View allAll Photos Tagged quadrant
'Gold quadrants on aqua & blue': close up of proofing swatch on basic combed cotton printed by Spoonflower. Original: Paint roller & oil on paper. © Su Schaefer 2012
Color check: the threads in the picture are Gutermann cottons pale green Col. 8727 & pale gray-blue Col. 6617.
Fabric available: www.spoonflower.com/fabric/674937
Also as wallpaper: www.spoonflower.com/wallpaper/674937
[Gold quadrants on aqua & blue_IMG_2063 copy]
RD21323. An upper quadrant semaphore signal at Alresford Station, the western terminus of the Mid-Hants Railway. The signal lamp is of London & South Western Railway origin.
Friday, 18th October, 2019. Copyright © Ron Fisher 2019.
newcastlephotos.blogspot.com/2006/06/all-saints-cemetery....
All Saints Cemetery
This Cemetery stands on Jesmond Road, opposite Jesmond Old Cemetery and was the first cemetery in Newcastle to be instigated by the Burial Board. Consecrated in 1855 and opened in 1856 this was very much a rural part of Newcastle. The residential housing surrounding the cemetery on 3 sides were built later.
Noted Newcastle architect Benjamin Green designed the cemetery, its buildings and the fine Gothic archway over the entrance from Jesmond Road. The cemetery is surrounded by cast iron railings with fleur-de-lys heads.
The cemetery was extended to Osborne Avenue, from just under 10 acres by another 1.3 hectares in 1881.
In 1924 Carliol Square Gaol was demolished and the bodies of its executed criminals were transferred into unmarked graves in the cemetery.
In total around 90,000 burials have taken place here.
Thomas Harrison Hair (1810-1875) the artist best known for his Views of the Collieries of Northumberland and Durham, is buried here in an unmarked grave.
Two Small Chapels:
2 chapels. 1856 by Green. Coursed squared sandstone with ashlar turrets and dressings; Welsh slate roofs. T-plan with additional porch on side away from centre of cemetery, and corner turret on innermost side at south end. Aligned north-south. Decorated style. Double doors, with elaborate hinges,on inner fronts have nook shafts and head-stopped dripmoulds; similar surround to plainer door in outward-facing porch; windows of 3 lights facing gateway, 2 lights on other fronts, have similar dripmoulds. Lancets to corner turrets with gabled belfry under octagonal spirelets. Buttresses. Steeply-pitched roofs with cross finials. LISTED GRADE 2.
1 of the Chapels is now the Russian Orthodox Church Of St. George.
Gate, walls, piers, gates and railings.
Cemetery gateway, walls, piers, gates and railings. Dated 1856; by Green. Coursed squared sandstone with ashlar dressings; wrought iron gates; cast iron railings. Gothic style. High gable over 2-centred arch with 12 shafts each side and many mouldings; gabled ends have fantastic beasts climbing down kneelers; head-stopped dripmoulds, buttresses and finials.
High, pointed coping to flanking walls containing pedestrian doors in arches; end piers have gables with fleur-de-lis moulding. Chamfered coping to dwarf quadrant walls and similar walls along cemetery front, with 4 square piers at each side having pyramidal coping. High gates are Gothic-patterned; railings have fleur-de-lis heads.
Burials:
Samuel Smith.
Celtic Cross monument. Samuel Smith OBE JP (1872-1949) was the founder of Rington's Tea. He was born in Leeds and became an errand boy for a tea merchants on leaving school at 11. In 1908 he moved to Newcastle and set up a small shop in Heaton with William Titterington. They called the company Ringtons. The tea was imported from India and Sri Lanka then tasted, blended and packaged. It was delivered by the company's black, gold and green horse-drawn coaches. In 1926 the business moved to purpose-built premises in Algernon Road. Eventually there were 26 branches of Ringtons in the North. The firm moved into coachbuilding during the World Wars, which led to the creation of Smith's Electric Vehicles at Team Valley Trading Estate.
Alexander Gardner.
Cross monument. Alexander Gardner (1877-1921) was a footballer for Newcastle United. Before the First World War, Newcastle United were in the First Division, won three league titles and won one FA Cup final of three. Alexander was the captain and played at right half (midfielder). He made 268 appearances and scored 20 goals. He was born in Leith in 1899. The 1904/5 team won 23 out of 34 league games. In 1909 Alexander broke his leg, which ended his football career. He became landlord of the Dun Cow Inn in Claremont Road.
Michael Joseph Quigley.
Gravestone of Michael Joseph Quigley (1837-1924), American Civil War veteran. Michael was born in Bradford and emigrated to America with his wife shortly before the outbreak of civil war. He served under General Robert E. Lee in Virginia but was wounded in his left arm. He was later employed in Government Service. He returned to Britain in 1876. He lived in St. Lawrence Square off Walker Road. His income was subsidised by a pension from the American Government.
James Skinner.
Obelisk monument to James Skinner (1836-1920), shipbuilder. James was born in London. He moved to Newcastle aged 14 to begin an apprenticeship at Coutts shipyard at Low Walker. He went on to manage Andrew Leslie's shipyard at Hebburn then opened a yard at Bill Quay with William Wood, shipyard cashier. The firm Wood Skinner & Co. built 330 vessels over 42 years up to 1925. They also built the 30-bed Tyne Floating Hospital for Infectious Diseases at Jarrow Slake, designed by Newcastle Civil Engineer, George Laws. The hospital ship was launched on 2 August 1885. It sank in 1888. She was refloated and remained moored there for over 40 years.
Francis Batey.
Urn monument to Francis Batey (1841-1915), steam tug boat owner. Francis joined his father's tug boat business at the age of 11 and eventually gained his master's certificate. When the Albert Edward Dock opened in 1884, he was assistant pilot on the Rio Amazonas, the first ship to enter the dock. He went on to be chairman of several tug related companies on the River Tyne. One of his sons, John Thomas Batey, became Managing Director of Hawthorn Leslie's Hebburn shipyard.
Antonio Marcantonio.
Impressive monument of a statue of a monk or friar holding an infant. Antonio Marcantonio (1886-1960), ice cream manufacturer, arrived in Newcastle in 1895 to join a small colony of Italians living in Byker. In the early 1900s he returned to Italy to marry Angela. He returned to Newcastle and began making ice cream in a room in his house using small pans of salt and ice to freeze it. Eventually he took over a small factory on Stepney Bank. 500 gallons of ice cream were made daily. He also owned five ice cream parlours, the first one was in the Grainger Arcade. The Mark Toney business still flourishes (factory at Benton Square).
George Henry Carr.
A 13 feet high monument to George Henry Carr (1867-1889), racing cyclist. There is a shield on each side depicting a bicycle, flowers, the badge of the Jubilee Rovers Bicycle Club and the badge of Clarence Bicycle Club. Carr was a prominent figure on the racing circuit. He died aged 22 of inflammation of the brain.
