In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson’s Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Wallsend like this:

WALLSEND, a township and a parish in Tynemouth district, Northumberland. The township lies on the river Tyne and on the Newcastle and Tynemonth railway, at the E end of the Roman wall, 3½ miles ENE of Newcastle; took its name from its position at the end of the wall; contained the Roman Segedunum, where Roman pottery, inscriptions, coins, an altar to Jupiter, and other Roman relics have been found; became noted, in last century, for coal-workings of prime quality, which yielded an average profit of £20,000 annually for twenty years, but became unprofitable and were abandoned in 1853; contains a village of its own name; and has a post-office under Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a r. …station, a church of 1809, U. Presbyterian and Methodist chapels, a free school, two blast furnaces, forge-works, lead and copper smelting-works, and two chemical manufactories. Pop. in 1851, 2,161; in 1861, 2,371. Houses, 501. The parish includes two other townships; forms a sub-district; and comprises 2,579 acres of land and 208 of water. Real property, £17,335; of which £600 are in ironworks. Pop. in 1851, 5,721; in 1861, 6,715. Houses, 1,079. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Durham. Value, £300.* Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of D. The p. curacies of Willington and Howdon-Pans are separate benefices. The painter Martin was a native.

Reference:

GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Wallsend, in North Tyneside and Northumberland | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.

URL: http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/982