Marriage Wallace/Rendles

[Michael Dixon]

 Patricia,

Are you thinking of the River Tyne of deep well-dredged river, as it is today ? In early times the river was not always " full" and was fordable at several places. There were also many formal ferry sites and also dozens of little boats criss-crossing the river, carrying goods and folk, doing errands etc.

South Shields got it's first RC church in 1840s. But before that catholics could travel to churches in Gateshead or Sunderland. Many chose to cross the Tyne to use St Cuthbert's at North Shields !

But if they crossed the Tyne to marry in Jarrow, I think she would have probably got the bottom of her wedding frock wet.

It is interesting to see that St Pauls was not on the south shore of the Tyne, but was a wee bit south of that, adjacent to The River Don, a small tributary of the Tyne. I do not know whether they could have sailed, rowed or whatever, directly to St Paul's. 

But perhaps they were living in Jarrow by then, and did not need to cross the Tyne ?

Michael- kite-flying

[patren]

Thanks Michael,
I loved the bit about getting her wedding frock wet.  My son asked what I was laughing at, but being Italian he has no sense of northern humour.
We used to go over to South Shields market nearly every Saturday on the old Shields ferry  and bring crabs claws back for tea.  We also used to "nip" through to St.Cuthburts from Whitley Bay on a Good Friday because the service was much shorter than that of St.Edward's.
I think you are probably right that they were already living in Jarrow.
Patricia