Thomas Haswell (1807–1889) was a

Tynemouth Tynemouth () is a coastal town in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, North East England. It is located on the north side of the mouth of the River Tyne, hence its name. It is 8 mi (13 km) east-northeast of Newcastle upon T ...

-born schoolmaster, head master, songwriter and composer.

Early life

Childhood and education

Thomas Haswell was born on 8 December 1807 to George Haswell and Alice (née) Corlett in

, Northumberland. He had three brothers and five sisters, but at least five of these died in infancy. His father was a sailor. Thomas started his minimal education in 1816 at North Shields Royal Jubilee School (which had only been open a matter of 4 years). He stayed there for three years before leaving to work as a helper to his father on the

Tyne Tyne may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography * River Tyne, England *Port of Tyne, the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England *River Tyne, Scotland * River Tyne, a tributary of the South Esk River, Tasmania, Australia Peop ...

Early career

Shortly after he moved and was employed grinding glasses for a maker of "watch crystals", then as a grocer’s errand boy before, in 1823, becoming apprenticed to a master painter. The little knowledge which he had gained at school made him desirous of more and he began to educate himself.

Musician and teacher

He gained a passion for music and joined the choir of Christ Church, where he learnt more under the old-fashioned choirmaster, Thomas Oxley. Haswell made such rapid progress that after only one year he joined a

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. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...

military band, of which shortly afterwards he was made the leader. He was soon scoring classical pieces for the band to perform and in no time he had learnt the pianoforte and organ. Despite having his full-time job as a painter’s apprentice and his part-time work with the band and general interest in music, he did not neglect his general studies. He had decided that teaching was for him, and as soon as his apprenticeship ended he joined Westoe Lane National School, South Shields, as a student-teacher. Some years later he accepted a position of master of Trinity Church School,

. In 1838, the position of headmaster of his old school, the Royal Jubilee, fell vacant and he took the position. The school had only approximately 40 pupils and was in a dilapidated condition, with a poor and outdated system of teaching. As fast as he dared and finances allowed, he changed all this, introducing many academic subjects such as music, drawing and science whilst not forgetting the sports and swimming (at the council baths – and in the sea). A great respect grew between him and his pupils.

Marriage and family

In the second year as headmaster, Thomas Haswell married Matilda Preston Armstrong (1821–1885) on 21 Sep 1840 in

All Saints' Church, Newcastle upon Tyne All Saints' Church is a late 18th-century church in Lower Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, which replaced a medieval church on the same site. All Saints' Church is the only elliptical church building in England, the third tallest re ...

and with her assistance his musical talent developed. They had seven children: Amy, Alice Clara, George Handel, Sarah Hannah, John Tom, Henry Crawford and William Corlett Haswell.

Later life

About 1851 Thomas Haswell became organist at the parish church of North Shields, a job which encompassed choir training, choir practice, and frequent services. He retired in December 1886, aged 79. Haswell died on 8 December 1889 in

, Northumberland and was buried possibly at Preston Cemetery, North Shields. Twelve months after his death, a portrait (painted by

James Shotton James Shotton (1824–1896) was a North Shields born 19th-century artist. He painted a portrait of Thomas Haswell, a North Shields songwriter. Brief details Shotton was born in North Shields in 1824. He showed a talent for drawing from ...

) was presented to the Public Library at North Shields, paid for by colleagues and former pupils.

Works

His musical compositions include: *"The Life Brigade" – written for the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade. *"Love Lore" - composed for a Mechanics' Institute concert. *A considerable amount of church music for

Christ Church, North Shields Christ Church, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, England is an Anglican church in the parish of North Shields Christ Church, Diocese of Newcastle. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, Early history Christ Church ...

. *"Welcome to the

Hungarian Exiles Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the assignme ...

" - given words by James Stead Edington, it was first performed at a concert in aid of the exiles. * The inaugural hymn for the opening of North Shields Mechanics' Institute which was given words by James Stead Edington. *"

" (or sometimes referred to as "

Tynemouth Abbey Tynemouth Castle is located on a rocky headland (known as Pen Bal Crag), overlooking Tynemouth Pier. The moated castle-towers, gatehouse and keep are combined with the ruins of the Benedictine priory where early kings of Northumbria were buri ...

") - set to words by

John Stobbs John Stobbs was a 19th-century English songwriter and poet who lived in the Tyneside district. Many of his writings are in the Geordie dialect. Known details There is little information on John Stobbs, except that he was (like William Egglest ...

. It became the school song in later times. This work appears in ''

The Shields Garland '' The Shields Garland '' is a Chapbook of Geordie folk songs consisting of three small volumes, published in the 1850s The publication William Brockie edited the three volumes of "'The Shields Garland'", a series of booklets containing "Shie ...

''.

References

External links

Farne - Folk Archive Resource North East Tynemouth (or Tynemouth Abbey)

Allan’s Illustrated Edition of Tyneside songs and readings 1891
* Allan’s Illustrated Edition of Tyneside songs and readings of 1891 - published by Thomas & Gorge Allan, 18 Blackett Street, Newcastle upon Tyne

The monthly Chronicle of North-Country Lore and Legend 1891 Printed and Published for Proprietors of the "Newcastle Weekly Chronicle" by Walter Scott, Newcastle upon Tyne and 24 Warwick Lane, Paternoster Row, London

G. H Haswell, ''The Maister - being some account of the life and work and times of Thomas Haswell, Master of the Royal Jubilee Schools at North Shields''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haswell James English composers English male songwriters People from Tynemouth 1889 deaths 1807 births Geordie songwriters 19th-century English musicians People from North Shields Musicians from Tyne and Wear