Newcastle had its origins as a Roman fort on the River Tyne, and fragments of Hadrian’s Wall are still visible in the city, which was to become a major powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution, particularly through the shipbuilding industry.

The ‘new castle’ which gave the city its modern name was built in 1080 by the son of William the Conqueror. Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was England’s northern fortress. Newcastle was successfully defended against the Scots three times during the 14th century.

From 1530 a royal act restricted all shipments of coal from Tyneside to Newcastle Quayside, giving a monopoly in the coal trade to a cartel of Newcastle burgesses known as the Hostmen. (The phrase ‘taking coals to Newcastle’ was first recorded in 1538.) This monopoly helped Newcastle prosper and develop into a major town. Wool was a major part of its economy in this period.

In the Sandgate area, to the east of the city and beside the river, resided the close-knit community of keelmen and their families. They were so called because they worked on the keels, boats that were used to transfer coal from the river banks to the waiting colliers, for export to London and elsewhere. In 1636 about 7,000 out of 20,000 inhabitants of Newcastle died of plague.

In the 18th century, Newcastle was the country’s fourth largest print centre after London, Oxford and Cambridge. Newcastle also became a glass producer with a reputation for brilliant flint glass.

In the 19th century, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were central to the city’s prosperity. The Industrial Revolution resulted in the urbanisation of the city.

Innovation in Newcastle and surrounding areas included the development of safety lamps, Stephenson’s Rocket locomotive, Lord Armstrong’s artillery factory, self-raising flour, Joseph Swan’s electric light bulbs, and Charles Parsons’ invention of the steam turbine, which led to the revolution of marine propulsion and the production of cheap electricity.

Census data provided exclusively byTheGenealogist.co.ukreveals how the city expanded from 86,000 people in 1841 threefold to 252,000 in 1911.

In 1841, coalmining dominated the city’s occupations, although there were still many agricultural labourers, and other trades such as shoemaker and tailor were significant. By 1911, there were already many fewer miners, but the city’s industrial fortunes provided work for thousands of general labourers.

However, unemployment hit record heights in Newcastle during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The city’s last coal pit closed in 1956. The slow demise of the shipyards on the banks of the River Tyne began in the 1970s.

TheGenealogist’s unrivalled data also reveals common surnames in the city. In both 1841 and 1911, Robson, Thompson, Bell, Scott, Watson, Richardson, Young, Armstrong and Anderson were all very common. Forster and Gibson also stand out in 1841, as do Graham and Clark in 1911.

Tyne & Wear Archives are at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle – see www.twmuseums.org.uk for details of these and several important museums in the area. Newcastle Libraries meanwhile hold the largest collection of local and family history material in the area, see their website for details of their holdings.