John James Lightfoot,
Monument of an angel to John James Lightfoot (1877-1897), apprentice joiner. John James was crushed to death aged 19 during restoration of the 200 year old Green Tree beerhouse in Robson's Entry, Sandgate.The building collapsed killing 4 people and injuring 12. The disaster was sketched by the Chronicle's artist and published on 6 March 1897 the day after the accident. The article describes the scene - 'in the house to the east there was a yawning space where the wall had tumbled in; behind the hole a staircase stood, but seemed, like the sword of Damocles, to have no more than a hair-strength to support it'.
Josephine Esther Salisse.
Family vault of M. and H.M. Salisse. A stone sarcophagus with a bronze female figure mourning over it. Josephine Esther Salisse (1905-1924) was from Thornton Heath in Surrey. She died suddenly at her aunt's home in Stratford Road, Heaton, aged 19.
John and Benjamin Green were a father and son who worked in partnership as architects in North East England during the early nineteenth century. John, the father was a civil engineer as well as an architect. Although they did carry out some commissions separately, they were given joint credit for many of their projects, and it is difficult to attribute much of their work to a single individual. In general, John Green worked on civil engineering projects, such as road and rail bridges, whereas Benjamin worked on projects that were more purely architectural. Their work was predominantly church and railway architecture, with a sprinkling of public buildings that includes their masterpiece, Newcastle's Theatre Royal.
Drawings by John and Benjamin Green are held by the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Biographies
John Green was born on 29 June 1787 at Newton Fell House, Nafferton, two miles north of Ovington, Northumberland. He was the son of Benjamin Green, a carpenter and maker of agricultural implements. After finishing school, he worked in his father's business. The firm moved to the market town of Corbridge and began general building work with young John concentrating on architectural work. About 1820, John set up business as an architect and civil engineer in nearby Newcastle upon Tyne.
John Green married Jane Stobart in 1805, and they had two sons, John (c.1807–68) and Benjamin (c1811-58), both of whom became architects. Little is known about the career of John, but Benjamin worked in partnership with his father on many projects.
In 1822 John Green designed a new building for the Newcastle Literary and Philosophical Society. The building, which houses the society's substantial library, is still in use today. He also designed a number of farmhouses, being employed on the Beaufront estate near Hexham and also on the Duke of Northumberland’s estates.
John Green was principally a civil engineer, and built several road and rail bridges. In 1829–31 he built two wrought-iron suspension bridges crossing the Tyne (at Scotswood) and the Tees (at Whorlton). The bridge at Scotswood was demolished in 1967 but the one at Whorlton still survives. When the High Level Bridge at Newcastle was proposed ten years later, John Green submitted plans, but those of Robert Stephenson were accepted by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway. Green also built a number of bridges using an innovative system of laminated timber arches on masonry piers, the Weibeking system, based on the work of Bavarian engineer C.F. Weibeking. The two he built for the Newcastle and North Shields Railway, at the Ouseburn and at Willington Quay remain in use, though the timbers were replaced with wrought iron in a similar lattice pattern in 1869. In 1840 he was elected to the Institution of Civil Engineers, and in 1841 he was awarded the institution's Telford Medal for his work on laminated arch design.
John Green died in Newcastle on 30 September 1852.
Benjamin Green
Benjamin Green was a pupil of Augustus Charles Pugin, father of the more famous Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. In the mid-1830s he became a partner of his father and remained so until the latter's death in 1852. The two partners differed somewhat. John has been described as a 'plain, practical, shrewd man of business' with a 'plain, severe and economical' style, whereas Benjamin was 'an artistic, dashing sort of fellow', with a style that was 'ornamental, florid and costly'.
The Greens worked as railway architects and it is believed that all the main line stations between Newcastle and Berwick upon Tweed were designed by Benjamin. In 2020 Morpeth Station was restored to Green's original designs following a £2.3M investment. They also designed a number of Northumbrian churches, the best examples being at Earsdon and Cambo.
The Green's most important commissions in Newcastle were the Theatre Royal (1836–37) and the column for Grey's Monument (1837–38). Both of these structures were part of the re-development of Newcastle city centre in neo-classical style by Richard Grainger, and both exist today. Although both of the partners were credited with their design, it is believed that Benjamin was the person responsible.
Another well-known structure designed by the Greens is Penshaw Monument (1844). This is a folly standing on Penshaw Hill in County Durham. It was built as a half-sized replica of the renowned Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, and was dedicated to John George Lambton, first Earl of Durham and the first Governor of the Province of Canada. The monument, being built on a hill is visible for miles around and is a famous local landmark. It is now owned by the National Trust.
Benjamin Green survived his father by only six years, and died in a mental home at Dinsdale Park, County Durham on 14 November 1858.
Major works
Presbyterian Chapel, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1822 (demolished 2011)
Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1822–1825
St Peter's Church, Falstone, 1824–1825
Westgate Hill Cemetery, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1825–1829 (lodge demolished 1970, railings and gates removed, piers and basic layout remains)
Ingram Farm, Ingram, 1826
Whorlton Suspension Bridge, Wycliffe, County Durham, 1829–1831
Hawks Cottages, Gateshead, 1830 (demolished 1960)
Scotswood Chain Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1831, (demolished 1967)
Church of St Mary and St Thomas Aquinas, Stella, 1831–1832[1]
Bellingham Bridge, Bellingham, 1834
Holy Trinity Church, Stockton-On-Tees, 1834–1835[2]
Holy Trinity Church, Dalton (near Stamfordham), 1836
Vicarage of St Alban, Earsdon, 1836
Church of St Alban, Earsdon, 1836–1837
St Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Alnwick, 1836
Church of the Holy Saviour, Newburn, 1836–1837
Poor Law Guardians Hall, North Shields, 1837
Master Mariners Homes, Tynemouth, 1837–1840[3]
Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1837
Parish Hall of the Church of the Holy Saviour, Newburn, 1838
Column of Grey's Monument, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1838
Willington Viaduct, Wallsend, 1837–1839
Ouseburn Viaduct, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1837–1839
Church of the Holy Saviour, Tynemouth, 1839–1841
Ilderton Vicarage, Ilderton, 1841
The Red Cottage, Whitburn, 1842
Holy Trinity Church, Cambo, 1842
Holy Trinity Church, Horsley-on-Rede, 1844
The Earl of Durham's Monument, Sunderland, 1844
St Edwin's, Coniscliffe, Co. Durham, 1844 (restoration of mediaeval church)
40–44 Moseley Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1845
Witham Testimonial Hall, Barnard Castle, 1846
Old Railway Station, Tynemouth Rd, Tynemouth 1846–1847
Acklington Station, Acklington, 1847
Chathill Station, Chathill, 1847
Belford Station, Belford, Northumberland, 1847
Morpeth Station, Morpeth, Northumberland, 1847
Warkworth Station, Warkworth, Northumberland, 1847
Holy Trinity Church, Seghill, 1849
Newcastle Joint Stock Bank, St Nicholas Square, Newcastle, c.1850
Norham station, Norham, 1851
St Paul's Church, Elswick, 1854
All Saints Cemetery, Jesmond, 1854
Sailor's Home, 11 New Quay, North Shields, 1856
United Free Methodist Church, North Shields, 1857
Corn Exchange, Groat Market, Newcastle (demolished 1974)
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.
