View allAll Photos Tagged impartial
BBC impartiality was challenged today by several hundred Pro Palestine protesters who gathered outside the Birmingham studios located in the Mailbox. Several speakers highlighted the disproportionality of coverage and just days after 4 Palestinian children were bombed on a beach in Gaza.
The protesters held an impromptu march to a scheduled Stop the War meeting. When it became clear that the Council House could not accomodate the number of protesters wishing to attend a sound system was hastily put together and a mass public meeting was held in the city's Chamberlain Square.
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On Dec. 15, 2015, at 6 p.m., the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Fairfax County constitutional officers, and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District directors all took their oath of office in the Government Center forum.
Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate administered the oath of office to 16 elected officials, who each swore to support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the commonwealth of Virginia, and to faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon them as officials of Fairfax County.
All elected officials will take office on Jan. 1, 2016.
More information:
BBC STEWS - Political Stew - This is an easy dish and quick to make. Another classic BBC stew, which fully conforms to our high standards of independence and impartiality. Enjoy!
Serves EVERYONE!
Ingredients:
500ml of toilet water.
Pan.
er... that's it.
To make your stew stir water (or not, it makes no difference). No heating required. Serve in bowl or simply drink from pan.
Stew Complaints
Some complain BQC stews aren't in fact stews but just toilet water. We
judge these complaints un founded and believe them to be spread by maker's of 'fake stews'. These 'fake stews may appear nutritious and delicious but are actually full of hard left, anti semitic, populist, terrorist sympathising, uncosted
rubbish!
For health reasons avoid the following items and chiefs: Independent Media UK, The canary, Noam Chomsky, Craig Murray, London Economic, Another Angry Voice, Counterline, Evonemies, Michael Hudson, Solfed, Open democracy, Jonathan Cook, yanis Varoufakis, We Own it, Consortium News.
By Le Turnip
"Contemplation of Justice" Statue on the Supreme Court Plaza by James Earle Fraser. In this sculpture, a seated female figure reflects on a small figure of Justice that she holds in her right hand. The figure of Justice is blindfolded and cradles a set of scales in her arms.
The portrayal of a female figure representing Justice dates back to depicitions of Themis and Justicia in ancient mythology. Themis, known for her clear-sightedness, was the Greek Goddess of Justice and Law. In Roman mythology, Justicia (Justice) was one of the four Virtues along with Prudence, Fortitude, and Temperence.
Over time "Justice" became associated with scales to represent impartiality and a sword to symbolize power. During the 16th century 'Justice" was often portrayed with a blindfold. The origins of the blindfold is unclear, but it seems to have been added to indicate the tolerance of, or ignorance to, abuse of the law by the judicial system. Today, the blindfold is generally accepted as a symbol of impartiality, but may be used to signify these other traits in political cartoons.
An advert used in the Fermanagh newspaper the Impartial Reporter highlighting what happens when the unionist vote is split.
Officially known as the Central Criminal Court, The Old Bailey is arguably the single most famous court in the world. It deals mostly with major criminal cases from across Greater London, but also with cases from across England and Wales, should they be of sufficient scale and severity.
Construction on the current building began in 1902, and completed in 1907, but some form of court has stood on the site since the late 1580s - that original building was among those destroyed in the famous Great Fire of London in 1666. Among the most iconic statues in the world, the bronze of Lady Justice atop the Old Bailey's dome holds the scales of justice in her left hand and a sword in her right. Usually blindfolded in other instances, this version of Lady Justice is not, signifying her impartiality in any crime that is judged within.
In [BBC's Sherlock] The Reichenbach Fall, the Old Bailey itself only appears in the exteriors. St Bart's Hospital is directly opposite The Old Bailey in Giltspur Street, on the opposite side of Newgate Street.
Source and +info: www.sherlockology.com/locations/the-old-bailey
Official website: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-the-city/what-we-do/Pages/C...
Hard work combined with a clear business vision and dedication pays off. One of the biggest business and technology news websites Business Insider has officially announced that ZoomCharts is the fastest growing B2B startup in the world with the 37% growth rate backed up by the PitchBook Data.
ZoomCharts is followed by such companies as:
AppAnalytics: Watching mobile apps. Growth rate: ~19%
Blitzen: Computer forms made easy. Growth rate: ~16%
Deem: Managing employee's expenses. Growth rate: ~14%
Mesosphere: Turning a data center into one big computer. Growth rate: ~13%
Peel-Works: Salesforce for small companies. Growth rate: ~12.6%
Rain: Send ads to local customers. Growth rate: ~10.8%
Notey: Find great things to read on the 'net. Growth rate: ~10.5%
Krux Digital: Serve up the right content. Growth rate: ~10%
Fieldbook: The spreadsheet killer. Growth rate: ~10%
Confluent: Big data from LinkedIn. Growth rate: ~9.8%
Socialight Analytics: Listening on the internet. Growth rate: ~9.5%
Inkshares: Kickstarter for book lovers. Growth rate: ~9.5%
SkyGiraffe: Easy mobile apps. Growth rate: ~9%
Pulsate: Helping retailers use iBeacons. Growth rate: ~9%
Read the full article here: www.businessinsider.com/15-of-the-fastest-growing-b2b-sta...
Business Insider is based in New York City and its original works are cited by other prominent publications such as The New York Times and domestic news outlets such as NPR formerly known as National Public Radio.
PitchBook Data is an independent and impartial private equity and venture capital research firm that provides premium data, news and analysis. Through a combination of publicly available sources and rigorous firsthand research with industry professionals, PitchBook has developed an extensive PE and VC database, with in-depth information and statistics on companies, deals and investors.
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#PitchBook #fastest #growing #startup #bestintheworld #BusinessInsider #NewYorkCity #NewYorkTimes #ZoomCharts #AppAnalytics #Blitzen #Deem #Mesosphere #PeelWorks #Rain #Notey #KruxDigital #Fieldbook #Confluent #SocialightAnalytics #Inkshares #SkyGiraffe #Pulsate #data #visualization #turndataintographs
New Beginnings Fundraiser 2017
I was on hand for the BEGINNINGS Auction this year on behalf of board member Crash Gregg and The Triangle Downtowner Magazine.
