NEWCASTLE 
weft fide of the town, and overlooking the river, ftands 
an infirmary, in which nearly twelve hundred difeafed 
individuals are annually reftored to health ; and in Low 
Friar-ftreet is a difpenfary, eftablifhed upon the moft ju¬ 
dicious and liberal principles. A houfe of recovery for 
fever-patients was erefted in 1804.. All thefe charities 
owe their fupport to voluntary fubfcriptions alone. In 
an extenfive garden, near Wellgate, a range of very com¬ 
modious baths was built by Dr. Hall, fome years ago, ac¬ 
cording to a delign furnilhed by William Cranefon, efq. 
architeft. The lying-inn hofpital is fituated in Rofemary- 
lane ; and there is likewife an inftitution for the relief of 
oor women lying-in at their own houfes. The other 
ofpitals in this town are the Freeman’s Hofpital, three 
fmaller ones. Handing contiguous to it, and the Keel- 
man’s Hofpital, the funds of which are managed under 
the direction of an aft of parliament, palled in 1788. 
Here is alfo a fpacious afylum for lunatics, belonging to 
the counties of Newcaftle, Durham, and Northumberland. 
As the new courts, begun in 1810, are not yet com¬ 
pleted, the exchange and town court-houfe ftill conftitute 
one large llrufture, which was built in 1658, and is laid 
to have coll upwards of io,oool. The lower ftory is oc¬ 
cupied by the offices'of the town-clerk, the merchant’s 
coffee-houle, and a range of piazzas. On the fecond floor 
are the guildhall, the mayor’s chamber, the merchant’s 
court, the archives of the town, and the revenue-office. 
In the guildhall are held the aflizes, quarter-felfions, and 
all the other courts of the town and county of Newcaftle, 
except the court of common-council, which is held in the 
mayor’s chamber, where may be feen an engine called the 
branks, formerly employed in the punilhment of fcolding 
women. The manfion-houfe, rebuilt in 1691, is a grand 
and (lately edifice, fitted up in a handfome llyle. Here 
the judges and their attendants are lodged and enter¬ 
tained during the felfions. The aflembly-rooms and 
theatre-royal are both handfome and commodious build¬ 
ings of modern ereftion. The old play-houfe is now oc¬ 
cupied as a concert-room ; and the old aflembly-rooms 
are appropriated to the ufe of the Literary and Philofo- 
phical Society, which was inftituted in 1793, and bids 
fair to rival the bell eftablifhments of a fimilar kind in the 
kingdom. On the quay-flde, at a fliort dillan.ce from the 
Exchange, Hands the cuftom-houfe. 
The manufactories of this town are various and im¬ 
portant j confiding, however, principally of glafs, Heel, 
iron, and rope-works. Broad and narrow woollen cloths 
are likewife manufactured in confiderable quantity for 
home-confumption. The chief exports are coals, lead, 
glafs, iron, fait, bacon, butter, and tallow; and the im¬ 
ports include almolt every article of foreign or Britilh 
produce which convenience or luxury can demand. 
The collieries in this vicinity are perhaps the moll va¬ 
luable and extenfive in Europe, and afford nearly the 
whole fupply of the metropolis, and of thofe counties on 
the ealtern coall deficient in coal-ftrata. (See the article 
Coal, vol. iv. p. 704-712,.) Moll of the glafs-houfes 
and roperies belonging to the town llretch along the Ihore, 
from the fuburbs, for two miles down the river. The 
chief iron-works are fituated at Swalwell, three miles 
above the town, and at New Greenwich, on the fouth 
bank of the river. The markets here are held on Tuef- 
day and Saturday weekly, and the annual fairs on the 
12th of Auguft, the 29th of OCtober, and the 22d of 
November. Of the fairs, the two fir ft continue for nine 
days each, and the other for one only. Many improve¬ 
ments have lately been effeCled in the difpolition and eco¬ 
nomy of the markets ; which range northwards from the 
church of St. Nicholas towards Newgate-flreet. A new 
market was ereCled at the expenfe of the corporation in 
1809. 
