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The public art sculpture, known as the 'Flood Wall Sculpture' is located in the corner of the Bowling Green carpark, Strabane, Co. Tyrone. A creation by Bob Sloan, a Northern Irish sculptor, painter, and installation artist. The sculpture consists of the original sandstone taken from the old flood wall (known locally as the waterwall) which was replaced after it was breached by the River Mourne causing severe flooding of the town on 22 October 1987.

Carved at the centre of the frieze are two motifs which symbolize the core essence of Strabane itself. The first, depicts a ferry crossing the River Mourne which was established on 26 July 1629 by the Hamilton family who were principal landlords at the time in Strabane. The second motif, is a castle turret, representing the three castles which once dotted the local landscape. These motifs were once part of the old Strabane District Council Crest before merging with Derry City Council on 1st April 2015 to form Foyle District Council.

Moving down from these motifs are six individual interpretative bronze plaques mounted into the sandstone wall at intermittent points, containing information on some of Strabane's most influential sons and daughters:

John Dunlop, born Meetinghouse Street, Strabane 1746. Printer of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States of America.

Dr. George Sigerson, born Holyhill, Strabane 1836, educated in Queen’s College, Belfast and made professor of zoology at the National University of Ireland. He was noted for his Gaelic and sporting contributions and was appointed to the first Seanad in 1922.

Brian O’Nolan, Bowling Green, born Strabane 1911, famous on the Irish litery scene, writing for the Irish Times as Myles na Gopaleen. Also as Flann O’ Brian he wrote many internationally acclaimed novels including, “The Third Policeman” and “At Swim Two Birds”.

Sir Guy Carleton, born 1724 in the Bowling Green, Strabane became Captain General and Governor in Chief of Quebec and played a pivotal role in sponsoring the Constitutional Act of Canada in 1791.

Woodrow Wilson, 28th President, United States of Americia,1913 - 1921, grandson of James Wilson of Dergalt, Strabane and Annie Adams of Sion Mills.

Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander, b.1818 d.1895, lived in Strabane, celebrated hymn writer and wrote “All things bright and beautiful” and “There is a green hill far away” among many others.

These interpretative plaques and their outward movement from the core motifs represent a parting of ways from Strabane towards the wider world.

Floods Strabane & Area

Flood 1781

There was a prodigious flood the 3rd; the chief damage done hereabouts was by Glenmornan brooks and Ballymagorry and Burndenet rivers; Ballymagorry, Burndennet and Malison bridges are very much damaged and a bridge at Artgarvan that was lately built is carried quite away; many mill dams were broken down; some of Glenmornan, BRIGS of Ballymagorry and others wanted me to go and see the damage done them; BRIGS lost above 3 score “stucks” of oats and about a rood of potatoes near the pidgeon house was swept away and left a bare strand; I saw that as if by accident, for I did not care to profess my going to see them, as it would set all a complaining; the WIERS of Greenlaw lost, I am told 300 “stucks” of oats, and the crop on Claud ROBISON of Ballymagorry’s land was almost all lost. I ploughed and sowed that land as he had been ejected out of it; I sold the crops of it, but the people who bought had not removed them; I hear that the flood of the 3d did vast damage in the county of Donegal, that it has carried away many of the bridges in Inishowen.

Destructive Effects of a Flood - 29 Dec 1815.

On Friday last, this town was visited by one of the highest floods in the memory of the oldest inhabitants, and more destructive in its effects, that can well be imagined. It was at its height about at nine o’clock at night, and owing to the great amount of snow on the ground, was slow in its decrease. A new range of houses built within the last five years at the Bridge-end has suffered most, some of which were entirely carried off, with the entire effects of the unfortunate owners, who fortunately escaped a short time before they finally gave way; the whole of that range has suffered more or less, some of them have the greater part of their back walls carried away; others with the flagging of their halls and kitchens torn up, and the windows driven in: at the present moment they exhibit a melancholy spectacle.

The humanity of the respectable inhabitants was principally directed to the lower end of the town; horses were employed the whole of the day, and to a late hour at night, in supplying the sufferers with bread and other necessaries, and bringing away aged and infirm persons. Many poor families residing below the town, had, on the evening, hoisted flags of distress, but unfortunately there was no boat on the canal that could be removed, nor was it possible to afford them assistance in any other manner. At about half past three o’clock, two boats started from Lifford, and brought off those in the greatest distress; one of the boats was afterwards brought to the town, but owing to the force of the currents, from openings to the river, could not be managed, and not withstanding the exertions of the hands, was twice upset. It would be impossible to enumerate individual loss – several cows and pigs were drowned, and innumerable articles of furniture and clothing, with potatoes, turf, &c. carried off.

