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Description: | Song poking fun at the rejection of the customs house at North Shields.Probably printed in 1816, this song describes the animosity shared between Newcastle and South Shields over custom duties. The principle custom house for the River Tyne was on Newcastle Quayside. The result of this was that any customs duties paid, even on goods heading for South Shields, were received by the Town of Newcastle and not by Shields.In 1816, tired of missing out on what North Shields believed to be their rightful income, the town launched a bid to institute their own customs house. A representative was sent to London and false news was spread that the bid had been successful, 'False report (only guess) brought to Gotham success, rejoicing, they blaz'd, without doubt'. It was soon realised that this was not the case and that the Shield's custom branch had been rejected (Newcastle sent influential representatives to protest the bid). The people of North Shields were left looking rather foolish over their premature celebrations, resulting in much bad feeling towards the town of Newcastle.There are a number of 'custom house' songs, some celebrating the failure of the branch and others berating Newcastle's part in its rejection. It is clear that this version is of the former and was intended for the people of Newcastle. It would not have been distributed in North Shields. It is also interesting to note that this song is printed in standard English, not in the vernacular. Although the demand for songs printed in regional dialect was increasing during this time, often standard English versions of a song were issued alongside those printed in the vernacular. This shows a clear distinction between broadsheets aimed at the middle classes and those intended for members of the working class. This song is part of the John Bell Collection. ; A collection of broadsheets on various subjects, with accompanying press cuttings and manuscript notes in the hand of John Bell. | Publisher: | J. Marshall Newcastle upon Tyne | Rights holder: | rights holder : Newcastle University | Subjects: | customs house & customs duties industry and occupation | Temporal: | start=1801;end=1840; | Source: | Folk Archive Resource North East | Identifier: | farne:N0107101 | Go to resource |
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