That great defideratum, a canal from Newcaftle to 
Carlifie, is now likely to be carried into effect; a mea- 
fure, the advantages of which all parties and all ranks 
feem properly to appreciate. A fliort time ago, a meet- 
UPON TYNE, 3 
ing took place at Newcaftle, at which it was agreed to 
apply to parliament for leave to bring in a bill for the 
purpofe of cutting a canal from that town to Hexham. 
Thus was the great work as it were commenced. Carlifle 
has fince come forward nobly in the fame great caufe ; a 
caufe of importance not merely to the northern counties, 
but to almoil every part of England, and moft particularly 
to Ireland and the fouth of Scotland. On the 2d of Octo¬ 
ber, 1817, a public meeting took place at the town-hall, 
Carlifle, for the purpofe of taking this meafure into conli- 
deration. The earl of Lonfdale took the chair, and the 
following refolutions were agreed to : “ That it is the 
opinion of this meeting, that it would be of the greateft 
importance to the counties of Cumberland and Northum¬ 
berland, that a communication be opened between the 
Well Sei and the faid city by means of a canal. That, with 
a view to this objeft, every gentleman fubferibing five 
guineas be a member of a committee for the purpofe of 
effecting the above objeft, with power from time to time 
to add to their number. That the committee be autho- 
rifed to communicate with Mr. Rennie, Mr. Chapman, or 
any Ikilful engineer, to conflder and revife the former fur- 
veys and reports, and to get their opinion as to the moft 
eligible point of communication between the city of Car- 
lifle and the Solway Firth, and an eltimate of the expenies, 
and to report the refult to a future meeting. That in 
forming-the communication between Carlifle and the Sol¬ 
way Firth, the great objeft of connefting the Eall and 
Weft Seas Ihould be ftriftly attended to, regarding levels, 
&c. as fuch a project, from its great national importance, 
mull fooner or later be carried into effeft, &c.” On the 
7th of November, the firft meeting of the committee was 
held ; when it was refolved, that Mr. Chapman, engineer, 
of Newcaftle, Ihould be inftrufted to make an accurate 
furvey as to the moft proper line for the canal, and an elli- 
mate of the expenfe: the canal to be fitLor veflels of fe- 
venty tons burthen. Several hundreds of pounds are al¬ 
ready fubferibed towards defraying the expenies of the 
furvey, obtaining the aft, &c. and there is no doubt, 
when both ends are completed, that the canal will loon 
be made to communicate, and thus complete the naviga¬ 
tion acrofis the Darien of England. 
Newcaftle is fituated fourteen miles north of Durham, 
ninety-four north of York, iijtty three fonth-by-eall of 
Berwick, fixty eall. of Carlifle, one hundred fouth of 
Edinburgh, and 271 north from London. Lat. 55. o. N. 
Ion. 1. 23. W. 
The prefent appearance of the lower part of the town 
bears a ltrong refemblance to the Port of London, in the 
circumllances of the river being crowded with a vail fleet 
of Ihips of every fize and defeription, and having a bridge 
thrown over it in a fimilar polition to London-bridge. 
This llrufture was built in 1781, to lupply the place of a 
former bridge, which was dellroyed by a tremendous fwell 
of the Tyne in 1771. But it is to be obferved, that the li¬ 
berties of Newcaftle extend only to the middle of this 
bridge, where a large iron gate parts it from the county 
of Durham s on one fide of this gate, therefore, you fee 
the arms of Newcaftle, and on the other thofe of the bi- 
Ihopric of Durham. 
The fuburbof Gatefide, or Gatelhead, which you reach 
immediately upon palling the gate, is a fmall town built 
on the fide of a hill, which Hopes to the north, where it is 
bounded by the river Tyne. By a charter granted by 
bilhop Pudley in 1164 to “ his burgeffes of Gatelhead,” it 
is provided, that “ each lhall have, in right of his burgage, 
fimilar liberties to thofe enjoyed by the burgeffes of New¬ 
caftle in right of their burgages; and that they lhall have 
free paffage within the liberties of the palatinate with their 
goods, clear of all dues and exaftions. Several fucceed- 
ing prelates had their keepers of the park and caftle here. 
In 1557, bilhopTunllall grantedacharter to the company 
of glovers within the borough of Gatelhead; in 1602, 
bilhop Matthew incorporated lundry trades ; an din 1661, 
bilhop Cofin conftituted them one commonalty* In the 
reign 
