Union Alley

Look at any historic reference to South Shields town centre and you'll probably find mention of Union Alley. Once the home of many public houses, including over the years the Black and Grey, Golden Lion and City of Durham as well as eating establishments such as Curry's Silver Gill.

Now little more that a lane to the back of a few buildings on King Street and a huge bleak wall forming part of Wilkinsons in the Market lace, this little Alley has none of its former character.

There is now only one way into Union Alley, that is from the Market Place itself under the flat arch created by the what is now the Market View Restaurant abutting what used to be the City of Durham pub. The City of Durham closed in 2005 and is now Alderman's Coffee House. The low single story building which is the side of the coffee shop still has the look of a public house about it.

Next along is the back of what was Woolworth's. This building was built after the war and opened on 21st August 1950 after the original Woolworth's building on King Street was destroyed during the bombing of the town centre on 2nd October 1941.

 

At the very end of the Alley on the Southern side is the back of another of the great but now alas closed King Street shops, Marks and Spencer. Another sad demise, opened in 1934 and surviving the blitz, the shop finally succumbed to the recession and "corporate streamlining" and closed it's doors in March 2014. The building, now with Grade II listed status was once the "New Theatre".

At the far Eastern end of the Alley and looking back towards the Market Place we can see that the Northern side is now nothing more than a storage area and carpark for the Market Traders and the side wall of Wilkinson's shop.

The Market Square

The Market Place in South Shields has been the hub of the town throughout the ages with the Old Town Hall at its centre. This was built circa 1767 by the Dean and Chapter of Durham and the open ground floor used as a market hall. It is now Grade I listed and was restored in 1977 after years of neglect.

The Market Place was bombed extensively during 1941 demolishing many of the buildings. However the Old Town Hall and St Hilda's remained.

Looking South to Saint Hilda's Church

Looking North-West.

Here we have panoramic shots of the Market Place looking North. The first taken in March 2013 before Wouldhave House was demolished and the second taken August 2013 afterwards.

Similarly looking West we can see how the demolition of Wouldhave House  has dramatically opened up the Market Square, albeit temporarily, giving views across the River.

Looking directly North.


The old buildings on the Eastern side of the Market Square were demolished during the air raids of 1941 and were replaced by the white stone, contemporary looking buildings we have today.

Running from this Eastern side are three parallel roads. The most Northerly is Union Alley, starting underneath the square archway in the corner of the Market Square.

Then we have King Street. Once the main shopping street in the town but sadly now becoming more rundown as more of the big name shops leave (Marks and Spencers closed down in March 2014), and other developments take off such as the new buildings housing BHS, Debenhams, Next and River Island just off Kepple Street.

The third street is Chapter Row, running from the Southen edge of the Market Square from just in front of St Hilda's until it turns into Kepple Street a few hundred yards further East.

St. Hilda's church is build on the site of a much earlier chapel built by King Oswy of Northumberland at the request of St Aiden in around 647AD. This chapel was supposedly placed in the care of St Hilda (or Hild of Whitby) and I've seen various references to it being either a monastry or a nunnery. Neither of which I know which is correct. The original chapel was sacked by the Vikings in 865AD and it wasn't until 1100Ad that the Normans built a church on the site.

The Norman church is mentioned in a charter of 1154AD and has a further mention in a charter of King John in 1204. This original church was rebuilt in 1700 and the current church was also damaged in the 1941 air-raids when it lots some of its memorial windows.

Although the churchyard has in the most now been landscaped, at the Southern side of St Hilda's you can still see some of the old gravestones against the wall of the building. I'm sure as a child I can remember many more and the churchyard looking like a proper graveyard.