About Wallsend

Country: England
Region: North East
Established: around 122
Area: 11.79 km (4.56 sq mi)
Population: 13,263

Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall.

History
Roman Wallsend
In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This fort protected the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall, which did not end at the western wall of the fort, but continued from its south-eastern corner down to the shore of the River Tyne.

The withdrawal of the Romans from the Wall immediately brought the Picts (from North and East Scotland) from the north and shortly afterwards the Angles(From Angeln in Northern Germany), sailing from near the mouth of the River Elbe with frequent raids both from sea and from land.

When the Saxons (from Lower Saxony in Northern Germany) laid waste to the whole of the north in 547 and Wallsend doubtless suffered in the general devastation.

The Angles and Saxons were widespread throughout the UK and eventually joined to become the Anglo-Saxons. It was not until Edwin of Northumbria, and the introduction of the Christian faith by King Oswald of Northumbria (635-642) and St Aidan, that Wallsend enjoyed a time of peace and progress.

This time of peace came to an abrupt end in 794 when the Jutes (From Jutland in Denmark - also called Vikings) swarmed up the Tyne in great numbers. In the years before the Norman conquest there was a struggle for mastery between Jutes and Angles.

Modern Wallsend:
Shipbuilding
Wallsend has a history of shipbuilding and was the home of the Wigham Richardson shipyard, which later amalgamated to form Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson Probably best known for building the RMS Mauretania which held the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic for 22 years.

Other famous ships included the RMS Carpathia which rescued the survivors from the Titanic in 1912.
The icebreaker Krasin (launched as Sviatogor) which rescued the Umberto Nobile expedition on Spitzbergen in 1928, when Roald Amundsen perished.

Charles Parsons launched his revolutionary Turbinia here in 1894, revolutionising the navies of the world through the large-scale production of affordable electricity, making a significant contribution to the modern age.

Russian novelist Yevgeny Zamyatin worked at Swan Hunter in 1916–17, and used it as background for his great anti-utopian work We which was a major influence on George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Coal mining
Much of Wallsend's early industry was driven by coal mining. The Wallsend Colliery consisted of seven pits which were active between 1778 and 1935. Its most prominent manager was mining and railway engineer John Buddle who helped develop the Davy Lamp.

Heritage
In dedication to its Roman heritage, Wallsend's historic name Segedunum is shown in many places in the town, and signs with Latin wordings can also be found. Wallsend Metro Station has some signs in English and Latin.

Segedunum Roman Fort Museum has displays on Roman history as well as reconstructions of a bath house and a section of the Roman Wall which once stood on the site.