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In posting shots on other social media last year, it seemed that my shots at Ruckinge were not as complete as they should have been.
I did call in last year, but due to COVID, the church was locked.
On Saturday, we were in Ham Street so I could hunt butterflies, and surprisingly, Ham Street has no church within the village, instead there is Ruckinge and Orelestone to the north and east.
Orelestone I only visited last year, so have not been inside, but Ruckinge I last saw inside in 2014.
Saturday mornings there is a regular coffee morning in the shop, and I arrived just after midday as the refreshments were being packed away. Another role into which parish churches step into as other civic buildings are sold off up and down the country.
The tall, squat dower is visible from half a mile away, towering over the mature trees between. Clearly an ancient construction, Norman for sure, and topped by a wee little steeple.
Being a glorious day, I walked round the outside of the church, recording some of the finer details, like the tympanums over the west and south doors.
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A large church of Norman origins, the west door being a much-weathered example of twelfth-century work. The south doorway is also Norman and has the remains of two mass dials carved into its dressed stonework. The masonry inside the church shows clear signs of fire damage, and a nice crownpost roof of the fourteenth century probably marks the date of the rebuilding after the fire. Of the same period are the returned stalls on the south side of the chancel - the fronts being little more than a series of plain upright planks, with some spectacularly proportioned poppy-heads at each end. Outside, the upper stage of the tower dates from the thirteenth century and has a small pyramidal roof with needle spire.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Ruckinge
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RUCKING
LIES the next parish westward from Bilsington, for the most part upon the clay-hills. It is written in Domesday, Rochinges, and now usually called and written Ruckinge. Part of it, in which the church stands, is in the hundred of Newchurch, and another part in the hundred of Ham. That part of it which is below the hill southward is in the level of Romney Marsh, and within the liberty and jurisdiction of the justices of it, and the residue is within that of the justices of the county, and within the district of the Weald.
The PARISH lies so obscurely as to be but little known, it is a dreary unpleasant place, the roads are very narrow and miry, as bad as any in the Weald, the soil being a deep miry clay; that from Limne, through Bilsington, Ham-street, and Warehorne, crosses this parish on the side of the clay-hill, inclining nearer to the Marsh. The church stands on the side of the hill, overlooking the Marsh, which lies at the foot of it southward. The upper or northern side of it is mostly coppice wood. It contains about 930 acres of upland, and as many of marsh-land. There is no village, the houses being dispersed about the parish, and are mostly inhabited by poorer sort of people.
IN THE YEAR 791 king Offa gave to Christ-church, in Canterbury, fifteen plough-lands in Kent, among which was this estate of Roching, together with several dennes, for the feed of hogs, in the Weald; (fn. 1) but it was afterwards wrested from the church, during the Danish wars, and it continued in lay hands at the time of the conquest, soon after which it appears to have been in the possession of Hugo de Montfort, from whom archbishop Lanfranc recovered it again to his church, in the solemn assembly, held on this occasion by the king's command, at Pinenden-heath, in the year 1076. This estate coming thus into the hands of the church, on the division made of the revenues of it between the archbishop and his monks, was allotted by him to the latter, and the possession of it was confirmed to them by king Henry I. and II. In Somner's Gavelkind, is a transcript of a release anno 17 Edward I. of the base services of several of the tenants of this manor (gavelkind men) who brought them out, and consequently it was a mere change from service into money, by the mutual consent of lord and tenant. King Edward II. in his 10th year, granted to the prior and convent of Christ-church, free-warren in all their demesne lands in Rucking, among other places. In which state this manor continued till the suppression of the priory, anno 31 Henry VIII. when it came into the king's hands, where it did not remain long, for the king settled it by his dotation charter, in his 33d year, on his new-erected dean and chapter of Canterbury, part of whose possessions it still remains. The heirs of the Rev. Dr. James Andrews, lately deceased, are now entitled to the lease of it. There is no court held for this manor.
The OTHER PART of this parish, not included in the above grant of king Offa, seems to be that which Cuthred, king of Kent, in the year 805, with the consent and leave of Cœnulf, king of Mercia, gave to Aldbertht his servant, and Seledrythe the abbot, being two plough-lands in Hrocing, situated on both sides of the river Limene, to hold in perpetual inheritance, free from all regal tribute, &c. (fn. 2) Soon after the Norman conquest Hugo de Montfort was become possessed of lands in this parish, some of which were those which had been given by king Offa, as above-mentioned, to the priory of Christ-church, which were again recovered from him by archbishop Lanfranc, at the great meeting held at Pinenden. The residue continued in his possession, and are accordingly entered in the survey of Domesday, under the general title of the lands of Hugo de Montfort:
Ralph, son of Richard, holds of Hugo half a suling in Rochinges, which Leuret held of king Edward. It was taxed at half a suling. The arable land is two carucates. There are now twelve villeins having one carucate and an half. Of wood the pannage for one hog. In the time of king Edward the Confessor it was worth fifty shillings, and afterwards thirty shillings, now fifty shillings.
IN THIS PART was the MANOR OF WESTBEREIS, alias Rokinges, which seems to have been once accounted as a moiety of the manor of Rucking. The former of these names it appears to have taken from the antient owners of it. After this name was extinct here, which was before the reign of king Henry IV. this manor was come into the name of Prisot, and in the 21st year of king Henry VI. was owned by John Prisot, who was that year made a sergeant-at-law, and in the 27th year of it knighted, and made chief justice of the common pleas, (fn. 3) in whose descendants it continued till the 8th year of king Henry VIII. when Thomas Prisot passed it away by sale to George Hount, in which name it continued till the 9th year of queen Elizabeth, when it was sold to Reginald Stroughill, usually called Struggle, who was in the commission of the peace in king Edward VI.'s reign, a name of antient extraction in Romney Marsh, where there were lands so called, and there they continued in good esteem at Lyd, of which town they were jurats, and possessed lands for many years afterwards. From this name this manor of Westberies, alias Rokinges, went by sale to Pearse, and anno 23 Elizabeth John Pearse, alienated it, being held in capite, to Richard Guildford and Bennet his wife, but he being indicted for not taking the oath of supremacy, they fled the realm, and were attainted of treason, and his lands became forfeited to the crown, where this manor seems to have remained till the death of the latter in 1597, anno 39 Elizabeth, when the queen granted the fee of it to Walter Moyle, gent. who sold it soon afterwards to Francis Bourne, esq. of Sharsted, and his grandson James Bourne owned it at the latter end of king Charles I.'s reign, and in his descendants it continued till it was at length sold to Parker, in which name it remained till John Parker, of London, alienated it in 1706 to Edward Andrews, of Hinxhill, and his daughter Susanna, who married George I'anns, of this parish, and left a daughter of her own name, who afterwards married first John Gray, M. D. of Canterbury, and secondly Tho. Ibbott, clerk, and entit led each of her husbands in turn respectively to the possession of this manor. On her death without issue, her heirs on her mother's side became entitled to it, and in them, to the number of more than thirty, the inheritance of it is at this time vested.
The MANOR OF BARDINDEN, or Barbodindenne, was likewise most probably situated in this part of Rucking, and was antiently so called from a family of the same name, who were possessors of it, one of whom, William de Barbodindenne, held it at his death, which was in the 9th year of king Edward III. and in his descendants it continued till at length it was alienated to Sir Robert Belknap, chief justice of the common pleas, who being attainted and banished in the 11th year of king Richard II. his estates became forfeited to the crown. Notwithstanding which, the king, who considered him as a martyr to his interest, granted him his estates again, and among others this manor, which he died possessed of in the 2d year of king Henry IV. His grandson John Belknap, in the beginning of king Henry VI.'s reign, alienated it to Engham, in which name it continued till king Henry VIII.'s reign, when it was sold to Sir Matthew Browne, of Beechworth, who held it in capite at his death, anno 4 and 5 Philip and Mary. His grandson Sir Thomas Browne passed it away by sale, in the 7th year of queen Elizabeth, to Thomas Lovelace, esq. whose cousin and heir William Lovelace, of Bethesden, sergeant-at-law, succeeded him in the possession of it, which afterwards descended down to Col. Richard Lovelace, who, soon after the death of king Charles I. alienated it, with his estates at Bethersden, to Mr. Richard Hulse, afterwards of Lovelace-place, in that parish, but whereabouts this manor is precisely situated, or who have been the proprietors of it since, I have not as yet been able to gain any discovery of.
POUNDHURST is a manor, situated about a mile north-west from the church. It belonged in 1651 to Richard Watts, who sold it to Gadsley, from which name it passed to Hatch, and then to Read, who passed it away to Clarke, of Ashford, and Grace Clarke carried it in marriage to the Rev. Thomas Gellibrand, and at her death in 1782, gave it by will to her son the Rev. Joseph Gellibrand, of Edmonton, the present possessor of it.
The MANOR OF MORE was antiently held by owners of the same name, one of whom, Matthew at More, held it by knight's service in the 20th year of king Edward III. after which this manor of More came into the possession of the family of Brent, who were possessed of it in king Henry VII.'s reign. At length Thomas Brent, esq. of Wilsborough, dying in 1612, s. p. by his will gave this manor to his nephew Richard Dering, esq. of Pluckley, in whose descendants it continued down to Sir Edward Dering, bart. now of Surrenden, the present possessor of it.
Charities.
A PERSON UNKNOWN gave to this parish an annuity of 20s. paid out of lands in Romney Marsh, occupied by Mr. Stone, of Great Chart, which is yearly distributed on New Year's day to the poor, who receive no parish relief.
The poor constantly relieved are about twenty, casually forty.
THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Limne.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, is a very small building, having at the west end a pointed tower, out of which rises a small slender spire. In the tower there are five bells. It has a middle isle, and two narrow ones coving to it on each side. It has one chancel, and another building at the east end of the south isle, built of flint, with two handsome gothic windows on the south side, and seems to have been a chantry or oratory. It is now made use of to lay the materials in for the repairs of the church. There is a white stone in the north isle, having once had the figures of a man and woman in brass. There are no other memorials or gravestones in the church. On the outside of the steeple, on the west side, there is a very antient Saxon arched door-way, with carved capitals and zig-zag ornaments round it, and some sculpture under the arch. And there is such another smaller one on the middle of the south side of the south isle.
