North Shields, second Medieval settlement

In c. 1225 the prior of Tynemouth founded a settlement of fishermen to provide fish for the priory. It developed west from Pow Burn close to the shore, with some houses on piles and each with a quay. There were 100 houses by 1292. Pressure from Newcastle persuaded the king to order ships not to call there, however, leading to a period of decay until c. 1390 when redevelopment began with reclamation of land below the present war memorial, to be covered with 200 houses. In 1530 Newcastle again put a check on commerce, and for the rest of the 16th century Shields was in decay. The township was a long narrow strip along the river, carved out of Tynemouth, and without fields. The actual town came to consist of a long narrow street parallel with the Tyne, between Low Lights and the Bull Ring, called Low Town Street. On its north side there were houses on the steep slope with flights of stairs between; on its south side short lanes and quays to the water's edge. The eastern half of the south side has been cleared to form large quays, and most of the houses on the north side were cleared in slum clearance and the banks landscaped.