About North Shields in Tyne & Wear

North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne in North East England, 8.6 miles (13.8 km) north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. Historically part of Northumberland, it is located within the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear. It had a population of 26,870 in 2001.

North Shields developed on the north side of the River Tyne, around the original settlement of Preston. It was an area of fishing and farming, and shipbuilding, until the growth of Newcastle upon Tyne during the Industrial Revolution. It was created a municipal borough in 1855, and became part of the County Borough of Tynemouth in 1974.