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.