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July 8. — The keelmen on the river Tyne, after a stop of some weeks, went to work again ; to effect which Mr. Alderman Mosley exerted himself in a very praiseworthy manner, by going down the water himself in different keels time after time, till he got them all to work, none of them attempting to assault him, though the standers out would not suffer the keels to pass with such of their men as were willing to work till Mr. M. went down with them. The grievance the keelmen complained of was the erection of some new staiths near Shields, the owners thereby saving the keel dues. [LRS]

September 12. — General Paoli, and his excellency the Polish ambassador, dined with his grace the Duke of Northumberland, at Alnwick castle, and, on the 15th, he arrived at Newcastle, and though he viewed several parts of the town, went to Tynemouth, and visited the colliery at Shiremoor, very few people had the pleasure of seeing that renowned general, so careful was he to conceal himself. [LRS]

September 19. — A new colliery for land sale was won at Prestwick, belonging to Mr. Jonathan Thompson, on which occasion, the country people assembled at Ponteland, and great rejoicings were made. [LHTB]

November 17. — About two o’clock in the morning of this day (Sunday), the inhabitants of Newcastle were alarmed with the most dreadful inundation that ever befell that part of the country, the water in the Tyne rising six feet higher than the remarkable fresh, in December, 1763. The whole workings of Wylam colliery, containing 300 acres, were completely inundated. There were 1,728,000 hogsheads of water in the several seams of coal. The flood on the river Wear was nearly as violent as that in the river Tyne ; Frosterley, Wolsingham, and Witton bridges being all destroyed. The collieries at North Biddick, Chartershaugh, and Low Lambton, on the Wear, were all filled with water, and upwards of thirty horses in the several workings drowned. Several wagons, with horses, and a great quantity of coals were swept off, and the fire engines belonging to the two former collieries entirely destroyed. At Sunderland there was a great destruction among the ships and keels. The cries of the poor boys (few of the men being on board), with the cracking of the ships, was indeed terrible. All the assistance possible was sent by the inhabitants ; but the darkness and wetness of the night prevented many from receiving proper help. A great number of keels were driven away, and many men and boys were lost. A part of the pier gave way to the force of the water, and another part was damaged by the ships that drove against it. Eight or nine dead bodies were cast ashore on the Sunday morning in the harbour. Haystacks and great quantities of household furniture, with a staith, were driven down the Wear into the sea. Thirty-four ships were wrecked at the mouth of the Wear. [LRS]

 

 

 

• LHTB — Local Historian's Table Book of Remarkable Occurrences Connected with the Counties of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Northumberland and Durham by M.A. Richardson. Published in five volumes in 1844.
• LRS — Local Records or Historical Register of Remarkable Events by John Sykes, Published in 1833 in two volumes