﻿NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE. 



NEWCABTLE-UPON-TTNE. 



MS 



In the eontart between Chu-les I. »tMl the Parliunent the town wu 

 finally taken by itorm in 16(4 by the Sooti, who had oome to the 

 aupport of the Parliamentarian!. 



The town ii situated on the rammit and declivities of three lofty 

 emineneea, riaing from the left bank of the Tyno. It extaodi abont 

 2 milee along the bank of the rirer. The town of Oateahaad, in the 

 county of Durham, occupiea the oppoaite bank, and may be regarded 

 aa a aort of suburb of Newcastle. [OATEsnsAD.] Within the last 

 10 or 12 yean the old part of the town has undergone a thorough 

 ehange ; new streets have been opened, and old ones widened, for 

 which porpoae all the gates of the old wall, with the greater part of 

 the towers, aa well as many curious old buildings, have been swept 

 •way. In the upper and more modem parts of the town are spacious 

 streets and squares, with ranges of elegant buildings. The whole is 

 well pared, and lighted with gas. The principal improvements have 

 been on the northern side of the town, where the corporation have 

 erected a new market-house, and entire streets have been built of 

 ■hops and houses of a superior description. The additions to the 

 town eastward, along the bank of the river, are chiefly for commercial 

 or manafaeturing purposes. For its improvements Newcastle is greatly 

 indebted to the skill and enterprise of Mr. Qrainger, a builder of New- 

 castle, who, in the space of five years, planned and constructed streets 

 and buildings of an estimated rental of nearly 1,000,000^. 



Newcastle is connected with Qnteshead by a stone bridge of nine 

 elUptio arches, erected in 1781, and widened in 1801. A short dis- 

 tance east of this bridge is the High-Level Bridge, one of the most 

 remarkable features of Newcastle. This vast work was constructed 

 in order to connect the railways on the opposite sides of the Tyne, 

 and at the same time to form a roadway that should avoid the steep 

 and dangerous approaches to the Tyne by Gateshead and Dean-street, 

 which had so long been an obstruction to the free communication 

 between the towns. The roadway is carried at a sufficient elevation 

 above high-water level to admit of vessels passing beneath it. The 

 bridge is supported by six massive stone piere, 125 feet apart, four 

 rising 130 feet from the bed of the river, and one at each side. The 

 bridge is a double one, carrying a road for foot passengers, horses, and 

 ordinary carriages, and 25 feet above that a railway. The extreme 

 length of the bridge is 1375 feet; the waterway is 612 feet. The 

 height from high-water to the roadway is 86 feet ; to the railway, 112 

 feet; to the parapet of the bridge, 132 feet. The cast and wrought 

 iron employed in constructing the bridge weighed 6050 tons. The 

 cost of construction was 234,450/. 



The church of St. Nicholas, in the centre of the town, is a large 

 and handsome cruciform church, 245 feet in length : it is chiefly of 

 decorated English character, having been rebuilt in 1359. The steeple, 

 which is at the west end, 193 feet high, is late perpendicular. At the 

 oomers of the tower are bold buttresses, crowned by octagonal 

 turrets with crocheted pinnacles ; from the base of these turrets spring 

 four flying buttresses, crooketed and peculiarly graceful in their forms ; 

 and on the intersection of these is placed a lantern crowned with a 

 orocketed spire, and four crocketed pinnacles at the comers. This 

 ateeple has been imitated in those of St. Qiles at Edinburgh, and St. 

 Dunstan's in the East, in London, and in other places ; but the imita- 

 tions full fur short of the original. In the interior are several 

 interesting monuments; the cast window has a painting of Christ 

 bearing the cross ; and there is an altar-piece by Tintoretto, represent- 

 ing Christ washing his disciplea' feet St. Andrew's church, on the 

 north-west side of the town, is partly of Norman architecture. St. 