Date: Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Time: 6:00-8:30pm
Place: The Umstead Hotel, 100 Woodland Pond Drive, Cary, NC
The BEGINNINGS organization is for parents of children who are at the very least Hard of Hearing is non-profit helping parents and families. Their impartial support helps families make informed decisions by empowering advocacy for their child’s needs.
New Beginnings also supports deaf parents who have hearing children.
I'm on tap next to photograph Governor Cooper again this Saturday.
Title:CASTLEY ANGUS GEORGE : Service Number - 119100
Date: 1942
Angus George Castley (better known as George Castley) was born on 31 March 1909 in Rutherglen. His service record shows that he enlisted on 5 October 1942; he listed his occupation as plaster sheet manufacturer and his wife, Elizabeth Castely, as his next of kin. The RAAF listed his height as 6 ft. 1 inch. George served with the RAAF as an Aircraftsman and was promoted to Leading Aircraftman on 30 July 1943. His character was consistently noted as VG (Very Good) and his performance as SAT (Satisfactory). He was posted to Milne Bay in New Guinea from 13 February 1943 to 25 June 1944. George was discharged on 4 April 1945 to resume his civilian occupation. His intended place of residence was 28 Hobart Rd, Murrumbeena.
Castley Bros Pty Ltd first appeared in print in the Law Notices section of the Argus, on 21 April 1948. The notice announced the intention of Hector Gordon Castley of 38 Haughton Rd, Oakleigh, and Angus George Castley of 27 Hotham Street, Oakleigh, to register the company. Both men stated their occupations as fibrous plaster sheet manufacturers and plasterers. The registered address of their business was 403 Neerim Rd, Murrumbeena. The company was incorporated with £20,000 capital.
It’s unlikely that many people read that 1948 Law Notice, but the company made headlines across many newspapers in late November 1951. By then the company was established at the corner of Millgate Street and Manton Road, Oakleigh South (see Google Maps for the locale) and its workforce members of the Victorian Fibrous Plasterers' Union were on strike. Headlines like Unionists Picket Factory and Police watch pickets at factory accompanied the dispute over the use of non-union labour. (Angus) George Castley said he would truck his non-union workers into the factory with police protection and that “if the pickets try to stop us they'll regret it.” The pickets were withdrawn after the company offered settlement terms including a commitment not to employ non-union labour and an offer to pay £20 “to defray strike expenses.”.
However, that was not the end of the story. The strike had been preceded by an altercation between union secretary, John Connell, and company director Angus George Castley. Connell had accused Castley of assault, a charge that was dismissed at the Oakleigh courthouse when Castley testified that his actions were in self defence. The case was heard after Connell’s lawyer expressed concern about the impartiality of the judges. Castley said that Connell had slapped him in the face and that he had “got in first” and “grabbed him by the throat to hold him off.". Constable A. W. Pascoe gave evidence that, under questioning, Connell admitted that he struck Castley first, as he thought Castley was going to "do him over.". There was a further incident on the street in which no one was harmed. The Bench awarded £ 7/7/ costs against Connell.
Fibrous plaster walled (commonly referred to as fibroplaster or simply fibro) houses were new in the early 1950s. With help from the CSIRO, Tressellian Moritz of South Australia popularised a fibro method of construction that was cheap and fast, building a house a fortnight for the South Australian Housing Trust. George Castley was inspired by the Moritz method and created his own steel reinforced prefabricated plaster house in Oakleigh. To do this, the Castley brothers established Plaster Walls Pty Ltd. The company promoted their new building method at the 1953 Homes Exhibition, displaying a "working cross-section" of a plaster walled house. They made news again with the 1954 event, when The Argus reported that Australia led the world in plaster slab wall construction, and noted that Plaster Walls Ptd Ltd had "begun operations about 18 months ago" and had already built 200 homes using plaster, with 40 more being built.
In September 1953 The Pastoral Times reported that the Australasian Post “recently came out with a big spread on George's Atom-Age plaster house” that was "soundproof, bombproof, and cheaper than weatherboard." According to the periodical, George was "six-feet four" (3 inches taller than the the height recorded in his service record). Mr Castley “was taking it easy a few years back, watching some of the factory hands make fibro-plaster sheets, when it dawned on him that if you could put fibre in plaster to make it pliable among other things, why not put something harder in it to make it strong and tough like cast concrete? Then he heard of a South Australian named Moritz, who had put up more than 100 plaster houses for his State's Housing Trust — cased with brick veener. Big George, as the plaster trade knows him, wasted no time getting into action. He produced some plaster sheets the size of a house wall, cored with steel mesh and tested them for strength” with the aid of the CSIRO. The Pastoral Time continued that it “seemed that the idea was a winner so George formed a company, which built its first house in the Melbourne suburb of Oakleigh a few weeks back. More than 6000 people, including Cabinet Ministers and architects, have caused minor traffic jams ever since, inspecting the atom-proof house.” The company promoted the house in newspapers with advertisements like this one in The Age.
The Pastoral Times article says that “Mr. Castley offered the Oakleigh house for sale for £2250. This contrasts with timber £2650; brick veneer, £3050; solid brick, £4000. And he declares he can cut his £2,250 further... But, he goes on, the outer brick covering is only a weather shield, takes no weight and is not essential. Later, when more houses are built, Castley says he will dispense with the outer brick veneer wall and weatherproof the main plaster wall to cut costs.”
However, The Sun News Pictorial recorded that the house, in Dermot St, Oakleigh South, “cost £2,950, including £300 for the land.”
Angus George Castley died on 31 October 1991 and is buried in the Springvale Botanical Cemetery.
Source: NAA
Series/Control symbol: A9301, 119100
Item ID: 203846534
Item location: Canberra
The officers would be 'on loan' to Buckingham Palace from the strength of Cannon Row (Alpha Delta) the Headquarters of the Metropolitan Police's 'A' or Whitehall Division.