The church of Rucking seems to have been esteemed part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury ever since the restoring of it to that church, by the means of archbishop Lanfranc as above mentioned, when, on the allotment of the manor to the priory and monks of Christ-church, the archbishop most probably retained the advowson of this church to himself. His grace the archbishop is the present patron of it.
It is a rectory, valued in the king's books at 14l. 13s. 4d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 9s. 4d. In 1588 it was valued at one hundred pounds, communicants one hundred. In 1640 it was valued at eightyfive pounds, communicants the same as before. There are about eighteen acres of glebe.
In the petition of the clergy, beneficed in Romney Marsh, in 1635, for setting aside the custom of twopence an acre, in lieu of tithe-wool and pasturage, a full account of which has been given before, under Burmarsh, the rector of Rucking was one of those who met on this occasion; when it was agreed on all sides, that wool in the Marsh had never been known to have been paid in specie, the other tithes being paid or compounded for.
¶There is a modus of one shilling per acre on all grafs lands in this parish within the Marsh, and by custom, all the upland pays four-pence per acre for pasturage, and one shilling per acre when mowed, no hay having ever been taken in kind, the other tithes are either taken in kind, or compounded for. Formerly the woods of this parish paid tithes, after the rate of two shillings in the pound, according to the money paid for the fellets of them; but in a suit in the exchequer for tithe of wood, anno 1713, brought by Lodge, rector, against Sir Philip Boteler, it was decreed against the rector, that this parish was within the bounds of the Weald, and the woods in it consequently freed from tithes. Which decree has been acquiesced in ever since.
The first church on this place dates from the 7th century, but this church is 12th century, although the tower is older. Pope Pius II and his nephew Pope Pius III were baptised here.
Season of ripening of dates here in middle east is from May to December, depending on variety.
BIJ_5574a
Date Shot: 6/10/2010
Nikon D200
NIKON 135 mm 2.0 AI MF
F/2.8, 1/800s, +0.7EV
Aperture Priority
Center-Weighted Metering
ISO 400
EOTO announces three weeks of back-to-back November tour dates across the East Coast and Central United States. Bringing their patented sound and incredible live performance, the group will trek across the country displaying their unique brand of improvised live electronica.
Well-established as ...
www.hellhoundmusic.com/live-electronic-music-kings-eoto-a...
Lovely quality enamel badges promoting James Robertson's Preserves Golden Shred marmalade and Silver Shred lemon marmalade. The Fattorini made scout badge, on its original card dates to the 1950s/60s while the Miller made pre-war lemon badge dates to 1932. These lemon badges, incorporating the fruit and Golly’s head, were part of Robertson’s 1932 fruit series and have become highly sought after by collectors.
Golly full character badges (also known as brooches) have also become collectable since they first debuted in 1928 with the Golfer. In return for tokens, children would have received a themed badge similar to the scout badge shown above. Other variations would have included a footballer, cricketer, tennis player, lollipop man, hockey player, standard figure etc.
Some of the most prominent badge manufactures of the mid 20th Century were commissioned by Robertson's to make their badges and these included, for example H W Miller, Thomas Fattorini, Rev Gomm, Marples & Beasley, W O Lewis and J R Gaunt. This list is by no means exhaustive as Robertson's used a number of manufacturers to cater for substantial customer demand. Today, replicas or facsimiles of the originals are often passed off as the 'real thing' and anyone starting a collection in this field needs to be aware of unscrupulous sellers or dealers. Although there are occasional exceptions, an original period badge should have a patina commensurate with age and most should have, but not always the case, a back stamp of the maker.
The Golly badge collecting scheme ended in 2002 and an estimated 20 million badges made since 1928.
Photography, layout and design: Argy58
(This image also exists as a high resolution jpeg and tiff - ideal for a variety of print sizes
e.g. A4, A3, A2 and A1. The current uploaded format is for screen based viewing only: 72pi)
This is a Kingsway postcard published by W.H. Smith & sons and dates from about 1905. The view is looking east and downstream from London Bridge and the Belle steamer "Southwold Belle" is leaving its berth at Fresh Wharf which is just out of sight to the left in front of Adelaide Buildings. She was used primarily on the Great Yarmouth route, she certainly appears to be packed with passengers. In 1913 she was sold to an operator in Cherbourg and at the outbreak of the first world war she was commandeered by the French Navy and used in the Mediterranean as a troop and supply ship. After the war she was sold to an operator in Genoa where she was broken up in 1925.
Best viewed with the zoom feature.
New Auditiorium Building 2001
The University of Aarhus, which dates from 1931, is a unique and coherent university campus with consistent architecture, homogenous use of yellow brickwork and adaptation to the landscape. The university has won renown and praise as an integrated complex which unites the best aspects of functionalism with solid Danish traditions in form and materials.
The competition for the university was won by the architects Kay Fisker, C. F. Møller og Povl Stegmann in 1931. Stegman left the partnership in 1937, Fisker in 1942 and C. F. Møller Architects has been in charge of the continued architectural development and building design of the university until today.
The University of Aarhus, with its extensive park in central Aarhus, includes teaching rooms, offices, libraries, workshops and student accommodation. The university has a distinct homogeneous building style and utilises the natural contours of the landscape. The campus has emerged around a distinct moraine gorge and the buildings for the departments and faculties are placed on the slopes, from the main buildings alongside the ring road to the center of the city at Nørreport. All throughout the campus, the buildings are variations of the same clear-cut prismatic volume with pitched roofs, oriented orthogonally to form individual architectural clusters sharing the same vocabulary. The way the buildings emerge from the landscape makes them seem to grow from it, rather than being superimposed on the site.
The original scheme for the campus park was made by the famous Danish landscape architect C. Th. Sørensen. Until the death of C. Th. Sørensens in 1979 the development of the park areas were conducted in a close cooperation between C. Th. Sørensen, C. F. Møller and the local park authorities. Since 1979 C. F. Møller Architects - in cooperation with the staff at the university - has continued the intentions of the original scheme for the park, and today the park is a beautiful, green area and an immense contribution to both the university and the city in general.
In 2001, C. F. Møller Architects prepared a new masterplan for the long and short term development of the university. Although the university has been extended continuously for more than 75 years, the original masterplan and design principles have been maintained, and have proven a simple yet versatile tool to create a timeless and coherent architectural expression adaptable to changing programs. Today, the university is officially recognized as a Danish national architectural treasure and is internationally renowned as an excellent example of early modern university campus planning.
* Dates are only included as an example in the design.
* The design made has false text to complete the information.
Check me out on Linktree!
linktr.ee/krnxilla
The Parish Church of St Meubred in Cardynham dates back to about the 15th Century , and is dedicated to an Irish missionary who came over to preach to the moorland folk but ended up being beheaded in Rome. His body was later returned to the Parish and buried here; there’s a 14th century Easter sepulchre or Meubred’s tomb with niche above in the chancel.
The parish church is located in OS Grid Square SX1268 and was dedicated to St Meubredus the Martyr in 1085. There was an early church here, but towards the end of the 15th century all the previous building was demolished and the very fine present church built in its place. It was restored by Fellows-Prynne in 1907 and then by E H Sedding in 1921 but both treated it kindly.
The Church, which was damaged by German bombs that were intended for Bodmin during World War II
St Meubred’s has become the first Cycling Church in the UK. Early in October 2017 Bishop Chris of St Germans dedicated the newly installed Cycle Prayer Station which has been gloriously decorated by pupils from Cardinham Primary School.
It is a Grade 1 listed building
church website
www.bodminteam.church/st-meubred
cardinhamparish.net/worship/st-meubreds-church/
historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1143114
www.chct.info/histories/cardinham-st-meubred/
acornishjourney.wordpress.com/the-churches/cardinham-church/
#25363- Daiki Tanaka
Daiki likes "reading alone" and says he is ready to take the plunge into dating. He is described by friends as spirited and kind. Are you his special someone?
info: 400w studio light bounced into umbrella high right, 200w studio light bounced into umbrella above cam, and gelled speedlight for the BG. triggered by Elinchrom and Cybersyncs
Mayburgh (“maidens’ fort”) Henge is a large and impressive construction that most probably dates back to the late Neolithic period (3000 to 2000 BC). It is located just south of the Cumbrian town of Penrith (“hill ford”), where it stands on a tongue of land that lies between the River Eamont (“water from the mountain” [?]) and the River Lowther (“foamy river”); close to the point where the two rivers combine. Situated close by are two other Neolithic henge monuments: “King Arthur’s Round Table” and the much smaller and less well known “Little Round Table”. Together the three henges form a group and they are sometimes referred to as the “Penrith Henges”.
Mayburgh is the largest and the best preserved of the Penrith Henges. Its circular embankment is 10 feet high in places and it encloses an inner area of approximately 1.5 acres. It is constructed from boulders that are thought to have been gathered from the nearby rivers. This is unlike the method used to construct most other henges from that period, where the embankments were built by piling up earth and rubble dug out of an associated ditch. It has been estimated that the embankment contains some 20,000 tons of stone and that it would take 1000 men six months to construct it without modern tools and machinery. Situated towards the centre of the henge is a single large standing stone, nearly 10 feet tall. Originally seven others accompanied it. Three of them stood towards the centre and together with the present stone they formed a square. The four other stones stood in pairs flanking the single entrance to the henge, which is located on its east side. All of these stones were still standing in the 18th century but it is thought that the seven missing stones were subsequently removed to provide building material.
