Tales from the East End

After I'd written up my last blog post I realised that, across the city, there is an equally excellent source of historical information for the East End - well, Heaton and its immediate environs, anyway. This is the superb Heaton History Group website.

When I was putting together my recent book on the city's suburbs, articles from this organisation's website would frequently come up in Google searches. And though I always try to get to the source of historical facts before I present them to you in my books and blog posts, I have learned to trust this particular source. It is essentially a blog about historical bits and bobs relating to Heaton, but is beautifully laid out, cross-referenced and catalogued - and with articles dating back more than a decade. And most of the pieces are lengthy affairs, too, with a good scattering of illustrations and lists of sources, etc.

You can join the group, too, for a very modest £15 per annum, and there are, of course, regular talks and other events for members (and indeed paying non-members) to enjoy.

So, though I'm a 'West-Ender' by birth and upbringing, I'd like to thank the good folk at Heaton History Group for extending my knowledge of the far side of the city. Boy, what an interesting place Newcastle and its suburbs is!