Sunderland’s Antiquarians Society unearths historic Tyneside photos

[Michael Wong]

Whilst sorting through archive material to use for a website, Bill Hawkins, history enthusiast and member of the Sunderland’s Antiquarians Society, discovered boxes of glass plate negatives that were dust covered and laid undisturbed for six decades.

Mr Hawkins, 55, of Sunderland, found around 30 photographs dating back more than 100 years, including images taken of Tynemouth pier and of the High Level Bridge spanning the River Tyne. This treasure trove of iconic images of Tyneside finally saw the light of day !

Sunderland’s Antiquarians Society which was founded in 1900 holds extensive archives that have been collected and donated over the past century by people living in the city. They are all available to members and visitors. The Society now wants to give the negatives to any similar organisations in Newcastle who would be interested in taking them for research and to make available to the public.

The full story can be found here. For more information about the Society, visit here. Or if anyone is interested in the negatives, call Bill Hawkins on 0191 551 3947.