It is not known why Mayburgh Henge was constructed or what it was used for. Over the centuries several artefacts have been discovered within the vicinity of the henge, including a bronze axe, a stone axe and a flint arrowhead, but these shed little light on its probable use. Given the sheer size of the monument and the close proximity of two other henges, however, it must once have been a site of considerable importance. As nearby Eamont Bridge once lay at the hub of important north-south trade routes, which converged there to cross the River Eamont, it has been suggested that the henge may at least in part have been a trade centre where stone axes were distributed from the Neolithic axe factory at Langdale (www.flickr.com/photos/67668518@N08/8510532411/in/set-7215...). Other aspects of social and religious ritual would no doubt also have been of importance and it may be relevant that the entrance to the henge lies due east of its centre. The entrance thus frames the rising of the equinoctial sun, implying a cosmological role for the henge similar to nearby Long Meg stone circle (www.flickr.com/photos/67668518@N08/15294396479/). In more recent times Mayburgh Henge was used for May Day festivities. The site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and it is currently managed by English Heritage.
The upper picture was taken looking south-westwards across the henge from the northern embankment. The entrance to the henge can be seen towards the left of the picture. The lower left picture shows the remaining standing stone at the centre of the henge and the bottom right picture was taken looking north-eastwards across the Eden valley towards the Pennines. The village of Eamont Bridge can be seen in the middle distance, where the ancient trade routes used to cross the River Eamont. The level-topped summit of Cross Fell (www.flickr.com/photos/67668518@N08/8539367707/) can be seen on the skyline behind the village, with Little Dun Fell and Great Dun Fell to the right.
Our envelopes came from a local paper store (now out of business :( ). Any A2 size envelope will work for this type card. The final card was 5.5" x 4.25".
smacap_Bright
The Aqueduct of Valens (Greek Ἀγωγὸς τοῦ ὕδατος) stretched across the valley east of the Church of the Holy Apostles between the Fourth and Third Hills of Constantinople. It dates to the late 4th century and was again used in the Ottoman era, when it was known as Bozdoğan Kemeri (“Aqueduct of the Grey Falcon”). The Aqueduct of Valens is not merely a bridge of arches, but an immense network that supplied Constantinople water for many centuries.
While it has been common argued that it was built in the early 2nd century by Hadrian, it is now generally accepted that it was first completed by Valens (364-378). It is possible it was first initiated by Constantius II (337-361). It included a long-distance line that eventually brought water from over 120 kilometers away in Thrace on channel than ran from more than 250 kilometers. The orator Themistius praised Valens for welcoming the Thracian nymphs to Byzantium. This water supply system was probably completed when the monumental Nymphaeum Maius was built in the Forum of Theodosius by Prefect of Constantinople Klearchos in 372-373. Thus it was completed around five years before Valens’ defeat by the Goths at the Battle of Adrianople which opened Thrace to enemy attack. The Long Walls of Thrace were built during the reign of Anastasius (AD 491-518) partly to protect this long-distance water supply system. Halkalı, a main aquiferous area about 15 kilometers west of Constantinople, also supplied this aqueduct system.
The Aqueduct of Valens was necessary as many new parts of Constantine’s new city had a higher elevation than Byzantium and its older aqueduct system built by Hadrian (117-138). As Constantinople’s water supply lines were extensively redeveloped by the Ottomans, it is difficult to determine the surviving Roman and Byzantine features of the system. However certain geographical features and archaeological remains allow for a hypothetical course to be proposed. The elevation of this water supply line suggests that the Valen’s line originated at Halkalı and entered the city north of Gate of Charisius (Edirnekapı). This line had a higher elevation that supplied the open cisterns of Aetius and Aspar, crossed the Aqueduct of Valens, and terminated in the Cistern of Philoxenos. Several channels were discovered within the city walls that have approximately the same elevation, including channels at the fora of Constantine and Theodosius.
The Aqueduct of Valens was necessary as many new parts of Constantine’s new city had a higher elevation than Byzantium and its older aqueduct system built by Hadrian (117-138). As Constantinople’s water supply lines were extensively redeveloped by the Ottomans, it is difficult to determine the surviving Roman and Byzantine features of the system. The elevation of this water supply line suggests that the Valen’s line originated at Halkalı and entered the city north of Gate of Charisius (Edirnekapı). This line had a higher elevation that supplied the open cisterns of Aetius and Aspar, crossed the Aqueduct of Valens, and terminated in the Cistern of Philoxenos.
The aqueduct system was repeatedly restored during the Byzantine era. It was restored by Justin II (565-578) after it was damaged by an earthquake. The Valens line was cut by the Avars during the Siege of Constantinople in 626, and was only restored in 758 by Constantine V (741-775). It is unclear, though, how serious the damage was.While it has generally been argued that the Valens line ceased functioning completely, it also has been suggested that the city continued to be supplied by water sources closer to the city, such as Halkalı. In other words, it is possible the Avars mainly damaged the long-distance line coming from Thrace. The long-distance water system was probably beyond repair by the 12th century, so the city possibly mostly relied on the water sources from the Belgrade Forest, as it did later during the Ottoman era. It seems that the waters of Halkalı continued to supply the Aqueduct of Valens during this period. Following the Latin conquest of Constantinople in 1204 it is likely that the water supply system no longer functioned and the city to rely on rainwater water collected and stored in cisterns.
Mehmet II ordered work on the aqueduct system to supply shortly after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. It seems that the ruins of Byzantine aqueducts were still prominent when he began to rebuild the water systems, making it unclear how much was restored or rebuilt. It included work on the Halkalı system, which was supplied the Beylik system and included a monumental aqueduct Mazulkemer. While it has often been dated to the Roman or Byzantine eras, recent surveys suggest Mazulkemer probably dates to the reign of Mehmet II. The Süleymaniye system, which also used the Halkalı system, was built during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent additions to supply Süleymaniye Mosque. This system could supply 1000 cubic meters of water per day. While the Beylik system only used Mazulkemer, the Süleymaniye system also passed over Avasköy and Ali Pasha aqueducts. Sultan Mustafa II (1695-1703)also restored the Aqueduct of Valens (Bozdoğan Kemeri), while his successor Ahmed III (1703-1730) restored the Halkalı water supply lines.
CC Dec bonus: Festive celebration
My mother's rolly-poly Santa from her childhood, cards that we've received, and gourmet organic dates from California's Coachella Valley. If you've never tried them, imagine a healthy alternative to holiday sweets, with varieties that taste like caramel, butterscotch, chocolate, or buttery fig cookies. Sorry if I sound like an advertisement, but I do love dates and this is the best time of year to enjoy them.
Khon is an ancient dance drama that dates back to around the 15 Century during the Ayutthaya Era and was traditionally performed for the King. This shot was taken during a workshop for children of Thai heritage in Sydney Australia.
Pakistani farmers dry fresh dates to preserve them during the July harvesting season in Sukkur, 480 km (300 miles) from Karachi,. Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan's economy, generating one-fourth of the gross domestic product and 44 percent of the total employment in the country of more than 140 million people, according to the Agriculture Ministry. PHOTO JAHANGIR KHAN
New printer/scanner cut off some of the white space on the edges. My inspiration was not from a scrapbook page, but an art project on pinterest with dates of important life events (example was births of children).
Issigeac is a small medieval village that dates back to roman times, located in the Périgord and is approximately 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Bergerac in Aquitaine.
Taken & Edit by: me
Camera: Canon EOS 60D
Exposure: (1/100)
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
ISO Speed:800
Focal Length:50mm
Lens: Canon 50mm 1.8
للتواصل
BB:218A4956
Italien / Piemont - Cannobio
Cannobio is a town and comune on the river Cannobino and the shore of Lago Maggiore in Piedmont, Italy.
History
The local inhabitants probably became subject to Roman rule by the time of the emperor Augustus. Sarcophagi from the 2nd–3rd century CE have been found and conserved in the "Palazzo della Ragione".
The first documented mention of Cannobio dates to 909. During medieval times, the town became a center for wool and tanning industries, as well as the lumber trade. Cannobio was named as a village by 1207, and was granted administrative autonomy. The Palazzo della Ragione was constructed by 1291 under the government of the podestà Ugolino da Mandello.
Cannobio was assigned to the archdiocese of Milan and from 1817 was under the authority of the bishop of Novara. Its "pieve" comprised the areas of Cannobina, Cannero, Brissago and several areas on the eastern side of the lake. The church of St. Vittore, already present in 1076, and with a bell tower from the 13th century, was completely rebuilt between 1733 and 1749. Autonomous rule for the community of Cannobio and its valley came about in 1342, with the spontaneous submission to Luchino and Giovanni Visconti, lords of Milan. From then on, its administration remained closely connected to that of the Duchy of Milan.
In 1522 a painting of the Virgin Mary allegedly started bleeding. Shortly after this apparition, a plague swept through the area devastating lakeside and valley towns and villages, but leaving Cannobio relatively unscathed. Religious minds linked these two events and Cardinal Charles Borromeo ordered a chapel to be built to hold the painting which is still there today.
The economy went through a renewal in the 15th and 16th centuries. The built-up area spread from the original nucleus (the village) down towards the lake. Large residences were built including the Omacini and Pironi palaces.
During the Risorgimento the town repelled an Austrian attack from the lake (27–28 May 1859) and was visited by Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1862. The opening of the lakeside road to the Swiss border in 1863 created favorable conditions for the arrival of factories, including silk mills.
In 1927 the territory of the comune of Cannobio was extended to incorporate some small villages in the vicinity (Traffiume, Sant’Agata, San Bartolomeo). During the Second World War the people of Cannobio rose up against the Nazi and fascist regime, from 2 to 9 September 1944, and proclaimed the Republic of the Ossola. Since the end of the war the community has undergone further changes. From 1995 the town has come within the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola.
Main sights
The large lakefront piazza named after King Victor Emmanuel III was given a major refurbishment when in the winter of 2003–04 it was completely relaid in cobblestones and granite slabs. Also added was of a set of wide flagstone steps down to the lake, where people may sit and watch the lake steamers come and go from the landing stages nearby, and the sailing boats and wind-surfers skimming across the lake.
Some of the buildings both on the lakefront and further back in the old part of town date back over 600 years, from when Cannobio was a renowned smuggling town, and most of these have been restored in fine style.
