Websites Worth a Look!

Just a quickie this time around.

Two website recommendations for you, both run by the same good folk:

Fabulous North - places to visit and walks to, er, walk, as well as a blog. Some great pictures, too. I shall not spoil it for you, so just go and have a browse - very interesting.

Discover Rothbury - ditto the above, but focussing in on, well, Rothbury, actually. Also drifts into the Alnwick area, too.

All for now. The above should keep you busy for a bit.

'Newcastle upon Tyne - A City on the Move'

A couple of days ago I picked up the following 14-page booklet from a local charity shop. Entitled Newcastle upon Tyne - A City on the Move, it loosely outlines the plans of Newcastle's City Planning Officer, Kenneth A Galley. It is undated, and I should be pleased to receive any suggestions as to its publication date. For what they are worth, I will give some observations of my own towards the end of the post. Otherwise, I shall let the little publication speak for itself. Please click on the images to enlarge.

First of all, I thought "First Division Football", so it must be 1965-1978. Newcastle Polytechnic opened in 1969, so that narrows it down to 1969-78. The A1 still ran up Northumberland Street? Well, I think that was the case until 1970-ish. John Dobson Street being built? Mmm..., I know that opened in May 1970. Then there is mention of Eldon Square Shopping Centre construction "starting this year". Interesting to see that they were still very much considering building a 'Centre Motorway West', as well as an underground east-to-west road. So, I reckon that this has to have been published in late 1969 or early 1970. Then, having scanned the Newcastle City Library catalogue, I see they have it listed as a 1969 effort.

Can anyone categorically confirm this?

'Northumbrian Words' Website

Just when you think you've exhausted all those internet search results for 'Newcastle' and related words, up pops another website that you've never set eyes on before. And so it was with me the other day when I fell upon the 'Northumbrian Words' website.

Quite when this neat little effort was put together I can't tell - nor indeed do I know if it is still maintained (the entries in the 'Archive' range from 2019 to 2022) - but it is certainly worth a browse for us North-Easterners.

Two things out of the many items to look out for: firstly, an article that claims that 'keel' is England's oldest recorded word; and secondly, an entertaining film featuring those 1970s Geordie favourites, Scott Dobson and Dick Irwin (the link on the site is dead, but the film can be found here).

Happily, I've still got a few pages to get through yet...

Enjoy!

St.John's Church: Not What it Seems!

I'm no expert on religion. I know a few historical bits and bobs about the many churches and chapels scattered around Newcastle, but don't ask me anything about how these places operate - or have operated in the past - as I am worse than a layman when it comes to this sort of thing.

The church of St.John the Baptist at the foot of Grainger Street is one of the few that I thought I had a fairly good understanding of - you know, Anglican/Church of England/Protestant, and one of the four main parish churches of the city centre (OK, I know that All Saints is now an 'Evangelical Presbyterian' concern now, or some such thing). Some time ago, though, I picked up a leaflet from St.John's entitled What Kind of Church is This? ... then promptly stuffed it in a drawer, unread.

I came across it today and had a closer look. Confused, I read it again. I'm still a bit nonplussed, if I'm honest with you. I really need to educate myself more on this religion lark. Anyway, here it is in full (click on images to enlarge):

So. It's Anglican. It's Church of England. It's NOT Protestant, though. And it's a bit Catholic in many of its practices. Officially 'Anglo-Catholic', I think .... Oh, and the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Anthony the Great also worship here. 

I pleased that that's sorted, then.

Past, Present & Future

Just for a change I thought I'd have a look at some of the forthcoming changes (hopefully for the better) which are due to hit the streets of Newcastle ... especially the ones linked in some way to the city's heritage. Pretty much everything that follows is lifted from the latest issue of the council's 'Citylife' magazine (Spring 2024) - which, I'm sorry to say, doesn't seem to be available online. Never mind.

