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79-543: Coal began to be exported from the River Tyne from the mid-thirteenth century onwards. The first recorded shipment of coal from the River Wear was in 1396. The pits from which coal was then exported were near the riverside so that as little effort as possible was required to load it. The coal was carried to London and elsewhere in colliers; small wooden sailing ships that sailed down the east coast. At this time neither

158-717: A bonny bad job, but it cannot be helped ". The second half of the nineteenth century was a time of rapid industrial growth on Tyneside and Wearside, so that the keelmen would be readily absorbed within other industries. They are now just a distant memory with little to remind us of them, apart from the Keelmen's Hospital, which still stands in Newcastle, and the well-known local songs " The Keel Row " and " Cushie Butterfield ." 4. "Ships, Strikes and Keelmen", David Bell, Pub. TUPS Books, 2001, ISBN   1-901237-26-5 River Tyne The River Tyne / ˈ t aɪ n /

237-586: A constant level. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, the coal deposits fell into private hands and the restrictions on output disappeared. The yearly rate of extraction increased from approximately 15,000 tons prior to the Reformation, to 162,000 in 1603, to 239,000 in 1609 and to 425,000 in 1634, nearly all for export from the Tyne. Coal was exported to London and other parts of England, but also to Holland , France and Flanders . Coal became by far

316-429: A distinctive blue coat or short blue jacket: this was accompanied by a flat-brimmed black hat, yellow waistcoat and white shirt, and legwear described as either slate-grey trousers or blue stockings and flannel breeches. In the 18th century keelmen were identifiable by the blue bonnet many of them wore at work, later replaced by a sou'wester . In the 1840s they were described as wearing " a peculiar costume, consisting of

395-576: A grass court. One matter of contention relating to the hospital was that the funds for its maintenance were kept in the control of the Hostmen, lest they be used as a strike fund by the keelmen. The hospital building still remains in City Road, Newcastle, and was used for student accommodation until recently. The building is now on the Heritage at Risk register. It has stood vacant since the closure of

474-415: A large jacket, or rather doublet, with loose breeches, made very wide at the knee, and not descending further ". The trade of keelmen tended to be passed on from father to son, the son working as an apprentice on a keel until considered old enough and strong enough to be a crewman. Most men were unfit to continue the physically very demanding work into their forties. By 1700 there were 1,600 keelmen working on

553-485: A large oar, handled by all the crew except the skipper; they had no rudder and were steered by a second oar or "swape" over the stern. The crew worked with the flow of the river tides where practicable. Later the oars were supplemented by a mast with a square sail attached to a yard, and latterly with a large spritsail and staysail , though the oars were still used to row when the wind was not favourable. There were also two eighteen-foot, iron-shod poles ("puoys") for polling

632-478: A major symbol in the regional identity of the North East of England, the river plays host to a plethora of different species, the number of which is growing year on year in line with the rivers improving health. The trail looks to capture the imagination of residents and tourists visiting the area – providing them with the ultimate 'fact finding' design experience, which celebrates the salmon's migratory journey in

711-445: A near total monopoly of the production of coal. This move was aided in 1583 when Queen Elizabeth leased the ex-palatinate mines of Gateshead and Whickham to two Newcastle merchants, Henry Anderson and William Selby, who in turn apportioned them to the leading Hostmen. This became known as the "Grand Lease", and the Hostmen came to be known as the "Lords of Coal", as they now controlled both production and export of this commodity. In 1590

790-444: A new development began to be used on the Tyne. New pits were being sunk further and further away from the river and coal was being brought to the riverbank via wagon ways. Once there, in places accessible by colliers, coal staiths were built to allow coal to be dropped directly into the holds of the colliers without the need for keels. The staiths were short piers that projected out over the river and allowed coal wagons to run on rails to

869-647: A new harbour was opened at Seaham , further down the Durham coast. This diverted much of the Durham coal away from Sunderland and further threatened the existence of the Wearside keelmen. In 1837 a North Dock was completed at the mouth of the Wear to load colliers and in 1850 a huge South Dock was completed with room for 250 vessels. These loading facilities made keels unnecessary except for inaccessible pits far up river. On

