1891 - Coulson - South Shields - *The house, not the people*

[Ruskie]

Construction around 1872 it is then (at least for some of the houses). 

[stanmapstone]

In the 1871 census the houses already built were 1-26 John Street, 1-42 Charles Street, and 1-22 Tennant Street.

Stan

[dtcoulson]

Thanks Stan. I've gotta read more of that newspaper story from 1872!

Have been rewriting my description of the crowded house today, in light of some of the discussion so far.

Cheers all!

-DC

[dtcoulson]

Just a passing thought, about the empty streets in all the photographs of Hebburn.

As I drive around my home city, I see crowds in the city centre, crowds in the market streets but virtually no-one in the suburbs except the rare gardener in the front yard or the person walking his dog. Maybe it was like this in the housing districts of 1891. Hebburn Newtown served primarily as a dormitory for workers in the local big industries - Tharsis and the collieries. Therefore you wouldn't expect much pedestrian traffic there except at the end of a work shift.

Maybe the wide streets were designed to stop the spread of fire?

-DC

[stanmapstone]

Britain from Above has this aerial photo,
Hebburn New Town, the Reyrolle Electrical Engineering Works and environs, Hebburn, 1950.
https://britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW033926

If you register you can go full screen and zoom right in. It shows the west end of Tennant Street, and you can see the streets are virtually empty, and the houses were of different types.

Stan

[stanmapstone]

This is one site.
I think Ruskie has posted the correct one so the photos would also seem right - taken from Rose Street.
http://www.oldtyneside.co.uk/page%20360/P415%20008.jpg

This is a completely different street. If you compare the buildings with those shown on https://britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW033926 you can see the shops at the corner of Rose Street, and they are not the same.

Stan

[dtcoulson]

Just looked at the photos.
The streets are laid out in such an orderly way it resembles a military barracks or a POW camp! I was expecting to see a really old, run down and decrepit neighbourhood but this looks very modern and well planned.

Checked some newspaper articles. In the 1870s they seem to be business adverts and notices of houses for rent, plus some evening classes in science and history. In the 1890s, predominantly arrests for drunk and disorderly conduct, and a few strikes.

-DC

[dtcoulson]

So we are looking at a very tidy Tennant Street in Hebburn New Town whereas you think we should be looking at Tennant Street in Jarrow? To be honest I am unsure which of these two districts we should be looking at. I think we'd have to go back to the census form and see what streets the enumerator passed through on his way to Tennant Street.

How does Jarrow compare to Hebburn in terms of housing conditions?

-DC

[dtcoulson]

I just remembered that my ancestors worked at the Tharsis Sulphur & Copper Plant in 1911. It makes sense therefore that they should be living in this nearest Tennant Street.

-DC