From one, Giuseppe Garibaldi addressed the people of Cannobio in 1859, and on another stands a plaque celebrating an important event in Cannobio in 1627. Each building is painted a different colour, creating a traditional Italian port scene. To one side of the Piazza is Cannobio’s old harbour, which houses the sailing, rowing and speedboats belonging to the locals.
The Santuario della Pietà church commemorates the events of 1522, when a painting of the Virgin Mary was believed to have bled. With its open dome it stands by the lakeside. The painting itself is now housed in another church in the town, and though it is not removed itself, a "Sacra Costa", representing the painting, is processed through the streets on 7 January every year.
Cannobio has its own "Lido" at the north end of town with a large sandy beach. The beach has a European Union Blue Flag for its cleanliness and facilities.
(Wikipedia)
Cannobio (nicht zu verwechseln mit Canobbio in der Schweiz) ist eine italienische Gemeinde in der Provinz Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (VB) in der Region Piemont und ist Träger der Bandiera Arancione des TCI.
Geographie
Die Gemeinde liegt am westlichen Ufer des Lago Maggiore und ist die erste größere Ortschaft nach der Grenze zur Schweiz in Piaggio Valmara. Cannobio liegt auf dem Schwemmkegel des Flüsschens Cannobino, im Hinterland dehnt sich das Valle Cannobina aus.
Die Gemeinde umfasst eine Fläche von 52,53 km². Zu Cannobio gehören die Fraktionen Campeglio, Carmine Superiore, Carmine Inferiore, Cinzago, Formine, Marchile, Piaggio Valmara, Pianoni, Ronco, Sant’Agata, San Bartolomeo Valmara, Socraggio, Socragno und Traffiume.
Geschichte
Cannobio war vermutlich schon in vorrömischer Zeit besiedelt. Der Name geht zurück auf das römische Canobinum. Zur Römerzeit galt der Ort wegen seiner günstigen Lage als bedeutendes strategisches und wirtschaftliches Zentrum.
929 beherbergte die Ortschaft einen Königshof (curtis regia). Die Anlage wurde später den Erzbischöfen von Mailand unterstellt. 1207 erhielt Cannobio den Titel eines Borgo.
Im 12. Jahrhundert wurde die Stadt eine freie Kommune, bis sie sich 1342 freiwillig der Familie Visconti unterwarf, deren Herrschaft 1441 als Lehensherrschaft an Vitaliano Borromeo überging. Von dieser Epoche zeugen bis heute die zwischen dem 14. und 19. Jahrhundert erbauten Paläste.
Sehenswürdigkeiten
Cannobio besitzt einen historischen Stadtkern und ist ein beliebtes Ausflugsziel.
Die Pfarrkirche San Vittore mit romanischem Turm wurde im 17. Jahrhundert erbaut, die Eingangsfassade stammt aus dem Jahr 1842. Sie beherbergt eine Orgel von Luigi Maroni Biroldi aus Varese aus dem Jahr 1837.
Die Wallfahrtskirche Santissima Pietà wurde 1575–1614 erbaut, dann 1583 von Sankt Karl Borromäus nach einem Entwurf von Pietro Beretta aus Brissago TI wieder aufgebaut. Die Fassade ist das Ergebnis einer Rekonstruktion von Febo Bottini von 1909. Das Innere besteht aus einem einzigen Schiff mit einer üppigen barocken Dekoration. Über dem Altar befindet sich ein wertvolles Altarbild Aufstieg zum Kalvarienberg von Gaudenzio Ferrari und Giovan Battista della Cerva.
Das Oratorium Santa Marta wurde 1581 erbaut und zeigt über dem Hochaltar das Gemälde Madonna col Bambino des Malers Camillo Procaccini (* 3. März 1561 in Parma; † 21. August 1629 in Mailand).
Der Palazzo della Ragione, genannt Parrasio, wurde zwischen 1291 und 1294 vom Podestà Ugolino Mandello erbaut und im Laufe des 17. Jahrhunderts umgebaut.
Der städtische Turm in romanischer Bauweise stammt aus dem 12. Jahrhundert. Es ist aus Stein gebaut und ist eigentlich der Glockenturm der alten Kirche San Vittore.
Die Rocca Vitaliana ist als die Burgen von Cannero bekannt. Auf den Felseninseln, die aus dem Wasser des Sees hervorgehen, kann man die Ruinen alter Festungsanlagen sehen. Sie wurden zwischen dem 11. und 12. Jahrhundert gebaut.
Uferpromenade
Markt an der Promenade (sonntags)
Hängebrücke Ponte ballerino (Tänzerbrücke) über den Fluss Cannobino.
Lido Cannobio, ein sehr schöner öffentlicher Badestrand mit Liegewiese
In der Umgebung:
Tal und Schlucht des Gießbaches Cannobino
Kirche Sant’Anna erbaut 1638 hoch über der Schlucht des Cannobino
Kirche Sant’Agata mit Aussicht auf den Lago Maggiore
Mineralwasserquelle Fonte Carlina
Mittelalterliches Dorf Carmine Superiore
Regelmäßige Veranstaltungen
Jedes Jahr am Vorabend des 8. Januar findet in Cannobio das Fest der Allerheiligsten Pietà mit einer eindrucksvollen Lichterprozession statt.
(Wikipedia)
The Bristol High Cross dates from the early 15th century and was moved the city of Bristol to Stourhead in 1765.
My contract position became a permanent position in March 1997, and by chance my good friend Dan asked if I'd like to be his travel companion to England in July 1997. YES! Dan is English-born but his family came to Canada when he was little. He still has and maintains close family ties in Britain and Ireland.
When Dan asked me before the trip what places I wanted to see, Stourhead House & Gardens was top on the list.
Stourhead House & Gardens, Stourton, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12
Stourhead House was completed in 1725 after four years of construction. The estate and manor house was commissioned by Henry Hoare, son of wealthy banker Sir Richard Hoare. The house was designed by Colen Campbell and built by Nathaniel Ireson in the Palladian style, a popular style in the 1700s that was inspired by the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio. The massive landscape garden is a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate.
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I'm expediting the uploading of the vintage 1997 London & West Country trip as I want to return to the normal posting of more recent images. Also, as my work place is finally banning access to flickr due to it being a personal digital storage site, please forgive me that I won't be able to respond to all your comments and not right away from now on.
Traditional Japanese rooms come with tatami mats as flooring. Their style dates back to the Muromachi Period when they originally served as study rooms for the wealthy before gradually becoming more commonplace as reception and living quarters. A variety of beautifully preserved historic tatami rooms can be seen at sites such as temples, villas and tea houses.
Tatami mats are thick, woven straw mats that measure about one by two meters in size. Originally a luxury that only the wealthy could afford, tatami gradually became more common and can now be found in virtually all traditional Japanese homes. Tatami mats have been so integral to Japanese homes, that the size of rooms in Japan is commonly measured by the number of mats that would fit it, e.g. an 8-mat room. Note that footwear - even slippers - should be removed before stepping onto tatami.
Fusuma are sliding doors made up of wooden frames covered in thick, opaque paper. The doors are typically used between adjoining rooms akin to large removable walls, allowing one to partition off areas or open up space as needed. Historically, fusuma have been the canvases of famous painters, and some elaborately painted examples can be seen at temples and palaces. Fusuma in regular homes and ryokan tend to be more simple.
Another type of sliding door or partition are shoji, which are made up of wooden lattices covered in translucent paper. Shoji are typically found along the perimeter of the building, allowing light to filter in. Some shoji doors incorporate sliding panels that move up and down like small windows to allow more light or air to enter the room.
Ranma are wooden transoms that are typically found above fusuma in traditional Japanese style rooms. They may be intricately designed and carved, and serve to allow air and light to move between rooms.
Chigaidana are built-in, staggered wall shelving typically found beside the alcove and used for displaying decorations like vases and incense burners.
The traditional Japanese rooms that can be seen today mostly shoin style. Shoin style rooms originally served as study rooms in temples and typically incorporated a built-in desk, an alcove and built-in shelves. Shoin style rooms became popular in Muromachi Period residences where their function was extended to receiving and entertaining guests. Additional characteristics that developed in shoin rooms of the time included floors covered entirely with tatami mats, fusuma sliding doors and shoji doors.
CHATEAU DE HAUTEFORT
The castle, which dates back from Middle Age, was completely transformed at the classical period.
The 16th and 17th centuries: the golden age of the Marquis de Hautefort
As times and fashions changed, the fortress gradually turned into a place of leisure. The Château experienced its most sumptuous period in the 17th century.
From the 17th century, there have been formal gardens at Hautefort. However, the latter were destroyed during the following centuries, to give way to those we now admire today.
History of the gardens
From the 17th century, there have been formal gardens at Hautefort. However, the latter were destroyed during the following centuries, to give way to those we now admire today.
Le château est construit vers l’an mille. Au 12ème siècle, une forteresse avec un donjon et 4 tours est connue par les textes. Au 15ème siècle, il prend le nom de HAUTEFORT.
Au 17ème siècle, le château évolue en demeure de résidence et adopte les valeurs esthétiques des châteaux de la Loire.
En 1853, sont créés les « jardins à l’anglaise » qui vont remplacer les anciens jardins à la française qui avaient été rénovés au 19ème siècle.
Les belles collections de meubles et le parc magnifique apportent un très grand plaisir aux visiteurs.
The gardens of the Grade I Listed Bishop's Palace, Wells, Somerset.
Construction began around 1210 by Bishop Jocelin of Wells but principally dates from 1230. Bishop Jocelin continued the cathedral building campaign begun by Bishop Reginald Fitz Jocelin, and was responsible for building the Bishop's Palace, as well as the choristers' school, a grammar school, a hospital for travellers and a chapel within the liberty of the cathedral. The chapel and great hall were built between 1275 and 1292 for Bishop Robert Burnell. The windows had stone tracery. Stone bosses where the supporting ribs meet on the ceiling are covered with representations of oak leaves and the Green Man. The building is seen as a fine example of the Early English architectural style.
