Monkwearmouth is in County Durham in the North East of England, on the north bank of the river Wear, opposite the City of Sunderland which is on the south bank.

Monkwearmouth was where the Venerable Bede (673 - 735 AD), best known for his Ecclestiastical History (to 731), spent his early years at St Peter's church, before moving to a monastry at Jarrow. He is buried in Durham Cathedral.

I met and married my wife in Hong Kong. She came from Monkwearmouth. I first learnt of the significance of this to my own family background some 17 years after we married when I discovered that many of my ancestors had lived in Dundas Street, Monkwearmouth Shore. My wife's parents were married at St Peter's, and she was born in Dock Street, which was on the other side of Church Street, opposite the eastern end of Dundas Street, some 200 metres from where my ancestors had lived! Her father worked for J L Thompson, shipbuilders, and her mother for a rope factory in Fulwell Lane, 200 metres to the north of Dundas Street. I have yet to prove that J L Thompson was in some way related to me and the the rope factory in Fulwell lane was that of a Thompson, but I live in hope.

Dundas Street had been developed during the 19th century, starting at the eastern end (according a map of 1826) and extending from Church Street to North Bridge Street to the west where the Scottish Church was built.

Dundas Street is now mostly demolished. The Scottish church with its spire can be seen at the far end and the modern Chinese church on the site of the Thompson Memorial Hall about halfway down on the left.

The Scottish Church (now the Church of Hebron) was re-designed by the architect John Dobson who was responsible for much of the re-modelled Quayside in Newcastle upon Tyne following the great fire there of 1864.

My own Thompson family, I discovered, were recorded on a memorial stone which still stands in the church yard of St Peter's. I discovered this by chance in the Local Studies Library of Newcastle upon Tyne. This stone records the children of John and Elizabeth Thompson, including Matthew Thompson, Elizabeth Pegg, John Thompson, Robert Chater Thompson and Jane Eggleston. John Thompson senior was my great great great grandfather, and Matthew Thompson my great great grandfather. They ran a ropeworks from the early 1800s in Church Street, north of Dock Street and Whickam Street, on the site of what is now Monkwearmouth Library.

Although much of Monkwearmouth has been cleared, some of the older parts still remain, such as Dixon Square (also spelt Dickson's Square).

Many Thompsons lived in Dundas Street, which varied between being relatively prosperous in the early 1800s and being a slum towards the end of that century:

• In 1841, there was Thompson Oliver at No 7 whose wife was Elizabeth Thompson. He himself, probably through his grandmother, was descended from the Thompson family. Thompson Oliver's father was also Thompson Oliver. Living with Thompson Oliver were Matthew Thompson, my great great grandfather with his wife, and Joseph Thompson, his youngest brother. Robert Chater Thompson, the eldest brother, also lived in the street. Thompson Oliver junior is mentioned in John Thompson's Recollections of Old Monkwearmouth - Men of Mark.
• By 1851, Joseph Thompson (described as a shipowner) had moved to 49 Dundas Street, Matthew Thompson (described as a ropemaker and shipowner) had moved to No 13 while Thompson Oliver continued at No 7. Robert Chater Thompson lived at No 78 almost immediately opposite Nos. 7 and 13. These were all located towards the western end of Dundas Street, other than Joseph in No 49 which was at the eastern end, near Church Street. By 1855, Joseph had moved to No 10. Matthew Thompson and his son Thomas Roe Thompson moved to South Wales in 1858.

There were other Thompsons in Dundas Street:

• There were, in 1841, Richard and Mary Thompson (breadbaker), Margaret Thompson, Matthew and Alice Thompson shipowner, William and Jane Thompson (agent) and John and Ann Thomson (shipwright).
• After 1851, there were William and Elizabeth Thompson (shipwright) in No 20, Thomas Thompson (tailor) in No 29, Mark and Martha Thompson (general labourer) in No 31 and George and Elizabeth (shipwright) in No 38.

In the middle of Dundas Street, on the southern side, was the Independent Chapel (now a Chinese Church and rebuilt). This chapel was renovated in 1902 for the Young Men's Bible Class at Dock Street Methodist Chapel. The Independent Chapel had been bought by Mr J L Thompson, shipbuilder, for the Methodish Chapel for £1,000 but he died before the renovations had been completed. The Chapel was therefore renamed the Thompson Memorial Hall and was active for many years..

Footnote:

Ship building and ropemaking were major industries in Monkwearmouth in the 19th century, continuing well in to the 20th century. However, by the 1990s, no ropeworks is left and shipbuilding has been decimated to such an extent that the names of Thompson Ropeworks and J L Thompson and Sons shipbuilders are memories of the past.