Syrien / Syria
Elfenbein / Ivory
Astronomisches Instrument, signiert von Abū Tāhir / Astronomical instrument signed by Abū Tāhir
Athen / Athens, Benaki Museum
Ausstellung „Maschinenraum der Götter. Wie unsere Zukunft erfunden wurde“ / Exhibition "Machine Room of the Gods. How Our Future was Invented"
Liebighaus, Frankfurt
DLE30254 pulls away from Hendon Quadrant on a cold but crisp day. For me it was a 240 to Mill Hill Broadway and train home. 17.11.25.
RD14768. The 2ft gauge Ffestiniog Railway in North Wales held a gala weekend in the Spring of 2017 with 'Quirks & Curiosities' as the theme.
An amazing variety of strange machinery attended the event including this dinky little 3½ ton 0-4-0T called CHUQUITANTA which was built in Belgium by SA Marchinelle & Couillet in 1885, originally to 500mm gauge. It was built for Paul Decauville and was supplied to a sugar plantation in Peru.
Discovered on static display inside a restaurant in Peru, it was bought for preservation and came to England in 2004 with a return to steam in 2016. It is coupled to a Locotracteur built in 1925 for the French War Office although the design goes back the First World War when they were used to service the troops in the front line trenches.
Along with CHUQUITANTA, the Locotracteur normally lives on the private Richmond Light Railway in Kent.
Sunday, 30th April, 2017. Copyright © Ron Fisher.
Taken with my ZWO Asi183 camera and SkyWatcher 180mm Maksutov-Cassegrain reflector telescope with its 2700mm focal length, 0° 17' x 0° 11' field of view, and 0.18 arc-seconds/pixel resolution (330 metres on the Moon/pixel).
The three-faced clock which used to stand in the middle of the Quadrant shopping centre. If I remember correctly, in its final years it functioned better as a work of art than as a timepiece.
This view show Times Furnishing, a name long-gone from retailing. I think this is where New Look is now located.
The slide (taken by my father) I scanned this from is dated January 1969, and judging from the coloured light-bulbs and Salvation Army band was probably taken in December 1968.
Seen approaching Mottingham is 73105 'Quadrant', working 7Z24 0959 Hither Green PAD to Dartford sidings on Monday 24th October 1988. If my memory serves me right this train was taking equipment in connection with the extension of the sidings. 114-19.
View from the van as number 7 leaves Excelsior. Once past the home signal for the opposite direction (it's the up home), because the departing train is now on the up approach track, the up home signal has correctly cleared to caution. Once the train exits the approach track circuit, the signal will return to stop.
At the time of the photo, Excelsior was an unattended automatic crossing loop in electric staff working (an electrically operated single line token system). Being an automatic crossing loop simply meant that the main line through the location and for a few hundred metres each side was track circuited, and it was equipped with power operated home signals. When a train entered the approach track, provided the track through the location was clear, the home signal would automatically clear to "caution". If the track through the location or the approach track the other side was occupied, the home signal would remain at stop. The crossing loop points were worked by ground frame, unlocked by annett key obtained from electric releases near the home signals. When the release was taken, the home signals would be held at stop.
One of the Union Pacific's gas turbine electric locomotive sets brings an eastbound hotshot of cattle cars and reefers through the little town of Rock River, Wyoming. Notice the lower quadrant order board semaphore blades. Date is 9/23/65.
Highland Memorial Park, New Berlin, Wisconsin
I started with an original "Quadrant Kaleidoscope" and further manipulated the image with the GIMP software, using Filters --> Distorts --> Kaleidoscope. I vary the preset settings to achieve a different effect with 4 or more reflections.
5BM7 approaches Mittagong with CLP10/CLF2/CLF7/CLF4 in charge. One of three remaining lower-quadrant semaphore shunting signals at this location is seen at right 20120406
Today's job was to fit out the frame in Thuxton signalbox with levers. It was another very hot and humid day which made the job even harder. The levers, cams and quadrants arrived by train and were unloaded before we spent the day bolting everything into position. We must have shifted several tonnes of metalwork by hand. Also whilst the train was delivering materials, a couple of signalposts, two location cases, some shunt signals and many concrete bases were delivered for phase two of the Thuxton project. We also ran out 800m worth of concrete signal pulley stakes. Not a bad day's work for the four of us. Richard, Dave, Chris and myself were working on the job, with Trevor joining us for a couple of hours in the afternoon. We have a number of outstanding jobs, such as fitting three more levers that require countersunk bearing clasps and then all of this has to be cleaned up and painted! Our woodworkers will need to construct the floor around the frame too.
The NW quadrant of the Crater Hills thermal area is relatively flat. There's one large boiling spring filled with turbid yellow water, and numerous small "frying pan" springs. Careful footing is advised, although bison occasionally walk through here. There's supposed to be a "Foam Spring" in the basin but I'm not sure if this is it.
Next on my mini photo tour, the southwest quadrant with some notable mudpots.
The light rail route connects cultural institutions on the Willamette River's east bank with educational institutions on the west bank to help tie together Portland's Innovation Quadrant. The two towers of the light rail bridge rise above the Willamette River, with the temporary work trestle leading to the East Tower site. At the bottom left is Portland Opera's adminstrative and rehersal facility, behind which the light rail tracks will run. Across the river is South Waterfront and the construction site of the OHSU/OUS Collaborative Life Sciences Building.
A Great Western Railway designed lower quadrant two doll bracket stop signal situated on the approach to Hayes Knoll station on the Swindon and Cricklade Railway, 29th April 2015.
Palazzo del Quirinale
Il Palazzo del Quirinale è un palazzo storico di Roma che sorge sull'omonimo colle e si affaccia sull'omonima piazza. È la residenza ufficiale del presidente della Repubblica Italiana ed uno dei simboli dello Stato italiano. Antico presidio pagano, ai tempi dell'Imperatore Augusto era la Torre di Mecenate, dedicata agli artisti. Fu successivamente cristianizzato da Costantino il Grande e dal Barbarossa. All'epoca di Federico II Von Hohenstaufen fu onfalos di Scienza Medica e Ricerca.
