Life on the Tyne: Water Trades on the Lower River Tyne in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, a Reappraisal : Routledge : 9781472426338 : 1472426339 : 16 Oct 2014 : Whilst the early modern period has long been recognized as witnessing a growth in trade and consumerism, the majority of studies to date have tended to focus upon London and southern England. In order to provide a more balanced understanding of the dynamics at work on a national level, this book explores the local economy and waterborne trades of Newcastle and the River Tyne, in North East England. Drawing upon a variety of primary sources - including parish records, probate inventories, Newcastle Exchequer port books and the previously unpublished diary of an apprentice hostman - none of which have been examined previously in this context, the study adds significantly to our understanding of the growing community in North East England. In particular, it underlines the expansion of a thriving middling class with an a