Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 3.djvu/463

Rh 8HEWALTON. 451 SHIELDS, NORTH. 335, and the glebe comprises 62 acres. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Exeter, val. 412. The church, dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, is an ancient structure, with a spired tower and two bells. The interior of the church contains effigies of the Dawnays, and a monu- ment to Sir Edward and Lady Courtenay. There is a National school. The Wesleyans have a place of worship. SHEWALTON, a vil. in the par. of Dundonald, co. Ayr, Scotland, 5 miles S.W. of Kilmarnock. It is situated near Shewalton Moss. The principal attraction is Shewalton House, a modern mansion. The inhabi- tants are chiefly employed in the collieries. SHIANT ISLES, a group of small islands or rocks on the E. side of Lewis, Western Isles, coast of Scotland, 5 miles E. of Hushinish Point. SHIDFIELD, a tythg. and chplry. in the par. of Droxford, hund. of Bishop's-Waltham, co. Hants, 2 miles S. of Bishop's-Waltham. It is situated near the line of the South-Western railway. The district in- cludes the hmlt. of Shirrell Heath. The living is a perpot. cur.* in the dioc. of Winchester, val. 100, in the patron, of the Rector of Droxford. The church, dedicated to St. John, was erected in 1829. SHIEL, a loch and river in the co. of Inverness, Scotland. It lies between Looh Moidartand Ardgower, about 9 miles W. of Fort William. The loch is 15 miles long by 2 wide, and communicates with Loch Moidart. SHIELD, a hmlt. in the tnshp. of Longburgh, par. of Burgh-by-Sands, co. Cumberland, 8 miles N.E. of Car- lisle, on the Ship canal. SHIELDAG, a quoad sacra par. in the pars, of Apple- cross and Gairloch, cos. Ross and Cromarty, Scotland It extends in length about 18 miles, with an extreme breadth of about 15 miles. The surface is of an uneven character, rising behind the village into a gigantic cliff or headland. The bay, which is 2^ miles in length by 1 mile broad, extends southward of the middle division of Loch Torridon. The village of Shieldag is about 12 miles N.W. of Lochcarron, and 15 N.W. of Janotown. It is situated on Shieldag Loch, near Loch Torridon. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the fisheries. Shieldag is in the presb. of Lochcarron, in the patron. of the crown. The stipend of the minister is about 100. The church, which is a parliamentary one, was erected in 1827. There is also a Free church. SHIELDHILL, a hmlt. in the par. of Tinwald, co. Dumfries, Scotland, 3J miles from Lochmaben, and 6 N.E. of Dumfries. It is a station on the Lockerbie and Dumfries branch of the Caledonian railway. SHIELD-HILL, a vil. in the par. of Kirkharle, Tindale ward, co. Northumberland, 11 miles N.E. of Hexham, and 10 E. of Bellingham, in the vale of the Wansbeck. SHIELDS, NORTH, a tnshp., market town, and seaport in the par. and borough of Tynemouth, E. div. of Castle ward, co. Northumberland, 7J miles N.E. of Newcastle, and 16 N.E. of Durham. It is a station on the Newcastle and Tynemouth railway, and is connected with South Shields, in the co. of Durham, by a steam ferry across the Tyne, and steam vessels ply every half- hour to Newcastle. The town of North Shields, which forms the principal part of the borough of Tynemouth, is situated on the northern bank of the river Tyne, which divides it from South Shields, but which together form one port, called the Port of Shields. Belonging to this port, which is a bonding port, are 208 steamers, and about 1,100 ships of the aggregate tonnage of 265,600, employing above 10,000 men. Although so admirably located for commerce at the mouth of the Tyne, it was not till near the commencement of the present century that Shields became a place of any considerable importance. So early as the reign of Edward I. the Prior of Tynemouth, to whom the whole of this district then belonged, seeing the ad- vantages of its position, made great efforts to form a harbour, and established a market, but by a decree obtained by the citizens of Newcastle was obliged to abandon the works. The district suffered much from the plague in 1635. In the time of the Commonwealth VOL. III. Cromwell selected it as an eligible site for a new town, and caused an Act to be passed for forming quays and establishing a market. It was not, however, till the close of the last century that the restrictions upon the trade of the place were removed, and from that time the town dates its rapid growth in wealth, population, and commerce. The town extends about a mile along the river bank, occupying, besides the tnshp. of North Shields, and the greater part of the tnshps. of Tyne- mouth, Preston, and Chirton. The streets in the older part of the town are narrow and overcrowded, but in the modern parts there are a number of streets and squares containing many well-built houses. The prin- cipal public buildings are the custom-house, situated on the New Quay. The townhall, a structure in the Elizabethan style, erected in 1844 ; the House of Correc- tion in the Tynemouth road ; the union workhouse, situated in the Preston road ; the mechanics' institute, in Howard-street, erected in 1858 ; the temperance hall, in Norfolk- street, erected in 1845 ; a theatre, sub- scription library, assembly rooms, and commodious baths and washhouses in Saville-street, built in 1854 ; also salt-water baths at the Lower Lights, where is Clifford's Fort, a battery constructed in 1072, and commanding the entrance of the harbour. There is a spacious quay at which vessels of 300 tons burden can load. Many of the vessels entering the port are designed for the New- castle trade, but are of too great burden to cross the bar, which has but seven feet water at ebb tide, though the river afterwards deepens to 8, 12, and even 24 feet up to the harbour. On the W. side of the bar are many dangerous rocks, rendering three lighthouses necessary ; one close to the shore, called the Low Light, is 77 feet high ; another at Dockway-square, is 133 feet high ; and the other is built upon the cliff a little to the N.E. of Tynemouth Castle. North Shields is a place of great trade, especially in coals and iron, which are largely exported to London. Many vessels are employed in the foreign and colonial as well as in the coasting trades, and some are engaged in the Greenland and Davis Straits whale fishery. There are floating, dry, and graving docks, where shipbuilding is earned on, also several iron founderies and extensive works where chain cables, anchors, and windlasses are made. The manufacture of sail-cloth, cordage, masts, blocks, hats, and tobacco furnishes employment to many hands, as do also the breweries, salt pans, tile and earthenware works. The town of North Shields, together with the town- ships of Chirton, Cullercoats, Preston, and Tynemouth, forms the borough of Tynemouth, covering an area of 7,158 acres, and having a population in 1861 of 34,021, of which number 9,595 are in the township of North Shields. It was created a parliamentary borough under the Reform Act, and returns one member to parliament. In 1849 it was made a municipal borough, comprising the three wards of North Shields, Percy, and Tyne- mouth, and is governed by a mayor, six aldermen, and eighteen town councillors. A local board of health was established in 1851. It is a polling-place for the county elections, und a petty sessions town, the borough magis- trates meeting once a week, and the magistrates for the eastern division of Castle ward every Tuesday. The now County Court is held monthly, and the poor-luw guardians meet every alternate Thursday. The parish church of Tynemouth is a plain stone building with a square tower, situated at the eastern end of North Shields, in the Preston road. The new church, dedi- cated to the Holy Trinity, is situated in Collingwood- street, and was completed in 1836 at a cost of about 4,000. It has an octagonal tower, and contains 1,200 sittings, half of which are free. A chaplain is also attached to the Tyne Sailors' Home, where Divine service is performed twice every Sunday. In 1864 the Bishop of Durham consecrated three new churches in the borough in one week viz. St. Peter's, North Shields, containing about 600 sittings ; St. John's, Percy Main ; and St. Paul's, Cullercoats. These churches were built and endowed by the lute I)uke of Northumberland and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. At tho same 3N