487.]
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Shildon, a parish, urban district, and market-town of Durham, England, in the Bishop Auckland parliamentary division of the county, 9 miles west from Darlington by rail. At New Shildon (or East Thickley), a neighbouring village, are extensive railway engine and waggon works belonging to the North-Eastern Railway Company. The population of the urban district (Shildon and East Thickley) was in 1891, 9537; and 1901, 11,759. [10th edition, vol.32 (1902), p.539.]
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SOUTH SHIELDS, a seaport, market-town, and municipal and parliamentary borough of Durham, is situated on the south bank of the Tyne, at its mouth, immediately opposite North Shields and Tynemouth, and on the North- Eastern Railway, 18 miles noert-east of Durham and 9 miles east of Newcastle-on-Tyne. It is connected with North Shields and Tynemouth by steam ferries. The town possesses a spacious market-place, and some of the newer streets are wide and handsome, but the old street running along the shore is narrow and mean. Formerly salt was largely manufactured, but the principal industries now are the manufacture of glass and chemicals, and shipbuilding and ship refitting and repairing, for which there are docks capable of receiving the largest vessels. The North-Eastern Railway Company possesses extensive docks, and the port has a large trade in coal; but, owing to the fact that in the shipping returns of the United Kingdom it is included under the general title "Tyne Ports," it is impossible to give an accurate statement regarding the number and tonnage of vessels. The number of fishing vessels connected with the port in 1884 was 15, of 204 tons and employing 98 men. At the mouth of the Tyne there is a pier about a mile in length. A townsman of South Shields, William Wouldhave, was the inventor of the lifeboat, and the first lifeboat was built there by Henry Greathead, and first used in a storm in 1789. The principal public buildings are the church of St Hilda, with a picturesque old tower; the town-hall in the market-place; the exchange; the custom-house; the merchantile marine offices; the public library and museum, which includes a large hall for public meetings and a school science in connexion with South Kensington; the high school, the grammar school, the marine school, the master- mariners' asylum, the Ingham infirmary, and the union workhouse. There is a pleasant marine park near the pier. On elevated ground near the harbour are the remains of a Roman station, where numerous coins, portions of an altar, and several sculptured memorial stones have been dug up. The site of the old station was afterwards occupied by a fort of considerable strength, which was captured by the Scots under Colonel Stewart 20th March 1644. The town was founded by the convent of Durham about the middle of the 13th century, but on account of the complaints of the burgesses of Newcastle an order was made in the 43d year of Henry III, stipulating that no ships should be laden or unladen at Shields, and that no "shoars" or quays should be built there. This early check seems to have been long injurious to its prosperity, for until the present century it was little more than a fishing station. It received a charter of incorporation in 1850, and is divided into three wards, governed by a mayor, eight aldermen, and twenty-four councillors. In 1832 it received the privilege of returning a member to Parliament. The corporation act as the urban sanitary authority, and the town has a specially good water supply from reservoirs at Cleadon. The population of the municipal and parliamentary borough (area 1839 acres) was 45,336 in 1871, and in 1881 it was 56,875. [9th edition, vol.21 (1886), pp.802-3.]
South Shields, a seaport, county, municipal and parliamentary borough, and railway station, Durham, England, in the Jarrow parliamentary division of the county, on the south bank of the Tyne, at its mouth, with stations on the North-Eastern Railway. The Tyne dock has a water area of 50 acres, the tidal basin of 10 acres, and the quays and yards cover about 300 acres. In 1895 the construction of a new deep-water entrance was completed. Police buildings, erected at a cost of £22,000, were opened in 1893. Population (1891), 78,391; (1901), 97,267. [10th edition, vol.32 (1902), p.538.]
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SPENNYMOOR, a market-town of Durham, England, is situated on the Ferryhill and Bishop Auckland branch of the North-Eastern Railway, 3½ miles north-west of Ferryhill and 6 miles south of Durham by road. Within recent years it has increased with great rapidity owing to the production of coal and iron, and in 1865 it was formed into a market-town under a local board of health. It possesses a town-hall, a mechanics' institute and reading room, and two market halls. A school board was formed in 1875. The population of the urban sanitary district (area 176 acres) in 1871 was 4627, and in 1881 it was 5917. [9th edition, vol.22 (1887), p.392.]
