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Hebburn on the banks of
the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow.
One of its main industries, coal
mining, first developed here in the late 18th century.
In 1816 Sir Humphry Davy took gas from Hebburn 'B' colliery
to test his miner's safety lamp.
The new invention was designed
to allow deep seams of coal to be mined despite the presence
'firedamp' (a mixture of methane and air). Once proved
successful, the 'Davey' lamp was taken underground
for the first time at Hebburn.
Shipbuilding and engineering
were also important industries and in the mid-19th century
Hebburn developed rapidly as an industrial town. The
warship HMS Kelly, commissioned in 1939, was built at the
Hawthorn Leslie shipyard in Hebburn. She was captained
by Lord Louis Mountbatten and many of her crew were Hebburn
men.
In 1941, during the invasion
of Crete, the ship was dive-bombed and sunk with the lost
of 130 lives.The graves
on those who died are in Hebburn cemetery. The film
'In Which We Serve', starring Noel Coward, was based
on the sinking of HMS Kelly.
During the Great Depression of
the 1930's the shipbuilding industry on the Tyne collapsed
causing serious unemployment and deprivation and in the 1980's
the coal mines and steel works also closed down. Today
some shipping business remains, and other employers include
engineering works and electrical industries.
The town is now on the Tyne &
Wear Metro transport system and rejuvenation includes plans
to construct a second Tyne tunnel.
Hebburn has a surprisingly green
riverside with good views across the river to the shipyards
of Wallsend. There is an attractive marina and the Riverside
Park provides cyclists, walkers and runners with attractive
paths along the River Tyne as far as Gateshead.
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Hebburn