We have on no former occasion witnessed so much promptitude in affording immediate relief: some Gentlemen opened their turf houses next morning, and distributed large quantities gratis, which afforded a very seasonable supply. In the course of the day, a public Meeting was held, and subscriptions to a considerable amount raised – but notwithstanding the unexampled exertions of the Committees, and liberality of the inhabitants, there will remain, from the statement of losses, a large sum deficient. We understand, it is intended to apply for relief to the neighbouring Gentlemen and Landholders: we hope their beneficence on the present melancholy occasion will be worthy of being held in remembrance.

The Road from this town to Lifford exhibits an awful proof of the violence of the element; it is rendered almost impassable, and the pailing along its sides, put up last summer, is, for the greater part, torn up and carried off.

We understand, the extensive embankment enclosing the lands of John Austin, Esq. at Grange, has been broken down by the flood.

Destructive Floods in the North of Ireland - 15 July 1845.

Heavy rains continued to fall on Tuesday morning (1st instant) and on Thursday, from noon till near midnight, the clouds poured forth in torrents. The immediate effects of these heavy rains upon the earth, already sufficiently saturated, were the sudden swelling of our tributary rivers to a height far above their ordinary levels, the giving way of their embankments before the impetuous volume of waters, the deluging all the low lying lands and houses, and spreading desolation over a portion of the face of the country. No less than 12 bridges, situated in the parishes of Donagheady and Leckpatrick, have been destroyed and Doherty’s bridge in the parish of Camus has been rendered impassable for carts. Some parts of our leading road to Dublin, between Burndennet and Strabane, were on Thursday night, for some time, quite impassable and the coaches next day had the greatest difficulty in making their way over parts covered with water, upwards of 3 feet in depth. The Urney parks and some fields at the back of Strabane have suffered much by the bursting of the embankment on the Finn. The tallest wheat was completely overflowed and many of the crops lie at present half buried under sand and gravel swept in upon them by the flood and altogether beyond recovery. The potatoes, which suffered submersion, look very badly since the subsiding of the water, and it is a question whether they will turn out a crop. Other fields of potatoes and turnips, which have a sloping direction, have sustained very great injury by the washing away of the most soluble part of the soil. The same remarks apply to the general appearance of those fields along the banks of the Foyle from Lifford to the mouth of Burndennet, which have been overflowed. Several of the streets of Strabane were so flooded as to be impassable by persons on foot and many of the houses inundated. Very serious damage has been sustained at Ballymagory. Mr. Hugh KELLY, a very respectable innkeeper and farmer, at the lower end of the bridge, barely escaped with life. Having reason to fear the rising of the water might do injury to the cattle in his yard, he untied his cows and, immediately after his doing so, the water rolled into his house and yard most furiously and prevented his return into the house for a considerable time. Some idea may be entertained of the alarming state of the flood at Ballymagory, when we state, that we saw the mark which the water, at its highest, left upon the wall of Mr KELLY’S house, and that mark is only about two feet from the eaves. In the recollection of the very oldest inhabitant in Ballydonaghy and thereabout, the floods never before reached such a height by some feet. (Kentish Gazette).

Floods - Monday 18th Jan 1909.

Rude was the awakening experienced by a large number of the inhabitants of Strabane on Monday morning and intensely cold was the feeling, as those who were peaceably slumbering in blissful ignorance of the grave circumstances with which they were surrounded, became acquainted with the terror-inspiring fact that the floors of their houses, in fact, the very bed-supports above in which they were sleeping, were submerged with water to a depth decidedly alarming. The scene that followed baffles description and almost defies the imagination. People rushed, indeed in some cases, waded, in an almost nude condition, to the doors of their dwelling-houses, with a view to seek protection on a higher altitude than that on which their houses were situated, only to find an impassable barrier opposing their exit in the shape of a roaring, hissing torrent of water, which, in most cases, at the early hour of 4 a.m., reached to a height of a couple of feet above the thresholds of the doors. Almost panic-stricken, the people donned a few articles of clothing and with the greatest expedition at their command, proceeded to convey whatever portable furniture they possessed on the ground floors to the rooms upstairs. In a good many cases their efforts were unsuccessful and a large quantity of kitchen furniture, etc., was almost, if not completely, ruined. The deluge occasioned by the overflow of the rivers Mourne and Finn, as the result of the sudden melting of the snow, was continually becoming deeper and deeper, as the water poured into the streets incessantly in ever increasing volume. The principal thoroughfare in the town, the Railway Road, was submerged for a distance extending from the Coffee Stall to within a few yards of the railway station, in some places to a depth of approximately four feet. As no access could be gained to the station by the common practice of pedestrianism, through the main street being similarly conditioned to the Railway Road and aerial navigation not having yet reached its stage of full development in Strabane, passengers had to perforce to resort to the omnipresent jarvey, who ever and anon mingled his stentorian cry of “Car, sir?” with the continuous roar of the water as it beat against the walls, or pelted the doors of the houses within its reach.

