College's founding father to be remembered in charity walk

A tour of landmarks in the life of Dr Thomas Masterman Winterbottom will see a team follow his footsteps, from cradle to grave.

The Walk for Winterbottom will start at the old Town Hall, in South Shields Market Place, close to where he was born 250 years ago.

It will eventually end at the college’s Westoe campus, about a mile away.

In between, the walkers will pass the town’s St Hilda’s Church, where he received his first childhood schooling, and the original marine and technical school, in Ocean Road, on which the college is founded. They will detour to the Mariners Cottages, which he helped found and finance, and pay their respects at his final resting place, in Westoe Cemetery.

The walk will take place between 6pm and 8pm on Wednesday, May 25, as part of a week of fundraising events to support the Dr Winterbottom Charitable Fund, set up to establish health and well-being, business start-up and learning hardship funds for students, with some overseas good causes.

Walk leader, historian and college governor Dr Malcolm Grady, said: “Dr Winterbottom left a deep mark on South Shields by the things he did and the specific places he had an influence on.

“He is associated with important and well-known landmarks that even today play a vital part in the lives of people in the town and the wider region.

“For a start, without him there would be no South Tyneside College or its world-famous South Shields Marine School – his legacy is quite exceptional. It is fitting that we should raise money for the fund which bears his name by enjoying a walk around these landmarks. I hope it will be well-supported.”

Participants will be asked to donate £5 to the fund, with other Winterbottom Week events to be announced soon.

Anyone who would like to support the Dr Winterbottom Charitable Fund should contact [email protected] or call 0191 427 3717.