About Blyth

County: Northumberland
Region: North East
Country: England
Established: 12th centuary
Population: 37.000

Blyth is the largest town in Northumberland. It is located in south east Northumberland, south of the River Blyth. It has a population of around 37,000.

The port of Blyth dates from the 12th century, but the development of the modern town only began in the early 18th century.

The name Blyth is first mentioned in 1130 as Blida, when monks at Newminster Abbey were exporting salt created from pans on the north side of the river and evaporated using the large supplies of local coal.
The name Blyth comes from the Old English blīðe meaning 'gentle' or 'merry'. The town of Blyth was referred to as Blithmuth in 1236 and Blithemuth in 1250.

Between the 12th and 18th centuries, there were several small settlements and some industrial activity in the area. The principal industries during this period were coal mining, fishing and the salt trade. Shipbuilding in the area dates from 1748

The main industries which helped the town prosper were coal mining and shipbuilding, with the salt trade, fishing and the railways also playing an important role. These industries have largely vanished, but the port still thrives, receiving paper and pulp from Scandinavia for the newspaper industries of England and Scotland.

The modern town of Blyth began to develop in the first quarter of the 18th century. Up until 1716, the land around the Blyth area the Newsham Estate was owned by the Earls of Derwentwater, but when the third Earl, James Radclyffe, was executed for his part in the Jacobite rising of 1715, the land was forfeited to the crown. 

On 11 July 1723, the Lordship of Newsham was put up for sale by the Commissioners of Forfeited Estates at their office in the Inner Temple, London. The land was bought by Matthew White and his brother-in-law Richard Ridley. From the 12th century, most port activities were on the north side of the river, but under White and Ridley the first new quays and houses were built on the south side, and from here the port began to prosper.  By 1730, a coaling quay, a ballast quay, a pilots' watch house and a lighthouse had all been built at Blyth harbour. In 1765 the first breakwater was constructed, and in 1788 the first staith with an elevated loading point was erected. Deep mines were sunk at Cowpen Colliery and Cowpen Square in 1796 and 1804 respectively, and by 1855, a quarter of a million tons of coal was being shipped from Blyth, rising to three million tons by 1900. 

Having had fourteen salt pans at the beginning of the 18th century, exporting over 1,000 tons of salt annually, Blyth's salt industry closed in 1876, with the destruction of the last salt pan.

Industry in Blyth reached its peak in the first half of the 20th century. At this time it had one of the largest shipbuilding yards on the North East coast, with five dry docks and four building slipways.

During the First and Second World Wars, the Blyth shipyards built many ships for the Royal Navy including the first aircraft carrier, HMS Ark Royal in 1914.

Blyth also served as a submarine base during both wars. In 1930, the port of Blyth was exporting 5.5 million tons of coal and by the early 1960s, reached its peak with over six million tons.

By 1765 the ports facilities included a pilot house and lighthouse for the newly built first breakwater, North Dyke. The High Lighthouse came into operation soon afterwards, operating until July 1984.

Today, the Port of Blyth handles up to 1.5 million tonnes of cargo.

Several renewable energy projects have been established in Blyth.

In 1992, Blyth Harbour Wind Farm was constructed along Blyth's East Pier. Consisting of nine wind turbines and with a maximum capacity of 2.7 megawatts, it can provide enough electricity for over 1,500 homes. It was joined in December 2000 by Blyth Offshore Wind Farm, which was composed of two turbines situated 1kilometre (0.6 mi)  out to sea.

These was the UK's first two offshore wind turbines. At 2 megawatts each, they were also, when installed, the largest in the world. The wind farm was decommissioned in 2019.

Five new wind turbines were commissioned in 2017. These turbines produce 8.3 megawatts of power each, for a combined total of 41.5 megawatts, powering 36,000 homes.

The National Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) was established in 2002 to develop new energy technologies and equipment that will assist in the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Historic Finds:
The oldest archaeological find is an antler hammer dating from the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age period, which was found at Newsham in 1979. 

Human skulls, a spearhead and a sword dating from the Bronze Age were found in the river Blyth in 1890. 

A bronze axe was found at South Beach in 1993 and a dagger was found at Newsham.

There is no confirmed evidence of a Roman presence in the area.

An earthwork shown on early mapping of the area at the location of present day Freehold Street, is said to have been a Roman camp. It has also been argued that it may be of Norsemen origin or date from the Civil War. 

There is also a lot of debate surrounding a mosaic which was found near Bath Terrace.

The strongest evidence so far has been a single coin, dating from the reign of the Emperor Constans (AD337–350), which was found during excavations for a dry dock.
Four Roman coins were found when digging an air raid shelter in a back garden on Chestnut Avenue.

Newsham, Bebside and  Cowpen are all believed to have had habitation sites dating from the Romano-British, Saxon and Medieval  periods.