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Preston
Preston maps
Historic maps of Preston and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Preston maps
Preston photos
We have no photos of Preston, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Tynemouth| Cullercoats| Whitley Bay| South Shields| Wallsend| Jarrow| Monkton Village| Seaton Sluice| Seaton Delaval| Cleadon| East Boldon| West Boldon| Whitburn| Seaburn| Cramlington| Gateshead
Preston area books
Displaying 1 of 1 books about Preston and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Preston
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Tyne and Wear memories
North Shields Test Centre
The building which houses North Shields test cente in Cecil Street was erected in1848 as a chapel for people to worship. It remained this way until 1891 when it changed ownership and became a sauna and plunge baths although this was short lived and it closed soon after, just months later it reopened as the Alexandra Laundry, this was made easy as the boilers and pipework were all in place left by the previous owner. A photo of this is available with the staff proudly standing outside with horse-drawn carts laden with laundry. Shortly before World War 2 the building changed ownership and became Alexandra Engineering, making a variety of things and fabrications, this continued until 1950 when a local coach hire company opened up, trading as William B Kerr Coaches, later moving to bigger premses in Wallsend and changed the use of the Cecil Street building into an MOT testing centre, the first in the area following the introduction of manditory testing in 1960. Each test was 15 shillings... Read more
Happy Days
My sister and I used to visit our grandparents, Harry and Lily Bliss, who lived on Sandringham Drive, West Monkseaton. We would come down from Scotland in late June and stay for two weeks.
Favourite memories include the Spanish City rides, Torres fish and chips, the Venetian ice cream, St Mary's Island, roller skating down the steep slope at Monkseaton station, the smell of creosote on the platform timbers at West Monkseaton station, Grandpa cycling to the North Shields fish quay for the best fish I have ever eaten and the sound of colliery trains in the mornings. I was also fascinated by the pit heaps and the mines, the slag buckets, the big white railway crossing gates at Backworth.
Asbestos Fire Suits Percy Main John F Fife
When I was a young girl I was shown newspaper cuttings of my father John F Fife modelling an asbestos fire suit he had designed and made in his factory work shop at Percy Main. My older brother aged 84, who lives in Australia, remembers being taken to the factory as a boy in the thirties, he thinks possibly 1938 or a little earlier. The Fife family had a boiler cleaning business and lived in Linskill Terrace. Unfortunately I no longer have these cuttings and whenever I try to find out about asbestos fire suits at Percy Main, I come up against a brick wall. Elizabeth Johnson, Fife
Family Early Days at Tynemouth.
If this was summer 1955 or in 1957 to 1958, my pram-pushing wife might well be in the picture. Eldest was born in May 1955, next in May 1957, the eldest at Newcastle General hospital, the next at home at 14 Millfield Gardens. Looks busy enough to be a weekend so maybe I was in it too. Wonderful sands, freezing cold under a sea fret.
A Native of Tynemouth in Exile.
I was born in Tynemouth, in Percy Park, the road leading down to the sea by the Grand Hotel. In 1956, I began at Tynemouth Prep. School, now The Kings School, in Huntington Place. I live in Hampshire now, but, I have been back to Tynemouth several times and have always been delighted that so little has changed. Long may it remain so. I am Tony Brown.
My Grandfather
My grandfather and his parents and siblings were all born and lived in or near Cullercoats. Their surname was Storey and my grandfather George emigrated to Australia with his wife and children in 1949. I have always wanted to visit the birthplace of George and try to find more about him. His dad John was a fisherman and he died in 1974 in North Shields. The main thing I remember about George was his strong accent. He was a quiet man who liked his solitude and unfortunately died of lung disease when I was 19, 30 years ago. I'm glad to hear Cullercoats hasn't changed much and my aim is to visit as soon as possible.
Living in Old Cullercoates
My grandparents lived in Simpson Street and auntie in Elizabeth Street. I am wondering if anyone remembers Garden Terrace, and the old school in John Street where my grandma worked? My grandfather was killed aboard the 'Lunula' in 1941 and his name was Edward Occulstone. He is listed at that time as living in Margarets Road and his name is on the cenotaph at Whitley Bay. I remember my uncle's cottage which was knocked down, it only had a tin bath but he loved it very much. His name was Billy Bewick, my nana's name was Lillian. My mam and auntie had a bric-a-brac shop in Huddlestons Street and as a child we loved to go to the chip shop, John Whitley's, in the same street. I used to go to the Christmas parties in the church hall that adjoined the old John Street school, they were great.