The gentlemen representing this profession in Strabane certainly reaped a golden harvest, which is an irrefutable proof of the truism that “It is an ill wind indeed, that blows nobody good.” Their demands, it must be admitted, were under the circumstances, within the bounds of reason and however parsimoniously inclined one might be, the choice of paying a silver coin to the car-driver was by far preferable, to the only existing alternative of wading a distance of three or four hundred yards up to the armpits in water. A good many people, apprehensive of accidents on the journey, decided to postpone their engagements, and cling to safety while it remained. Indeed the journey by car, despite the assurances of the jarveys, was fraught with danger enough, as the horses occasionally shied as they plunged deeper and deeper into the water, rendering the lot of the occupants of the vehicle rather disquieting. Railway carts were also employed, these conveying sometimes a dozen passengers at one load. The experience was certainly novel and will be long remembered by those who were compelled to adopt this mode of transit. An incident, which fortunately did not terminate seriously, occurred in this connection. A car load of passengers was being conveyed in the direction of the station, when the horse taking fright at the splashing occasioned by the passing of another vehicle, commenced to plunge. The crowd of spectators anxiously anticipated a catastrophe, but by the skill displayed by the driver in the management of the animal, the horse was quickly pacified, and the passengers reached their destination in safety. Considering the depth of water in this street, had anyone had the misfortune to have fallen in, serious consequences might have been the issue.

The Main street also suffered considerably, being inundated from some yards below the Post Office to the railway gates, representing a distance of more than a quarter of a mile. The water here varied considerably in depth, the deepest part of it being about four feet. Rather less difficulty was encountered in driving on this street than was experienced on the Railway Road and cars often took this circuitous route for the railway station.

The condition of things in the above-mentioned streets, however, pales into insignificance compared with the miniature cataclysm to which Bridge-end street and Waterside were subjected. Here scarcely a single inhabitant escaped the irresistible fury of the deluge. The depth of water in this quarter of the town amounted in some places to almost six feet and in some cases only a few inches of the doors of the dwelling houses remained above water. In the morning it was found possible to traverse this area with vehicles drawn by horses and this method was continued for some time and people conveyed across, whilst the water rushed into the street from both sides with unabated violence. The waters of both rivers here commingled, the Finn from the west and the Mourne from the east and poured their overflowing contents through the houses causing distress on every hand. By noon the flood here had risen to its maximum height and vehicular traffic was found impossible. One venture some individual attempted to make his way across with a horse and cart, but abandoned his project, as the result of having almost had the animal and vehicle lifted by the water. Boats were requisitioned and continued to ply from end to end of the street, a distance of upwards of 300 yards, until late at night. The first intimation many of the people residing in this street had of their danger was received through the medium of Mr. John TOORISH, who on becoming aware of the seriousness of the occurrence, acted with great promptitude in informing the people of the gravity of the situation. But for his prompt action the condition of things, although distressing enough, would probably have had more alarming consequences and many articles of furniture, etc., were enabled to be preserved, which would otherwise not have been. Mr. Edward GALLAGHER J.P.. with the utmost expedition arranged for provision of necessaries for those whose houses were flooded and under his direction loaves of bread and quantities of milk were handed to the people through the top windows and in some cases through the skylights. Mr. A. J. HARTE and Mr. Andrew GALLAGHER rendered creditable service in supplying the food, which was delivered by the unique method of forming a connection between supplier and supplied with a pitchfork. Mr. HARTE, with his usual consideration, procured a large quantity of pure water, which he delivered to those in distress by a similar method as was adopted for the delivery of food. This philanthropic action was continued throughout the day in the flooded areas of the town, bringing comfort in its wake. The situation was not without its humorous element and many amusing scenes were witnessed particularly in the navigable area, where at the embarkation of the boat, passengers large and small, old and young, male and female, were carried pick-a-back, for no remuneration whatever, through the more shallow water into the boat. It is worthy of note that some of the inhabitants in Bridge-end street gave their first thought for the dumb creatures of the animal kingdom and the unusual and amusing spectacle of pigs and dogs greeting the vision from upper windows, speaks for the thoughtfulness of the people in preserving animal life. An enterprising grocer whose place of business had received the wrathful attention of the flood, endeavoured by means of a car to gain access with the minimum degree of moisture, but alas, for his strategy, when at his destination the horse no doubt impatient to render his services elsewhere, performed some antics which had the effect of dismounting the gentleman rather hurriedly, greatly to the detriment of his garments. Another Strabane merchant attempted to cycle to his business premises, but in some unaccountable way he dived into the flood and found himself swimming about in several feet of water. Many pathetic scenes were also witnessed and it was sad in some instances to see old men and women wading from their doors, doubtless under the impression that the flood would in the end completely submerge their dwellings, despite the assurances of their friends. In Bridge-end st. the ground floor of some of the houses being considerably lower than the street, the kitchens and lower rooms were almost filled to the ceiling and articles of furniture were floating about inside the houses and in some places through the street.

