Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Tyne

TYNE, a river in the north-east of England, is formed of two branches, the North Tyne, rising in the Cheviots on the borders of Roxburgh, and the South Tyne, rising at Tynehead Fell, at the south-eastern extremity of Cumberland. The North Tyne flows south-eastwards by Bellingham, a short distance below which it receives the Rede from the north, and 2 miles above Hexham it is joined by the South Tyne, which before the junction flows northward to Haltwhistle, and then eastward, receiving the Allen from the right a short distance above Haydon Bridge. The united streams then have a course of about 30 miles eastwards to the sea at Tynemouth. For a considerable part of its course the Tyne flows through a pleasant and richly cultivated country, but in its lower reaches the presence of coal pits has almost completely robbed the scenery of its natural charms, and the former sylvan retreats of monks and abbots are now occupied by blast furnaces and shipbuilding yards, and similar scenes of busy industry, which line both banks of the river from Newcastle to the sea. The river is navigable to Blaydon for small craft, and to Newcastle, 8 miles from its mouth, for large vessels.

The coal trade of the Tyne is the most important in England, and for its general shipping trade the river ranks next in importance to the Thames and the Mersey. The principal ports are Newcastle and North and South Shields, but below Newcastle the river is everywhere studded with piers and jetties. About a seventh of the whole tonnage of vessels built in England is built on the Tyne, the most important works being those of Jarrow. For boat-racing the Tyne vies in celebrity with the Thames.