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Nearly all of the places shown in the following set of photographs have long disappeared and so unfortunately , will have most of the people who remember them . This picture is of West Holborn looking East in 1904 .The names of East Holborn, West Holborn ,Wapping St etc. are all based on the London place names , and the locals heard the visiting sailors talking about these places and as they seemed so far away and "Exotic", they decided to adopt them for themselves . The pictures look very quaint and "oldie worldie" , but the living conditions in reality were very poor . No indoor toilettes , just a bucket in an outhouse and just a tap in the yard or street for all water . No access to medical help -only if money was available could anyone get access to a Doctor .Every night the "Midden men " came round with horse and cart to empty the buckets . Most folks were very poor and just to live was a struggle . In addition to all this ,because the area was visited by many ships , it was prone to becoming overrun by vermin , having cockroaches running around most homes was an everyday occurrence to be endured and from time to time outbreaks of Cholera and Smallpox .In this area my Mother and Father and their brothers and sisters were born and brought up and although not much of a start in life it made them survivors and was to help them with what was to come . Unknown to them , and just over the hill so to speak was another event that was to permanently and deeply effect them all - World War 1 . Nearly all of the Army conscripts came from areas like this from all over the country and it is not surprising that 40% were rejected on health grounds . A study at the time between State and Public Schools ( for the wealthy) showed that on average the children from the State schools were 5 inches ( 12.5 cm ) smaller than their Public School counterparts , a clear indicator of a poor diet .
My Father told me many stories of his early childhood in this area and by modern day standards are unbelievable .For a start none of the kids had shoes , out they had to go in all weathers , as a result in later life his feet were in terrible condition . Getting something to eat was always a problem . If nothing was at home for breakfast for the kids , then the eldest used to get up early and go to Readheads Shipyard to catch the night shift leaving work and try and beg some uneaten sandwiches from the men . If his Father was out of work , then all the kids as a gang resorted to stealing . A simple way to make a meal was to steal vegetables from the shops and some bones if they were lucky . When they got home they would prepare them , put them in the wash house clothes boiler , fire it up and cook them . He once badly burnt his hand - he spotted a tray of toffee cooling on a windowsill and in trying to steal it he got burnt. Such was life in areas like this , it was hard , and is well typified by some of Catherine Cookson's books .Among the pictures, I have included pictures of Pan Yard ( my Mothers home in 1919 ) and Gibsons Place , where my parents set up home for the first time in 1920 . Their downstairs neighbours were a coloured man and a white woman living together which in those days was socially unacceptable . This couple had nothing , their furniture was some wooden boxes and their bed a pile of straw which was swept into a corner of the room during the day . The Council decided to demolish the whole area but first they had to build new homes , which they did by constructing the new housing estates at Cleadon Park , Horsley Hill and the Sutton Trust . Very little is left of old Holborn , only a few pubs survive .
The B & W pictures are of superb quality and whoever took them is to be congratulated , they date from around 1934 and are the property of South Tyneside Borough Council who also own the copyright . As most of Holborn was demolished in the 1930 / 40's , I have created a link to a larger Photograph of the area taken in the 1960's , just click on Location - it will give an idea of where they were located - positions are approximate .Hope you enjoy it as much as I did putting it all together .
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| Mill Dam from the river 1900 - Location 1 | Mill Dam and Brewery Lane 1898 - Location 1 |
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East. Holborn with Nelsons Bank -Location 2
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Academy Hill looking towards the river - Location 3 |
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Nelsons Bank -Location 2 |
Nelsons Bank -Location 2 |
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Foot of East Holborn with Mill Dam 1920 Location 2 |
Foot of East Holborn with Mill Dam 1920 , Coronation St in the distance- Location 2 |
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| East. Holborn and Pratts Bank - Location 4 | East . Holborn and Tiny St 1934 |
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| Gibsons Place 1934 - Location 5 | Gibsons Place 1934 - Location 5 |
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| Gibsons Place 1934 - Location 5 | Trinity Church - 1900 - Location 7 |
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| East Holborn - 1910 - Location 6 | East Holborn to Mill Dam 1900 - Location 6 |
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| East Holborn 1934 - Location 8 | Dolly Peel Pub - formally Earl Gray - Location 9 |
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| Heron St 1934 | Heron St 1934 |
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| Pan Yard - Location 10 | Pan Bank - Location 10 |
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| West Holborn 1890's - both these pictures are of the same view - looking east down West Holborn . On the right is the junction with Pan Bank and in the distance with the small sign sticking out was the "White Swan" pub cum sailors lodging house . | West Holborn 1904 Location 12 |
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| Commercial Hotel with West Holborn on the left - 2000 Location 11 |
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