Many houses of business were compelled to suspend work for the day, with the result that had one not been acquainted with the true facts of the case, he would have been under the impression that Strabane was enjoying a general holiday. The Northern Steam Laundry was closed, being shut completely off by a depth of about three feet of water. The gasworks, being situated at a low altitude, fared badly and received the full, unchecked force of the flood. The water was close upon five feet deep in the subway and the manager, gas-fitter and complete staff of men were engaged during the entire night in having the water pumped out. The fires in the retort house were extinguished and a shortage of gas was experienced generally, throughout the town, the following two days. In fact, the inhabitants had to resort to the antiquated method of using oil and candles on Tuesday night.

On the railways traffic for a considerable time was almost at a standstill. From noon the Great Northern trains were unable to reach Strabane, as a consequence of the heavy rise in the flood since the morning. The Midland Railway was submerged, in many places between Stranorlar and Strabane, consequently no trains could be run in that direction. This railway, however, was clear from Londonderry, to the crossing convenient to Strabane workhouse, which was made to act as a temporary station. Passengers arriving by the Midland from Derry, on being deposited at the workhouse could, by braving the terrors and discomforts of journeying from the temporary station, through the water-laden streets of Strabane arrive at the Great Northern station, where a connection could thenceforward be made on that line, as it had comparatively suffered no damage from Strabane upwards. Needless to relate, this plan was unanimously acted upon whenever it suited. Passengers bound for Stranorlar, however, had perforce to return disconsolately or otherwise to the places whence they came.

In parts of the town the postal delivery was a thing impossible, even with the aid of a mail-van, consequently many people were obliged to wait until the flood had abated for the receipt of their letters.

On Tuesday the town had almost assumed its normal aspect. The water had fallen heavily during the night and although Bridge-end street and Railway street still contained a fairly large proportion of water, still it may be said that streets had practically emptied themselves. A glance around revealed the extent of the damage done and considering the circumstances, it is wonderful that this did not reach a higher total. The lower parts of the greater number of the houses in Bridge-end street suffered considerably it must be admitted, as well as did the inside of the Bridge-end National schools. In Railway street, Mr. WHITE’s furniture establishment suffered to some extent, but owing to the more valuable stock having been got out of harm’s way before being reached by the water, the damage done is not so considerable. The telephone exchange was also flooded, consequently telephonic communication was impossible.

Railway traffic was resumed on Tuesday, each of the three railway lines having been cleared in the meantime. In fact, the only part of the Strabane and Letterkenny line which was submerged extended merely from Strabane to Lifford, therefore it was found possible to run trains between Lifford and Letterkenny on Monday. On Tuesday a ballast train arrived in Strabane from Stranorlar, containing the superintendent, the permanent way inspector, the traffic inspector, the locomotive foreman and a number of men for carrying out repairs to the line. Shortly afterwards the trains resumed running as usual.

Not within the memory of the oldest inhabitant of the town has there been a flood in Strabane of the same dimensions as that which occurred on Monday. It is true a similar occurrence took place thirty or forty years ago, but it is very questionable if on that occasion, the streets were so packed with water as on Monday. The Mourne had swollen to such an extent at one time during the day that grave fears were entertained for the safety of both railway bridges which spanned the river. Fortunately, however, they stood the test well, but had they not been strongly constructed, certain it is the consequences would have been serious.

A curious incident may be mentioned in connection with the flood, a man named Patrick SCOTT, Main street, caught a salmon, weighing nearly 5 pounds, in his garden, on Tuesday. While out surveying the effect of the flood on the premises adjoining his dwelling-house, he observed the fish floating in the water almost at his kitchen door and forthwith captured it. It is surmised the fish was driven out of the river at the end of Main Street, then driven up the street for a distance of 100 yards or more and eventually swept through a lane leading into his garden.