 John's, near the Westgate, is a huge cruciform church, chiefly of early 

 English character, with a square embattled tower. All Saints' church, 

 near the centre of the town, is of Grecian architecture, with a steeple 

 202 feet high. The interior is an ellipse 86 feet by 72 feet The 

 Roman Catholic church of St Mary, erected in 1843, is a magnificent 

 building, in the early English style. The Wesleyan, Primitive, New 

 Connexion, and Reform Methodists ; Independents ; Baptists ; English, 

 Scotch, United, and Reformed Presbyterians ; Swedenborgians ; Unita- 

 rians; Quakers; Roman Catholics; and Jews, have each places of 

 worship. In March 1851 the number of places of worship in New- 

 oaatle was 61, and the total number of sittings provided was 28,806. 

 The Royal Gnunmar school, founded in 1699, had 120 scholars in 1863. 

 The Newcastle Gramntar school has had a rather tmusual number of 

 distinguished pupils. Among others arc Bishop Ridley, Mark Akenside, 

 Bir Robert Chambers, lords ColUngwood, Eldon. and StowelL The 

 Boyal Jubilee school waa established in 1810. There are numerous 

 National, British, Ragged, and 1 ufant schools. The total number of day 

 ■cboola in Newcastle in March 1851 was 115, of which 26 were public 

 ■ohooU with 6328 aohoUra, and 89 were private, with 3761 sohoUrs. 

 The number of Sunday schook was 41, of which 16 were supported 

 hy Methodista, 8 by EplsoopalUns, 6 by BaptisU, 5 by Presbyterians, 

 4 by IndniandanU, 2 by Unitarians, and 1 by Quakers. The total 

 number of Sunday scholan was 6321. There were 6 evening schooU 

 for adults, with 407 schohu* There is a savings bank. Two public 

 baths have been formed on an extensive scale. 



The Exchange buildini^ form a spacious Ionic structure of semi- 

 circular form, and including the Guildhall, Exchange, and Merchants' 

 Court Among the other public buildings of note are the cora- 

 exchange, theatre, lecture-rooms, assembly-rooms, literary and philo- 

 sophical institution, branch bank of Enghwd, and the royal arcade. 



The town and counh' jail is a massive stone building of modem 

 erection. The moot-hall, or county court-house, erected in part of 

 the precincts of the ancient castle, is a building of elegant propor- 

 tions, adorned with a fine portico of six doric columns on the south 

 front, and a similar portico of four columiu on the north front The 

 other courts are the towu-hall, burgess's court of record, non-bur g eaa * ! 

 court, new county-court, and court of guild. 



The benevolent institutions comprise the infirmary, dispensary, a 

 lying-in hospital, asylums for lunatics, for the deaf and dumb, and for 

 the blind ; an eye infirmary ; the keelmcn's hospital for poor keelmen ; 

 Jesiu hospital for decayed freemen, their widows and children ; the 

 Trinity almshouses, an<l the Westgate hospital, founded in commemo- 

 ration of the peace of 1814. The Literary and Philosophical Society, 

 instituted in 1793, occupies a handsome building of Doric architecture, 

 erected in 1825, comprehending a museum, a library, and other apart- 

 ments. The library contains about 25,000 volumes. Adjoining the 

 library of the Literary and Philosophical Society are the rooms and 

 museums of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, I>urham, 

 and Newcastle. The Antiquarian Society of Newcastle, founded in 

 1813, holds its meetings in the keep of the old castle. The mechanics 

 institute, in Blackctt-street, has a library of 8500 volumes. The 

 government school of design had 90 scholan in 1851. There are also 

 a botanic and horticultural society, and a farmera' club in the town. 

 Extensive barracks are on the north-west of the town. In the vicinity 

 are several large cemeteries. 



