THOMAS FERENS (TOMMY ON THE BRIDGE) (1841-1907)
Tommy on the Bridge was the best known eccentric character in the area.
Thomas Ferens was born in 1841, the son of a miner at Oakwellgate colliery. He was born blind and partially paralyzed and was orphaned at age of five. Unable to work he became a beggar and would stand on the Blue Stone on the old Tyne Bridge which marked the boundary between Gateshead and Newcastle. He moved to the Swing Bridge in 1876, where he stood from 11am to 4pm, Monday to Saturday. He chose this place because he was under the impression that if he stood on the exact boundary of the two towns he could not be arrested for begg ing by either police force.
No visitor to Tyneside left the area without having seen Tommy on the Bridge and picture postcards of him were issued. Tommy lodged with a Mrs Catherine O'Neil at 6 Bruce's Yard, off Cannon Street for the last fifteen years of his life.
On the evening of 1st January 1907, Tommy was found lying unconscious in an entry off Bridge Street. He was taken to the police station and then to the Workhouse Hospital, where he died.
LOCAL CHARACTERS (LEFT TO RIGHT) SAWDUST JACK, COFFEE JOHNNY, TOMMY ON THE BRIDGE