A Relic of Newcastle's 'Great Exhibition'

(click on images to enlarge)

I am sorry to say that I have again been seduced by an item of historical tat being touted on eBay. This time it is a commemorative copper (or bronze?) medal, issued in 1840 to mark the occasion of what was, effectively, Newcastle's very own 'Great Exhibition' of the early Victorian age. It is about 1.5in in diameter and cost me thirty-odd quid. Honestly, I'm such a sucker for this sort of thing.

I write at some length about this curious event in my book Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Fragments of the Past, vol.2, but, in essence, the five-month jolly during the summer of 1840 was both a celebration of achievement and a vehicle for the education of the masses. The medal's inscription indocti discant et ament meminisse periti means (according to my online Latin translator) "May the ignorant learn and may the experts love to remember." I'm not sure how accurate that is, but I think you get the general idea.

The exhibition spanned several buildings and rooms across Blackett Street, High Friar Street and Nelson Street - essentially between the entrance to the Academy of Arts on the former to the New Music Hall on the latter. Obviously, there were exhibitions of art, as well as examples of innovative local manufacture, a 'magic lantern', a 'centrifugal railway' and lots and lots of hydraulic contraptions. There was even "an ingenious revolving door" placed at the top of the staircase from the Music Hall to Nelson Street below. It was a commercial success, and something similar was repeated in 1848 at the same venue.

Those Victorians certainly knew how to boast! And why not?

Wot Cheor, Geordie!

Esther McCracken was born Esther Helen Armstrong in Newcastle on 25th June 1902. She was educated at Central Newcastle High School (now Newcastle High School for Girls), where she was a regular winner of the annual cricket ball throwing competition. In time she would prove herself in the fields of acting, broadcasting and, most notably, as a playwright.

Described as small and full of spirit, she performed with the Newcastle Repertory Company up to 1937. Over time she began writing plays, too, with her first effort being The Willing Spirit in 1936. Her 1938 play, Quiet Wedding, brought her national fame and a move to London, and was even made into a film in 1941 and again in 1958 (as Happy Is the Bride). A sequel, Quiet Weekend, written in 1941, proved a huge success, being performed over 1,000 times in the capital (and was also made into a film). She began, essentially, in comedy, before moving onto more serious material later in her career, including Living Room in 1943, No Medals in 1944, and Cry Liberty in 1950.

In the meantime, Esther married a famous rugby player and accountant, Angus McCracken, in 1936 – though he was killed in action in 1943. In 1944, she married again, to shipping magnate Mungo Campbell. She became even more widely known when she introduced the well-known BBC radio show Wot Cheor, Geordie, which ran throughout the 1940s and ’50s. 

She is chiefly remembered locally for her help in setting up Newcastle University’s theatre (now Northern Stage) and the city’s charity hub/HQ, MEA House – the name of the latter coming from the initials of the christian names of her husband (M), herself (E) and their solicitor colleague Alistair Fyfe (A) (the three being responsible for the setting up of the fund to finance the building). The multi-storey building in Ellison Place was the first British building purpose-built to house a range of voluntary services. Opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974, it still provides to this day office accommodation for registered charities at rents below market rate.

Esther McCracken died in London in August 1971, aged 69. Interestingly, her granddaughter, Imogen Stubbs, who was born in Rothbury in 1961, has also become a famous writer and actress.

[article taken from The Great North-East: An English History Tour, vol.2 - see left-hand column]

Newcastle's Oldest Church?

I called in at St.Andrew's Church in Newcastle the other day. I will not bore you with all of my poorly-taken photos and the various historical bits and bobs I picked up (another time, maybe), but thought you'd like a short piece about the church's claim to be the city's oldest. For starters I can do little better than point you to this little information board:

(click on image to enlarge)

Then I came across a little more 'back-up' evidence in the form of this (again, sorry for the picture quality):

By way of explanation...

Make of 'dowsing evidence' what you will. However, I've got a little bit of experience of this sort of thing myself, and personally know a dowsing enthusiast who provides some very convincing evidence/arguments. So I, for one, am quite sympathetic to the claims/theory.

Could always get the archaeologists in, of course....