North Tyneside Council News Release
The vibrant community of North Shields is coming together to host a year of celebrations for the town’s 800th anniversary in 2025.
North Shields 800 will bring everyone together to enjoy a calendar of exciting events, exhibitions and performances that celebrate North Shields’s past, present and future.
It will include a spectacular parade of sail and a blessing of the fishing fleet, a parade along the Fish Quay, exhibitions, street art murals, heritage projects and creative collaborations.
North Shields 800 will bring performing arts to the streets, stage events at local venues and capture and record memories of the town in years gone by.
In 2025 it will be 800 years since a small village made up of simple huts called shiels was founded on the north bank of the Tyne, where the Fish Quay stands today. Created in around 1225 as a small fishing port to serve Tynemouth Priory, it grew into the thriving harbour of North Shields.
From the 1760s, the town expanded to the bank above the riverside. Today North Shields and its surrounding neighbourhoods have a population of approximately 35,000.
The North Shields 800 Committee has been meeting since mid-2023. It has a broad, vibrant membership made up of representatives from heritage groups, the fishing industry, the arts and cultural sector, charities, community groups, local venues and businesses.
North Shields 800 will inspire pride in the town, help people of all ages to explore its heritage and bring together the different communities that call North Shields home.
It will raise the profile of the town across the region and beyond, bring a sustained boost to local businesses and increase visitor numbers.
It comes as a series of ambitious regeneration projects in North Shields are nearing completion, including: the Riverside Embankment Walkway linking to the town centre to the Fish Quay; the restoration of Northumberland Square conservation area, the Exchange Theatre and Howard Street; the creation of a new Transport Hub and Thomas Brown Town Square; a series of public art installations across the town; and improvements to the main shopping area, Bedford Street.