Most of Central London's large public occasions were dealt with by Cannon Row Police Station officers and overseen by the expert Ceremonials Office based at the station and always handled with complete impartiality.
The occasion is the announcement of the birth of Prince Edward, 10th March, 1964.
Birthplace of William McKinley
Image from "The Parties and The Men, or, Political Issues of 1896 ... The Issues of the Day Impartially Reviewed" (1896).
Contrast digitally enhanced.
On Dec. 15, 2015, at 6 p.m., the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Fairfax County constitutional officers, and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District directors all took their oath of office in the Government Center forum.
Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate administered the oath of office to 16 elected officials, who each swore to support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the commonwealth of Virginia, and to faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon them as officials of Fairfax County.
All elected officials will take office on Jan. 1, 2016.
More information:
The continuous history of the office is held to date from 1376
In the United Kingdom, the Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, and is seen historically as the First Commoner of the Land. The current Speaker is the Right Honourable Michael Martin MP, who took office in 2000 and was re-elected in 2005[1] following the general election of that year. On 19 May 2009 Martin announced his resignation from the position, effective from 21 June 2009.
The Speaker presides over the House's debates, determining which members may speak. The Speaker is also responsible for maintaining order during debate, and may punish members who break the rules of the House.
Link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_British_House_of_Com...
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The Speaker of the House of Commons chairs debates in the Commons chamber. The holder of this office is an MP who has been elected to be Speaker by other Members of Parliament. During debates they keep order and call MPs to speak.
The Speaker is the chief officer and highest authority of the House of Commons and must remain politically impartial at all times. The Speaker also represents the Commons to the monarch, the Lords and other authorities and chairs the House of Commons Commission. The current Speaker who was forced ou for the first time in 300 years on 19th may 2009 is Michael Martin, MP for Glasgow North East.
Hundreds of people marched on June 3, 2017; through lower Manhattan to demand an impartial investigation into alleged Russian interference in the presidential election. The "March for Truth" was one of many demonstrations held nationwide calling for an investigation into ties between Russia and Donald Trump and his associates. (Photo by Erik McGregor)
The title-page of a document, 1613, reporting the trial of 19 poor unfortunate women, accused of witchcraft, on ''Munday'' 17th August 1612, at Lancaster castle.
Also, the trial....no doubt exceedingly fair, impartial and unbiased.....and execution of another ''witch'' the month previous.
I love the way that the fact that these unfortunate women have been accused of witchcraft , is a ''wonderful discovery''.
More easily seen in ''all sizes''.
After returning to the island early this morning, President Rajapaksa received a briefing of the events that took place in Aluthgama, Beruwala and Dharga town and decided to go to Beruwala this afternoon to hold discussions with both Buddhist and Muslim communities, together, at the District Secretariat. President Rajapaksa assured all communities that an “impartial inquiry” will be held to bring to justice anyone responsible for the violence, irrespective of race, religion or ethnicity. The Buddhist and Muslim communities that were present for the discussion told the President that they want to live in peace with each other. President Rajapaksa assured protection for the Buddhist temples as well as the Muslims who were displaced. President Rajapaksa said the Government will rebuild homes and businesses that were destroyed.
බොලිවියාවේ සංචාරයෙන් පසු අද උදැසන දිවයිනට පැමිණි ජනාධිපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මැතිතුමා, පසුගිය දිනවල අලුත්ගම, බේරුවල සහ ධර්ගා නගරයේ වූ සිද්ධීන් පිළිබඳව තතු විමසීමකින් අනතුරුව, පස්වරුවේ බේරුවල ප්රාදේශීය ලේකම් කාර්යාලයෙදී බෞද්ධ හා මුස්ලිම් ජනයා සමග සාකච්ඡාවකට එක් විය. එම අවස්ථාවේදී රැස්ව සිටි ජනතාව ඇමතු ජනාධිපතිතුමා, තත්වය සම්බන්ධයෙන් අපක්ෂපාතී පරීක්ෂණයක් පවත්වා ජාති ආගම් තරාතිරම් නොබලා වැරදිකරුවන්ට දඬුවම් ලබාදීම අනිවාර්යෙන්ම සිදුකරන බව සහතික විය. තමන් එකිනෙකා සමග සාමයෙන් හා සහජීවනයෙන් ජිවත් වීමට කැමති පිරිසක් බව එහි රැස්ව සිටි බෞද්ධ හා මුස්ලිම් ජනතාව ජනාධිපතිතුමා සමග කියා සිටියහ. බෞද්ධ සිද්ධස්ථානවලට හා අවතැන් වූ මුස්ලිම් ජනතාවට ආරක්ෂාව ලබාදීමට සහතික වූ එතුමා, විනාශ වූ නිවාස සහ ව්යාපාරික ස්ථාන රජයෙන් ප්රතිසංස්කරණය කරන බවද කියා සිටියේය.
பொலிவிய பயணத்தை அடுத்து இன்று காலை நாடு திரும்பிய ஜனாதிபதி மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ அவர்கள், பேருவளை பிரதேச செயலகத்தில் இன்று மாலை மதத்தலைவர்கள் மற்றும் பொது மக்களுடன் கலந்துரையாடளில் ஈடுபட்டார். அளுத்கம, தர்கா நகர் மற்றும் பேருவளை சம்பவங்கள் தொடர்பில் பக்கச்சார்பற்ற விசாரணை மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டு குற்றவாளிகளுக்கு மதவேறுபாடின்றி நிச்சியம் தண்டனை வழங்கப்படும் என உறுதியளித்தார். தாம் சமாதானமாக வாழ விரும்புவதாக அங்கு குடியிருந்த பௌத்த, முஸ்லிம் மக்கள் ஜனாதிபதியிடம் தெரிவித்தனர். சம்பவத்தால் சேதமடைந்த உடமைகள் அரசாங்கத்தினால் மீள திருத்தியமைக்கப்படும் என ஜனாதிபதி உறுதியளித்தார்.