Viewed from an adjacent hill when the flood was at its height, Strabane presented the appearance of a town built on the banks of a large lake, as for a considerable distance on one side, the water lay in unbroken continuity. Even at a great distance the roar of the water could be plainly heard, the sound resembling a huge waterfall. The surrounding district of Strabane has suffered quite as much as the town itself. In the village of Clady, the water was estimated to have been seven feet deep. Ballindrait was also flooded and the roads leading to both these villages were in some places quite impassable.

Flood of 22 Oct 1987.

The County Tyrone town suffered a devastating flood on 22 October 1987 after the River Mourne burst its banks, leaving homes and businesses destroyed.

At 01.55 BST flooding started in the Lower Main Street and Railway Street areas and quickly spread to other parts of the town centre, leaving much of it partially submerged. At its height, there was up to four feet (1.2m) of water in Abercorn Square.

Earlier in the day the pedestrian suspension bridge at nearby Sion Mills buckled and was washed away.

Aircraft crossing overhead to report on the disaster recorded a "sea of water" covering the whole area.

Frank Elliot, a local fisherman said it was a "devastating day for the town." "The water gushed through the town and the sound of the rubble being washed through the streets was like a bomb.

"I have five children and at the time they were aged between six and 14. Our family home was destroyed and I remember the emergency services had to pass food to us through our top bedroom window for a day or two. "It was manic to see boats sail through the streets rather than cars."

Frank, who is now 75-years-old, lived on Lower Main Street and said it's a day he will always remember.

"After 36 years I lost my job in a local bakery, I had the flood disaster that night and to top all off it was my 50th birthday.

"During 1985 and 1986 there had been a number of minor floods and it was no surprise to people that things would get worse as parts of the bridge and wall had cracks in it.

"You could see the water spouting through and after an hour, the water was well and truly above our waist line.

"I can recall Army officers rescuing people on boats but the current was so strong at times I can still see them struggling.

"I parked my Volkswagen Beetle up at the Bowling Green on the high ground the day before nature struck. I was a lucky man."

The flood damage was so bad that civic and community leaders called for the area to be declared a disaster zone. At the time business leaders in the town estimated that the damage ran into millions of pounds.

Kathleen McAnneny owned a confectionery store at the time. "My business became swamped. Everything was destroyed, including stock, which was totally heart breaking. I will never forget that moment when I stood back and looked at the town. It was like something from an old film. I remember a massive bang on my door and it was my husband sounding the alarm. He was out visiting a friend at the time and because he was blind, there was a great deal of panic. Our furniture had to be dumped, carpets had to be lifted and it was just so sad to see all your personal things going to waste. We had lost our car in the current too and it got to a stage where we had to be evacuated. There were quite a few babies and elderly people being put onto lifeboats and I remember them sailing by our window. I remember older women at the time kicking and screaming as they were being taken from their homes. It was extremely surreal. I just hope we never see a day like it again."

Strabane is built on the floodplain of the Mourne River and has a long history of significant flood events. However, as a result of the 1987 flood a new flood wall was constructed along both banks of the River Mourne in 1989 by a Belgian company at a cost of £7 million.

In 2012, veteran Strabane Councillor James O'Kane said the wall has been tested on many occasions since the flood in 1987.

"The big flood will most likely never be repeated. In the aftermath of the floods the new water wall was built and it is much bigger than the original with no cracks, so the scenes witnessed 25 years ago when boats crossed Abercorn Square will hopefully never be seen again."

Robert (Bob) Sloan is a Northern Irish sculptor, painter, performance and installation artist, born in Belfast on 10 April 1940. He is an academician of the Royal Ulster Academy of Arts where he has won numerous silver and gold medals at their annual shows. Sloan has exhibited internationally, and is known primarily for his sculptural works. Amongst his professional achievements he acted as a Director of the Sculptors Society of Ireland between 1988 and 1991. In the 1970s he set-up a foundry in his studio. He cites his earliest influences as watching blacksmiths shoeing horses, repairing harnesses and cart wheels. Sloan has influenced several generations of young artists in his role as an educator.

Presbyterian Church, All Saint's Church, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, England. by PHOTOGRAPHY by DM & DBM.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Church,_Newcastle_upo...

All Saints' Church is a late 18th-century church in Lower Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, which replaced a medieval church on the same site. All Saints' Church is the only elliptical church building in England, the third tallest religious building in Newcastle and the ninth-tallest structure in the city overall. It is a Grade I listed building.