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948-515: A ten-week strike by the keelmen of both Tyne and Wear against the use of coal staiths, the keel owners installed one of the newly developed steam locomotives in a keel equipped with paddle wheels. The keel was not only able to propel itself, but was able to tow a string of other keels behind it. By 1830, Marshall's shipyard in South Shields had begun to manufacture steam tugs, for the Tyne and for further afield. This development did not threaten

1027-420: A time colliers were constructed in such a manner as to make it easier to load coal into them. After loading the keelmen would return for another load if there was daytime left and tides allowed. They were paid by the "tide"; i.e. by each trip between the ship and the staith, irrespective of distance. By the mid 19th century the usual fee was one guinea , including loading, which the keel's owner would split amongst

1106-476: A time of crisis, the Tyne Regulating Officer captured 53 keelmen with the intention of impressing them into the navy despite their exemption. In retaliation, their wives took up whatever was handy (shovels, pans, rolling pins) and marched to North Shields intent on using any means to rescue their men, whilst the rest of the keelmen went on strike until the captured men were released. A compromise

1185-761: Is a river in North East England . Its length (excluding tributaries) is 73 miles (118 km). It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'. The Tyne Rivers Trust measure the whole Tyne catchment as 2,936 km (1,134 square miles), containing 4,399 km (2,733 miles) of waterways. The Ordnance Survey records 'the source of

1264-407: Is a community-based organisation that works to improve habitat , promote better understanding of the Tyne catchment area and build the reputation of the Tyne catchment as a place of environmental excellence. With its proximity to surrounding coalfields , the Tyne was a major route for the export of coal from the 13th century until the decline of the coal mining industry in North East England in

1343-736: The Hostmen's Company of Newcastle , is a company incorporated by royal charter of 22 March 1599/1600. Analogous to a livery company of the City of London , it still exists. It is best known to economic historians as a cartel of businessmen who formed a monopoly to control the export of coal from the River Tyne in North East England . They were so known from the medieval practice of "hosting", whereby local businessmen provided visiting merchants with accommodation and introduced them to local traders. The Hostmen acted as middlemen with whom

1422-744: The North Tyne river' at grid reference NY 605974 at Deadwater, a few tens of metres short of the Scottish border. It flows southeast through the village of Kielder before entering first Bakethin Reservoir and then Kielder Water , both set within Kielder Forest . It then passes by the village of Bellingham before the River Rede enters as a left-bank tributary at Redesmouth . It passes Hadrian's Wall near Chollerford before joining

1501-472: The River Wear Commission . Building was started on a south pier at the river mouth in 1723 and continued for many years. A north pier was completed in 1797. The piers were intended to improve the flow of water and prevent the river from silting up. The river was dredged in 1749 to improve access, but the use of keels continued undiminished until the introduction of coal staiths in 1813. In 1831

1580-597: The Company of Hostmen. The Commons in 1621 included the Newcastle Hostmen in a list of monopolists who should have their privileges revoked, but the Statute of Monopolies ( 21 Jas. 1 . c. 3) specifically exempted them. Nor to the liberties of Newcastle-upon-Type, nor to licences of keeping taverns; In 1637 Charles I , in an attempt to raise revenue, doubled the tax on Tyneside coal in return for allowing

1659-584: The Hostmen to regulate production and set the price of the coal. The London coal importers and the East Anglian ship-owners were outraged and resolved to boycott Tyneside coal. As a result, the price of coal rose and the royal revenues dropped. Charles was forced to cancel the Hostmen's monopoly. When the Scots rose in 1639 against Charles' introduction of the English Prayer Book into Scotland,

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1738-474: The Hostmen, the right to elect the mayor and burgesses of the town. In 1600, 240,000 tons of coal were shipped from the Tyne, 20 times more than the tonnage produced by the Durham coal industry and shipped from the River Wear . The tightly knit Hostmen, with their cartel and control of the Tyne, now controlled the coal production business. They had capital and economies of scale on their side. Few local coal entrepreneurs could survive if they were not members of

1817-579: The King regarding North Shields and succeeded in suspending the export of coal, as well as other trade, from the new settlement. Henceforth, North Shields remained solely as a fishing port. In 1350 Edward III granted a licence to the Newcastle burgesses to excavate coal from Forth Banks and the Town Moor area. From 1446, shipments of coal from North Shields were permitted, but in 1530 a royal act confined all shipments of coal to Newcastle quayside, thereby giving