(Photos by: Sudath Silva)
Tableaux Historiques & Topographiques, Ou Relations Exactes Et Impartiales Des trois Événemens mémorables qui terminèrent la Campagne de 1796 sur le Rhin
No, there is no Linkin Park endorsements going on around here (I'm quite impartial to them). Hell, it's not even close to Christmas on the west coast yet.
But still, I'm just as anxious as ever, waiting for the clock to strike twelve so I can officially declare it Christmas. Just another reason for me to yell out "First!"
Strobist: 430EX II w/ stofen @ camera low right
Beallair, Charlestown, West Virginia
"Article XXXII.
Prisoners.
No person, after having surrendered himself or herself a prisoner, and who shall properly demean himself or herself as such, to any officer or private connected with this organization, shall afterward be put to death, or be subject to any corporal punishment, without first having had the benefit of a fair and impartial trial: nor shall any prisoner be treated with any kind of cruelty, disrespect, insult, or needless severity: but it shall be the duty of all persons, male and female, connected herewith, all all times and under all circumstances, to treat all such prisoners with every degree of respect and kindness the nature of the circumstances will admit of; and to insist on a like conduct from all others, as in the fear of Almighty God, to whose care and keeping we commit our cause."
--Provisional Constitution
____
This is part of a 48 photograph series. To view the series 1.go to my photostream, 2.open up the set "John Brown and Harpers Ferry.", 3. look at the introduction, 4.open up the first picture and navigate using the thumbnails on the right of your screen.
August 15, 2018
My Loss is more than 20 million BDT due to irresponsible, careless decision, action and management UNDP, IFAD there were none to uphold justice Just Ponder how my son and wife would named You all - Title Suit 128/2002 Dhaka 3rd Sub Judge Court
Hi UN HR or any other Rights Enforcing Agency
Why you have Changed Your Role? Do Have any role really? Or you do like mad whatever you decide to do?
???IS IT called IMPARTIALITY, NEUTRALITY OF UN OFFICIALS???
OH man why you are crying today? What a double Standard you can maintain and never learned to be ashamed in any foul and filthy talking, thinking, implementing, doing. What a shameless and careless you are?
IS IT CALLED YOUR IMPARTIALITY, NEUTRALITY OF UN AND THEIR EXPERTS?
DUE TO DIFFERENT UN BODY’S CARELESS MANAGEMENT MY FAMILY SUFFERED LOT 1999 TO TILL DATE. THERE WAS NO INITIATIVE FROM ANY UN EXPERT, HUMAN RIGHTS ENFORCING AGENCY LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL. They could say whatever they feel convenient for them. All are bloody careless and irresponsible.
I had been appeal to several head UN agencies and my play card was I want justice. Initially each office directed different desk in the office. What a inhuman, careless and irresponsible behavior of those official. At the end they said “We cannot deal with individual loss or injustice made to individual.”I am a Bangalee and Mr. Shahidul Alam also a Bangalee.
How Shahidul Alam Photographer become a more than individual?
The Global Network for Rights and Development is grateful for the support of a number of individuals and organizations that helped make its Joint Local-International Election Observation Mission possible. First and foremost, GNRD would like to express its sincere gratitude for the warm welcome that Egyptian people have offered the members of this mission.
GNRD would also like to thank the Government of Egypt and the High Elections Committee for the invitation to witness the Parliamentary Elections. On this occasion, GNRD implements the Electoral Observation Mission in collaboration with three partners: the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the International Institute for Peace, Justice and Human Rights (IIPJHR), and Maat For Peace, Development & Human Rights (MAAT).
The Joint EOM includes 300 international observers from 42 different nationalities, 2015 local observers and a group of analysts, translators, security staff and drivers.
The Joint EOM observation mission to Egypt is conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and Code of Conduct for International Election Observers, which was adopted at the United Nations in 2005 and has been endorsed by 37 election observation groups. The declaration details principles for the conduct of credible and professional election observations. In accordance with these guidelines, the Joint EOM’s evaluation of the election focused on civil and political rights and provided an impartial assessment independent of any bilateral or multilateral considerations.
The current parliamentary elections are the third and final stage of the Egyptian roadmap to democracy, following the implementation of the new constitution in January 2014, and the presidential election in June 2014. The long awaited election comes following two postponements, and over three years without a legislative body.
Brief Summary of Election Day Observations
The first and second day of elections were peaceful and orderly, with a few exceptions observed. Polling centers visited by the mission were normally accessible and free from interference, with a few exceptions where observers were denied access by security forces. Moreover, all facilities were orderly and well-secured by police and military officials, who were present during the entire opening, voting and closing processes.
The transparency of the electoral process was mainly respected and free from any interruptions. Observers noted that the internal procedures were being followed by the election staff, especially the centers located in urban districts. However, in the rural area, the joint mission observed a considerable lack of voting education and staff training. For instance, the voters rarely their vote inside the ballot boxes themselves, and the majority of staff did not wear badges or uniforms that them from other voters. This made the identification process difficult. Also, witnesses reported procedural irregularities, as one assigned judge failed to appear on both election days. The majority of problems cited, however, did not appear to hinder the overall voting process or results.
The first phase of the parliamentary elections included 14 governorates, where candidates competed for 226 seats, "individually," in the 60 seat in the lists. A total of 27,402,353 million eligible voters were registered, 7,270,594 million voters participated, with a final turnout of 26.56%.
Joint Mission Recommendations for the Second Phase
- Implementing Strategies to Increase Voter Turnout and Combat Voter Apathy;
- Extensive training for security forces and polling station staff, including the head of constituencies and election committees;
- Addressing the gap gender balance between men and women in the formation of polling officials, particularly as heads of polling stations;
- Greater Respect for Campaign Legislation and the Day of Silence;
- Expanding the Presence of Media and National Observers During Election Days;
the use of Identification Badges;
the Presence of Voting Instructions in Polling Centers;
- Increased Digitization of the Electoral Process;
the Medical Check Procedures for Candidates;
- Inclusion of the contact details of the High Electoral Committee inside the polling centres so that voters can address the HEC directly in the event of any incident or violation;
- Removal of any party name that may lead voters to believe that they are voting for an official body of the government
The Joint EOM mandate is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the electoral process and to observe the extent to which the election complies with national law and regulations, as well as international and regional obligations that apply to Egypt.