(1) Firstly, of course, there is the immense building that is going up on the corner of Pilgrim Street and New Bridge Street - set to house an astonishing 9,000 HMRC staff. You really can't miss it, and I must say it looks magnificent (so far). Then there are all the other bits and pieces lower down Pilgrim Street (new builds + renovations of the old fire and police stations, etc.), which are also gonna lift the grand old thoroughfare to something like its former glory (and probably way beyond!);

(2) The Grainger Market, built in 1835, is set to be 'enhanced' considerably soon (work starts in July). The open 'arcade' part of the market is to be largely cleared of its free-standing stalls (they will be re-located), and new pavilions will be built at each end of its cavernous interior. Events, etc., will be held there during both the day and evenings. The market's 14 entrances will also be upgraded; as will the aisled parts of the building - and new facilities in general will be created;

(3) The work on Grey Street is due to be completed soon. The creation of 'rain gardens', new loading bays and improvements to lighting are all planned to be installed this year. There'll still be a traffic through road, but it looks like a much more pedestrian-friendly affair if the CGI images are to be believed;

(4) The much-needed improvements to Northumberland Street are finally underway! New seats, trees/greenery and lighting are planned by the summer of 2025 - and new paving! Yes!! (boy it needs it). Bit chaotic down there at the minute, but let's hope it's worth the wait;

(5) Great to see that they've completed the renovation of the old Stephenson railway workshops behind the Central Station (the so-called 'Stephenson Quarter'). It's now a hub for small and medium-sized businesses. Its not quite in full use yet, but it's getting there;

(6) Homes England are set to build thousands of new homes on the huge 15-acre site next-door to the Arena down by the riverside (known as 'Forth Yards'). The site will eventually be much bigger, of course, once the Arena itself is demolished;

(7) The Tyne Bridge is finally being restored! It's going to take four years, mind, so don't hold your breath. At least it will be ready, hopefully, for its centenary celebrations in 2028.

(8) ... And could Newcastle United be getting a brand-new shiny super-stadium to play in soon? Rumours are rife, so keep your ear to the ground and your eyes peeled.

There's probably loads more, but that's the major stuff, I think. 

Exciting times ahead! 

'Newcastle Through the Ages'

(click images to enlarge)

'Newcastle Through the Ages' is the name of two-part relief panel on the northern side of the Primark store, on the corner of Northumberland Street and Northumberland Road in Newcastle. Officially it is a 'polychrome ciment fondu' creation, which effectively translates as a 'coloured cement cast'. They are more than seven feet in height and about nine feet and twenty-one feet, respectively, in length. Almost no-one seems to know they are there, never mind pay them any attention.

They are the work of sculptors Henry and Joyce Collins, and were installed in 1974, and offer, as you can see, a wealth of random historical information about the city. Remarkably, no one seems to have any information about its commissioning nor its subsequent history. Though C&A occupied the building at the time of the installation, it is a mystery as to who funded the work.

I am not going to insult your intelligence, nor your knowledge of 'The Toon's' history, by giving you a detailed description of the various images and inscriptions - anyway, it's kinda fun trying to decipher it all for yourself. I hope the images are big enough for you to have a close enough look - if not, there can be found some even nicer pics here.

The only bit I'm not sure about is the date '1865'. Now this was the year that the great John Dobson died, and his name is shown adjacent to the date, so could this explain it. And the '1865' is shown in what appears to be a representation of the Central Station, which was designed by Dobson.

If you've any queries or observations then do leave a comment below.

The Weird World of Icy Sedgwick

Just a quick one this time.

Although I've been aware of this website for some time, only recently have I had time to have a proper look. It's the website/blog of Icy Sedgwick, see here or here.

I'm not sure where Icy is based, but she is certainly a Novocastrian - complete with Geordie 'twang'! Her forte is folklore and the supernatural, so there are plenty of ghosts, myths and legends - including loads from our corner of the country. There are blog posts, a podcast and books to be had, too - so do have a look.

If you're looking for something in particular on the site then scroll down to the bottom of the homepage and you'll see a 'search' bar. Easy.

Oh, and she's recently been interviewed on YouTube, and you should check out her Twitter feed ( @IcySedgwick ).

If any of you have any other website recommendations for me, then do get in touch at micksouthwick @ blueyonder.co.uk (without the gaps, of course).