In the 14th century, Bishop Ralph of Shrewsbury continued the building. He had an uneasy relationship with the citizens of Wells, partly because of his imposition of taxes, and surrounded his palace with crenellated walls, a moat and a drawbridge. The 5 metres (16 ft) high three-storey gatehouse, which dates from 1341, has a bridge over the moat. The entrance was protected by a heavy gate, portcullis and drawbridge, operated by machinery above the entrance, and spouts through which defenders could pour scalding liquids onto any attacker. The drawbridge was still operational in 1831 when it was closed after word was received that the Palace of the Bishop of Bristol was subject to an arson attack during the Bristol riots. These took place after the House of Lords rejected the second Reform Bill. The proposal had aimed to get rid of some of the rotten boroughs and give Britain's fast growing industrial towns such as Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Bradford and Leeds greater representation in the House of Commons; however there was no rioting in Wells. The water which filled the moat flowed from the springs in the grounds which had previously chosen its own course as a small stream separating the cathedral and the palace and causing marshy ground around the site. The moat acted as a reservoir, controlled by sluice gates, which powered watermills in the town.
The north wing (now the Bishop's House) was added in the 15th century by Bishop Beckington, with further modifications in the 18th century, and in 1810 by Bishop Beadon. It was restored, divided, and the upper storey added by Benjamin Ferrey between 1846 and 1854. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1548, Bishop Barlow sold Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset the palace and grounds. These were recovered after the Duke's execution in 1552.
In the 1550s, Bishop Barlow sold the lead from the roofs of the great hall. This resulted in it falling into a ruined state. It can be seen in an engraving of 1733 but was largely demolished around 1830 by Bishop Law. He created a "more picturesque ruin" by removing the south and east walls and laying out and planting the area previously occupied by the great hall. The palace was used as a garrison for troops in both the English Civil War and Monmouth Rebellion after which it was used as a prison for rebels after the Battle of Sedgemoor.
Bishop Kidder was killed during the Great Storm of 1703, when two chimney stacks in the palace fell on him and his wife, while they were asleep in bed. A central porch was added around 1824 and, in the 1840s and 1850s, Benjamin Ferrey restored the palace and added an upper storey. He also restored the chapel using stained glass from ruined French churches.
The palace now belongs to the Church Commissioners and is managed and run by The Palace Trust. The main palace is open to the public, including the medieval vaulted undercroft, chapel and a long gallery, although the Bishops House is still used as a residence and offices. There is a cafe overlooking the Croquet Lawn. The palace is licensed for weddings and used for conferences and meetings. The croquet lawn in front of the palace is used on a regular basis. The palace was used as a location for some of the scenes in the 2007 British comedy Hot Fuzz, and more recently in the 2016 film The Huntsman.
The Cooperage, Newcastle: Historic Gem At Risk
The Cooperage is the most complete late medieval timber-framed building in Newcastle.
Dating from 1430, this ancient building has unfortunately fallen into disrepair, due to neglect.
The Cooperage is a privately owned Grade 2 listed building situated on the Quayside in Newcastle.
The building was formerly a merchants’ houses, including Bessie Surtees’ House, which survived the Great Quayside Fire of 1854.
The ground floor ceiling timbers are reported to have come from a Dutch merchant ship sunk in the river Tyne.
Building survey in 1990s suggests that the building in its present form dates from the mid 16th century, compatible with the character of carpentry and method of construction.
The use of stone walls for ground and first floor is a feature of Newcastle vernacular tradition.
The later phases of the building date to the final period of timber-framed construction in the town.
The final change from timber-framing to all brick construction probably took place in the late 17th century.
In 1974, the building became a public house.
Between 2003 and 2005, an archaeological dig unearthed an unusually well-preserved wooden bowl and various pieces of pottery from the 14th and 15th Centuries.
A further four-month dig unearths pottery pieces and household equipment, it also uncovered a back room brewery house and some Roman remains.
In 2009, it was purchased by Apartment Group and closed, with no plans to refurbish.
The Cooperage is also said to be one of the most haunted buildings in Newcastle.
Sounds of footsteps on the staircase have been heard when the pub is closed, and shouting.
A young girl in a shimmering dress combing her long blonde hair has been seen, and a man wearing a top hat looking out of a second floor window.
Standing empty since its closure in 2009, it has fallen into disrepair due to neglect and a lack of regular maintenance.
It was added to the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register in 2017.
In a statement, Historic England said that they're aware of the recent petition to improve the condition of the building, and they are in conversation with the local authority about the situation.
Owners of listed buildings, however, are under no legal obligation to maintain their property in a good state of repair; even though it is in their interest to do so.
A petition has since been set up called, ‘Save the Cooperage.’
The petition says: “The Cooperage is currently under threat of irreversible damage, with the possibility of it having to be demolished.
”That’s because its private owner, Apartment Group, has let it rot for the best part of a decade and has admitted it has no plans for the building's future.
“Save The Cooperage believes it is our duty to take control of this situation, to preserve our unique heritage for future generations, and for the preservation of the Geordie Culture.”
The Cooperage is situated on the Quayside.
In the past, the Quayside played a central part of Newcastle's industrial history and heritage, serving as a commercial dockside.
Coal was also ferried down to the Quayside via the Victoria Tunnels, which are now a popular tourist attraction.
The factories, such as the Baltic Flour Mill and Hoults Yard pottery, which have both since been transformed, flourished nearby at Gateshead Quays.
After much of the industry moved on, the area underwent a huge regeneration in the early 2000s, and has since become a hub of arts and culture for the North East, as well as a home to many of the region's best bars and pubs.
Newcastle has a rich history stretching all the way back to Roman times.
So it’s little surprise the city is home to several buildings which are considered to be exceptional when it comes to their historical importance.
In fact, several of Newcastle's buildings are Grade I listed - the highest category that can be bestowed on a building.
It’s thought that just 2.5% of all listed buildings in England are classified as Grade I, making them a rare find.
Some examples of Newcastle’s Grade I listed buildings include Grey’s Monument, St Nicholas’ Cathedral, and the Black Gate and adjoining Castle Keep.
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located on the River Tyne's northern bank, opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.
Newcastle developed around a Roman settlement called Pons Aelius, the settlement became known as Monkchester before taking on the name of a castle built in 1080 by William the Conqueror's eldest son, Robert Curthose. It was one of the world's largest ship building and repair centres during the industrial revolution. Newcastle was part of the county of Northumberland until 1400, when it separated and formed a county of itself. In 1974, Newcastle became part of Tyne and Wear. Since 2018, the city council has been part of the North of Tyne Combined Authority.
The history of Newcastle upon Tyne dates back almost 2,000 years, during which it has been controlled by the Romans, the Angles and the Norsemen amongst others. Newcastle upon Tyne was originally known by its Roman name Pons Aelius. The name "Newcastle" has been used since the Norman conquest of England. Due to its prime location on the River Tyne, the town developed greatly during the Middle Ages and it was to play a major role in the Industrial Revolution, being granted city status in 1882. Today, the city is a major retail, commercial and cultural centre.
Roman settlement
The history of Newcastle dates from AD 122, when the Romans built the first bridge to cross the River Tyne at that point. The bridge was called Pons Aelius or 'Bridge of Aelius', Aelius being the family name of Roman Emperor Hadrian, who was responsible for the Roman wall built across northern England along the Tyne–Solway gap. Hadrian's Wall ran through present-day Newcastle, with stretches of wall and turrets visible along the West Road, and at a temple in Benwell. Traces of a milecastle were found on Westgate Road, midway between Clayton Street and Grainger Street, and it is likely that the course of the wall corresponded to present-day Westgate Road. The course of the wall can be traced eastwards to the Segedunum Roman fort at Wallsend, with the fort of Arbeia down-river at the mouth of the Tyne, on the south bank in what is now South Shields. The Tyne was then a wider, shallower river at this point and it is thought that the bridge was probably about 700 feet (210 m) long, made of wood and supported on stone piers. It is probable that it was sited near the current Swing Bridge, due to the fact that Roman artefacts were found there during the building of the latter bridge. Hadrian himself probably visited the site in 122. A shrine was set up on the completed bridge in 123 by the 6th Legion, with two altars to Neptune and Oceanus respectively. The two altars were subsequently found in the river and are on display in the Great North Museum in Newcastle.
The Romans built a stone-walled fort in 150 to protect the river crossing which was at the foot of the Tyne Gorge, and this took the name of the bridge so that the whole settlement was known as Pons Aelius. The fort was situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the new bridge, on the site of the present Castle Keep. Pons Aelius is last mentioned in 400, in a Roman document listing all of the Roman military outposts. It is likely that nestling in the shadow of the fort would have been a small vicus, or village. Unfortunately, no buildings have been detected; only a few pieces of flagging. It is clear that there was a Roman cemetery near Clavering Place, behind the Central station, as a number of Roman coffins and sarcophagi have been unearthed there.
Despite the presence of the bridge, the settlement of Pons Aelius was not particularly important among the northern Roman settlements. The most important stations were those on the highway of Dere Street running from Eboracum (York) through Corstopitum (Corbridge) and to the lands north of the Wall. Corstopitum, being a major arsenal and supply centre, was much larger and more populous than Pons Aelius.
Anglo-Saxon development
The Angles arrived in the North-East of England in about 500 and may have landed on the Tyne. There is no evidence of an Anglo-Saxon settlement on or near the site of Pons Aelius during the Anglo-Saxon age. The bridge probably survived and there may well have been a small village at the northern end, but no evidence survives. At that time the region was dominated by two kingdoms, Bernicia, north of the Tees and ruled from Bamburgh, and Deira, south of the Tees and ruled from York. Bernicia and Deira combined to form the kingdom of Northanhymbra (Northumbria) early in the 7th century. There were three local kings who held the title of Bretwalda – 'Lord of Britain', Edwin of Deira (627–632), Oswald of Bernicia (633–641) and Oswy of Northumbria (641–658). The 7th century became known as the 'Golden Age of Northumbria', when the area was a beacon of culture and learning in Europe. The greatness of this period was based on its generally Christian culture and resulted in the Lindisfarne Gospels amongst other treasures. The Tyne valley was dotted with monasteries, with those at Monkwearmouth, Hexham and Jarrow being the most famous. Bede, who was based at Jarrow, wrote of a royal estate, known as Ad Murum, 'at the Wall', 12 miles (19 km) from the sea. It is thought that this estate may have been in what is now Newcastle. At some unknown time, the site of Newcastle came to be known as Monkchester. The reason for this title is unknown, as we are unaware of any specific monasteries at the site, and Bede made no reference to it. In 875 Halfdan Ragnarsson, the Danish Viking conqueror of York, led an army that attacked and pillaged various monasteries in the area, and it is thought that Monkchester was also pillaged at this time. Little more was heard of it until the coming of the Normans.