Spennymoor, a market-town and railway station, Durham, England, in the Bishop Auckland parliamentary division of the county, 6 miles south of Durham. Victoria Park, 10 acres in extent, was opened in 1889. In 1894 the urban district was extended (16,300 acres) to include several neighbouring parishes. Population (1891), 16,353; (1901), 16,661. [10th edition, vol.32 (1902), p.788.]
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STOCKTON-ON-TEES, a market-town and municipal and parliamentary borough and seaport of Durham, on the borders of the North Riding of Yorkshire, into which the parliamentary borough extends, is situated on the Tees, which is crossed by an iron bridge (completed in 1887 at a cost of over £80,000, to supercede the stone bridge of 1769) leading to South Stockton and Darlington and the Sunderland and West Hartlepool branches of the North-Eastern Railway, 20 miles south-south-east of Durham, and 4 miles west-south-west of Middlesborough. The principal street is about a mile in length. Of the ancient castle commanding the Tees, which was destroyed in 1652, the last remains were removed in 1865. Among the principal public buildings are the town-hall, with a clock-tower and spire, the borough hall (erected in 1852 at a cost of £32,000), the freemasons' hall, the temperance hall, the theatre, the exchange hall, the literary institute, the hospital, the dispensary, the free library, and the blue-coat school. Stockton is a seaport of considerable importance. The management of the Tees, vested in 1808 in the Tees Navigation Company, was in 1852 vested in the Tees Conservancy Commissioners, incorporated by Act of Parliament, under whose auspices the river has been greatly improved. The trade of the port is chiefly with Holland and the ports of the Baltic, and there is a considerable coasting trade with the Tyne ports and with Hull and London. Its chief exports are iron manufactures, coal, coke, and agricultural produce, the average annual value for the five years 1880-84 being about £72,000. The principal imports are timber, iron, grain and provisions, the average annual value for the five years 1880-84 being about £240,000. In 1885 the number of vessels that entered the port was 649, of 149,628 tons, the number that cleared 700, of 175,647 tons. The rapid increase of the town within the last quarter of a century is largely owing to the development of the iron and steel trade in the district. There are extensive steel works, blast-furnaces, iron and brass foundries, and rolling-mills, and iron-shipbuilding is also an important industry. There are also sailcloth works, potteries, breweries, and brick and tile works. The population of the municipal borough (area 1189 acres) in 1871 was 27,738, and in 1881 it was 41,015. The population of the parliamentary borough (area 7157 acres) in the same years was 37,612 and 55,457. The parliamentary borough includes the suburb of South Stockton on the opposite side of the river, forming a separate urban sanitary district (area 1052 acres), with a population in 1871 of 6794 and in 1881 of 10,665. It has a temperance hall, a mechanics' institute, and a national school, and its manufactures are similar to those of Stockton.
The place is of great antiquity, and is supposed to have been occupied by the Romans. Before the Conquest the manor belonged to the see of Durham. It was probably first incorporated by Bishop Hugh de Pudsey, who in the reign of Richard I. occupied the castle. The castle, which for a long time was the residence of the bishops, stood on the north bank of the Tees. The town was destroyed by the Scots in 1322, but the castle seems to have escaped. During the Civil War it was garrisoned for the king, but was afterwards delivered up to the Parliamentary party, and in 1645 was held by the Scots. The town suffered severely from inundations of the Tees in 1771, 1783, and 1822. Though Stockton was placed under the Municipal Act of 1835, it remained divided into two parts, the one called the "borough," where the land was freehold, governed by the corporation, and the other called the "town," where the land was copyhold or leasehold, held under the vicar and vestrymen, and outside the corporate jurisdiction. To remedy this state of matters an "Extention and Improvement Act" was passed in 1852. The town was enfranchised in 1867, and returns one member. [9th edition, vol.22 (1887), p.561.]