1896-576: The Mouth of the Tyne in the summer 2008 before starting their long journey back to their birthplace. For three days, from 18 to 20 July 2008, a temporary bamboo artwork was installed over the Tyne close to the Gateshead Millennium Bridge . The Bambuco Bridge was created as part of that year's 'SummerTyne' festival. Hostmen of Newcastle upon Tyne The Incorporated Company of Hostmen of Newcastle upon Tyne , often called

1975-546: The Newcastle Hostmen feared their becoming too powerful. The Wearside keelmen were finally incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1792. The Tyneside keelmen lived in the Sandgate area, outside the city walls, one of the poorest and most overcrowded parts of the city, made up of many narrow alleys. John Baillie , writing in the late 18th century, said that they " live[d] almost entirely upon flesh-meat and flour, of

2054-475: The Newcastle burgesses the monopoly they desired. This reinforced a medieval monopoly granted by Henry I, which was still in place. Prior to the Reformation , most of the north-eastern coal deposits were in the hands of the monasteries . The monasteries leased out land for mining but generally set limits on the rate of extraction so as to keep the price high. This meant that the production of coal stayed at

2133-617: The Northeast of England. FINS, REFLECTION and JOURNEY were the first three cubes to be launched in December 2007 from a family of ten. Each cube is inspired by the textures, changing colours, movement and journey of the salmon. With each offering a 'modern day keepsake' to take away, in the form of a designed Bluetooth message. The other cubes will be moving along the River Tyne over one year visiting different locations from Kielder to

2212-644: The River Wear once followed the current route of the lower River Team and merged with the Tyne at Dunston . Ice diverted the course of the Wear to its current location, flowing east the course of the Tyne) and joining the North Sea at Sunderland . The River Tyne is estimated to be around 30 million years old. The conservation of the Tyne has been handled by various bodies over the past 500 years. Conservation bodies have included: Newcastle Trinity House , and

2291-639: The River Wear. Ptolemy's Tína could be a "misplaced reference" to either this river or the Tyne in East Lothian. There is a theory that * tīn was a word that meant "river" in the local Celtic language or in a language spoken in England before the Celts came: compare Tardebigge . A supposed pre-Celtic root *tei , meaning 'to melt, to flow' has also been proposed as an etymological explanation of

2370-592: The South Tyne near Warden to the northwest of Hexham. The South Tyne rises at Tyne Head on Alston Moor , Cumbria close to the sources of the Tees and the Wear . Initially it flows north through the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), enters Northumberland downstream of Alston and turns to the east as it approaches the town of Haltwhistle . Paralleling Hadrian's Wall which lies to

2449-714: The Tyne Improvement Commission. The Tyne Improvement Commission conservation lasted from 1850 until 1968. The 1850–1950 era was the worst period for pollution of the river. The Tyne Improvement Commission laid the foundations for what has become the modern day Port of Tyne. Under the management of the Tyne Improvement Commissioners, over a period of the first 70 years the Tyne was deepened from 1.83 to 9.14 m (6 feet 0 inches to 30 feet 0 inches) and had 150 million tonnes dredged from it. Inside these 70 years,

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2528-479: The Tyne and similarly named rivers, as has a Brittonic derivative of Indo-European *teihx , meaning 'to be dirty' ( Welsh tail , 'manure'). LJ Ross ' thriller Seven Bridges from the DCI Ryan series evolves around the Tyne bridges. The river is represented, and personified, in a sculpture unveiled in 1968 as part of the new Civic Centre (seat of Newcastle City Council ). Sculpted by David Wynne ,

2607-465: The Tyne and their encouragement of the Wearside merchants to make up for the subsequent shortfall in coal for London . Coal exports from the Wear increased by an enormous amount, causing a similar increase in the number of keelmen employed on the river. By time of the Restoration in 1660, trade on the Tyne had recovered, but the river was now only exporting a third more coal than the Wear. In 1699

2686-426: The Tyne in 400 keels. Not all were local: there was a significant number of Scottish keelmen who returned home in the winter when trade was slack. The Tyneside keelmen were employed by the Newcastle Hostmen and were often in dispute with their employers. They went on strike in 1709, 1710, 1740 and 1750. One grievance held by the keelmen was that the Hostmen, in order to avoid custom duties, would deliberately overload