Norman period
After the arrival of William the Conqueror in England in 1066, the whole of England was quickly subjected to Norman rule. However, in Northumbria there was great resistance to the Normans, and in 1069 the newly appointed Norman Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Comines and 700 of his men were killed by the local population at Durham. The Northumbrians then marched on York, but William was able to suppress the uprising. That same year, a second uprising occurred when a Danish fleet landed in the Humber. The Northumbrians again attacked York and destroyed the garrison there. William was again able to suppress the uprising, but this time he took revenge. He laid waste to the whole of the Midlands and the land from York to the Tees. In 1080, William Walcher, the Norman bishop of Durham and his followers were brutally murdered at Gateshead. This time Odo, bishop of Bayeux, William's half brother, devastated the land between the Tees and the Tweed. This was known as the 'Harrying of the North'. This devastation is reflected in the Domesday Book. The destruction had such an effect that the North remained poor and backward at least until Tudor times and perhaps until the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle suffered in this respect with the rest of the North.
In 1080 William sent his eldest son, Robert Curthose, north to defend the kingdom against the Scots. After his campaign, he moved to Monkchester and began the building of a 'New Castle'. This was of the "motte-and-bailey" type of construction, a wooden tower on top of an earthen mound (motte), surrounded by a moat and wooden stockade (bailey). It was this castle that gave Newcastle its name. In 1095 the Earl of Northumbria, Robert de Mowbray, rose up against the king, William Rufus, and Rufus sent an army north to recapture the castle. From then on the castle became crown property and was an important base from which the king could control the northern barons. The Northumbrian earldom was abolished and a Sheriff of Northumberland was appointed to administer the region. In 1091 the parish church of St Nicholas was consecrated on the site of the present Anglican cathedral, close by the bailey of the new castle. The church is believed to have been a wooden building on stone footings.
Not a trace of the tower or mound of the motte and bailey castle remains now. Henry II replaced it with a rectangular stone keep, which was built between 1172 and 1177 at a cost of £1,444. A stone bailey, in the form of a triangle, replaced the previous wooden one. The great outer gateway to the castle, called 'the Black Gate', was built later, between 1247 and 1250, in the reign of Henry III. There were at that time no town walls and when attacked by the Scots, the townspeople had to crowd into the bailey for safety. It is probable that the new castle acted as a magnet for local merchants because of the safety it provided. This in turn would help to expand trade in the town. At this time wool, skins and lead were being exported, whilst alum, pepper and ginger were being imported from France and Flanders.
Middle Ages
Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was England's northern fortress, the centre for assembled armies. The Border war against Scotland lasted intermittently for several centuries – possibly the longest border war ever waged. During the civil war between Stephen and Matilda, David 1st of Scotland and his son were granted Cumbria and Northumberland respectively, so that for a period from 1139 to 1157, Newcastle was effectively in Scottish hands. It is believed that during this period, King David may have built the church of St Andrew and the Benedictine nunnery in Newcastle. However, King Stephen's successor, Henry II was strong enough to take back the Earldom of Northumbria from Malcolm IV.
The Scots king William the Lion was imprisoned in Newcastle, in 1174, after being captured at the Battle of Alnwick. Edward I brought the Stone of Scone and William Wallace south through the town and Newcastle was successfully defended against the Scots three times during the 14th century.
Around 1200, stone-faced, clay-filled jetties were starting to project into the river, an indication that trade was increasing in Newcastle. As the Roman roads continued to deteriorate, sea travel was gaining in importance. By 1275 Newcastle was the sixth largest wool exporting port in England. The principal exports at this time were wool, timber, coal, millstones, dairy produce, fish, salt and hides. Much of the developing trade was with the Baltic countries and Germany. Most of the Newcastle merchants were situated near the river, below the Castle. The earliest known charter was dated 1175 in the reign of Henry II, giving the townspeople some control over their town. In 1216 King John granted Newcastle a mayor[8] and also allowed the formation of guilds (known as Mysteries). These were cartels formed within different trades, which restricted trade to guild members. There were initially twelve guilds. Coal was being exported from Newcastle by 1250, and by 1350 the burgesses received a royal licence to export coal. This licence to export coal was jealously guarded by the Newcastle burgesses, and they tried to prevent any one else on the Tyne from exporting coal except through Newcastle. The burgesses similarly tried to prevent fish from being sold anywhere else on the Tyne except Newcastle. This led to conflicts with Gateshead and South Shields.
In 1265, the town was granted permission to impose a 'Wall Tax' or Murage, to pay for the construction of a fortified wall to enclose the town and protect it from Scottish invaders. The town walls were not completed until early in the 14th century. They were two miles (3 km) long, 9 feet (2.7 m) thick and 25 feet (7.6 m) high. They had six main gates, as well as some smaller gates, and had 17 towers. The land within the walls was divided almost equally by the Lort Burn, which flowed southwards and joined the Tyne to the east of the Castle. The town began to expand north of the Castle and west of the Lort Burn with various markets being set up within the walls.
In 1400 Henry IV granted a new charter, creating a County corporate which separated the town, but not the Castle, from the county of Northumberland and recognised it as a "county of itself" with a right to have a sheriff of its own. The burgesses were now allowed to choose six aldermen who, with the mayor would be justices of the peace. The mayor and sheriff were allowed to hold borough courts in the Guildhall.
Religious houses
During the Middle Ages a number of religious houses were established within the walls: the first of these was the Benedictine nunnery of St Bartholomew founded in 1086 near the present-day Nun Street. Both David I of Scotland and Henry I of England were benefactors of the religious house. Nothing of the nunnery remains now.
The friary of Blackfriars, Newcastle (Dominican) was established in 1239. These were also known as the Preaching Friars or Shod Friars, because they wore sandals, as opposed to other orders. The friary was situated in the present-day Friars Street. In 1280 the order was granted royal permission to make a postern in the town walls to communicate with their gardens outside the walls. On 19 June 1334, Edward Balliol, claimant to be King of Scotland, did homage to King Edward III, on behalf of the kingdom of Scotland, in the church of the friary. Much of the original buildings of the friary still exist, mainly because, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries the friary of Blackfriars was rented out by the corporation to nine of the local trade guilds.
The friary of Whitefriars (Carmelite) was established in 1262. The order was originally housed on the Wall Knoll in Pandon, but in 1307 it took over the buildings of another order, which went out of existence, the Friars of the Sac. The land, which had originally been given by Robert the Bruce, was situated in the present-day Hanover Square, behind the Central station. Nothing of the friary remains now.
The friary of Austinfriars (Augustinian) was established in 1290. The friary was on the site where the Holy Jesus Hospital was built in 1682. The friary was traditionally the lodging place of English kings whenever they visited or passed through Newcastle. In 1503 Princess Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII of England, stayed two days at the friary on her way to join her new husband James IV of Scotland.
The friary of Greyfriars (Franciscans) was established in 1274. The friary was in the present-day area between Pilgrim Street, Grey Street, Market Street and High Chare. Nothing of the original buildings remains.
The friary of the Order of the Holy Trinity, also known as the Trinitarians, was established in 1360. The order devoted a third of its income to buying back captives of the Saracens, during the Crusades. Their house was on the Wall Knoll, in Pandon, to the east of the city, but within the walls. Wall Knoll had previously been occupied by the White Friars until they moved to new premises in 1307.
All of the above religious houses were closed in about 1540, when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries.
An important street running through Newcastle at the time was Pilgrim Street, running northwards inside the walls and leading to the Pilgrim Gate on the north wall. The street still exists today as arguably Newcastle's main shopping street.
Tudor period
The Scottish border wars continued for much of the 16th century, so that during that time, Newcastle was often threatened with invasion by the Scots, but also remained important as a border stronghold against them.
During the Reformation begun by Henry VIII in 1536, the five Newcastle friaries and the single nunnery were dissolved and the land was sold to the Corporation and to rich merchants. At this time there were fewer than 60 inmates of the religious houses in Newcastle. The convent of Blackfriars was leased to nine craft guilds to be used as their headquarters. This probably explains why it is the only one of the religious houses whose building survives to the present day. The priories at Tynemouth and Durham were also dissolved, thus ending the long-running rivalry between Newcastle and the church for control of trade on the Tyne. A little later, the property of the nunnery of St Bartholomew and of Grey Friars were bought by Robert Anderson, who had the buildings demolished to build his grand Newe House (also known as Anderson Place).
With the gradual decline of the Scottish border wars the town walls were allowed to decline as well as the castle. By 1547, about 10,000 people were living in Newcastle. At the beginning of the 16th century exports of wool from Newcastle were more than twice the value of exports of coal, but during the century coal exports continued to increase.
Under Edward VI, John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, sponsored an act allowing Newcastle to annexe Gateshead as its suburb. The main reason for this was to allow the Newcastle Hostmen, who controlled the export of Tyne coal, to get their hands on the Gateshead coal mines, previously controlled by the Bishop of Durham. However, when Mary I came to power, Dudley met his downfall and the decision was reversed. The Reformation allowed private access to coal mines previously owned by Tynemouth and Durham priories and as a result coal exports increase dramatically, from 15,000 tons in 1500 to 35,000 tons in 1565, and to 400,000 tons in 1625.
The plague visited Newcastle four times during the 16th century, in 1579 when 2,000 people died, in 1589 when 1700 died, in 1595 and finally in 1597.