To achieve this goal, the GNRD mission deployed its observers on 10 October 2015, who will remain in the country until 29 October 2015. During this period of time, the Joint EOM will have assessed three phases of the election process: the campaigning period, the days of election and the post-election period.
During the second round, the local-international joint mission will also deploy an observation team that will be working in the field until the electoral process is completed. Subsequently, the Joint EOM will present a comprehensive final report which will include plausible recommendations to improve the electoral processes in Egypt.
- See more at: gnrd.net/seemore.php?id=1959#sthash.YJZrnCEI.dpuf
BBC impartiality was challenged today by several hundred Pro Palestine protesters who gathered outside the Birmingham studios located in the Mailbox. Several speakers highlighted the disproportionality of coverage and just days after 4 Palestinian children were bombed on a beach in Gaza.
The protesters held an impromptu march to a scheduled Stop the War meeting. When it became clear that the Council House could not accomodate the number of protesters wishing to attend a sound system was hastily put together and a mass public meeting was held in the city's Chamberlain Square.
Alter ego clothing will give the hold that twists need to shape them and support them. A nice steel-boned corset will be made of a twofold layered surface and have in any event 12 steel bones running impartially all through it. To know more visit here: www.crunchbase.com/organization/aec-corset
On Dec. 15, 2015, at 6 p.m., the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Fairfax County constitutional officers, and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District directors all took their oath of office in the Government Center forum.
Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate administered the oath of office to 16 elected officials, who each swore to support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the commonwealth of Virginia, and to faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon them as officials of Fairfax County.
All elected officials will take office on Jan. 1, 2016.
More information:
On Dec. 15, 2015, at 6 p.m., the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Fairfax County constitutional officers, and the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District directors all took their oath of office in the Government Center forum.
Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate administered the oath of office to 16 elected officials, who each swore to support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the commonwealth of Virginia, and to faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon them as officials of Fairfax County.
All elected officials will take office on Jan. 1, 2016.
More information:
Well worn notice on the bench - "EUROPEANS ONLY". Seems hardly possible now, but all is clearly and impartially explained in this excellent museum.
Presentation is a key component....
Presentation is a key component of a healthy breakfast.... Here is a healthy breakfast served in a pyrex bowl.. It is placed on a colorful place setting mat against a sea of cyan aquamarine blue-green.
In the bowl are peach flavored yogurt, buckwheat groats, aka kasha, cooked in skimmed milk with raisins and perhaps some brown sugar, and thin apple slices. Slicing the apple so thin does seem to enhance the apple's flavor.
_________________________
Alas, I went off my diet for the holidays, and gained weight... The scale is like the Greek Scales of Justice, very impartial and not subject to coaxing or prayer...
Here I am restarting my weight loss diet... But the portions are a bit too large...;))
100_9370 - Version 3
accessibilité aux personnes handicapées Un bon point pour la préfecture à laon
Un bâtiment laonnois arrive en tête d'un classement sur l'accessibilité.
qui a obtenu la note de dix sur dix et les félicitations !
LE SITE INTERNET www.accessiblepourmoi.com/
a établi un classement des villes et de certaines préfectures ou sous-préfectures.
Et c'est la préfecture de Laon qui arrive en tête (ex æquo avec Melun) sur treize établissements visités
pour le moment.
L'association Mobilité réduite, à l'origine de cette action, ne se contente pas de consulter des documents et de recueillir des témoignages.
Entre début mai et fin novembre, les adhérents prennent leur voiture et viennent sur place pour voir comment les choses se passent réellement.
Ils visitent, incognito, des villes de toutes tailles et de tous bords politiques ou des établissements publics.
Une bonne surprise
Le président, Jean-Michel Royère, est venu lui-même constater comment cette administration située en ville haute accueille les personnes en situation de handicap.
Et il a eu une bonne surprise.
« Quand je suis arrivé devant la grille de la préfecture, j'ai vu le logo « handicap » sur les barrières.
On m'a ouvert et il y avait quatre places réservées à l'intérieur.
plusieurs places de stationnement réservées aux personnes à mobilité réduite ..
L'accès est facile, il y a un cheminement court et praticable, un accueil aux normes, des toilettes conformes...
Le service communication de la préfecture précise de son côté que des travaux sont réalisés depuis plusieurs années et que « le cheminement des accès au bâtiment Signier a été repris et le dallage refait.
Il y a un guichet surbaissé accessible au niveau de l'accueil général et les ascenseurs sont aux normes depuis 2008.
Un programme de travaux d'un montant de 70 000 €, d'une durée de 10 semaines, sera lancé en septembre. Chaque service (cartes grises, permis de conduire, bureau de la nationalité) disposera d'un guichet d'accueil surbaissé.
Ces guichets seront également dotés d'une boucle à induction magnétique permettant une communication adaptée entre les personnels d'accueil et les usagers malentendants ou non appareillés. »
Restera pour l'association à tester la ville.
Elle a prévu de le faire cet automne ou au printemps prochain. Mais impossible d'en savoir plus. « Afin de ne pas être influencé dans un sens ou dans l'autre et pour rester impartial, nous ne rencontrons ni élu, ni association.
C'est donc une photo à un instant T de la situation globale de la ville.
Si des travaux d'accessibilité conformes à l'esprit de la loi sont prévus ou en cours de réalisation, nous devrions normalement les constater la fois suivante. La note qui sera alors attribuée devrait donc progresser en conséquence.
C'est le but essentiel de nos audits incognito, mesurer la progression des collectivités territoriales en terme d'accessibilité. »
Préfecture de Laon (02010) Picardie > Aisne (02)
2 rue Paul Doumer
02010 Laon CEDEX 9
+33 3 23 21 82 82
courrier @ aisne.pref.gouv.fr
Très pratique
Cabine photo universelle La seule cabine photo, conçue pour être accessible à tous!
Malentendants
Malvoyants
Handicapés en fauteuil
conçue pour être accessible à tous!
