Favourite Newcastle Books No.6: The Origins of Newcastle upon Tyne

 

I bought this book ages ago on the premise that my rather light reading on the subject of local history needed an academic upgrade. Every few years I get it out and read it (it's only 80-odd pages), mainly on account of the writer's pleasing conclusion, namely, that the history of the settlement we now know of as 'Newcastle upon Tyne' goes back, in continuous fashion, to well before the days of the Normans. That's an idea that I'd very much like to think is true.

As you probably know - and as the writer makes out - the 'modern' school of thinking would have us believe that the town owes its origins to the founding of the 'New Castle' at a place formerly called Monkchester in 1080. This theory argues that the 'new fortification' was built amidst the ruins of the long-abandoned Roman fort of Pons Aelius, with nothing very much happening in between during 410-1080AD. Opposed to this we have the 'traditional' theory that the town was in more-or-less continuous use during this period. So, in his thorough study, Robert Fulton Walker has a long and detailed look at both theories, balances the evidence both for and against them, and comes down in favour of the latter. Hoorah!

Central to the author's argument is the early existence, and origins of, the many favourable 'customs' of the town. In a nutshell, he has analysed the nature of the special privileges enjoyed by Newcastle's early citizens and concluded that these couldn't possibly have emerged out of nowhere in the late eleventh and twelfth centuries, but must instead have been established much, much earlier, and simply confirmed by the Normans and their successors post-1080. In successive chapters he looks at 'The Customs of Newcastle upon Tyne', 'The Origins of the Customs', 'The Origins of the Town', and 'The Origins of the Borough'. It's fascinating stuff, and essential reading for historians of the town.

This book was published in 1976, long before much of the archaeological work in and around the old Roman site was conducted. And, of course, extensive remains of an Anglo-Saxon graveyard have also been unearthed in recent decades. So it seems that Mr Walker may well be correct....