Newcastle's C-Roads

When my mate and I recently called in at the Cosy Dove pub on Hunter's Road in Spital Tongues, we fell upon this strange-looking road sign. It can be found in the middle of the street a little to the east of the pub:

It tells us, of course, that the thoroughfare in question is a C-road, which is quite a rare breed these days. We've all heard of A- and B-roads, but there was once a time when we had C-, D- and even U-roads to contend with, too. These lesser-known classifications of the UK's road numbering system are - or rather were - used primarily by local (and not national) authorities, and were for low-density streets.

There are only a handful of C-roads left, and I'm not sure there are ANY D- and U-roads still in existence. Of the few that are still marked on signage as per above many of them are to be found in and around Newcastle, for some strange reason. Another one (the C-104) runs through Fawdon (aka Kingston Park Road), and the C-137 runs along Queen Victoria Road, Richardson Road and up into Spital Tongues.

There are others, too - check out this website for further info - as well as looking up the individual road numbers here.

As for the above C-116, it apparently runs from some indeterminate point on Claremont Road, along Hunter's Road, Brighton Grove and Bentinck Road, before ending at Elswick Cemetery.

Well I never.

Sparkie Williams

My recent visit to the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle brought me face-to-face with one of Tyneside’s most famous twentieth century residents. As the specimen was stuffed, I’m sure you’ll be relieved to learn that it wasn’t human. It’s this fella:

Sparkie Williams became a national celebrity here in the UK during the late 1950s and early 1960s due to his unusually expansive repertoire of words. This otherwise ordinary-looking budgerigar mastered in excess of 500 of them, including many phrases - some of them innocent nursery rhymes and others a little more colourful!

He was bred and ‘hatched’ in the North-East in 1954, and was owned by Mrs Mattie Williams, who lived in Forest Hall. His aptitude for language being recognised at an early age, he gained his name on account of him being declared a ‘bright spark’ by his owner. In July 1958, when he was 3½, he won the BBC International Cage Word Contest. In fact he was so good that he was banned from taking part again thereafter.

His fame made him a sought-after subject for advertisers, and he famously fronted a campaign by Capern’s bird seed for two years. He featured on BBC Radio, appeared on TV’s BBC Tonight programme alongside Cliff Michelmore, and starred in a best-selling record. He is also said to have had more than £1,000 in his own bank account!

Sparkie died in December 1962 aged eight, and his owner had him stuffed by top taxidermist, Rowland Ward Ltd of London, and mounted on a perch. His rigid form was then taken on a tour of the UK in an exhibition of his life and work, and by 1996 was on permanent display at the Hancock Museum. The institution held a special exhibition of his life and times in 2002-03, at which you could procure specially-produced merchandise.

The famous Geordie squawker (he spoke in a local accent) has since featured in an opera, and is recognised as the world’s most outstanding talking bird of all-time in the Guinness Book of Records.

Oh, and there’s plenty of Sparkie to be found on YouTube if you’re interested.

Great North Museum: Hancock - Library & Archives

I hesitate to pen an article on this particular topic, on account that I am largely unfamiliar with the subject matter. For here we have a library & archive repository in Newcastle that I have never previously visited - which is amazing, really, as it specialises in local history. I am talking about the Great North Museum: Hancock's Library & Archive.

Much of what you can find here was once held on the upper floor of the Black Gate, when the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne was based there. That is the only other time I have previously browsed their holdings - and that was several decades ago. And what we have here is the combined collections of several institutions. I shall not tell you exactly what in order that you may be forced to visit their website. Believe me, if you're interested in history, archaeology, natural history - or pretty much anything to do with the region's past - then you should keep this place in mind during the course of your studies. And in addition to what you see on show, you can use the library catalogue to see if they've got something of interest hidden away behind the scenes.

It can be found on the 2nd floor, at the very rear of the Great North Museum: Hancock. It is quite an adventure trying to find the place, but you can just wander in without an appointment - but please note the limited opening hours. There is no membership scheme, but the actual borrowing of books is restricted to members of the participating bodies (Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne, Natural History Society of Northumbria, and Newcastle University). Still, though, it really is quite something, and deserves to be more widely known and/or used.

So go and have a look next time you're at the Hancock.