473867 The Black Middens, North Shields (w/c on paper) by Balmer, George (c.1806-46); 27.8x12.3 cm; Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK; (add.info.: A wrecked boat is aground on the rocks known as the Black Middens at the entrance to the River Tyne, near North Shields. Sets of towers with lights were built in the 18th and early 19th centuries to guide ships. However, storms still often drove ships onto the rocks. In this scene, people are attempting to salvage the ship. George Balmer spent his early life in North Shields. He was one of the leading painters of sea and shipping subjects in the North East in the early 19th century. ); 穢 Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums; English, out of copyright.