History

The old church

A Christian church stood here in 1286, and here continued to stand, of course undergoing many changes and restorations between times, until the end of the eighteenth century, when it was pulled down, and the present church built. The original All Saints', or All Hallows', was built in the Gothic style. Its appearance is thus described by Henry Bourne:

This church is seated upon a hill, which is much about the same height with the situation of St. Mary’s, in Gateshead, and upon the same line with it. It is not so long as St. Nicholas, being only 55 yards 1 foot a quarter long, but it is broader, as being 25 yards 2 feet broad. The steeple is but a mean height being a square tower, with only one spire arising from it. The bells belonging to this church were founded in 1696. They were cast out of the metal of that famous statue of King James the Second which stood on the Sandhill. They were founded in the ground belonging to St Austin Friars, in that part of it which is in the back of the Hospital of the Holy Jesus. Their sound is not so melodious as the others in this town, but the note is exceedingly exact, and more tuneful than the others.

McKenzie, who was living when the old church was pulled down, and when much public interest was taken in it, gives in his history an interesting account, from which we gather that the steeple and west end occupied the site of the present church. The church extended further east over what is now the burial ground. The steeple was a low, square, inelegant tower, supported by buttresses at the corners of the west side, and terminated by large embrasures. From the centre rose a small square turret, surmounted by a short spire, terminated with a gilt vane. The principal entrance into the church was the west door of the steeple which corresponded in size with the west door of St Nicholas's. Above it was a large and beautiful Gothic window. There were also a north and south porch, the former leading into Silver Street, the latter into Pilgrim Street. The steeple contained a good clock, with chimes and two painted dials. The five bells were cast by Christopher Hodgson of London. There were seven chantries; one of them – St Peter's – being founded by Roger Thornton. The windows of the old church were large and ornamented with stained glass, but they were greatly damaged at the time of the civil war.

But the finest monument in the church was, fittingly, that erected to the munificent "Patron of Newcastle", Roger Thornton. Brand gives an illustration of it,[6] and Mackenzie describes it thus "It consisted of an altar, the front of which was enriched with beautiful gothic compartments and armorial bearings, over which rose an elliptic canopy, surmounted by a spiral arch rising in the centre and terminated with a tower, the crest of the Thornton family. The whole was included in a wall with a semi-octagonal tower at each end and embrasures along the top. On this part of the monument was the representation of two small figures supporting the family arms. But the principal ornament of this monument was the large brass plate which covered the top of the altar, on which were beautifully engraved the figures of Roger Thornton and Agnes his wife, with numerous effigies of the apostles and saints, many of them with the symbols of their martyrdom. The beautiful monument is now gone, but the brass is still preserved and hangs in the vestry. In 1841 the vicar of the church, the Rev. R. Green, had it cleaned, repaired, and fitted into the wood frame in which it now hangs." This memorial brass has now been installed behind the altar of St Nicholas's Cathedral in Newcastle.

A very interesting feature of the church was the seamen's porch, and gallery on the north side, built by the Master and Brethren of the nearby Trinity House, Newcastle in 1618. The front of the gallery was decorated with painted panels. The centre one bore the arms of Trinity House, and on the side panels were depicted four scriptural subjects, all most appropriately being connected with the sea.

Connected with the font of the old church is the name of a Newcastle worthy which deserves to be recorded. When the Scots entered the town in 1640 they commenced, in their fanatical zeal against Popery, to deface the religious monuments. Beginning at St John's, the first object sacrificed was, naturally, the font which stood in the porch. One Cuthbert Maxwell, a stonemason of Newcastle, seeing this, ran in haste to St Nicholas’ and All Saints’, and hid the fonts of these churches before the Scots had time to reach them. After the Restoration he set them up again, and thus to Cuthbert Maxwell we owe the preservation of the beautiful font of St Nicholas. Concerning that belonging to All Saints’ the font thus saved was octagonal in shape, and carved with armorial bearings. At the demolition of the church it was given to Alderman Hugh Hornby, that enthusiastic collector of antiquities who built the carved stones from Tyne Bridge towers into the wall of his garden in Pilgrim Street.

Of the early history of old All Saints' there are few records except accounts of repairs. We hear of the assembly of the “Four-and-Twenty”, and of the “Ancients of the Parish” – for the purpose of considering needful repairs, and of levying cesses for carrying them out. The parish register commences in 1600.

The new church

About 1785 the churchwardens procured plans and estimates for the restoration of the building from William Newton, of Newcastle; but Dr Sharp, the Archdeacon of Northumberland, objected to the proposed design of shortening the chancel, and thus altering the form of an old Gothic church. Two other architects, David Stephenson and John Dodds, were called in, and they reported that it was impossible to give an estimate for restoring the church, as so many unforeseen circumstances might crop up. They reported, "That this decayed building cannot be repaired but at as much expense as building a new one. If one part is taken down the rest will follow." It appeared that "the south wall was in danger of falling by the pressure of the roof; one of the pillars of the steeple had considerably shrunk, and the steeple itself inclined to the south. The stone of the groined arches under the bells was decayed, the timber and bells in great danger of falling in, the stone in several windows decayed, the walls were rotten, and the lime had lost its cement and become almost dust".