2765-415: The Tyne nor the Wear were easily navigable for ships of significant draught. The mouth of the Tyne was obstructed by Herd Sands, Bellehues Rock and a bar that ran across the mouth of the river. Further up river a ship might run aground in various shallows and the stone bridge at Newcastle prevented colliers from reaching coal deposits further up river. Both rivers were very shallow near the banks, which made

2844-427: The Tyne river to prevent them exporting coal, cutting supplies to London. To ease this situation Parliament encouraged the export of coal from Blyth and from Wearside , but not enough coal was available from those sources to replace that shipped from Newcastle. In October 1644, Scottish troops captured Newcastle after an eight month siege, then occupied Northumberland and Durham for two years, levying taxes from

2923-413: The Tyne was 320 compared with 500 at the peak of their use. At this time, the Wear, with a smaller output of coal, employed 520 keels. Coal staiths were not introduced on the Wear until 1812, but were resisted just as strongly by the keelmen there. They rioted in 1815 in protest at coal being loaded via coal staiths. Another threat to the livelihood of the keelmen was the development of steam tugs . During

3002-428: The Tyne, three large docks were also constructed for loading coal: Northumberland Dock in 1857; Tyne Dock in 1859; Albert Edward Dock in 1884. By the mid-nineteenth century, less than a fifth of the pits on the Tyne and Wear were using keels to load coal. The introduction of coal staiths and steam tugs had already severely diminished the number of keelmen. The new docks with their efficient coal loading facilities brought

3081-508: The Tyneside keelmen went on strike against the use of staiths for loading coal. Because of the shallowness of the Tyne, the use of coal staiths did not entirely eliminate the need for keels. The amount that the staiths projected into the river was limited so as not to obstruct river traffic, so that the staiths ended in shallow water. As colliers were loaded their draught would deepen until often they were no longer able to continue loading from

3160-423: The Tyneside keelmen went on strike in protest at this 'overmeasure'. The 1750 strike was also against 'overmeasure', as well as against 'can-money', the practice of paying part of the keelmen's wages in drink that had to be consumed at 'can-houses', pubs owned by the employers. The 1750 strike also contained a late Jacobite proclamation, said to have been encouraged by an Edinburgh lawyer. The coal export trade from

3239-549: The Wear was slow to develop, but by the seventeenth century there was a thriving trade in exporting coal from the Durham coalfield via the River Wear. The tonnage however was much smaller than on the Tyne; in 1609, 11,648 tons were exported from the Wear compared with 239,000 tons exported from the Tyne. This imbalance changed dramatically during the English Civil War because of the Parliamentarian blockade of

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3318-677: The anti-royalist London merchants encouraged the invading Scots to capture Newcastle. This they did in 1640, totally disrupting the export of coal. The Scottish army remained in Newcastle for a year and charged the Corporation a regular fee for billeting its troops. When the First English Civil War began in August 1642, most of the Newcastle burgesses sided with the Royalists and in 1644 Parliamentarian forces blockaded

3397-478: The approach difficult so coal was loaded into the shallow-draught keels to transport it down river. The keels were wooden boats with a pointed stern, so that the bow and stern looked almost the same. They were of shallow draught so that when fully loaded they drew only four and a half feet. The keels were forty feet long and at least 19 feet wide amidships: a very broad configuration. They were carvel -built (smooth sided) and generally of oak, often with elm used below

3476-408: The best kinds, which their strong exertions in their employment require. " They were known by some as a close-knit group of aggressive, hard-drinking men: John Wesley , after visiting Newcastle, described them as much given to drunkenness and swearing. Baillie said that this reputation was entirely undeserved: the keelmen had a " rough " way of expressing themselves, and were loud and vociferous " from

3555-436: The bishopric of Durham. This would have allowed the Newcastle burgesses to mine for coal on Gateshead land. The plan was foiled by the death of Edward and the downfall of Dudley. The Newcastle burgesses made a similar attempt in 1576 during the reign of Elizabeth I but were opposed by the queen's privy council. Towards the end of the 16th century, the Hostmen began to buy up leases in the Tyneside coalfield until they soon had