Stockton-on-Tees, a municipal and parliamentary borough, seaport, and market-town of Durham, England, 20 miles south-south-east of Durham by rail. The iron bridge which spans the Tees and connects the town with Thornaby was erected at a cost of about £65,000. The corporation baths and wash-houses have been reconstructed. The improvement of the port of Stockton has cost over £200,000, of which the Government has advanced £80,000 on loan to the commissioners. The construction of the North Gare breakwater on the Durham side has been in progress about ten years. Vessels drawing 20 feet come up to the town at high-water spring tides. In 1901, 571 vessels entered with 208,131 tons, and 618 cleared with 231,048 tons. The registered shipping consisted of 30 vessels of 22,164 tons. In 1900 the total value of imports was £280,371, and of exports, £435,439. There is a well-known racecourse in the vicinity of the town. Ropner Park was opened in 1893. The population of the municipal borough was in 1891, 49,708; in 1901, 51,476: of the parliamentary borough (which includes Thornaby) in 1891, 68,875; in 1901, 71,812. [10th edition, vol.32 (1902), p.867.]
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SUNDERLAND, a municipal and parliamentary borough, market-town, and large seaport of Durham, England, is situated at the mouth of the river Wear on on the North-Eastern Railway, 12 miles south-east of Newcastle- on-Tyne and 77 north-north-west of York. The municipal borough includes, besides the township of Sunderland proper on the south bank of the river, the adjoining township of Bishopwearmouth, which embraces about three-fifths of the total inhabitants, and the township of Monkwearmouth, on the north bank of the river. Sunderland proper consists of the High Street and other streets near the docks. It is connected with Monkwearmouth by a cast-iron bridge, designed by Rowland Burdon, and consisting of one arch with a span of 236 feet and a height above low water of 100 feet. It was opened in 1796 and widened in 1858. The only ecclesiastical building of antiquarian interest is St Peter's church, Monkwearmouth, which still retains the tower with other portions of the ancient Saxon building attached to the monastery founded by Benedict Biscop in 674. The modern public buildings embrace the custom-house (1837), the Sunderland and North Durham Liberal club in the Ionic style (1839), the corporation offices, the workmens' hall, the new genera lmarket, the Victoria hall (1871), the assembly hall, and two theatres. The charitable and benevolent institutions are numerous, including Gibson's almshouses (1725) for twelve persons, Bowe almshouses (1725), Trinity Church almshouses (1719, rebuilt in 1876) for eight aged poor, the marine almshouses (1820), the eye infirmary (1836), the sailors' home (1856), the orphan asylum (1853), the infirmary and dispensary (erected in 1868 and extended in 1882), and the blind institute, for which a new building has recently been erected. For the literary society and subscription library, originally founded in 1793, a new building was erected in 1877. The people's park at Bishopwearmouth, 17 acres in extent, contains a bronze statue of Sir Henry Havelock, who was born at Ford Hall in the neighbourhood. The park was lately increased by an addition of 10 acres, called the Extension Park, in which there is a statue of Alderman Candlish, and a free library, museum, art gallery, and winter garden. Roker, on the north side of Sunderland, is a favourite bathing-place. The population of the municipal borough (area, 3306 acres) in 1871 was 98,242, and in 1881 it was 116,542 (maels 57,131, females 69,411). The population of the parliamentary borough (area, 5130 acres) in the same years was 104,409 and 124,841 respectively.
Much of the prosperity of Sunderland is due to the coal and limestone in the neighbourhood of the river Wear, of which it is the port. Its export of coal began in the reign of Henry VII., the trade being principally with London and the western coasts of England, although large quantities were also shipped to Holland, France, and other parts of the Continent. The coal trade is still of great importance, and the Monkwearmouth colliery is one of the deepest coal-pits in the world,- 381 fathoms. Sunderland vies with the Clyde for iron shipbuilding. The number of iron ships built in 1885 was 31 with a tonnage of 30,520 for home and 2 with a tonnage of 1255 for foreigners; of steel ships, 9 with a tonnage of 8099 for home and 3 with a tonnage of 3635 for foreigners. Along both banks of the Wear numerous extensive works of various kinds are situated, including anchor and chain cable works, paper-mills, breweries, and lime-kilns. The modern prosperity of the town has been largely promoted by the enterprise of George Hudson, the "railway king." The conservation of the port is vested in the Wear commissioners, to whose care the South Dock was transferred by the Wear Navigation and Sunderland Dock Act of 1859. Under their auspices great extensions and improvements have been made, and there are now three large deep-water docks, embracing a total area of 43 acres, viz., Hudson dock north (18), Hudson dock south (14), and Hendon dock (11). Monkwearmouth dock, 6 acres in extent and the property of the railway company, is chiefly used for the export of coal. New piers over half a mile in length are now (1887) being erected. The average annual value of the imports of foreign and colonial merchandise for the five years ending 1886 was a little over £700,000, and of the exports of produce of the United Kingdom a little over £600,000. The coasting trade, in regard to which specific details are wanting, is however, more important. The total number of British and foreign vessels, sailing and steam, that entered the port of Sunderland with cargoes or in ballast from froeign countries, British possessions, and coastwise in 1876 was 9708 of 2,329,576 tons and in 1885 9451 of 2,764,174 tons. The number that cleared in the same years were respectively 9430 of 2,357,430 tons and 9419 of 2,824,218 tons.