Malentendants Malvoyants Handicapés en fauteuil ...
This weeks Friday activity for the kids age 11-14 was Duct Tape Art! They each got a chance to design something unique using ten different colors of duct tape, and then once they were done their hard work was judged by an impartial librarian and the winners got to take home the extra rolls of duct tape as a reward!
Luis Alberto Cordero (left), executive director of the Center for Electoral Promotion and Assistance , inspects a ballot with a polling center worker.
Cordero was a meber of the NDI international election assessment mission for the Nov. 29 general elections in Honduras. The Institute mobilized 20 international experts around the country to provide an impartial assessment of the conduct of the elections.
At the time of the election Matt was still union webmaster and therefore had to remain impartial. Except for declaring his undying love for The Divine Comedy that is...
.
join CPI(ML)'s Against Communalism aisa.
and Minority Witch-hunt.
Convention.
Speakers:.
.
Families of the Victims of Minority Witch-hunt.
.
25 from Darbhanga, Malegaon, Azamgarh and Various Others. Pranay Krishna, General Secretary, Jan Sanskri!.
Sept, Seema Mustafa, Senior Journalist, Director CPA Manch.
Tuesday Syed Muhammad Kazmi, Senior Journalist Md. Salim, CC member, CPI(ML).
ISIL Audi Vrinda Grover, Senior Advocate Maulana Kayyum, Jamat-e-Ulema-e-Hind,.
Satish Tamta, Senior Lawyer represen!ng Shehzad in the figh!ng the case of Malegaon Vic!ms.
Batla House encounter case Representa!ves of Rehaai Manch, U#ar Pradesh.
Suzaat Bukhari, Editor, Rising Kashmir.
Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary, CPI(ML).
.
Bus from Ganga Dhaba at.
.
near Supreme.
.
Court nksLrks].
1.30pm tSls&tSls pquko utnhd vk jgs gSa] iwjs ns'k esa txg&txg lkEiznk-.
.
All over the country, as elections approach, we are f;d ruko] mUekn vkSj buds izfr ljdkjksa dk <hyk joS;k cwBs eqdnes] fgjklr esa.
gains legitimacy from the state's policy of targeting ;kruk;sa vkSj ekSr] iQthZ ,udkm.Vj dbZ jkT;ksa esa vke gks x;s.
Muslim youth as `terrorists'. Framed cases, custodial gSaA dqN eqdnes ,sls Hkh gSa tgka vnkyrksa us iQalk;s x;s csxqukg.
torture and killings, and fake encounters have become ;qokvksa dks cjh dj fn;kA ysfdu fiQj Hkh ljdkjksa us mu ekeyksa.
common in many states. In the few landmark cases esa iqfyl o vkradokn fujks/d nLrksa dh mu Hkkjh xyfr;ksa dks.
where court proceedings have exonerated the falsely.
.
accused youth, there has been no acknowledgement of ekuus ls badkj dj fn;k] vkSj ftUgksaus fcYdqy cscqfu;kn vkjksiksa.
.
wrongdoing on part of the police and anti-terror squads, esa csotg tsy esa lkysa dkVha] fgjklr esa Hkh"k.k ;kruk;sa >syh].
.
no apology, and no compensation or rehabilitation for ftudk thou cckZn gqvk] muds fy, eqvkotk rd nsus dh ckr.
.
those who suffered jail and torture on the strength of ljdkjksa dks ukxokj yxrh gSA.
baseless charges..
reke vU; ekeyksa dh rjg gh ckVyk gkml ^,udkm.Vj* ds.
In the case of fake encounters like the Batla House ekeys esa Hkh fu"i{k tkap djkus dh ekax dks Lohdkj ugha fd;k.
`encounter', the demand for impartial enquiry has been x;kA ls'ku vnkyr ds iQSlys esa `kgtkn dks nks"kh ekuk x;k gS].
rejected. And the latest Sessions Court verdict sentencing ysfdu bl ckr dk dksbZ lcwr vnkyr ds ikl ugha gS fd og.
Shehzad to life imprisonment for the killing of Inspector ogka ?kVuk ds oDr ekStwn Fkk] ;k xksyh mlh us pykbZ] ;k og dbZ.
Mohan Chand Sharma has added insult to injury. This eaftyk fcfYMax ls dSls xk;c gks x;k fd dksbZ ns[k rd ugha ik;k!.
verdict holds Shehzad to be guilty without showing any.
.
credible narrative to establish his presence in the L-18 Åij ls ;g dguk fd LFkkuh; p'enhn xokg mlh vYila[;d.
.
·lat, let alone any proof of his having ·ired a bullet, or leqnk; ls gSa vr% fo'okl ;ksX; ugha gS] iwjh rjg ls lkEiznkf;d.
.
any reasonable way for him to have escaped unseen and utfj;s dk [kqyklk djrk gSA.
.
unhurt. Moreover this verdict explains the police's lack vxj Hkktik&'kkflr xqtjkr esa ljdkj vius jktuhfrd ealwcs iwjs.
of independent witnesses with the communal assertion djus ds fy, iQthZ ,udkm.Vj djokrh gS] rks vU; jkT; Hkh blesa.
that local residents could not be suitable witnesses ihNs ugha gSaA vYila[;dksa dh /jidM+ vkSj mRihM+u ds ekeykas.
because of they are from the minority community. esa mÙkj izns'k] vkU/z izns'k] egkjk"Vª ,oa tEew vkSj d'ehj vkfn.
jkT;ksa dk fjdkWMZ dkiQh [kjkc gSA dkaxzsl] l-ik-] ;k ;w-ih-,-] lHkh.
If the BJP-ruled Gujarat Government had a political vesfjdk }kjk izfrikfnr ^bLykeksiQksfc;k* ds jkLrs ij pyus dks.
agenda of fake encounters, governments ruled by other vkrqj gSa] ftl dkj.k vYila[;dksa ds izfr ,slh ?kVuk;sa rsth ls.
parties too have had their own political motives for such.
fake encounters and political frame-ups. Uttar Pradesh,.