3634-463: The boundary between Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank and the Borough of Gateshead on the south bank for 13 miles (21 km), in the course of which it flows under ten bridges. To the east of Gateshead and Newcastle, the Tyne divides Hebburn and Jarrow on the south bank from Walker and Wallsend on the north bank. The Tyne Tunnel runs under the river to link Jarrow and Wallsend. Finally

3713-420: The coal producers and those who shipped the coal to London and elsewhere were forced to deal. From the time in the mid-13th century when coal began to be exported from the River Tyne , the burgesses of Newcastle tried to gain a monopoly over its export. In 1216, King John granted Newcastle the right to elect a mayor and also to form trade guilds. These guilds sought to ensure that trade in various commodities

3792-546: The coal production increased to such an extent that non-Hostmen businessmen were drawn in. This seriously weakened the strength of the Hostmen and they would never again have such a stranglehold on the north-east coal trade. The following is a list of governors from 1600 to 1800 . In 1901 the Surtees Society published Extracts from the Records of the Company of Hostmen of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne , ed. F.W. Dendy, with

3871-763: The coal trade to pay their costs. After the Second English Civil War ended in 1648, the Royalist burgesses were replaced by Parliamentarian sympathisers who proved just as anxious to maintain Newcastle's trading monopoly as their predecessors. In 1655, Ralph Gardiner of Chirton accused the Corporation of "tyranny and oppression" after he was imprisoned for contravening the monopoly of the Bakers and Brewers Company of Newcastle by brewing in North Shields, and unsuccessfully petitioned Parliament to abolish

3950-435: The ebb tide using oars, or sail if the wind was favourable, and taken alongside the waiting collier where the crew would shovel the coal into the collier, working even after darkness. This could be arduous due to the difference in height between the keel's gunwale and the collier's deck. When keelmen struck in 1819 one of their demands was an extra shilling per keel per foot that the side of the collier exceeded five feet. After

4029-452: The end. Colliers would moor alongside the end of the staiths and, initially, the coal from the wagons was emptied down chutes into the colliers’ holds. Later, to avoid breakage of the coal, the coal wagons were lowered onto the decks of the colliers and were unloaded there. This was the beginning of the end for the keelmen and they realised the threat that the coal staiths posed. Strikes and riots resulted whenever new staiths were opened. In 1794

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4108-411: The final demise of the keels and the men who worked them. The last few keels survived until the closing years of the 19th century, though by 1889 a writer noted that though some keelmen were still carrying out coal loading, " steamboats now do the work; keels are towed to and from the ships ". " It's them steamers that's brust up the keelmen, " the last keelman in the Keelmen's Hospital said in 1897, " it's

4187-514: The keel through any shallows. The floor of the hold was only two feet below the gunwale to allow for easy loading. The coal was piled high above the top of the hold with wooden boards used to prevent the cargo from sliding. Each keel was manned by a skipper, two crewmen and a boy, known as a 'pee dee' 'P. D.' or 'paydee'. While it has been stated that the meaning of this title is unknown, it might have developed from an earlier use of 'peedee' meaning "footboy", or "groom", from Latin pede , "on foot". As

4266-399: The keelmen of Newcastle decided to build the Keelmen's Hospital, a charitable foundation for sick and aged keelmen and their families. The keelmen agreed to contribute one penny a tide from the wages of each keel's crew and Newcastle Corporation made land available in Sandgate. The hospital was completed in 1701 at a cost of £2,000. It consisted of fifty chambers giving onto a cloister enclosing

4345-465: The keels. Duty was paid on each keel-load, so that it paid the owner to load as much coal as possible. This meant that the keel-load gradually increased from 16 tons in 1600 to 21.25 tons in 1695. As the keelmen were paid by the keel-load, they had to work considerably harder for the same pay. Even after the keel-load had been standardised, there were cases of keel owners illegally enlarging the holds to carry more coal, as much as 26.5 tons. In 1719 and 1744,

4424-447: The livelihood of the keelmen as completely as the development of the coal staiths. As mentioned above, the reason for employing keelmen was the poor state of the navigation on the Tyne and Wear, which prevented ships from moving up river without danger of grounding. As time went by this situation gradually worsened. Colliers arriving at the river mouth would have a ballast of sand that had to be disposed of. The correct method of doing this

