[4] Divisions living at the fort included Tigris bargemen (from Persia and modern day Iraq), infantry from Iberia and Gaul, and Syrian archers and spearmen.

It is believed it became a royal residence of King Osric of Deira; records show that his son Oswin was born within 'Caer Urfa', by which name the fort is thought to be known after the Romans left.

In the ninth century, Scandinavian peoples made Viking raids on monasteries and settlements all along the coast, and later conquered the Anglian Kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia, who hailed from Angelnen in Denmark (modern day Germany).

[citation needed] It is said in local folklore that a Viking ship was wrecked at Herd Sands in South Shields in its attempts to disembark at a cove nearby.

In 1864, a Tyne Commissioners dredger brought up a nine-pounder breech-loading cannon; more cannonballs have been found in the sands beside the Lawe; these artifacts belonged to the English civil war.

In 1832, with the Great Reform Act, South Shields and Gateshead were each given their own Member of Parliament and became boroughs, resulting in taxes being paid to the Government instead of the Bishops of Durham.

Shipbuilding (along with coal mining), previously a monopoly of the Freemen of Newcastle, became another prominent industry in the town, with John Readhead & Sons Shipyard the largest.

In the 21st century, the local economy primarily includes port-related, ship repair and offshore industries, manufacturing, retail (nearby Newcastle, Durham, Washington and Sunderland), the public sector and the ever-increasing role of tourism.

[16] Before 1820, South Shields was a predominantly sparse hamlet- and village-based rural economy with some small-scale shipbuilding, glass making and salt processing along the riverside.

The majority of the people living in South Shields are descendants of those who migrated and settled in the area during the Industrial Revolution in order to work in expanding coalmines and shipyards.

The port in South Shields employed men of Yemeni, Aden, Somali, African, Indian and Malaysian nationalities.

[23] After World War II, the Yemeni population declined, partly due to migrations to other industrial areas such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield.

The exhibition depicted the Yemeni story as an example of early successful multi-cultural integration in Britain, as well as showcasing the high-profile 1977 visit by Muhammad Ali.

[33] Today, the town relies largely on service industries, whilst many residents commute to work in nearby Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside and Sunderland.

As with other resorts tourism is a large part of the town's economy: to attract tourists the town has an extensive network of cycle paths and walking trails; a promenade; parks-and-gardens; fairground rides; amusement arcades, crazy golf, laser tag, a miniature steam railway; boating lake; a ten-pin bowling centre and an amphitheatre.

South Shields plays host to an annual free summer festival and each autumn the town is the seaside finish to the week as well as public gala shows at the Customs House.

They are a number of trade related landmarks: this includes the headquarters, warehouse and factory of the fashion company Barbour; the Customs House theatre and arts venue and the historic Mill Dam riverside.

The South Pier was finished in 1895 and its lighthouse was operational that same year (it was equipped with a third-order fixed optic and a clockwork occulting mechanism, by Chance Brothers & Co.).

[46][47] This very unusual lighthouse resembling a 1940s sci-fi movie space craft was built by Newcastle-upon-Tyne Trinity House in 1882 (ownership was passed to the Tyne Improvement Commission the following year).

It consists of an upper hexagonal part (including the lantern) of wood and corrugated iron construction, sitting on twelve cylindrical steel legs.

At the same time each lighthouse was equipped with an electrically activated fog bell; these were switched on and off remotely from a control hut in the pier blockyard.

[48] In 1961 the Commissioners installed a groundbreaking system by which the two fog bells would be switched on and off by the keepers on duty in the Tynemouth Pier lighthouse, using an 'infra-red ray' beamed across the river.

At the same time the South Shields lights were themselves fully automated, with the addition of standby diesel alternators and automatic lamp changers.

[56] A prominent landmark is South Shields Town Hall, built 1905–1910, a sumptuous building "the most convincing expression in the county of Edwardian prosperity".

[104] South Shields is a safe Labour Party Parliamentary seat,[105] the only constituency in existence since the Great Reform Act of 1832 never to have elected a Conservative MP.

[107] Previous incumbents of the constituency's seat include former cabinet ministers David Clark and Chuter Ede; the latter was Home Secretary in Clement Attlee's post-war government for 6 years.

The town is well connected to other areas of Tyne & Wear and to the strategic road network – the A194(M) motorway provides a direct link between the Borough and the A1/A1(M).

The platform at the former South Shields Metro station is situated on a bridge directly above King Street – the town's main shopping area.

As well as in South Shields town centre and in Chichester, there are other Metro stations at Tyne Dock, Simonside and Brockley Whins.

Long-term plans by Nexus to re-open the former Sunderland to South Shields line between Tyne Dock, Brockley Whins and East Boldon would create a direct rail service between South Shields and Sunderland[citation needed], without the need for passengers to change trains at Pelaw in Gateshead.