Costruito a partire dal 1583, è uno dei più importanti palazzi della capitale sia dal punto di vista artistico sia dal punto di vista politico: alla sua costruzione e decorazione lavorarono insigni maestri dell'arte italiana come Pietro da Cortona, Domenico Fontana, Alessandro Specchi, Ferdinando Fuga, Carlo Maderno, Giovanni Paolo Pannini e Guido Reni. Attualmente, ospita anche un ampio frammento d'affresco di Melozzo da Forlì.
Il Palazzo si impose, soprattutto a partire dal pontificato di Paolo V Borghese, quale residenza stabile dei papi (il Quirinale ha ospitato 30 papi, dal primo Papa Gregorio XIII all'ultimo Papa Pio IX), per quanto una vulgata creata ad arte lo propose con fortuna solo quale residenza estiva del romano pontefice. Dal colle del Quirinale i papi erano in più agevole contatto con le sedi delle congregazioni pontificie (ovvero la residenza dei loro prefetti o decani) in cui la Curia si era riarticolata negli ultimi decenni del '500. Il Quirinale divenne così di fatto la residenza del pontefice nella sua qualità di sovrano, complementare a quella del Vaticano, che costituiva la sede del papa vescovo.
Residenza complementare e non alternativa: è per questo che il complesso vaticano si sviluppò nel corso del 600 (fine dei lavori della basilica, costruzione della facciata, ultimazione del Palazzo Apostolico, erezione del colonnato), anche se i pontefici vi risiedettero, come mostrano le fonti, saltuariamente. Per contro, il Quirinale si sviluppò quale palazzo del tutto secolare, quasi senza simboli religiosi visibili e soprattutto privo di una chiesa aperta al pubblico (unico tra i palazzi apostolici con questa particolarità)[1]. Interessato da un progetto che lo voleva residenza napoleonica nel tempo dell'occupazione francese della città del papa, ma Napoleone non vi fece mai ingresso, dopo il 1870 divenne palazzo reale dei Savoia. Con la proclamazione della Repubblica, avvenuta dopo il referendum istituzionale del 2 giugno 1946, l'edificio divenne definitivamente la sede del capo dello Stato repubblicano.
Il palazzo del Quirinale si estende su una superficie di 110.500 m² ed è il 7º palazzo più grande del mondo in termini di superficie[2], nonché la seconda più estesa residenza di un capo di Stato al mondo[3][4][5]. Per fare un confronto, l'intero complesso della Casa Bianca negli Stati Uniti è 20 volte più piccolo.
Origini
Nel 1583 papa Gregorio XIII iniziò la costruzione di una residenza estiva, in un'area considerata più salubre del colle Vaticano o del Laterano, che venne affidata all'architetto Ottaviano Mascarino. I lavori si conclusero nel 1585, e quello stesso anno la morte del papa impedì ad Ottaviano Mascarino di avviare un secondo progetto che prevedeva l'ampliamento del palazzetto per trasformarlo in un grande palazzo con ali porticate parallele e grande cortile interno.
L'edificio costruito da Mascarino è ancora riconoscibile nella testata nord del cortile d'Onore, caratterizzata da una facciata a doppia loggia e sormontata dalla torre panoramica oggi nota come torre dei Venti, o torrino, successivamente innalzata con la costruzione del campanile a vela su supposto progetto di Carlo Maderno e Francesco Borromini.
L'edificio di Ottaviano Mascarino era stato costruito su un terreno ancora appartenente alla famiglia Carafa affittato a Luigi d'Este, al quale pare che il papa volesse lasciare il palazzetto. Pertanto papa Sisto V nel 1587 fece acquistare il terreno dalla Camera Apostolica e solo dopo intervenne per ampliare il palazzo servendosi dell'opera di Domenico Fontana, da lui utilizzato in tutte le grandi opere architettoniche e urbanistiche del suo pontificato, e impegnato in un rimodellamento complessivo della zona, con la costruzione dell'asse Strada Pia e Strada Felice e del conseguente crocicchio delle Quattro Fontane e con la definizione dell'altra residenza "privata" del pontefice a Termini[6].
Al Fontana si deve anche la sistemazione della piazza antistante, con il restauro delle statue dei Dioscuri (che fin dall'antichità erano situate sul Quirinale, ed erano tradizionalmente attribuite a Fidia e a Prassitele, come ancora dichiara il piedistallo), e l'erezione della prima fontana. Dal gruppo scultoreo derivò il toponimo "Monte Cavallo", che indicava la sommità del colle e la piazza, ancora oggi usato (benché ormai inesistente nelle toponomastica cittadina) da alcuni vecchi romani.
Dal Seicento alla presa di Roma
Papa Paolo V fu colui che commissionò il completamento dei lavori sul corpo di fabbrica principale del palazzo. Affidò i lavori di ampliamento a Flaminio Ponzio che realizzò l'ala verso il giardino, la sala del Concistoro, oggi salone delle Feste e la cappella dell'Annunziata, decorata dal 1609 al 1612 da Guido Reni con la collaborazione di Giovanni Lanfranco, Francesco Albani, Antonio Carracci e Tommaso Campana, caratterizzando il palazzo con una delle due sopraelevazioni tutt'oggi visibili. Con la morte di Ponzio nel 1613, i lavori di ampliamento vennero proseguiti da Carlo Maderno, autore dell'ala sulla via del Quirinale, dove realizzò: la cappella Paolina, gli appartamenti papali e la Sala Regia, ora detta dei Corazzieri. L'altezza della cappella e del salone dei Corazzieri imposero la costruzione di una seconda soprelevazione, ben visibile anche sulla facciata del palazzo. Il salone dei Corazzieri fu decorato con un fregio dipinto, opera del quadraturista Agostino Tassi, autore del progetto e responsabile del cantiere della parete sud, mentre le altre tre pareti furono affidate a Carlo Saraceni e Giovanni Lanfranco; in modo minore contribuirono a questa impresa Alessandro Turchi, lo Spadarino, Paolo Novelli, Marcantonio Bassetti e, secondo Roberto Longhi, Pasquale Ottino. La presenza di quest'ultimo è stata però più volte messa in discussione negli ultimi decenni.
Papa Urbano VIII acquistò molti terreni ampliando la proprietà verso oriente a vantaggio soprattutto delle dimensioni del giardino che quasi raddoppiarono; lo stesso papa procedette poi all'erezione di un muro di cinta che circondò il nuovo perimetro del complesso del Quirinale. Parti superstiti di questa cinta muraria sono ancora visibili su via dei Giardini.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini sotto papa Alessandro VII progettò il fabbricato detto della Manica Lunga, realizzandone il primo tratto nel 1657-1659; l'edificio fu poi continuato nel 1722-1724 da Alessandro Specchi per papa Innocenzo XIII, e terminato da Ferdinando Fuga nel 1730-1732 per Clemente XII; a chiusura della Manica Lunga Ferdinando Fuga modificò il seicentesco casino del conte di Cantalmaggio trasformandolo nella palazzina del segretario delle Cifre, oggi nota come palazzina del Fuga e ospitante gli uffici e gli appartamenti privati del presidente della Repubblica.
