46 year old Tynemouth resident Luan Hanratty has strong Celtic roots. His father was born in Jarrow with their family connections going back to Galway in Ireland and his mother originally from Rosyth on the east coast of Scotland.

‘Yes, the Hanratty name is Irish, however, a brief background to my employment story is that I worked the financial sector in Prague, Czech Republic, moved to Shanghai in China where I was employed as an English teacher. I even appeared on TV there and published some books. Education is strong in my background as my father was a Drama Teacher’.

‘After Covid in 2020 I came back to the UK and based myself in South Shields. I was looking for my next adventure when I came across some local history and got obsessed with reading the stories’.

‘With my business partner Gary Holland we put together a website called Penbal – which is a Celtic name for the Tynemouth headland – the site features articles on Tyneside local history, photographs, AI art, links to Maritime Trust, Lifeboats Brigade and Fishermen’s Heritage plus local products for sale – prints, postcards, mugs, t-shirts and more’.

The latest story has recently featured on BBC News >>>

Roman Stones Missing from Mill Dam Roundabout, South Shields – Penbal

Luan’s latest post on the site is about a long lost river which flowed from the Mill Dam in South Shields.

‘Beneath the busy modern landscape of South Shields lies a forgotten natural feature – a river called the Mill Dam Creek but also known as the Branin River. This flowed from Mill Dam, next to Customs House today, out to the sea near North Marine Park and the Pier. This effectively made the Lawe an island’.

‘The channel played a vital role in the development of the town, both as a waterway and a habour, and once it was dammed with ballast, the Mill Dam formed a bridge between the north and south reaches of the early town’.

‘So important then, was the creek as a resource that it forms the base of the first industrial activity in South Shields, with coal mining also evident on the south bank where the pit wheel now stands above Asda carpark in Coronation Street’.

‘If you stand on the long sloping escalator when exiting Asda and look out across the huge carpark, you really get a feel for the valley nature of the Mill Dam Pond. Imagine what it must have looked like all those centuries ago’.

‘Another twist to the story is that in the 19th century much of the eastern end of the creek was covered by Denmark Street, where the Denmark Centre is today. In the 1830s, while building the street, a Viking longboat was discovered beside what was originally the river bed’.

‘Maybe there is someone out there who has more information about this amazing find. We know it featured in The Shields Gazette in the 1980s’.

Full story >>> The Lost Waterway of South Shields:  Mill Dam Creek – Penbal

Luan stresses that he has no plans to research any murders or the race riots that have happened on Tyneside.

‘So far, we have over 200 local history posts and we don’t look at any taboo subjects, I just like to paint a picture of our very rich heritage here on Tyneside’.

For further information contact Luan >>>>

Penbal – Messis ab Altis

Alikivi   January 2025