The commercial importance of Newcastle arises from its situation 

 on a river navigable thus far by sea-borne vessels. The Tyne forms 

 the haven, and is under the care of the corporation. The river side 

 is lined with warehouses and extensive quays. The chief business 

 has always been in the shipment of coals, the produce of the surround- 

 ing coal-pits. The coal-field is estimated to extend 44 miles in length, 

 with an average width of 21 miles ; and to lie at an average depth of 

 18 feet Tlirougbout the greater part of this coal-field, which consists 

 of alternating beds of coal, sandstone, and clay-slate, the seams of coal 

 number about 25 ; they are of varying thickness, lie at various depths, 

 and are separated by more or less numerous earthy beds. The coals 

 are brought down the river in broad vessels called keels. The boat- 

 men are called keelmen. The imports are wine, spirituous liquora, 

 and fruit from the south of Europe, with sulphur, and mundic-stone, 

 now used by some of the chemical mauufacturers as a substitute for 

 sulphur ; com, timber, flax, tallow, hides, tobacco, and various other 

 articles. The gross receipts at the custom-house, for the year ending 

 January 5th 1851 were 331,9CU. 



The principal manufactures of Newcastle and the Tyne are the 

 chemical, glass, iron, and lead. There are several iron-smelting fur- 

 naces in the neighbourhood, large iron-foundries, and very extensive 

 steam-engine and locomotive manufactories. On the banks of the 

 river are numerous chemical works. The preparations chiefly manu- 

 factured are alum, alkali, chloride of lime, sulphuric acid, &c. The 

 lofty chimneys of these works, reaching to a height of from 1 50 feet 

 to above 300 feet, form a striking feature of the town, and from the 

 flatness of the surrounding country are seen at a great distance. 

 Glass-works were established in Newcastle iu 1C19. The raanufuoture 

 has ever since been carried on, but since the repeal of the duty on glass 

 the trade has been greatly extended. Plate, crown, and flint-glass and 

 bottles are chiefly made. There are several extensive potteries and 

 lead-works. The lead-ore is smelted and wrought into sheet-lead, 

 pipes, shot, red- and white-lead, Ac. Many other branches of manu- 

 facture are carried on ; soap-factories, oil-mills, works for painten'- 

 colours, roperies, both hemp and wire, tanneries, paper-mills, fire and 

 common brick-works, and yards for ship-building both in wood and 

 iron. The combustible character of some of the materials used in 

 the manufactures of Newcastle and Gateshead occasioned a great 

 destruction of life and property in both places, but chiefly in Qatea- 

 head, by an explosion which took place on October 6lh, 1S54. 



The number and tonnage of vessels registered as belonging to the 

 port of Newcastle on December Slst 1858 were : — Sailing-vessels 

 under 50 tons 107, tonnage 8164 ; above 60 tons 696, tonnage 147,782 : 

 steam-vesseU under 60 tons 89, tonnage 1624 ; above 60 tons 9, ton- 

 nage 2226. During 1853 there entered and cleared at the port, in the 

 coasting-trade, sailing-vessels, inwards 2132, tonnage 163,440 ; outwards 

 11,172, tonnage 1,602,813 : steam-vessels, inwards 399, tonnage 81,886 ; 

 outwards 429, tonnage 97,154. In the colonial and foreign trade there 

 entered 266S sailing-vessels of 850,190 tons, and 70 steam-vesseU of 

 17,243 tons; and there cleared 6396 sailing-vessels of 864,291 tons, 

 and 70 steam-vessels of 17,243 tons. 



The inland trade of the town is considerable. M.irkets are held 

 on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The com-market is important. 

 The markets for meat, poultry, butter, vegetables, &c., are all held 

 under one roof. The building is in form an oblong parallelogram, 

 340 feet long by 260 feet wide, and covers an area of nearly two 

 acres ; it is one of the finest as well as largest market-houses in the 

 kingdom. At the cattle-market the amount of business done is 

 very great General fain are held on the second Wednesday in 

 August and the last Wednesday in October (and eight following 

 days) ; horse and cattle fain on March 26, and the last Wednesday in 

 Novemlier : birings for farm servants are held on the fint Tuesday in 

 May and November, 