Il 5 luglio 1770 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart viene nominato cavaliere dell'Ordine dello Speron d'oro.
Del breve intermezzo napoleonico (1809-1814) rimane la divisione della grande galleria che dava su piazza del Quirinale per ricavare tre ambienti tuttora sussistenti: la Sala Gialla, la sala di Augusto e la sala degli Ambasciatori. Questa ristrutturazione portò alla perdita dell'unità del preziosissimo ciclo di affreschi realizzati nel XVII secolo da Pietro da Cortona. Altri ambienti furono solo leggermente modificati. Ovviamente, il palazzo fu depredato dei suoi arredi e delle sue opere d'arte, in particolare due quadri di Tiziano e del Guercino, tuttavia Napoleone Bonaparte non fece in tempo ad utilizzare personalmente il Quirinale.
Il periodo sabaudo
Il palazzo del Quirinale fu la residenza estiva del pontefice fino al 1870, quando Roma venne conquistata dal Regno d'Italia; divenne quindi la residenza dei re fino al 1946. L'ultimo papa ad abitare il Quirinale fu Pio IX.
Durante il loro soggiorno, i Savoia ristrutturarono diversi ambienti per adattarli alle nuove esigenze della Corte regia. Il palazzo fu riarredato con mobilio proveniente da varie regge del Paese, in particolare le residenze sabaude in Piemonte e il Palazzo Ducale di Colorno. Molti ambienti furono completamente ripensati, soprattutto durante il periodo di re Umberto I (1878-1900), per impulso della sua consorte, la Regina Margherita. L'antica Sala Regia fu rifatta e divenne l'attuale salone delle Feste, utilizzato come salone da ballo, si realizzò la raffinata decorazione della Sala degli specchi in stile neo rococò, e si modificarono gli appartamenti pontifici nel nucleo antico del palazzo per adattarli alla vita della famiglia Reale. Infine, la napoleonica sala di Augusto divenne sala del Trono.
I presidenti della Repubblica ed il Quirinale
I primi due presidenti della Repubblica Italiana Enrico De Nicola e Luigi Einaudi non vissero al Quirinale . Giovanni Gronchi fu il primo presidente che visse nel palazzo seguito da Antonio Segni, Giuseppe Saragat e Giovanni Leone tutti con le rispettive famiglie. Sandro Pertini e Francesco Cossiga invece utilizzarono il Quirinale come ufficio ma non vi pernottarono mai continuando a vivere rispettivamente Pertini vicino alla Fontana di Trevi, Cossiga in Via Quirino Visconti. Oscar Luigi Scalfaro vi si trasferì per la prima volta, anche se continuò a usare la sua abitazione nel Quartiere Aurelio, come pure vi si trasferirono con le rispettive famiglie i suoi tre successori, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Giorgio Napolitano e Sergio Mattarella[7].
Gli interventi avvenuti nel Quirinale negli ultimi decenni si sono ovviamente limitati al recupero e alla conservazione dell'immenso patrimonio artistico del palazzo. In particolare, degni di nota sono stati i restauri, avvenuti durante le presidenze Ciampi e Napolitano, che hanno interessato l'ala che dà su piazza del Quirinale e che hanno visto riaffiorare le decorazioni secentesche deturpate dagli interventi dei primi anni del XIX secolo, opera degli architetti napoleonici (in particolare nella Sala Gialla e nella sala di Augusto). L'intervento più appariscente, però, è stato il restauro delle facciate, che ha riportato il palazzo all'originale colore travertino, in sostituzione dell'ocra di epoca sabauda. L'originalità del colore travertino fu attestata attraverso lo studio dei quadri dei grandi vedutisti del XVIII secolo (come Pannini o Gaspare Vanvitelli), nonché con indagini scientifiche dei successivi strati di intonaco.
Interni
Il palazzo è composto dal corpo centrale, che si sviluppa attorno al maestoso cortile d'onore, con le più belle sale del complesso che fungono da ambienti di rappresentanza della Presidenza della Repubblica, mentre gli uffici e gli appartamenti del capo dello Stato sono ospitati negli edifici al fondo della cosiddetta Manica Lunga, sul lato lungo via del Quirinale, all'inizio della quale si trovano gli sfarzosi appartamenti imperiali, che vennero appositamente sistemati, decorati e ammobiliati per due visite del Kaiser Guglielmo II (nel 1888 e nel 1893) e che oggi ospitano i monarchi o i capi di Stato stranieri in visita al Presidente della Repubblica[8]. Il palazzo, nella sua totalità, ha 1200 stanze.
Gli ambienti del palazzo ospitati nel corpo centrale sono[9]:
il cortile d'Onore
lo scalone d'Onore
il salone dei Corazzieri
la cappella Paolina
la sala delle Stagioni
la prima sala di Rappresentanza
la sala delle Virtù
la sala del Diluvio
la sala delle Logge
la sala dei Bussolanti
la sala del Balcone
il salottino San Giovanni
la sala Gialla
la sala di Augusto
la sala degli Ambasciatori
la sala di Ercole
la sala degli Scrigni
la scala del Mascarino
la loggia d'Onore
la sala del Bronzino
la sala di Druso
la passaggetto di Urbano VIII
lo studio del Presidente
la sala degli Arazzi di Lille
il salottino Napoleonico
la biblioteca del Piffetti
la sala della Musica
la sala della Pace
la sala della Vittoria
la sala delle Dame
la sala delle Api
il salottino Don Chisciotte
la sala dello Zodiaco
la sala delle Fabbriche di Paolo V
la sala degli Arazzi
la cappella dell'Annunziata
la sala degli Specchi
il salone delle Feste
l'anticamera del salone delle Feste
la galleria dei Busti
le Sale Rosse e la Loggia
Lo scalone d'onore
Fu costruito dall'architetto Flaminio Ponzio su commissione di papa Paolo V. Di proporzioni monumentali, è costruito su un sistema a doppia rampa, interrotta da un ampio pianerottolo affacciato sul giardino. Dalle due rampe successive al pianerottolo si accede, da un lato all'Anticamera del salone delle Feste, dall'altro al salone dei Corazzieri.