.
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, are cwB ls inkZ mBkus vkSj iz'u djPus.To.kOyk.sa.
..
The Global Network for Rights and Development is grateful for the support of a number of individuals and organizations that helped make its Joint Local-International Election Observation Mission possible. First and foremost, GNRD would like to express its sincere gratitude for the warm welcome that Egyptian people have offered the members of this mission.
GNRD would also like to thank the Government of Egypt and the High Elections Committee for the invitation to witness the Parliamentary Elections. On this occasion, GNRD implements the Electoral Observation Mission in collaboration with three partners: the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the International Institute for Peace, Justice and Human Rights (IIPJHR), and Maat For Peace, Development & Human Rights (MAAT).
The Joint EOM includes 300 international observers from 42 different nationalities, 2015 local observers and a group of analysts, translators, security staff and drivers.
The Joint EOM observation mission to Egypt is conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and Code of Conduct for International Election Observers, which was adopted at the United Nations in 2005 and has been endorsed by 37 election observation groups. The declaration details principles for the conduct of credible and professional election observations. In accordance with these guidelines, the Joint EOM’s evaluation of the election focused on civil and political rights and provided an impartial assessment independent of any bilateral or multilateral considerations.
The current parliamentary elections are the third and final stage of the Egyptian roadmap to democracy, following the implementation of the new constitution in January 2014, and the presidential election in June 2014. The long awaited election comes following two postponements, and over three years without a legislative body.
Brief Summary of Election Day Observations
The first and second day of elections were peaceful and orderly, with a few exceptions observed. Polling centers visited by the mission were normally accessible and free from interference, with a few exceptions where observers were denied access by security forces. Moreover, all facilities were orderly and well-secured by police and military officials, who were present during the entire opening, voting and closing processes.
The transparency of the electoral process was mainly respected and free from any interruptions. Observers noted that the internal procedures were being followed by the election staff, especially the centers located in urban districts. However, in the rural area, the joint mission observed a considerable lack of voting education and staff training. For instance, the voters rarely their vote inside the ballot boxes themselves, and the majority of staff did not wear badges or uniforms that them from other voters. This made the identification process difficult. Also, witnesses reported procedural irregularities, as one assigned judge failed to appear on both election days. The majority of problems cited, however, did not appear to hinder the overall voting process or results.
The first phase of the parliamentary elections included 14 governorates, where candidates competed for 226 seats, "individually," in the 60 seat in the lists. A total of 27,402,353 million eligible voters were registered, 7,270,594 million voters participated, with a final turnout of 26.56%.
Joint Mission Recommendations for the Second Phase
- Implementing Strategies to Increase Voter Turnout and Combat Voter Apathy;
- Extensive training for security forces and polling station staff, including the head of constituencies and election committees;
- Addressing the gap gender balance between men and women in the formation of polling officials, particularly as heads of polling stations;
- Greater Respect for Campaign Legislation and the Day of Silence;
- Expanding the Presence of Media and National Observers During Election Days;
the use of Identification Badges;
the Presence of Voting Instructions in Polling Centers;
- Increased Digitization of the Electoral Process;
the Medical Check Procedures for Candidates;
- Inclusion of the contact details of the High Electoral Committee inside the polling centres so that voters can address the HEC directly in the event of any incident or violation;
- Removal of any party name that may lead voters to believe that they are voting for an official body of the government
The Joint EOM mandate is to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the electoral process and to observe the extent to which the election complies with national law and regulations, as well as international and regional obligations that apply to Egypt.
To achieve this goal, the GNRD mission deployed its observers on 10 October 2015, who will remain in the country until 29 October 2015. During this period of time, the Joint EOM will have assessed three phases of the election process: the campaigning period, the days of election and the post-election period.
During the second round, the local-international joint mission will also deploy an observation team that will be working in the field until the electoral process is completed. Subsequently, the Joint EOM will present a comprehensive final report which will include plausible recommendations to improve the electoral processes in Egypt.
- See more at: gnrd.net/seemore.php?id=1959#sthash.YJZrnCEI.dpuf
Levi Parsons Morton (1824-1920), U.S. Representative from New York, U.S. Minister to France, Vice President of the United States, Governor of New York.
Image from "The Parties and The Men, or, Political Issues of 1896 ... The Issues of the Day Impartially Reviewed" (1896).
Contrast digitally enhanced.
accessibilité aux personnes handicapées Un bon point pour la préfecture à laon
Un bâtiment laonnois arrive en tête d'un classement sur l'accessibilité.
qui a obtenu la note de dix sur dix et les félicitations !
LE SITE INTERNET www.accessiblepourmoi.com/
a établi un classement des villes et de certaines préfectures ou sous-préfectures.
Et c'est la préfecture de Laon qui arrive en tête (ex æquo avec Melun) sur treize établissements visités
pour le moment.
L'association Mobilité réduite, à l'origine de cette action, ne se contente pas de consulter des documents et de recueillir des témoignages.
Entre début mai et fin novembre, les adhérents prennent leur voiture et viennent sur place pour voir comment les choses se passent réellement.
Ils visitent, incognito, des villes de toutes tailles et de tous bords politiques ou des établissements publics.
Une bonne surprise
Le président, Jean-Michel Royère, est venu lui-même constater comment cette administration située en ville haute accueille les personnes en situation de handicap.
Et il a eu une bonne surprise.
« Quand je suis arrivé devant la grille de la préfecture, j'ai vu le logo « handicap » sur les barrières.
On m'a ouvert et il y avait quatre places réservées à l'intérieur.
plusieurs places de stationnement réservées aux personnes à mobilité réduite ..
L'accès est facile, il y a un cheminement court et praticable, un accueil aux normes, des toilettes conformes...
Le service communication de la préfecture précise de son côté que des travaux sont réalisés depuis plusieurs années et que « le cheminement des accès au bâtiment Signier a été repris et le dallage refait.
Il y a un guichet surbaissé accessible au niveau de l'accueil général et les ascenseurs sont aux normes depuis 2008.