In 1600 Elizabeth I granted Newcastle a charter for an exclusive body of electors, the right to elect the mayor and burgesses. The charter also gave the Hostmen exclusive rights to load coal at any point on the Tyne. The Hostmen developed as an exclusive group within the Merchant Adventurers who had been incorporated by a charter in 1547.
Stuart period
In 1636 there was a serious outbreak of bubonic plague in Newcastle. There had been several previous outbreaks of the disease over the years, but this was the most serious. It is thought to have arrived from the Netherlands via ships that were trading between the Tyne and that country. It first appeared in the lower part of the town near the docks but gradually spread to all parts of the town. As the disease gained hold the authorities took measures to control it by boarding up any properties that contained infected persons, meaning that whole families were locked up together with the infected family members. Other infected persons were put in huts outside the town walls and left to die. Plague pits were dug next to the town's four churches and outside the town walls to receive the bodies in mass burials. Over the course of the outbreak 5,631 deaths were recorded out of an estimated population of 12,000, a death rate of 47%.
In 1637 Charles I tried to raise money by doubling the 'voluntary' tax on coal in return for allowing the Newcastle Hostmen to regulate production and fix prices. This caused outrage amongst the London importers and the East Anglian shippers. Both groups decided to boycott Tyne coal and as a result forced Charles to reverse his decision in 1638.
In 1640 during the Second Bishops' War, the Scots successfully invaded Newcastle. The occupying army demanded £850 per day from the Corporation to billet the Scottish troops. Trade from the Tyne ground to a halt during the occupation. The Scots left in 1641 after receiving a Parliamentary pardon and a £4,000,000 loan from the town.
In 1642 the English Civil War began. King Charles realised the value of the Tyne coal trade and therefore garrisoned Newcastle. A Royalist was appointed as governor. At that time, Newcastle and King's Lynn were the only important seaports to support the crown. In 1644 Parliament blockaded the Tyne to prevent the king from receiving revenue from the Tyne coal trade. Coal exports fell from 450,000 to 3,000 tons and London suffered a hard winter without fuel. Parliament encouraged the coal trade from the Wear to try to replace that lost from Newcastle but that was not enough to make up for the lost Tyneside tonnage.
In 1644 the Scots crossed the border. Newcastle strengthened its defences in preparation. The Scottish army, with 40,000 troops, besieged Newcastle for three months until the garrison of 1,500 surrendered. During the siege, the Scots bombarded the walls with their artillery, situated in Gateshead and Castle Leazes. The Scottish commander threatened to destroy the steeple of St Nicholas's Church by gunfire if the mayor, Sir John Marley, did not surrender the town. The mayor responded by placing Scottish prisoners that they had captured in the steeple, so saving it from destruction. The town walls were finally breached by a combination of artillery and sapping. In gratitude for this defence, Charles gave Newcastle the motto 'Fortiter Defendit Triumphans' to be added to its coat of arms. The Scottish army occupied Northumberland and Durham for two years. The coal taxes had to pay for the Scottish occupation. In 1645 Charles surrendered to the Scots and was imprisoned in Newcastle for nine months. After the Civil War the coal trade on the Tyne soon picked up and exceeded its pre-war levels.
A new Guildhall was completed on the Sandhill next to the river in 1655, replacing an earlier facility damaged by fire in 1639, and became the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council. In 1681 the Hospital of the Holy Jesus was built partly on the site of the Austin Friars. The Guildhall and Holy Jesus Hospital still exist.
Charles II tried to impose a charter on Newcastle to give the king the right to appoint the mayor, sheriff, recorder and town clerk. Charles died before the charter came into effect. In 1685, James II tried to replace Corporation members with named Catholics. However, James' mandate was suspended in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution welcoming William of Orange. In 1689, after the fall of James II, the people of Newcastle tore down his bronze equestrian statue in Sandhill and tossed it into the Tyne. The bronze was later used to make bells for All Saints Church.
In 1689 the Lort Burn was covered over. At this time it was an open sewer. The channel followed by the Lort Burn became the present day Dean Street. At that time, the centre of Newcastle was still the Sandhill area, with many merchants living along the Close or on the Side. The path of the main road through Newcastle ran from the single Tyne bridge, through Sandhill to the Side, a narrow street which climbed steeply on the north-east side of the castle hill until it reached the higher ground alongside St Nicholas' Church. As Newcastle developed, the Side became lined with buildings with projecting upper stories, so that the main street through Newcastle was a narrow, congested, steep thoroughfare.
In 1701 the Keelmen's Hospital was built in the Sandgate area of the city, using funds provided by the keelmen. The building still stands today.
Eighteenth century
In the 18th century, Newcastle was the country's largest print centre after London, Oxford and Cambridge, and the Literary and Philosophical Society of 1793, with its erudite debates and large stock of books in several languages predated the London Library by half a century.
In 1715, during the Jacobite rising in favour of the Old Pretender, an army of Jacobite supporters marched on Newcastle. Many of the Northumbrian gentry joined the rebels. The citizens prepared for its arrival by arresting Jacobite supporters and accepting 700 extra recruits into the local militia. The gates of the city were closed against the rebels. This proved enough to delay an attack until reinforcements arrived forcing the rebel army to move across to the west coast. The rebels finally surrendered at Preston.
In 1745, during a second Jacobite rising in favour of the Young Pretender, a Scottish army crossed the border led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. Once again Newcastle prepared by arresting Jacobite supporters and inducting 800 volunteers into the local militia. The town walls were strengthened, most of the gates were blocked up and some 200 cannon were deployed. 20,000 regulars were billeted on the Town Moor. These preparations were enough to force the rebel army to travel south via the west coast. They were eventually defeated at Culloden in 1746.
Newcastle's actions during the 1715 rising in resisting the rebels and declaring for George I, in contrast to the rest of the region, is the most likely source of the nickname 'Geordie', applied to people from Tyneside, or more accurately Newcastle. Another theory, however, is that the name 'Geordie' came from the inventor of the Geordie lamp, George Stephenson. It was a type of safety lamp used in mining, but was not invented until 1815. Apparently the term 'German Geordie' was in common use during the 18th century.
The city's first hospital, Newcastle Infirmary opened in 1753; it was funded by public subscription. A lying-in hospital was established in Newcastle in 1760. The city's first public hospital for mentally ill patients, Wardens Close Lunatic Hospital was opened in October 1767.
In 1771 a flood swept away much of the bridge at Newcastle. The bridge had been built in 1250 and repaired after a flood in 1339. The bridge supported various houses and three towers and an old chapel. A blue stone was placed in the middle of the bridge to mark the boundary between Newcastle and the Palatinate of Durham. A temporary wooden bridge had to be built, and this remained in use until 1781, when a new stone bridge was completed. The new bridge consisted of nine arches. In 1801, because of the pressure of traffic, the bridge had to be widened.
A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of Fenham Barracks in 1806. The facilities at the Castle for holding assizes, which had been condemned for their inconvenience and unhealthiness, were replaced when the Moot Hall opened in August 1812.
Victorian period
Present-day Newcastle owes much of its architecture to the work of the builder Richard Grainger, aided by architects John Dobson, Thomas Oliver, John and Benjamin Green and others. In 1834 Grainger won a competition to produce a new plan for central Newcastle. He put this plan into effect using the above architects as well as architects employed in his own office. Grainger and Oliver had already built Leazes Terrace, Leazes Crescent and Leazes Place between 1829 and 1834. Grainger and Dobson had also built the Royal Arcade at the foot of Pilgrim Street between 1830 and 1832. The most ambitious project covered 12 acres 12 acres (49,000 m2) in central Newcastle, on the site of Newe House (also called Anderson Place). Grainger built three new thoroughfares, Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street with many connecting streets, as well as the Central Exchange and the Grainger Market. John Wardle and George Walker, working in Grainger's office, designed Clayton Street, Grainger Street and most of Grey Street. Dobson designed the Grainger Market and much of the east side of Grey Street. John and Benjamin Green designed the Theatre Royal at the top of Grey Street, where Grainger placed the column of Grey's Monument as a focus for the whole scheme. Grey Street is considered to be one of the finest streets in the country, with its elegant curve. Unfortunately most of old Eldon Square was demolished in the 1960s in the name of progress. The Royal Arcade met a similar fate.
In 1849 a new bridge was built across the river at Newcastle. This was the High Level Bridge, designed by Robert Stephenson, and slightly up river from the existing bridge. The bridge was designed to carry road and rail traffic across the Tyne Gorge on two decks with rail traffic on the upper deck and road traffic on the lower. The new bridge meant that traffic could pass through Newcastle without having to negotiate the steep, narrow Side, as had been necessary for centuries. The bridge was opened by Queen Victoria, who one year later opened the new Central Station, designed by John Dobson. Trains were now able to cross the river, directly into the centre of Newcastle and carry on up to Scotland. The Army Riding School was also completed in 1849.
In 1854 a large fire started on the Gateshead quayside and an explosion caused it to spread across the river to the Newcastle quayside. A huge conflagration amongst the narrow alleys, or 'chares', destroyed the homes of 800 families as well as many business premises. The narrow alleys that had been destroyed were replaced by streets containing blocks of modern offices.
In 1863 the Town Hall in St Nicholas Square replaced the Guildhall as the meeting place of Newcastle Town Council.
In 1876 the low level bridge was replaced by a new bridge known as the Swing Bridge, so called because the bridge was able to swing horizontally on a central axis and allow ships to pass on either side. This meant that for the first time sizeable ships could pass up-river beyond Newcastle. The bridge was built and paid for by William Armstrong, a local arms manufacturer, who needed to have warships access his Elswick arms factory to fit armaments to them. The Swing Bridge's rotating mechanism is adapted from the cannon mounts developed in Armstrong's arms works. In 1882 the Elswick works began to build ships as well as to arm them. The Barrack Road drill hall was completed in 1890.
Industrialisation
In the 19th century, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were central to the city's prosperity; and the city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. Newcastle's development as a major city owed most to its central role in the production and export of coal. The phrase "taking coals to Newcastle" was first recorded in 1538; it proverbially denotes bringing a particular commodity to a place that has more than enough of it already.