Lo scalone d'onore è dominato da un affresco di Melozzo da Forlì, un Cristo in gloria, o Cristo benedicente, che faceva originariamente parte della decorazione absidale della chiesa dei Santi Apostoli, sempre in Roma, totalmente ristrutturata nel Settecento da Carlo Stefano Fontana, la stessa dalla quale provengono i famosissimi angeli musicanti di Melozzo, ora nei Musei Vaticani. L'affresco è collocato sopra al primo pianerottolo, sul muro del lato verso il cortile d'onore, in modo da essere più visibile per chi esce dal palazzo che per chi entra: l'effetto desiderato era quello di ricordare un'ultima volta all'ospite, mentre stava andandosene, di avere ricevuto la benedizione papale e, quindi, fungeva da congedo beneaugurante. Una lapide latina, infine, murata sotto l'affresco, ricorda il primato di Melozzo nella prospettiva; l'insieme è circondato dai simboli araldici di papa Clemente XI Albani.
Nel pianerottolo sono presenti anche altri affreschi ottocenteschi dei pittori Annibale Brugnoli e Davide Natali raffiguranti una Scena con putti e uccelli e una Scena con putti danzanti e musicanti, facenti parte di un ciclo unico che comprende anche le decorazioni della successiva anticamera del Salone delle Feste[10
Il salone dei Corazzieri
Con i suoi 37 metri di lunghezza e 12 metri di larghezza e 19 metri di altezza, si tratta della sala più grande dell'intero palazzo, il primo ambiente che si trova saliti dallo Scalone e dedicato alla rivista del reparto dei Corazzieri in occasione delle più importanti cerimonie. Nel salone hanno luogo anche molte altre attività del presidente della Repubblica, soprattutto pubbliche udienze e premiazioni ufficiali.
La sala fu costruita da Paolo V su progetto di Carlo Maderno nei primi anni del XVII secolo. Di quell'epoca si conservano ancora il prezioso soffitto a cassettoni e la pavimentazione marmorea riproducente lo stesso disegno geometrico del soffitto, mentre il grande fregio in affresco nella parte superiore delle pareti fu realizzato nel 1616 dai pittori Agostino Tassi, Giovanni Lanfranco e Carlo Saraceni. Della stessa epoca le grottesche degli sguinci delle finestre di Annibale Duranti. Sotto il fregio, Gaetano Lodi nel 1872 dipinse gli stemmi dei principali comuni d'Italia. Del Seicento è anche il portale doppio che introduce alla cappella Paolina. Il salone è impreziosito anche da una serie di arazzi settecenteschi, quattro di scuola francese, gli altri tessuti a Napoli
La Cappella Paolina
L'ambiente ha le stesse caratteristiche architettoniche e proporzionali della Cappella Sistina in Vaticano. Il grande vano voltato, di circa 42 metri in lunghezza, 13 in larghezza e 20 in altezza. Questo ambiente fu costruito da Carlo Maderno su ordine di Paolo V Borghese. Le dimensioni non sono casuali, tanto che qui si tennero addirittura alcuni conclavi. Tuttora, in occasione delle feste di Natale e di Pasqua, viene celebrata la messa alla presenza del Presidente della Repubblica. In questo ambiente furono celebrate, nel 1930, le nozze tra Umberto II e la principessa Maria José del Belgio.
La volta fu ornata nel 1616 da un ricchissimo rivestimento in stucco bianco e dorato, realizzato da Martino Ferabosco. Nel 1818 papa Pio VII fece decorare le pareti della cappella con affreschi monocromi consistenti in lesene scanalate e nicchie ospitanti le figure di Apostoli e degli Evangelisti. Sull'altare un arazzo francese del XIX secolo raffigurante L'ultima predica di santo Stefano[12].
Prima sala di Rappresentanza
Edificata da Carlo Maderno all'inizio del Seicento, si affaccia sul cortile interno e originariamente faceva parte dell'appartamento di papa Paolo V, fungendone da salotto. Nel 1616 da Agostino Tassi decorò il fregio con Scene della vita di san Paolo e con stemmi della famiglia Borghese. Gli altri medaglioni con figure allegoriche risalgono all'epoca napoleonica, mentre l'affresco della volta fu realizzato nel 1906 da Alessandro Palombi ed Ernesto Ballarini e riproduce i Frutti della pace.
Le pareti sono ornate da grandi arazzi con le Storie di Don Chisciotte tessuti dalla Manifattura Reale di Napoli fra il 1757 e il 1779. Vi è anche un grande quadro di Francesco Mancini, intitolato La Castità punisce Amore. L’orologio, della metà del Settecento, recante la firma del grande ebanista Jean-Pierre Latz e proveniente dalla Villa Ducale di Colorno completa gli arredi col piccolo stipo in ebano mirabile esempio di artigianato veneziano del XVI secolo.
Sala delle Logge
In questa sala, degna di nota è la decorazione del fregio attribuita a Bernardo Castello, esponente genovese del tardo manierismo, invitato a palazzo da Paolo V Borghese. Sue sarebbero le figure allegoriche della Giustizia e della Temperanza e gli Angeli che sorreggono lo stemma papale di papa Pio IX; quest'ultimo affidò la decorazione della parte restante della volta ad Annibale Angelini che, ispirandosi agli affreschi cinquecenteschi della Sala Regia in Vaticano, realizzò attorno al precedente affresco del Castello un finto loggiato dal quale si affacciano guardie svizzere.
Inoltre, qui si conservano cinque affreschi strappati provenienti da un'altra sala del Palazzo commissionati da papa Urbano VIII Barberini a Marco Tullio Montagna e Simone Lagi per celebrare i luoghi legati ad alcuni tra gli interventi architettonici del suo pontificato, cioè Orvieto, il Pantheon, Castel Sant’Angelo, il porto di Civitavecchia e la chiesa di San Caio[14].
La Sala Gialla
Questa sala, assieme alle due seguenti, formavano un unico ambiente suddiviso in epoca napoleonica. Con l'occasione, furono murate tutte le finestre verso il cortile e distrutta gran parte degli affreschi seicenteschi di Pietro da Cortona, con l’eccezione di alcune scene bibliche, tratte dall'Antico Testamento, nella parte alta delle pareti. Gli elementi ornamentali frapposti alle scene bibliche risalgono al periodo di Pio IX. Di epoca napoleonica il camino del 1812. È attualmente in fase di restauro.
Ricchissimo gli arredi, tra cui quattro splendidi arazzi francesi, tre grandi consolles ottocentesche e tre vasi in porcellana del XVIII secolo[15].
La sala di Augusto
È detta anche Sala del Trono, poiché questo fu l'utilizzo a partire dalla sua creazione, nel 1812, sino alla venuta della Repubblica.
