1861 November 14th...Two days later, at 10am, the schooner RHODES of North Shields, loaded with ironstone, from Bornefs [sic] to the Tyne, was wrecked on the Herd Sand; the crew of four were rescued by the lifeboat NORTHUMBERLAND. They were: George Stafford, master; W Newhart; Alexander Dulne; James Grens (Whitaker). Master: George Stafford
Crew: 4

`From the Shields Gazette 27th October 1892:

"About 2.30 this morning during the prevalence of a south-east gale, and a heavy sea, a schooner, which proved to be the RESOLUTION of Fowey, Cornwall, was driven ashore, about 300 yards to the south of the south pier, at the mouth of the Tyne. The coastguard on duty immediately fired the alarm signals...Assisted by a number of foyboatmen, the rocket cart was got out, and run down to the beach, and communication was established with the stranded vessel, the first rocket going clean over her. The schooner lay with her head to the shore, and the crew made the line fast to the foremast...The seas were breaking over the vessel with great force, and the gale was increasing, but shortly after 3 o'clock, the first of the crew, a youth named Henry Shea, was landed by the breeches buoy. He was at once taken to the Brigade House...[The] other
three of the crew, William Whitford, Edward Parry, and the mate, Thomas Collings, were landed in quick succession in a more or less exhausted condition. Whitford especially was suffering from exposure, and the journey through the heavy surf...The Captain, Joseph Rosevear, for some reason refused to come ashore and he remained on board until the tide receded. It was high water at 6.38, and as a consequence the water was well up the bulwarks before daybreak, but as the vessel remained on an even keel, no danger to the Captain was anticipated." Master: Joseph Rosevear
Crew: 5

1820 incident in which an English cargo vessel grounded on the Herd Sand, on her arrival from London in ballast, but she was later recovered. Constructed of wood, she was a sailing vessel. Master: Bell

ENGLISH CRAFT, 1871

1799 incident in which an English cargo vessel grounded on the Herd Sand, to be recovered shortly afterwards. En route from St. Petersburg to Shields, she was a wooden sailing vessel. Master: Armstrong

1820 wreck of possible English brig which stranded on the Herd Sand during a snowstorm. En route from Alnmouth to Sunderland, she was a wooden sailing vessel, and may have afterwards been recovered. [The details of this PROVIDENCE and another vessel of the same name involved in this incident may have become confused. See HER 14928.

1852 21st September. WILLIAM AND SARAH...and sloop PROVIDENCE wrecked on Herd Sand (Whitaker).

1766 wreck of English cargo vessel which stranded and bilged on the Herd Sand on leaving Shields for London with coal; a wooden sailing vessel. Master: Meadows. The PROVIDENCE is one of the more common contemporary names for a vessel.

1820 incident in which an English cargo vessel grounded and bilged on the Herd Sand on her arrival at Shields from London in ballast. This wooden sailing vessel was shortly afterwards recovered, but the details of the recovery of this wreck may have become confused with those of another PROVIDENCE involved in the same incident. The PROVIDENCE is one of the more common contemporary names for a vessel.

Sheddon's Hill played a pivotal role in the Great Miners Strike of 1844. Tthe first Great Strike was in 1831 when a union of Northumberland and Durham miners had been formed under Thomas Hepburn. This first strike ended in victory for the miners with their hours shortened and their wages paid in money (rather than as 'credit' to spend in shops linked to the colliery). In 1832 Thomas Hepburn brought the miners out on strike again. Coal owners had decided that no miners who were members of the union would be 'bound' (miners were bound to their employer for a year at a time and the signed document included the terms of employment). The strike was not a success. No union member was re-employed and the union was dissolved. Some miners then formed the Miners' Association of Great Britain and Ireland, which started making progress in 1842-3. On 2nd March 1844 a meeting of miners took place on Sheddon's (Shadon's) Hill. An estimated 20,000 pimen attended. The principal grievances were the monthly (rather than annual) bond which had been introduced to break the Association, the frequency of explosions, a request for regular safety inspections, for accurate weighing machines and for weekly pay. The Mining Association of Great Britain and Ireland sent a letter to the coal owners requesting 'amicable adjustments' to miners' contracts, to avoid a strike, but the letter was not acknowledged. So on 5th April 1844, the miners of Northumberland and Durham terminated their 1843-44 contract with their employers. They would not enter into a new contract until their grievances had been met. A second mass meeting was held at Sheddon's Hill. Up to 40,000 miners attended along with music bands and banners. A genreal meeting was held on Newcastle Town Moor on 30th July. After 20 weeks, during which time miners families were evicted from their tied cottages and blackleg labour had been brought in from the rest of the country, the strike was over. The miners had been starved into surrender. The monthly bond was forgotten but the miners had to return on the owners terms.