4503-424: The lord mayor of London complained that the regulation of coal exports from the Tyne was unfairly raising prices. In 1600 the Company of Hostmen was incorporated through a charter granted by Elizabeth I. This gave them exclusive rights to trade coal in the Tyne in return for a one- shilling tax on every chaldron (wagonload) of coal shipped from the Tyne. The charter allowed an exclusive body of electors, in practice

4582-416: The massive bronze figure River God Tyne incorporates flowing water into its design. The Environment Agency is currently working with architects and cultural consultancy xsite, in collaboration with Commissions North, to create a travelling sculpture trail along the River Tyne. The Tyne Salmon Trail will serve as a celebration of the river, its heritage and its increasingly diverse ecosystem. Historically

4661-404: The most valuable local commodity. As with other traded items, coal could only move through the city of Newcastle if its buying and selling were handled by the town's burgesses. The Hostmen had formed a group within the Company of Merchant Adventurers of Newcastle to exploit this monopoly. In practice, the Hostmen owned the "keels", large boats that were used to transfer the coal from the riverbank to

4740-589: The north, the river continues past Redburn and Haydon Bridge to join the North Tyne at Warden. This low level east-west corridor through the Pennines is referred to as the Tyne Gap. From the confluence of the North and South Tyne at Warden, the river flows east through Northumberland by Hexham, Corbridge and Prudhoe and enters the county of Tyne and Wear to the east of Wylam . The river subsequently forms

4819-417: The practice of hailing one another on the river, especially in the night tides ", but " they scorn to show what they think incivility or rudeness to any person ". Despite this, in the mid 19th century they were described as " a proverbially unintelligent, ignorant and intemperate set of men. One keelman, it used to be said, could drink out three pitmen ". For their Sunday best clothing the keelmen often wore

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4898-447: The railways started to take away the keelmen's trade, most skippers discontinued the employment of a boy to save on their salary. The two crewmen were invariably called the 'bullies' ("bully" here meaning "brother", "comrade"). Many keels had a small after-cabin or "huddick", fitted with a stove, where the crew could sleep. Keelmen loaded coal into the keel's hold from a "spout" or riverside chute. The keel would then be taken down river on

4977-561: The regulations forcing traders to deal through Newcastle. The Civil War had allowed the River Wear to emerge as a competitor of the Tyne for coal exports. By 1660 the Tyne coal trade had recovered but was now only a third greater than the Wearside production. At this time the Newcastle Hostmen clashed with the Sunderland coal traders by claiming their charter rights and imposing a shilling tax on all coals exported from Sunderland. The Newcastle monopoly continued until between 1700 and 1750

5056-456: The river flows between South Shields and Tynemouth into the North Sea . Thomas John Taylor (1810–1861) theorised that the main course of the river anciently flowed through what is now Team Valley , its outlet into the tidal river being by a waterfall at Bill Point (in the area of Bill Quay ). His theory was not far from the truth, as there is evidence that prior to the last ice age ,

5135-472: The river meant that colliers could load coal from the staiths without the need for keels to complete the work. In 1876 the existing bridge at Newcastle was replaced by the Swing Bridge , which rotated to allow ships to pass up and down river. This allowed colliers to be loaded from staiths above Newcastle and so further sealed the fate of the keelmen. The Wear Improvement Bill was passed in 1717, creating

5214-587: The riverbanks often deposited its waste products in the river. The situation on the Tyne became so bad that in 1850 the Tyne Navigation Act was passed, which gave control of the river to the Tyne Improvement Commission . This body began an extensive program of dredging to substantially deepen the riverbed. This program was completed in 1888 so that the largest colliers could pass right up to Newcastle and beyond. This deepening of

5293-579: The second half of the 19th century, with islands (including Kings Meadow , the largest) removed and meanders in the river straightened. Nothing definite is known of the origin of the designation Tyne , nor is the river known by that name until the Saxon period: Tynemouth is recorded in Anglo-Saxon as Tinanmuðe (probably dative case ). The Vedra on the Roman map of Britain may be the Tyne, or may be

