Tyneside means much more than a riverside conurbation to the almost one million people who live and work there, tied in affection to their collective 'Geordie' home. The area's streets and towns with their fascinating and historic architectural 'gems' - buildings, bridges, stately homes, statues and pubs - have helped to establish this strong sense of place, and some of them are the subject of this book, which, using archive and contemporary photographs as its subject, embarks on an impressionistic journey around Tyneside and across this Geordie homeland. Moving upriver from the Tyne estuary, and for the most part staying close to the river shore - the region's essence - it illustrates a post-industrial landscape of profound change. Now the 'coaly Tyne' runs clean and heavy industry is all but gone, yet Tyneside's gems gleam on, marking the passage of a disappearing age as well as progress into a future one. It may certainly have lost an age of great industry and invention, which caused upheaval and hardship, but it was also an age that shaped the Tyneside of today. Of the more than 40 'gems' included and described, some are well known, even iconic perhaps, others much less so. They include uncompromising industrial marvels and celebrations of civic prosperity, scrubbed of their soot to face the modern age but still prominent landmarks in town and cityscape. Many more are harder to find, tucked shyly away down side streets or obscure and unrecognised in semi-rural backwaters. These are the true 'hidden gems', often chance survivals. Yet it is to be hoped that every one, be it pretentious or humble, eye-catcher or eyesore, will be sought out and enjoyed, and will grace the landscape of Tyneside for many generations to come.

The historic city of Durham attracts many visitors each year. They are drawn to its iconic buildings, particularly the great Norman cathedral and castle as well as the surrounding and relatively unspoilt medieval town. In this tour of the famed city, fifty of these wonderful structures will be showcased. It features the most renowned buildings of course but then goes beyond the ancient town core to describe Durham's flourishing university campus as well as bridges, chapels, theatres and pubs and more recent (and more controversial) architectural adventures. All of them - ancient and modern - help to tell Durham's extraordinary story. Added together they make up what has aptly been called 'The Durham difference'. Durham City in 50 Buildings explores the history of this fascinating city through a selection of its most interesting buildings and structures, including lesser-known buildings tucked away, showing the changes that have taken place over the years. The book will appeal to all those who live in Durham or visit the city, or who have an interest in the area.

Durham City is a remarkable place, a priceless historical gem and, deservedly, a World Heritage Site. Over 1,000 years Durham's great beauty and history has inspired many architectural descriptions and guides. This book follows in their footsteps but then takes a different path. Wandering through the cathedral's darkened cloisters, the city's narrow medieval streets and the river's winding pathways, Secret City of Durham is one man's view of this famed peninsula - an occasionally quirky tour through history that looks beyond the iconic architecture and behind the fascinating jumble of city buildings. The author peels back their facades to reveal the bewildering changes and on the way points out the lesser-known facts and characters associated with them. What points the way to Durham Cathedral and St Cuthbert's tomb and where can it be found? Who lived in Windy Gap? Why St Mary-the-'Less'? Secret City of Durham answers these fascinating questions and many more in a modern pilgrimage through the city.

Hebburn History Tour is a unique insight into the illustrious history of this South Tyneside town. This is an exciting guided walk around the well-known places of the 200-year-old town and explains what they meant to local people throughout the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. Readers are invited to follow a timeline of events and watch the changing face of Hebburn as Derek Dodds guides us through its streets.