“The Boarding Houses were owned and run by their boarding house masters. Most Arab boarding-house masters were former seamen who had chosen to settle in South Shields and set up their cafes and small shops around the Laygate area. The boarding house master played a key role in the lives of the Arab seamen. They would offer the seamen assistance in securing their next ship, money if the men ran out and advice if they needed any kind of help.” ²

Early Yemeni Establishment in South Shields

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1883 map – (c) South Tyneside Libraries

(c)Public Records Office PRO CO 725/21/9⁴

kholaidi cafe – Ali Fasa pictured with his back to the camera (c) South Tyneside Council

Later Years

The two boarding houses referred to were one on St. Judes Terrace owned by Abdul Ghani (above) and 50-52 Brunswick Street owned by Mr Hussein (Al-Sayyadi).  

In a conversation with Mrs AbdulGhani, she explained that the question of which house a seamen decided to lodge in would often depend on tribal connections. Lodgers would reside in the boarding house belonging to those from closest to their home village. For example, as Mr and Mrs Abdul Ghani were both themselves from the Al-Shimary tribe, their boarding house attracted other ‘Shimarys’ as well ‘Khulaidis’ of whom there were many.   

Mr Hussein, however, was the only seaman from his Al-Sayyadi tribe in South Shields for many years and therefore filled his boarding house with people from villages near to where he originated. His lodgers included both friends and Somalis who by Mrs Abdul Ghani’s account, did not stay in St Jude’s Terrace.    

Abdul Ghani – St Judes Terrace

Mohamed Al-Sayyadi (Ahmed Ali Hussein)

50-52 brunswick street

(c) The Shields Gazette 27/09/1991

A short film was made on BB2 program 10×10 in 1992 by Tom McGorrian. It focused on the Hussein’s boarding house of 50/52 Brunwick Street.  

(c) Tom McGorrian – with thanks for permission to show

Snapshot Of Boarding House Life

Past Times

Many of the wider South Shields community hold precious memories of Yemeni food.   Many remember the taste of the food from visiting friends or boarding houses in childhood.

When asked, some said they could ‘still smell’ its aroma whilst others had been left touched by the humble, communal way of eating together in the boarding houses based on Islamic tradition.  Here are some examples of Yemeni dishes relished by the community.

Peter Fryer and David Campbell – The boarding house

(c) Peter Fryer – with thanks for permission to display.

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Building of historical importance

In 2023, this boarding house, ‘Brunswick Street, Yemeni Boarding House’ was added to South Tyneside Council’s list of buildings of local importance alternatively known as local heritage assets. This list contains “buildings, structures or spaces that do not meet the criteria for national listing by Historic England but are still important to the people of South Tyneside” 

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Dalali and Yusef Abiyan (c) in Sayyadi’s boarding house (c) Leyla Al-Sayadi

The End of boarding Houses

Following the decline of the shipping industry, port towns were hit hard. South Shields no longer runs as a hub of maritime activity and simultaneously, the demographic of the population has changed. At the time of writing in 2025, only one boarding house exists loosely as a boarding house. It’s occupants no longer Yemeni seamen but college marine students. Most of the original 1^st generation Yemeni seaman have passed away leaving their descendants, ‘Sandancers’ with often mixed, Yemeni heritage.

1. Lawless, R.I. (1995). From Taʻizz to Tyneside. p. 162 ↩︎
2. Ibid., p. 162 ↩︎
3. Ibid., p. 12-13 ↩︎
4. Ibid., p. 42 ↩︎
5. Ibid., p. 162 ↩︎
6. Ibid. ↩︎
7. South Tyneside Council. (2020). Local List A to Z – South Tyneside Council. [online] Available at: https://www.southtyneside.gov.uk/article/18506/Local-List-A-to-Z#y [Accessed 27 Jul. 2025]. ↩︎