Exhibition Park Clocks

A little to the east of the Wylam Brewery building in Newcastle's Exhibition Park - on the very perimeter of the park's boundary - can be found a half-forgotten, rather strange-looking timepiece.  Known as the 'Coronation Clock Tower', it was erected in 1953 (obviously), then renovated in 2012. Check out the plaques below (remember to click on the images to enlarge them).

For those of your who want to know more, well, the twsitelines website has the following spiel:

"Erected in 1953 as a gift of the Freemen to the City of Newcastle. Built of special brick supplied by the National Coal Board. Cost £757 6s 5d. Has two clock faces, one to the north and one to the south. A Westmorland slate commemorative tablet reads 'THE CLOCK TOWER WAS ERECTED IN 1953 BY THE FREEMEN OF NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE TO COMMEMORATE THE CORONATION OF HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II. THE CHAIRMAN WAS LORNE C. ROBSON'. The clock was handed over to the Lord Mayor Ald. W. McKeag on Tuesday 24th November 1953 in a ceremony in the Guildhall. R.W. Bell Ltd built the tower. The clock was supplied by David Summerfield Jewellers. The architect was Charles H. Errington. The roof is made of Canadian red cedarwood and the rear access door is Burmese teak. The clock was lit at night. Not far from the Coronation Clock there is an empty clock frame, a wooden structure 8 feet tall and 4 feet wide. The clock was probably removed due to vandalism. The clock was 'IN MEMORY OF MR T.H. NICHOLSON. DECEMBER 1927'. Thomas Nicholson, consulting engineer, is buried in St. Andrew's Cemetery. The first clock in Exhibition Park was on the Pavilion entrance hall to the Great Exhibition of 1908."

And as for that second (missing) clock, it lies a little further to the east. Here's what's left of it:

I didn't even know they were there until I tripped over them a couple of years ago.

Curiosities of Bellingham

When I was last at Bellingham, Northumberland, I simply had to get a few snaps of some of their famous local curiosities - so here they are. Firstly, there is the grave of 'The Lang Pack'; secondly, we have 'Cuddy's Well'; and also to be found is a remarkable relic of the Boxer Rebellion. The first two are in the immediate vicinity of St.Cuthbert's Church, and the third can't be missed due to its prominent central position in the little town. And all have their own handy information panels ...

There are plenty of other attractions, too, including the nearby Hareshaw Linn waterfall, 'The Next Chapter' bookshop, several excellent cafes/pubs (of course), and the Heritage Centre & Gift Shop. If you haven't been, do call in.

Huntsmoor House & thereabouts

I was having a nose around Spital Tongues the other day. Ostensively, I was there to pin down the exact site of Spital Tongues Colliery, where a number of my ancestors worked in the nineteenth century. It turns out that it was on the southern side of Hunter's Road, pretty much exactly on the site now occupied by terraced houses ... as well as the curious edifice that is Huntsmoor House.

As you will no doubt be aware, the area has long had links with the military. Fenham Barracks stood (and indeed still partially stands) on the site now occupied primarily by the BBC's 'Pink Palace'. A little further along Hunter's Road, though, nicely blending in with the surrounding terraces, is Huntsmoor House. It was built in 1899 to "meet the social needs" of the soldiers stationed at the nearby barracks. The barracks, built in 1806, were quite a fabulous creation in themselves; but it appears that additional dormitories & facilities were needed when soldiers were on leave, or when they wanted a bit of 'recreation'. Families were provided for, too, including the construction of Sunday School for children. During the course of the mid-twentieth century the premises were largely used for finishing tailored garments, manned by adults with learning difficulties.

Thereafter, the building was used as a warehouse for city centre students' bookshop Thorne's for a number of years; and seems now to consist of a number of apartments - for students in the main, I think. 

Viewed from above it can be seen that this seemingly chunky buildings is no bigger, depth-wise, than the surrounding terraces. A little to the east (along the length of Hunter's Road to the left in the image above) could once be found the entrance to the famed Victoria Tunnel. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's any trace of this entrance now (?).

Note: Rather confusedly, the building bears the date stamp '1904'. I've no idea why. Was this, perhaps, when the new 'Soldiers' Home' was formally opened?

The Crypt, Newcastle Cathedral

I've poked my nose in and around Newcastle's St.Nicholas' Cathedral a few times over the years. On my most recent visit, though, I was determined to seek out the building's crypt. I wandered around for a bit, before finally finding it on the north side of the structure, accessed via a little off-shoot of a corridor then down a few steps. It's a lovely little space, and well worth a visit.

An excellent introduction to the crypt and its history can be found on the cathedral's website here. (it gives a good overview, which I'll not repeat here, and has some nice pics). When I was there, though, I also found this little feature above one of the tiny stained glass windows which can be found to the left of the picture above:

I have tried to ascertain what the heck it is - but none of the sources I have consulted mention it. I can only guess that it is a little air vent to try to prevent the space getting too damp. If you know different, do enlighten me....

Anyway, not only is the supposed 'vent' not mentioned on the official website, but neither is the fact that the crypt used to have an alternative entrance. It is now blocked up, but you can still see where it used to be in the first photo - to the right of the altar. A short flight of steps used to give one access to the neighbouring St.George's Porch to the east - though this entrance wasn't created until the nineteenth century (see below).

The crypt - or, more properly, the Charnel Chapel - was built around 1400, give or take. It was added to store bones of old plots disturbed by the gravedigger, at a time when the churchyard was beginning to get a little overcrowded. However, when the neighbouring St.George's Porch/Chapel was added a few decades later (c.1450), the distinctive round St.Catherine's window was covered, necessitating the creation of a row of small new windows built into the upper reaches of the north wall (above one of which is that troublesome 'vent').

Anyway, the old Charnel Chapel/House was soon forgotten about ... and was rediscovered in 1824. The likes of John Dobson and his gang wanted the little room destroyed, but it was happily retained. At this time the windows in the north wall were closed up, the bones cleared out, and the space divided into two, for some reason. The two tiny rooms had separate entrances: one via the door which we use today, but instead curving out into the churchyard; and the other was the new door to the right of the altar, as mentioned above.

The substantial article in the 1932 edition of Archaeologia Aeliana hints at the coming refurbishment of the old Charnel Chapel/House-cum-crypt - which did indeed take place, and which saw the unblocking of the north wall's tiny windows and the insertion in them of new stained glass. Presumably, at the same time (or not too long thereafter) that intrusive door and staircase to the right of the altar was blocked, and the new, present-day access point laid out to its modern-day design.

And, of course, the recent cathedral-wide refurb has seen the old crypt given a whole new lease of life!