In questo ambiente, nel 2005 furono recuperate sia le decorazioni dell'epoca di Alessandro VII (in realtà solo parzialmente), sia le cinque finestre che danno sul cortile interno. In alto continua la serie di scene dell’Antico Testamento iniziata nella Sala gialla, mentre il soffitto, che mantiene il disegno originale seicentesco con cassettoni a forma di croce greca, fu ridecorato l'ultima volta nel 1864.
Tra i ricchissimi arredi della sala, da menzionare la pendola da mensola del maestro orologiaio parigino Denis Masson, Risalente alla prima metà del Settecento[16].
La sala degli Ambasciatori
Adibita ad ambiente di ricevimento del corpo diplomatico accreditato in occasione di visite ufficiali di Capi di Stato esteri in Italia, è stata restaurata nel 2001, senza subire, però, gli stessi stravolgimenti e ricostruzione della precedente.
Ha qui termine il ciclo di dipinti a contenuto biblico di Pietro da Cortona iniziato nella Sala gialla, accompagnati da affreschi più "laici" dell'Ottocento, raffiguranti le Virtù ed eseguiti tra il 1823 e il 1864 da Francesco Manno, Luigi Cochetti e Tommaso Minardi[17].
La scala del Mascarino
Celebre scala elicoidale edificata tra il 1583 e il 1584 su progetto di Ottaviano Mascarino, è caratterizzata da coppie di colonne in travertino che accompagnano l'andamento delle rampe a pianta ellittica. È coronata da un lucernario, ellittico anch'esso. Era la scala d'accesso al nucleo più antico del Palazzo e conduceva agli appartamenti dei pontefici, ai quali si poteva accedere direttamente a cavallo data la bassa ripidità dei gradoni della scalinata[18].
La loggia d'onore
È l'ambiente che si affaccia sul cortile d'onore, illuminato dai grandi finestroni posti sotto il torrino. Ospita le conferenze stampa delle personalità politiche consultate per la formazione degli esecutivi. Qui il presidente incaricato annuncia l'accettazione dell'incarico e talvolta rende pubblico l'elenco dei Ministri.
Decorata da grandi lesene con capitelli ionici dorati e da una decorazione pittorica che ricopre l'intera volta, eseguita nel 1908 da Ernesto Ballarini e Alessandro Palombi. Le colonne che ornano la sala provengono dall'iconostasi della Cappella Paolina[19].
Sopra la loggia si trova il torrino, costruito per ordine di Gregorio XIII. All'esterno è possibile vedere l'orologio del 1626, col quadrante diviso in sei ore. All'interno, una suggestiva sala da pranzo per gli incontri ufficiali più riservati, offre una splendida vista sulla Capitale.
Sala del Bronzino
Questa sala, che deve il suo nome agli arazzi cinquecenteschi tessuti su disegni di Agnolo Bronzino, funge oggi da luogo di primo incontro tra il Presidente della Repubblica e i Capi di Stato ospiti provenienti dall'attigua Loggia d'onore.
I suddetti arazzi, dedicati alla storia biblica di Giuseppe, fanno parte della serie voluta da Cosimo I dei Medici nel 1546 per Palazzo Vecchio a Firenze, dove ancora si trovano i rimanenti non prelevati dai Savoia. Sulla volta, domina l'affresco de l'Allegoria dell’Italia di Alessandro Palombi ed Ernesto Ballarini dei primi del Novecento. L'ambiente fu nuovamente rinnovato nei pavimenti e negli arredi in occasione della visita di Adolf Hitler nel 1938: con questa occasione furono posti alcuni busti di personaggi dell'antica Roma di fattura moderna tranne che per uno databile al I secolo d.C.
Lo studio del Presidente
In questo ambiente il presidente della Repubblica tiene gli incontri ufficiali con i Capi di Stato e con i segretari di partito durante le consultazione per la formazione del Governo. In origine questa stanza era la camera da letto estiva dei pontefici.
Tra gli arredi degna di menzione è la scrivania francese del 1750, dalla quale il Presidente pronuncia il Messaggio di fine anno, mentre il dipinto dietro la scrivania, della seconda metà del Seicento, è del Borgognone
La sala degli Arazzi di Lille
La sala oggi è utilizzata per le riunioni del Consiglio supremo di Difesa, convocato almeno due volte all'anno dal Presidente della Repubblica.
L'ambiente, dapprima anticamera del Pontefice, fu anche adibito a stanza da letto della regina Margherita, moglie di Umberto I. Nel soffitto, cinque preziose tele del tardo Seicento raffigurano scene mitologiche e divinità del mondo greco. Il caminetto, in porfido, è opera di Carlo Albacini, mentre le specchiere con cornici dorate e i fregi sopra le porte risalgono alla fine del XIX secolo. Nelle pareti sono conservati cinque splendidi arazzi, tessuti a Lille tra il 1715 e il 1720, raffiguranti scene di vita popolare; alcuni sono firmati da Guillaume Weniers, mentre gli altri furono creati su modelli del pittore David Teniers il Giovane. Il mobilio risale per lo più alla prima metà del Settecento, mentre il grande tappeto di Herat risale all'inizio dell’Ottocento[22].
La biblioteca del Piffetti
La piccola sala deve il nome alla grandiosa e preziosissima libreria costruita, in origine, all'incirca alla metà del Settecento, per la villa della Regina [Anna d'Orleans] nei pressi di Torino dall'ebanista piemontese Pietro Piffetti. Per volontà di re Umberto I e della regina Margherita il capolavoro del Piffetti fu trasportato al palazzo del Quirinale, dove si può tuttora ammirare. [23].
Sala dello Zodiaco
La sala fu creata durante il periodo napoleonico, da due precedenti stanze risalenti all'epoca di papa Paolo V, per ricavare un grande salone dell’Imperatore (o sala dei Ministri). A quell'epoca risale il fregio a bassorilievo in stucco di Carlo Finelli, del 1812 raffigurante il trionfo di Giulio Cesare. L'ambiente divenne in epoca sabauda la sala da pranzo giornaliera della famiglia reale. La volta napoleonica fu scenograficamente decorata con raffigurazioni di tema astrologico (donde il nome) nel 1888 da Annibale Brugnoli. Ad ulteriore decorazione della sala, sette preziosi arazzi settecenteschi di manifattura francese fanno parte di un gruppo donato nel 1786 da Luigi XVI di Francia all'arciduca Ferdinando d'Austria e alla moglie Maria Beatrice d'Este[24].
La cappella dell'Annunziata
È la cappella privata del palazzo, ricchissimo ambiente costituito da una piccola navata ellittica e dal presbiterio. Il progetto decorativo si deve al maestro bolognese Guido Reni, esecutore dello splendido ciclo di affreschi assieme a Francesco Albani, Antonio Carracci, Giovanni Lanfranco, Alessandro Albini e Tommaso Campana. Gli splendidi stucchi dorati, invece, si devono ad Annibale Corradini e Stefano Fuccaro. Stupenda la pala d'altare, di Guido Reni, che raffigura l'Annunciazione, mentre degno di nota è anche lo splendido pavimento in marmo, recante lo stemma di papa Pio VII[25].
