Posts by venue: Social History

Crime and punishment in North Shields

Back in November 2010 Tyne & Wear Archives was given a photograph album  of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court between 1902 and 1916 (TWAM ref. DX1388/1). The album contains over a thousand mugshots of prisoners and several… Read more

The Neptune Shell Shop bracelet and the response to the shell crisis of 1915 – Part 2

On December 5th 2014 I posted about a gold bracelet we had recently acquired, and its connection with the manufacture of 6” shells in the Neptune Engine Works of Tyne shipbuilders, Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson. The post was illustrated… Read more

Were your ancestors apprentices at the Elswick Works?

I’m pleased to report that work is progressing well on the ‘Workshop of the World’ project to catalogue our Vickers Armstrong archives collection. I’ve recently been working on the firm’s administrative records, which include a large quantity of agreements. Many… Read more

Reinventing the Wheel

I was having a bit rummage and found this marvellous sepia photograph dated 1880:- At first sight, it appears to show a dastardly Victorian villain attempting to flee the scene of some dark deed aboard a horseless, minion-powered vehicle with feet… Read more

‘Turners saved my marriage’

Christmas is fast approaching. It’s a special time of year for many people and it’s also a very busy time for shops. Businesses are going into overdrive with publicity campaigns to get us to buy their products and all this… Read more