The early history of the borough is associated with Monkwearmouth, which existed long before the town on the other side of the river, and had its origin in a convent which was founded by St Bega in the 7th century and converted into a monastery for Benedictines by Biscop in 674. Bede was born at Wearmouth in 673, and in his seventh year was placed under the charge of Biscop. The monastery was reconstituted as a cell of Durham in 1084. About the close of the 12th century the inhabitants of Sunderland received from Bishop Pudsey a charter of free customs and privileges similar to those of Newcastle-on-Tyne. In 1634 the town was incorporated under the title of "mayor, aldermen, and commonalty," with the privilege of holding a market and annual fairs. In the preamble of the charter it is stated to have been a borough from time immemorial under the name of New Monkwearmouth, and to have been in the enjoyment of various liberties and free customs conferred by the bishops of Durham. Under a special Act in 1851 the town council was constituted the urban sanitary authority. Extensive drainage works have been carried out, as well as important street improvements. Sunderland has returned two members to the House of Commons since 1832. A large number of Scotch families settled in the town in 1640, and gave a considerable impulse to its trade. During the Civil War the inhabitants embraced the cause of the Parliament, while the neighbouring Newcastle held out for the king for two years. The Scottish army under Leslie, earl of Leven, entered Sunderland on 4th March 1644, and the king's forces followed them; but no engagement took place beyond desultory firing. [9th edition, vol.22 (1887), p.657.]
Sunderland, a seaport and municipal (extended 1895), county (1888), and parliamentary borough, Durham county, England, at the mouth of the Wear, 269 miles north by west of London by rail. Recent buildings include the town hall, the museum and library, and other public institutions. Electric lighting is supplied by the corporation, which also owns a system of electric tramways. Two new piers, 2790 and 2844 feet long respectively, have been built, so as to form a harbour about 150 acres in area. There are two other piers at the south entrance to the south dock. The docks already opened accomodate many hundreds of vessels, and an undertaking is in hand to make the port adequate to the entry and exit of vessels of any size at any time. Besides the other docks, there are two graving docks respectively 441 and 356 feet long. There are over a dozen shipbuilding yards. A large park at Roker and two smaller parks have been opened. In 1891, 6336 persons were employed in shipbuilding, 2057 in iron and steel maunfactures, 2580 in the making of machines, and 1225 in mining. There are four daily newspapers. At this port 318 vessels of 229,081 tons were registed in 1888; in 1898, 252 of 266,211 tons. Vessels entered in 1888, 8473 of 2,719,256 tons; cleared 8376 of 2,772,837 tons; in 1900, entered 6377 of 2,453,883 tons; cleared 6487 of 2,559,025 tons. The value of imports in 1900 was £695,350, against £583,561 in 1888. The value of exports in 1900 was £2,320,200, against £583,561 in 1888. Area of municipal and county borough in 1891, 2868 acres; population in 1881, 116,526; in 1891, 131,015. The extended area (3739 acres) is coextensive with that of the newly-constituted parish of Sunderland, which includes the old parishes of Sunderland, Bishopwearmouth Panns, and almost the entire part of Bishopwearmouth on the south bank of the river; also Monkwearmouth and Monwearmouth Shore on its north bank. The population of this area in 1891 was 131,686; in 1901, 146,565. [10th edition, vol.33 (1902), p.67.]
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