5372-673: The second half of the 20th century. The largest coal staithes (a structure for loading coal onto ships) were located at Dunston in Gateshead, Hebburn and Tyne Dock, South Shields. The wooden staithes at Dunston, built in 1890, have been preserved, although they were partially destroyed by fire in 2006 and then a further fire in May 2020 means that the Staithes is becoming more vulnerable to vandalism and would need extensive financing to preserve it and make it secure. In 2016, Tyne Dock, South Shields

5451-402: The staiths. In such cases the colliers would have to move into deeper water and the loading would be completed using keels. Until 1800, the most productive pits were situated upriver from Newcastle, and colliers could not pass the bridge there to load coal. After 1800, coal production switched to further down river, where coal staiths could be used. Already by 1799, the number of keels working on

5530-629: The student accommodation, and was added to the register in 2009. Because of their experience of handling boats, the keelmen were considered useful in times of war when the Royal Navy required seamen for its warships. During the French wars of the late eighteenth century, the Naval Impress Service would have liked to impress as many keelmen as possible, but the keelmen were officially protected from impressment. However, in 1803, during

5609-412: The three crew in nearly equal shares, retaining only around 8d. per tide over and above the other shares. Before the railways began to harm the trade, a keel owner would expect to make around ten "tides" a week. Keelmen were traditionally bound to employment for a year, the binding day normally being Christmas Day but employment tended to be seasonal with hardly any work in winter. The availability of work

5688-551: The two Tyne piers were built; Northumbrian, Tyne and Albert Docks were built, as well as the staithes at Whitehill and Dunston. This infrastructure enabled millions of tonnes of cargo to be handled by the Port by 1910. The tidal river has been managed by the Port of Tyne Authority since 1968. The River Tyne has a charity dedicated to protecting and enhancing its waters and surrounding areas. The Tyne Rivers Trust, established in 2004,

5767-489: The waiting colliers that were moored downstream. The men who worked these boats were known as " keelmen ". The keelmen led a very precarious existence, being paid casually, and they were regarded with distrust by the Hostmen with whom they were often in dispute. In 1553, during the reign of Edward VI , John Dudley , the Duke of Northumberland sponsored an act allowing Newcastle to annex Gateshead and its surrounding area from

5846-484: The waterline. In 1266 the standard load of a keel was set at 20 chaldrons (wagonloads) or approximately 17 tons. After 1497 the keel load was frequently increased, until in 1635 it was set at 21.1 tons. A chaldron was a horse-drawn wagon containing 17 cwt of coal. Keels were supposed to be measured by the Kings Commissioners and given a load mark to show when they were full. Early keels were propelled with

5925-472: Was concentrated in Newcastle. The desire of the Newcastle burgesses to monopolise trade on the Tyne led to a dispute with the Prior of Tynemouth regarding the shipment of coal from the nearby settlement of North Shields , which was owned by the priory. In 1267 the mayor of Newcastle, Nicholas Scott attacked North Shields with a band of merchants, setting fire to several buildings. In 1290 the burgesses petitioned

6004-510: Was often affected by the weather, if ships were unable to come into the river, and also by the supply of coal from the pits. Strikes might affect output and wily pit owners would sometimes curtail production to keep prices high. As a result, keelmen could spend long periods without work, during which they would have to live on credit or find employment in clearing wrecks and sand banks from the river. The Tyneside keelmen formed an independent society in 1556 but were never incorporated, probably because

6083-457: Was reached so that 80 ‘volunteers’ (one in ten keelmen) would be accepted into the navy and the rest would be exempted from impressment. A levy was to be paid by the coal-owners and keelmen to provide a bounty for the keelmen who joined the navy. A similar situation existed on the Wear, except that the keelmen there were treated less generously. They had to provide a similar quota of recruits with two landsmen counting as one prime sailor. About 1750

6162-497: Was still involved with coal, importing 2 million tonnes of shipments a year. The lower reaches of the Tyne were, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, one of the world's most important centres of shipbuilding , and there are still shipyards in South Shields and Hebburn to the south of the river. To support the shipbuilding and export industries of Tyneside, the lower reaches of the river were extensively remodelled during

6241-429: Was to deposit the sand on specified areas on the riverbank provided for the purpose or by depositing the sand in the sea. The Wear had ballast keels that were used to unload the ballast from colliers and take it out to sea. There were penalties for depositing ballast in the river, but this often occurred. The result was that the riverbed became silted up, causing even more navigational difficulties. Additionally, industry on

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