Innovation in Newcastle and surrounding areas included the following:
George Stephenson developed a miner's safety lamp at the same time that Humphry Davy developed a rival design. The lamp made possible the opening up of ever deeper mines to provide the coal that powered the industrial revolution.
George and his son Robert Stephenson were hugely influential figures in the development of the early railways. George developed Blücher, a locomotive working at Killingworth colliery in 1814, whilst Robert was instrumental in the design of Rocket, a revolutionary design that was the forerunner of modern locomotives. Both men were involved in planning and building railway lines, all over this country and abroad.
Joseph Swan demonstrated a working electric light bulb about a year before Thomas Edison did the same in the USA. This led to a dispute as to who had actually invented the light bulb. Eventually the two rivals agreed to form a mutual company between them, the Edison and Swan Electric Light Company, known as Ediswan.
Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine, for marine use and for power generation. He used Turbinia, a small, turbine-powered ship, to demonstrate the speed that a steam turbine could generate. Turbinia literally ran rings around the British Fleet at a review at Spithead in 1897.
William Armstrong invented a hydraulic crane that was installed in dockyards up and down the country. He then began to design light, accurate field guns for the British army. These were a vast improvement on the existing guns that were then in use.
The following major industries developed in Newcastle or its surrounding area:
Glassmaking
A small glass industry existed in Newcastle from the mid-15th century. In 1615 restrictions were put on the use of wood for manufacturing glass. It was found that glass could be manufactured using the local coal, and so a glassmaking industry grew up on Tyneside. Huguenot glassmakers came over from France as refugees from persecution and set up glasshouses in the Skinnerburn area of Newcastle. Eventually, glass production moved to the Ouseburn area of Newcastle. In 1684 the Dagnia family, Sephardic Jewish emigrants from Altare, arrived in Newcastle from Stourbridge and established glasshouses along the Close, to manufacture high quality flint glass. The glass manufacturers used sand ballast from the boats arriving in the river as the main raw material. The glassware was then exported in collier brigs. The period from 1730 to 1785 was the highpoint of Newcastle glass manufacture, when the local glassmakers produced the 'Newcastle Light Baluster'. The glassmaking industry still exists in the west end of the city with local Artist and Glassmaker Jane Charles carrying on over four hundred years of hot glass blowing in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Locomotive manufacture
In 1823 George Stephenson and his son Robert established the world's first locomotive factory near Forth Street in Newcastle. Here they built locomotives for the Stockton and Darlington Railway and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, as well as many others. It was here that the famous locomotive Rocket was designed and manufactured in preparation for the Rainhill Trials. Apart from building locomotives for the British market, the Newcastle works also produced locomotives for Europe and America. The Forth Street works continued to build locomotives until 1960.
Shipbuilding
In 1296 a wooden, 135 ft (41 m) long galley was constructed at the mouth of the Lort Burn in Newcastle, as part of a twenty-ship order from the king. The ship cost £205, and is the earliest record of shipbuilding in Newcastle. However the rise of the Tyne as a shipbuilding area was due to the need for collier brigs for the coal export trade. These wooden sailing ships were usually built locally, establishing local expertise in building ships. As ships changed from wood to steel, and from sail to steam, the local shipbuilding industry changed to build the new ships. Although shipbuilding was carried out up and down both sides of the river, the two main areas for building ships in Newcastle were Elswick, to the west, and Walker, to the east. By 1800 Tyneside was the third largest producer of ships in Britain. Unfortunately, after the Second World War, lack of modernisation and competition from abroad gradually caused the local industry to decline and die.
Armaments
In 1847 William Armstrong established a huge factory in Elswick, west of Newcastle. This was initially used to produce hydraulic cranes but subsequently began also to produce guns for both the army and the navy. After the Swing Bridge was built in 1876 allowing ships to pass up river, warships could have their armaments fitted alongside the Elswick works. Armstrong's company took over its industrial rival, Joseph Whitworth of Manchester in 1897.
Steam turbines
Charles Algernon Parsons invented the steam turbine and, in 1889, founded his own company C. A. Parsons and Company in Heaton, Newcastle to make steam turbines. Shortly after this, he realised that steam turbines could be used to propel ships and, in 1897, he founded a second company, Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company in Wallsend. It is there that he designed and manufactured Turbinia. Parsons turbines were initially used in warships but soon came to be used in merchant and passenger vessels, including the liner Mauretania which held the blue riband for the Atlantic crossing until 1929. Parsons' company in Heaton began to make turbo-generators for power stations and supplied power stations all over the world. The Heaton works, reduced in size, remains as part of the Siemens AG industrial giant.
Pottery
In 1762 the Maling pottery was founded in Sunderland by French Huguenots, but transferred to Newcastle in 1817. A factory was built in the Ouseburn area of the city. The factory was rebuilt twice, finally occupying a 14-acre (57,000 m2) site that was claimed to be the biggest pottery in the world and which had its own railway station. The pottery pioneered use of machines in making potteries as opposed to hand production. In the 1890s the company went up-market and employed in-house designers. The period up to the Second World War was the most profitable with a constant stream of new designs being introduced. However, after the war, production gradually declined and the company closed in 1963.
Expansion of the city
Newcastle was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835: the reformed municipal borough included the parishes of Byker, Elswick, Heaton, Jesmond, Newcastle All Saints, Newcastle St Andrew, Newcastle St John, Newcastle St Nicholas, and Westgate. The urban districts of Benwell and Fenham and Walker were added in 1904. In 1935, Newcastle gained Kenton and parts of the parishes of West Brunton, East Denton, Fawdon, Longbenton. The most recent expansion in Newcastle's boundaries took place under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, when Newcastle became a metropolitan borough, also including the urban districts of Gosforth and Newburn, and the parishes of Brunswick, Dinnington, Hazlerigg, North Gosforth and Woolsington from the Castle Ward Rural District, and the village of Westerhope.
Meanwhile Northumberland County Council was formed under the Local Government Act 1888 and benefited from a dedicated meeting place when County Hall was completed in the Castle Garth area of Newcastle in 1910. Following the Local Government Act 1972 County Hall relocated to Morpeth in April 1981.
Twentieth century
In 1925 work began on a new high-level road bridge to span the Tyne Gorge between Newcastle and Gateshead. The capacity of the existing High-Level Bridge and Swing Bridge were being strained to the limit, and an additional bridge had been discussed for a long time. The contract was awarded to the Dorman Long Company and the bridge was finally opened by King George V in 1928. The road deck was 84 feet (26 m) above the river and was supported by a 531 feet (162 m) steel arch. The new Tyne Bridge quickly became a symbol for Newcastle and Tyneside, and remains so today.
During the Second World War, Newcastle was largely spared the horrors inflicted upon other British cities bombed during the Blitz. Although the armaments factories and shipyards along the River Tyne were targeted by the Luftwaffe, they largely escaped unscathed. Manors goods yard and railway terminal, to the east of the city centre, and the suburbs of Jesmond and Heaton suffered bombing during 1941. There were 141 deaths and 587 injuries, a relatively small figure compared to the casualties in other industrial centres of Britain.
In 1963 the city gained its own university, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, by act of parliament. A School of Medicine and Surgery had been established in Newcastle in 1834. This eventually developed into a college of medicine attached to Durham University. A college of physical science was also founded and became Armstrong College in 1904. In 1934 the two colleges merged to become King's College, Durham. This remained as part of Durham University until the new university was created in 1963. In 1992 the city gained its second university when Newcastle Polytechnic was granted university status as Northumbria University.
Newcastle City Council moved to the new Newcastle Civic Centre in 1968.
As heavy industries declined in the second half of the 20th century, large sections of the city centre were demolished along with many areas of slum housing. The leading political figure in the city during the 1960s was T. Dan Smith who oversaw a massive building programme of highrise housing estates and authorised the demolition of a quarter of the Georgian Grainger Town to make way for Eldon Square Shopping Centre. Smith's control in Newcastle collapsed when it was exposed that he had used public contracts to advantage himself and his business associates and for a time Newcastle became a byword for civic corruption as depicted in the films Get Carter and Stormy Monday and in the television series Our Friends in the North. However, much of the historic Grainger Town area survived and was, for the most part, fully restored in the late 1990s. Northumberland Street, initially the A1, was gradually closed to traffic from the 1970s and completely pedestrianised by 1998.
In 1978 a new rapid transport system, the Metro, was built, linking the Tyneside area. The system opened in August 1980. A new bridge was built to carry the Metro across the river between Gateshead and Newcastle. This was the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, commonly known as the Metro Bridge. Eventually the Metro system was extended to reach Newcastle Airport in 1991, and in 2002 the Metro system was extended to the nearby city of Sunderland.
As the 20th century progressed, trade on the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides gradually declined, until by the 1980s both sides of the river were looking rather derelict. Shipping company offices had closed along with offices of firms related to shipping. There were also derelict warehouses lining the riverbank. Local government produced a master plan to re-develop the Newcastle quayside and this was begun in the 1990s. New offices, restaurants, bars and residential accommodation were built and the area has changed in the space of a few years into a vibrant area, partially returning the focus of Newcastle to the riverside, where it was in medieval times.
The Gateshead Millennium Bridge, a foot and cycle bridge, 26 feet (7.9 m) wide and 413 feet (126 m) long, was completed in 2001. The road deck is in the form of a curve and is supported by a steel arch. To allow ships to pass, the whole structure, both arch and road-deck, rotates on huge bearings at either end so that the road deck is lifted. The bridge can be said to open and shut like a human eye. It is an important addition to the re-developed quayside area, providing a vital link between the Newcastle and Gateshead quaysides.
Recent developments
Today the city is a vibrant centre for office and retail employment, but just a short distance away there are impoverished inner-city housing estates, in areas originally built to provide affordable housing for employees of the shipyards and other heavy industries that lined the River Tyne. In the 2010s Newcastle City Council began implementing plans to regenerate these depressed areas, such as those along the Ouseburn Valley.