Un programme de travaux d'un montant de 70 000 €, d'une durée de 10 semaines, sera lancé en septembre. Chaque service (cartes grises, permis de conduire, bureau de la nationalité) disposera d'un guichet d'accueil surbaissé.
Ces guichets seront également dotés d'une boucle à induction magnétique permettant une communication adaptée entre les personnels d'accueil et les usagers malentendants ou non appareillés. »
Restera pour l'association à tester la ville.
Elle a prévu de le faire cet automne ou au printemps prochain. Mais impossible d'en savoir plus. « Afin de ne pas être influencé dans un sens ou dans l'autre et pour rester impartial, nous ne rencontrons ni élu, ni association.
C'est donc une photo à un instant T de la situation globale de la ville.
Si des travaux d'accessibilité conformes à l'esprit de la loi sont prévus ou en cours de réalisation, nous devrions normalement les constater la fois suivante. La note qui sera alors attribuée devrait donc progresser en conséquence.
C'est le but essentiel de nos audits incognito, mesurer la progression des collectivités territoriales en terme d'accessibilité. »
Préfecture de Laon (02010) Picardie > Aisne (02)
2 rue Paul Doumer
02010 Laon CEDEX 9
+33 3 23 21 82 82
courrier @ aisne.pref.gouv.fr
Très pratique
Cabine photo universelle La seule cabine photo, conçue pour être accessible à tous!
Malentendants
Malvoyants
Handicapés en fauteuil
conçue pour être accessible à tous!
Malentendants Malvoyants Handicapés en fauteuil ...
Published annually Who’s Who in Qatar offers comprehensive, accurate, up-to-date and impartial information on the most prominent and significant figures in the State of Qatar. www.bharatbook.com
Krakatoa, East of Java (1969)
Handsome as always! He would be 30 here and looking good ... although I'm not the most impartial of judges.
Newcastle Through the Ages
Art In Newcastle City Centre, Tyne And Wear
A mural depicting history and noteworthy people and places of Newcastle Upon Tyne.
If you wish to mix a bit of shopping and culture, the wall of Primark (Formerly BHS and C & A) on Northumberland Road may tick both boxes.
Newcastle Through the Ages was installed in 1974 and made from Ciment fondu, which is French as they patented it in 1908. To us, in Blighty, it is Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) or to those in the trade 'dust'.
In this mural, you can see the use of small mosaic tiles, just like the Romans did.
The artists are Henry (1910 to 1994) and Joyce (1912 to 2004) Collins. They hail from Colchester in Essex which is where I had lived for 14 years before moving to the North East. I saw much of their work without knowing and seems to feature strongly in town centres on shop walls or subways.
They met at Colchester Arts School in 1932, married in 1938, and formed a lifelong partnership creating over 60 pioneering projects across the UK. They have been quoted as saying
“We aim to put something together which adds dignity to a building and tells a story"
Let's have a look at some of the depictions.
Pons Aelius was the Roman name for the fort in this area before it became known as Newcastle Upon Tyne. It translates from Latin where 'Pons' means bridge, and 'Aelius' refers to Emperor Hadrian, whose family name (clan name) was Aelius (thank you Wikipedia).
It is suggested that there was a Roman bridge near where the Swing Bridge is.
The head of Hadrian is depicted on the wall and has been copied from a Roman coin.
Monkchester was the name Newcastle went by after the Romans left and may have Anglo-Saxon origins. The name suggests a place for monks.
The God I assume is Neptune and is linked with Oceanus. They are both Roman Gods of the sea and freshwater. Oceanus's trademark was an anchor while Neptune had a trident. There are Roman altars in The Great North Museum, Newcastle which were found in the River Tyne in 1872 when constructing the Swing Bridge.
Are you wondering why there are two Gods of the sea and freshwater? Well, Neptune apparently belonged to the younger dynasty of gods and Oceanus to the older dynasty.
You have on the mural three castles which dates to Norman times. There is also a seahorse depicted and both feature on Newcastle's coat of arms.
Sailing ships used to transport coal and the date suggests they were in use from 1704 to 1880.
Jupiter and Fotuna are shown together. They were a father and his firstborn daughter in Roman times. Jupiter was the top god and was considered a king. He personified oaths, treaties, and leagues (such as marriage). He is a sky deity and the equivalent of Zeus in Greek Mythology.
He is holding a sceptre in his right hand as all kings would. In his left hand is the thunderbolt as he controls the weather and what looks like a spade which could be Mr and Mrs Collins' interpretation for a farming reference. Those of you who have heard of Gustav Holst's orchestral suite 'The Planets' will know Jupiter as the 'bringer of jollity', and the music to the Hymn 'I vow to Thee My Country'.
Fortuna was initially a goddess of fertility, hence shown holding a cornucopia (Horn Of Plenty) in her left hand. She also had the badge for chance, luck, and prosperity. It only seems logical to then become the goddess of gambling.
In her right hand could be a blindfold to depict impartiality. There have been dedications to her found along Hadrian's Wall. Also, a crudely carved relief was found in the River Tyne.
There are many familiar people and places depicted.
1815 was the invention of the Davy Safety Lamp.
1887 was the start of the National Glass Company (NGC).
1865 was when St Nicholas Cathedral was built.
1838 was when the Greys Monument was erected.
Green Stokoe was another of Newcastle's architects.
1837 was when The Theatre Royal opened.
Britannia symbolised Britain's maritime power, and her image was featured prominently.
Thomas Bewick was a wood engraver a natural history writer.
Turbinia was the first steam turbine-powered steamship. Built in 1894 as an experimental vessel. It was the fastest ship in the world at the time. Charles Algernon Parsons (1854 to 1931) was the inventor of the modern steam turbine (Wikipedia) there is plenty of information about this at the Discovery Museum
The Armstrong Whitworth company produced in 1906 a 150 tonne hydraulic luffing crane. What made it special was that it could lift 150 tonnes with accuracy. Used in ship building and repair, it is commonly known as a hammerhead crane.
Newcastle trades are represented with a steel worker and a miner. Unfortunately both industries are now defunct.
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.