On Easter Tuesday (18 April 1786) a general meeting of the parishioners was held, and they resolved unanimously to erect a new church. The work of destroying the old one proceeded immediately and, unfortunately, most of its old monuments, windows, and other interesting relics were not preserved; they either perished or were carried away during the operations. It was found necessary to blast with gunpowder the masonry of the tower, so tenacious was the mortar binding it, and while doing so a sad accident occurred, by which a well-known inhabitant of the town lost his life. This was Captain William Hedley, who was killed by one of the stones of the great west door falling upon him while he was standing watching the work of destruction. He was greatly respected in Newcastle, and well known abroad as the hero of a deed of humanity and daring, in saving a child from drowning in Bordeaux harbour. His conduct on that occasion was praised highly in the French newspapers.

The whole of the old church having at length been taken down, the construction of the new one was commenced with. The design of David Stephenson had been selected, and the foundation stone was laid on 14 August 1786 by the Rev. James Stephen Lushington, Vicar of Newcastle. In proceeding with the building the original design was departed from in two important points. The portico, which was to have had a colonnade of Ionic columns along the south front, was altered to the present Doric design, and the money thus saved was devoted to the improvement of the tower. According to the original design, the latter was to have consisted of "a plain octagonal tower, of uniform width, rising from the arch on which the present spire stands to the height of thirty-seven and a-half feet, and terminating with a semicircular dome twelve feet in diameter, making a total height of one hundred and forty-three feet from the ground. The tame and spiritless appearance of the model, however, happily caused its rejection. A model of the present handsome and superior design was exhibited to the trustees in August 1790, and finally adopted on the 12th of September following."

The new church was finished in 1796, and its cost was £27,000, the whole being obtained by assessment of the parish, except £2061.19s raised by the sale of pews, £30 by donations, and £100 given by Mrs Atlee for the additional expense of making the internal fittings of mahogany instead of oak. The church is built in the form of an ellipse, the longer diameter of which runs nearly north and south. It is in form like the Pantheon at Rome. The roof, without any supporting pillars, is a splendid piece of carpentry. It was first put together in the yard at the Austin Friars, where the bells of the old church were cast. The square tower on which the steeple stands is at the south end, and the interior forms the vestibule. On either side of it there is a wing – that on the left being used as a morning chapel and for baptisms, and that on the right as the vestry where hung the monumental brass of Roger Thornton, now moved to Newcastle Cathedral.

On Tuesday, 17 November 1789, the new church was consecrated by the Right Rev. Thomas Thurlow, Lord Bishop of Durham, and the opening sermon was preached by the Rev. Hugh Moises, morning lecturer of All Saints’ and head-master of the Grammar School. His text was from Leviticus xix: 30: Ye shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary. I am the Lord.

In 1881 the churchwardens called the public attention to the state of the church, and appealed for help to remedy it. Subscriptions were gathered in and the work of restoration was vigorously proceeded with.

About the end of 1881 Richard S. Donkin of Campville, North Shields, a wealthy shipowner, whose place of business was close by the old church, made a handsome offer to improve the graveyard at his own expense. This offer was thankfully accepted by the parishioners, and early in 1882 the work was proceeded with. Many other generous gifts were at the same time made to the church, but we will only mention one more, that of the presentation of the new clock by Mr John Hall, another Newcastle merchant. It was formally set going and illuminated on the evening of 3 February 1882. On the occasion an address was presented to Mr Hall by Mr Joseph Cowen, M.P. for the town, on behalf of the people of the parish. In presenting this address Mr Cowen, standing on the steps of the church, made a speech to the assembled people who crowded below to the number of about ten thousand.

Recent history

The church was deconsecrated in 1961, and converted to offices/auditorium in 1983-84 as the Town Teacher initiative. It was then used by the Royal Northern Sinfonia before their move across the river to The Sage, Gateshead in 2004. The church was for a while used by the Church of Saint Willibrord with All Saints, a member of The Old Catholic Church Anglican Diocese. It has also hosted musical events. Following flooding damage caused by blocked roof drains over the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 winters, the building was left in a state of semi-disrepair. In 2015 it was placed on Historic England's Heritage at Risk register. In 2019, the local congregation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales signed a 150-year lease for All Saints. After a comprehensive restoration project, worship services as All Saints' Presbyterian Church began in October, 2019. The minister is the Revd Benjamin Wontrop. In addition to two Sunday services, the church runs a mid-week Bible study. It is also open for self-guided tours weekly on Thursdays from 1-4pm and at various points in the year.

