John Shield (1768 – 6 August 1848) was an English

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

. One of his best known and liked songs at the time was " Bob Cranky's Adieu". Shield was a contemporary of the earliest Geordie dialect songwriters Thomas Thompson and John Selkirk.

Early life

He was born at Broomhaugh, a village in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

near

Riding Mill Riding Mill is a village near Hexham in Northumberland, England. It is part of the civil parish of Broomhaugh and Riding. It is served by Riding Mill railway station and by a frequent bus service on the route from Hexham to Newcastle. Riding Mi ...

in the Tyne Valley in 1768. He and his elder brother, Hugh, moved to

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

in John's twenties, and the first real mention of him was in 1800 when they were running the family's large wholesale/grocery business, which they had built up. The business was in Middle Street, facing the Cloth Market and opposite where the "White Hart" stood. In 1803, his name is on a petition protesting against taxes. Shield had a free and easy nature, was remarkably quiet and inoffensive, and, it seems, wrote dialect materials as a hobby. His brother Hugh was the opposite and could have a fiery temper. His first poetic/musical offering appeared in 1802 in the ''

Newcastle Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to in print as ''The Chronicle'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Evening Chronic ...

'' and he later went on to write well-known

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

songs about William Scott (alias Cull Billy; alias Silly Billy). He wrote the famous successful appeal for Scott's aid. Two of his other works, "Lord Size" and "Fair Delia" appear in the ''Northern Songster'' in 1806. His song "Oxygen Gas" was noted as being sung at the

Theatre Royal, Newcastle The Theatre Royal is a historic theatre, a Grade I listed building situated on Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne. History George III authorised the founding of a theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1780s. Newcastle's original Theatre Royal o ...

Later life

Around 1830, the council purchased the family property in Middle Street, together with most of the adjacent property in the area, to demolish them for major improvements. The Shields moved to new premises at the top of Dean Street. Towards the end of 1890, the descendants sold the property and business thus closing the almost-one-hundred-year connection of the family with the area. Hugh Shield was unmarried and retired from the business c. 1830, leaving it to John; Hugh purchased a small estate in Broomhaugh, where he lived in retirement. John Shield was married with a family and moved to a property near St. Andrew's Church, Newgate Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. After Hugh's death, John retired from the business, leaving it to his sons and moved into his brother's estate.

Death

He died, age 80, in Broomhaugh.

Works

His works include: * "The Barber's News (or "Shields in an Uproar") – to the tune of "Miss Bailey's Ghost"; published c. 1805, this song refers to Stephen Kemble, the large manager of the

, capsizing a boat on which he was crossing the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...

between

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

. * "Blackett's Field" – makes fun of the local preparations to defend against the possible arrival of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and the French. * " Bob Cranky's Adieu" – published c. 1812; Bob Cranky was a fictitious cartoon-like character, rather like the modern

Andy Capp ''Andy Capp'' is a British comic strip created by cartoonist Reg Smythe, seen in the ''Daily Mirror'' and the ''Sunday Mirror'' newspapers since 5 August 1957. Originally a panel (comics), single-panel cartoon, it was later expanded to four ...

, and in this song he joined the Volunteer Association in the march from

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

to Newcastle upon Tyne * "The Bonny Geatsiders" – published c. 1812; a light-hearted song about a group of volunteers from

who only managed to see action in manoeuvres in the locality * "Defence of the Name of Jack" * "Delia's Answer * "Fair Delia" * "Lines on Gull Billy * "My Lord 'Size" (or "Newcastle in an Uproar") – published c. 1806, remarking on the occasion when one of the Newcastle upon Tyne judges taking part, with other civic dignitaries, in the parade on the

, whilst stepping into or from the barge at

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne, hence its name. It is east-northeast of Newcastle up ...

, slipped into the water * "O No, My Love, No" * "Oxygen Gas" – noted for being sung at the

* "Poor Tom, the Blind Boy" " The Pitman's Revenge (against Bonaparte)" was erroneously credited to John Shield in many early manuscripts. A correction was made in the 1891 edition of ''

Allan's Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings ''Allan's Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings...'' is an historic book of Tyneside popular and traditional songs that consisted, in its final published form, of a compilation of approximately 400 song lyrics and notes, with adde ...

'' where the writing was credited to George Cameron.

Performances

References

External links

Wor Geordie songwriters
*
The Monthly Chronicle of North Country lore and legends with engravings
Date of birth missing 1768 births 1848 deaths 18th-century English businesspeople 18th-century English writers 18th-century English male writers 18th-century English poets 19th-century English businesspeople 19th-century English writers 19th-century English poets British grocers Geordie songwriters Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne 19th-century English male writers {{authority control