Dockwray Square

In the 18th and 19th centuries, North Shields was improved by the extension of the old town to the east and west, and by the planning and building of Dockwray Square. The first house of the elegant Georgian Square known as Bank Top Close, later renamed Dockwray Square was built in 1763. The houses were poorly provided with water and drainage and even though wealthy shipowners took up residence, the problem was not adequately solved and the square deteriorated into a slum. The houses became tenements and were finally demolished in 1956 to be replaced in 1963 with multi-storey flats around a communal recreational area. These too were demolished and replaced in the 1980s. The wealthy inhabitants of Dockwray Square migrated to the more favourable location of North Close, which was renamed Northumberland Square.