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.

Replace Titles: by Cameron Card

KONE elevator mod in Oklahoma City by DieselDucy

replaced a monty

Replaced the winch by David Wakely

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replaced bridges by Scott Gayman

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DSCN3134 by Ashley Booth

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I replaced our two house thermostats... by David Royall

I replaced our two house thermostats with two new Nest thermostats. Not only do they look good, they are smart.

Nest is designed to learn our routine heating and cooling times and keep the house temperature the way we like it. It should take a couple of weeks of our adjusting the temp and then Nest will be programed.

On top of that, we can control the Nest with our mobile phones or iPad when away from home. No more switching from air conditioner to furnace when the temperature changes, Nest has an app for that.

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3 Comments on Instagram:

jfarah11: Pretty cool... My thermostat is on its way out. Will look into this one.

toastist: Really cool!

royalld: @jfarah11 ... nest.com

Replace MagSafe 1 to MagSafe 2 Cable ! Ремонт MagSafe в Алматы ! #apple #magsafe #macbook #almaty #imac by Марк Альтман

Vancouver The Final Stop by zenman3

Farewell to Via Rail.

This part of the journey is over. The next week we spent in the lovely City and surrounding area of Vancouver. There was such a high contrast between the bright sky and the dark station that I had to sacrifice the sky for detail in the train. This was before I learned how to shoot in RAW. So I looked up a technique for replacing burnt out skies. It was quite tricky finding a sky suitable for the weather conditions at the station. I know it is not an image that a purist would welcome but it is a huge improvement on the original sky.

View On Black

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Bow Window with Casements by Gerry Rogers

Replaced rotted Pella windows with Andersen Bow Window

Right Door by JFCiesla

Replacing right side door skin, June 2004

"Junkyard "diaphragm/iris by Hexhead

Replacing the aperture mechanism with one from eBay 19 blades installed. Stopped down. From the camera side/mount.

Through the Looking Mirror by Carl Berger Sr

Replacing the battery on a solar light, noticed the mirror on the bottom and took this picture.

Tara and Sarah by Surrealplaces

Ceiling Grid Replaced by Good Shepherd

Photo by Jim Fritz

Replace wet sheetrock behind a dryer by johnwborsi

Replacing guitar pickups by Rob Allen

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RePlacing by jwc 3o2

edited by Dennis Cooley.

Downsview, ECW Press, 198o. ISBN o-92o8o2-34-6.

5-1/2 x 8-7/16, 164 sheets ivory zephyr antique laid perfectbound in white rectogloss card wrappers, all except inside covers & 8pp printed offset, black interiors in navy & orange covers.

cover by Susan Moshynski.

38 contributors ID'd:

Arthur Adamson, Alexandre L.Amprimoz, David Arnason, Douglas Barbour, Susan A.Beckmann, George Bowering, Elizabeth Brewster, Dennis Cooley, Robert Currie, Paul Denham, E.F.Dyck, Robert Enright, A.L.Freebairn, Pat Friesen, Gary Geddes, Kathleen Geminder, Kenneth James Hughes, Don Kerr, Robert Kroetsch, Patrick Lane, Daniel S.Lenoski, Eli Mandel, Miriam Mandel, Susan Moshynski, John Newlove, R.E.Rashley, Laurie Ricou, Paul Savoie, Stephen Scobie, Peter Stevens, Andrew Suknaski, Wayne Tefs, Peter Thomas, T.A.Thorne, Lorna Uher, Wilfred Watson, Lyle Weis, Dale Zieroth.

includes:

i) Interview with Eli Mandel, March 16 / 78, by David Arnason, Dennis Cooley, Robert Enright & Eli Mandel (pp.7o-89; with passing reference to bpNichol by Mandel)

ii) The Poetry of Andy Suknaski, by Patrick Lane (pp.9o-99; prose essay with passing reference to Nichol p.93 in part 2, The Long Coyote Line)

iii) The Prairie Graveyard, by Andrew Suknaski (pp.112-124; prose essay in 5 parts with reference to Nichol p.115 in part 2, ORIGINS)

Replace Your Lost Teeth With Implant Dentistry by oral facial

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Refurbished Toner to replace Dell 3107894 (JD761) Standard Yield Magenta Toner Cartridge for your Dell 5110cn (5110) Color Laser printer by Jose Boren

www.esaet.com/item/1190/refurbished-toner-to-replace-dell....

Save money with the Remanufactured Alternative Cartridge to replace OEM Dell 3107894, 3107894, JD761, GD907 Standard Yield Magenta Laser Toner Cartridge compatible with your Dell 5110cn, 5110 Color Laser Printer.

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