La sala degli Specchi
Questa sala ospita alcune udienze del capo dello Stato e il giuramento dei giudici della Corte costituzionale.
L'attuale decorazione si deve esclusivamente al periodo sabaudo, quando la sala fu adibita a camera da pranzo, quindi, quando quest'ala del palazzo ospitava l'appartamento del principe ereditario Umberto II, a sala da ballo. È illuminata da splendidi lampadari di Murano, riflessi nei numerosi specchi delle pareti, e arredata con divani e poltrone rivestiti di preziose tappezzerie in broccato bianco di seta con fiori oro, tanto che l'ambiente è anche definito come Sala Bianca[26].
Il salone delle Feste
È l'ambiente più grande e solenne del palazzo, qui giura il nuovo Governo e si tengono i pranzi ufficiali.
Dal 1616 questa sala, un tempo Sala Regia, divenne sede dei pubblici concistori. Nel 1873 i Savoia vollero trasformarla in una sfarzosa sala da pranzo e ballo e vi predisposero una nuova elegantissima decorazione eseguita da Girolamo Magnani e Cecrope Barilli. Al centro della volta si può ammirare il Trionfo dell’Italia mentre il resto della sala è completamente ricoperto di elementi architettonici, scultorei e pittorici bianchi o dorati. Nel 1889 fu realizzato sulla parete verso lo Scalone d’onore un nuovo palco stabile per orchestra, destinato ai musicisti. Il pavimento è coperto da quello che è considerato il secondo tappeto più grande del mondo, che si estende per circa 300 m²[27].
Collezioni
Nel palazzo del Quirinale si trovano diverse collezioni artistiche[28] che comprendono arazzi, dipinti, statue, carrozze, orologi, mobili, porcellane, molti dei quali arrivati fin qui da altre residenze italiane, soprattutto quelle delle corti pre-unitarie come nel caso del mobilio appartenente al Palazzo Ducale di Colorno; presente anche un'incredibile collezione di lampadari di vetro di Murano (realizzati a partire dagli ultimi anni del XVIII secolo dalle vetrerie storiche, tra le quali Pauly & C Compagnia Venezia Murano che disegno e realizzò un lampadario in stile "rezzonico" dell'altezza record di 6 metri con un diametro di circa 4 metri e 320 luci) e di cristallo.
Giardini
I giardini del Quirinale, famosi per la loro posizione privilegiata che li costituiscono quasi come "isola" sopraelevata su Roma, furono nel corso dei secoli modificati a seconda dei gusti e delle necessità della corte papale.
L'attuale sistemazione integra il giardino "formale" seicentesco prospiciente il nucleo originale del palazzo con il giardino "romantico" della seconda metà del Settecento, conservando di quell'epoca l'elegante Coffee House edificata da Ferdinando Fuga come sala di ricevimento di Benedetto XIV Lambertini, decorata dalle splendide pitture di Girolamo Pompeo Batoni e Giovanni Paolo Pannini.
All'interno dei giardini del Quirinale si trova il famoso organo idraulico[29] costruito fra il 1997 e il 1999 da Barthélemy Formentelli in base alle caratteristiche del precedente organo ottocentesco. L'organo è alimentato da una cascata con un salto di 18 metri ed è a trasmissione integralmente meccanica, con un'unica tastiera di 41 note con prima ottava scavezza, senza pedaliera.
Complessivamente, i giardini del Quirinale misurano ben 4 ettari (40.000 m²)[30].
Sotto i giardini, attraverso una botola è possibile raggiungere gli scavi archeologici che hanno rinvenuto quanto resta dell'originario tempio al dio Quirino e alcune insulae di età imperiale.
Dipendenze
Scuderie
Il palazzo delle Scuderie al Quirinale fu costruito tra il 1722 e il 1732, su terreno già dei Colonna appartenente alla villa al Quirinale annessa al loro Palazzo, e si trova di fronte alla residenza presidenziale, affacciato su piazza del Quirinale. Il primo progetto si deve ad Alessandro Specchi, che su commissione di papa Innocenzo XIII, disegnò un edificio destinato a sostituire quello precedente di Carlo Fontana dell'inizio del XVIII secolo. Morto Innocenzo XIII, il nuovo papa Clemente XII, nel 1730, affidò a Ferdinando Fuga il compito di completare l'opera.
L'edificio ha mantenuto la sua funzione originaria di scuderia fino al 1938, anno in cui venne adattato ad autorimessa. Tra il 1997 e il 1999 venne completamente restaurato su progetto dell'architetto friulana Gae Aulenti. Destinato ad importante spazio espositivo (circa 1500 m²), fu inaugurato dal Presidente Ciampi e concesso al Comune di Roma. Attualmente ospita grandi mostre di richiamo internazionale ed è una delle sedi per mostre d'arte temporanee di Roma più visitata insieme al Vittoriano.
Caserma dei Corazzieri
Sotto la Caserma dei Corazzieri è stato scoperto un complesso di Roma antica comprendente un tratto delle mura serviane, un podio forse templare e un edificio dell'età flavia con un ninfeo decorato da mosaici parietali di quarto stile. Forse si trattava della casa privata di Vespasiano e del tempio della Gens Flavia, come sembra suggerire una fistula trovata nelle vicinanze con il nome di Flavio Sabino[31].
Istituito sotto la presidenza Scalfaro nel 1996, dal 2009 è ospitato presso il Palazzo Sant'Andrea, così chiamato perché vicino alla Chiesa di Sant'Andrea al Quirinale, già noviziato della Compagnia di Gesù, poi divenuto durante il Regno d'Italia sede del Ministero della Real Casa. Sotto l'edificio, nel 1888, fu rinvenuto un importante reperto archeologico, la cosiddetta Ara dell'incendio neroniano.
Il patrimonio dell'archivio è liberamente consultabile, salvo per i documenti riservati relativi alla politica interna ed estera dello Stato, che diventano liberamente consultabili solo 50 anni dopo la loro data, e di quelli che contengono dati sensibili, che diventano pubblici e consultabili 40 anni dopo la loro data[32].
Tra i documenti storicamente più importanti vi è la copia originale della Costituzione sulla quale giurano il Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri, i Ministri e i Giudici costituzionali all'inizio del loro mandato e il carteggio originale tra il Presidente Einaudi e Arturo Toscanini, nel quale si può leggere il rifiuto del celebre direttore d'orchestra alla nomina di senatore a vita
Da Wikipedia, l'enciclopedia libera.
Raccolta Foto de Alvariis