Born at Parson’s Green in Fulham, William Sidney Gibson travelled to North East England in 1843 to serve as registrar at the district court of bankruptcy at Newcastle. While in the region, he developed an interest in the history and antiquities of Durham and Northumberland, particularly the priory at Tynemouth.
This history of Tynemouth Priory was published in 1846-7. He followed the book with a larger history of castles and monastic sites in the region between 1848 and 1854. Gibson returned to London after the abolition of the bankruptcy courts in 1869 and died there in 1871. His body was returned to Tynemouth and interred in the disused burial ground of the priory.