Chronology
1797 - Born in St Mary's Parish Gateshead, on 8 September.
1811 - Apprenticed to William Whittaker Spence, sailmaker.
1815 - 'Verses on Tanfield Arch, in the County of Durham', earliest known dated poem, 5 May 1815.
1817 - Drawn in a ballot to serve in the local militia (though finds a substitute).
1818 - Receives a silver medal from his companions in appreciation of his poetry.
1819 - Becomes member of Incorporated Company of Sailmakers.
1821 - Walks to Edinburgh for a wager with the historian Robert White. The route takes him to Blair Atholl and is calculated to be 580 miles of walking in a circuitous route..
First published verse appears 'Stanzas to Miss ____’, Newcastle Magazine, January 1821.
1822 - Gothalbert and Hisanna is published.
1823 - Marries Margaret Bradley Morrisson at All Saint's on 15 November.
Sunderland poet T. Ferguson publishes Gothalbert of the Tyne as a satire and condemnation of Gothalbert and Hisanna.
Writes an eye-witness account of the 'Barge Day' (Ascension Day) festivities on the Tyne.
1824 - Collection of Original Songs, Local and Sentimental is published.
A Collection of Original Local Songs, and the addition of an extra poem, ‘The Loss of the Ovington' is published.
Birth of first child, Margaret Ellen.
1826 - Poems is published.
Birth of second child, John Greene.
1828 - Death of daughter, Margaret Ellen.
1829 - His father, John, dies in the sailmaking lofts at the company's premises on the quayside.
Becomes Steward of the Incorporated Company of Sailmakers.
Birth of third child, James Morrison.
The Conversazione, Volume I, Issue 2, features stories and poems written wholly by Robert Gilchrist.
Gilchrist and colleagues are satirised in an essay called 'The Literary Club' in the Northern John Bull magazine.
1831 - Birth of fourth child, Robert Shaftoe. (Robert Shaftoe Gilchrist (d. 1914) was a keen cricketer and played for both Northumberland Cricket Club and Middlesex in a career spanning the 1850s to mid-1860s. A bowler, he played against several England sides, featuring the likes of James Lillywhite, John Wisden and W.G. Grace).
1833 - Birth of fifth child, William Crawford.
1835 - Sings at the opening of the Grainger Market on 22 October.
1836 - 'Song of improvements' performed by Mr Hudspeth at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle.
1838 - Elected to the Board of Guardians for the All Saint's Parish Poor Law Union. (re-elected 1839, 1840, 1841).
Appointed to the Workhouse Committee, which oversees the construction plans for the Newcastle Union Workhouse.
Involved in the inquiry into the death of Elizabeth Graham.
'Sonnet to Miss Grace Horsley Darling' is the first published celebration of the noted lifeboatwoman.
1839 - Birth of sixth child, George Henry.
1842 - Death of mother, Mary, at Sallyport Court, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, aged 79.
1844 - Dies at the Old House, Shieldfield Green, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on 11 July and is buried at the East Ballast Hills Cemetery.
1855/1856 - Margaret Gilchrist leaves Newcastle and relocates to West Ham, London.
1876 - Death of his wife, Margaret, who is buried in West Ham Cemetery, London.
1917 - Memorial plaque placed on the Old House, Shieldfield Green.
1978 - Memorial plaque removed to a plinth in Shieldfield Green.
2012 - New plinth constructed for memorial plaque in Shieldfield Green.