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!

The Strange Case of Spittal

Ordnance Survey (1897)

Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

Like me, you've probably been to Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Border Country many, many times over the years. Maybe even Tweedmouth, too, on occasion. But perhaps not Spittal, which lies on the south bank of the Tweed where it spills out into the North Sea. Pop south over Berwick's 'Old Bridge', turn left and proceed for a few hundred yards along the river, and when you hit the RNLI Lifeboat Station, well, you've arrived. As regards the map above it is the area to the right of the little spikey bit jutting out into the Tweed towards the top of the image.

I first set eyes on the place a year or so ago when my North-East coastal walk took me north from Holy Island's causeway to the very tip of land that protrudes into the Tweed estuary. In the process, I passed along the rather splendid (and very quiet) Spittal Promenade, with its accompanying stretch of sandy beach. We called into the shop next to the amusement arcade for an ice cream, before returning to our car and heading back home. Apart from the aforementioned promenade and beach, Spittal did not seem to be especially alluring.

Then my wife and I returned to the very same car park a few days ago. We got the bus up to the Border, then walked back down the coast to our car - thus in the process, I'm pleased to say, completing our Staithes-to-the-Scottish Border expedition. We walked back through the upper reaches of Tweedmouth, along Dock Road, and then finally through the northern extremity of Spittal back to our car. It was only then that I noticed how interesting this little stretch of the lower Tweed valley was. Remnants of docks old and new, weird and wonderful flashes of architecture, and scraps of old industry - all hinting at a rather more interesting past than I had hitherto assumed. My wife, eager to get away, strode purposefully towards the car, threatening to leave me behind if I lingered too long gawping at various funny old buildings trying to work out what was what.

So when I got back home I thought I'd power up Google to see what I could uncover. And the story of this curious little corner of the North-East is, indeed, a very, very interesting one. Despite the fact that a huge amount of the old industrial landscape thereabouts was cleared in 2005, it is evident that the northern part of the village was thick with some very unpleasant industries in the past - chemical works, manure works, gas works and various sewerage facilities. Fortunately for the neighbouring settlements, though, the prevalent south-westerlies blew all the nasty smells out to sea ... well, most of the time, anyway.

But whilst all of this sensory unpleasantness was continuing full-pelt during the nineteenth century, a few hundred yards away down the seaboard to the south there existed a renowned tourist resort. Sea-bathing, of course, was to be had on that beautiful expanse of beach; but there was also the 'Spa Well' a little further south, and an increasing amount of holiday accommodations popping up, too. It was a strange old time.

I know so little about the place that I really need to go back there someday and have a proper look around - you know, when my wife is not with me. So rather than me go on and on about something I know very little about, I shall point you at two good online resources to help you gain a fuller understanding of Spittal's history. The first is the utterly excellent Berwick-upon-Tweed; Three Places, Two Nations, One Town by English Heritage (yes, the full book is freely available); and the second is a few useful pages here (though the images are sadly lacking). 

It all just goes to show you that the North-East of England is an endlessly interesting place, there always, always being a little corner somewhere that you've yet to poke your nose into.

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....  

St.Margaret's Chapel, Newcastle Cathedral

Whilst wasting a few minutes waiting for Monday's organ recital at St.Nicholas' Cathedral this week I fell upon a famous little corner of the building, namely, St.Margaret's Chapel. Little more than a wee niche located on the southern side of the interior, the chapel - a surprisingly plain affair - is home to two of the building's most famous historical items: the tiny roundel window of the Virgin Mary & Baby Jesus, and the accompanying 'mystery knight'. Rather than have me reiterate what the handily-placed information boards have to say about them, well, I took some pictures of everything. Click on the images to enlarge 'em - and I apologise for the poor quality of one of the pics...

Wonderful place is St.Nicholas' Cathedral. Do call in for yourself if you get the chance. One final pic, though - here's the fifteenth century font, looking as good as new. My great-great-grandfather, Edward Ward, was baptised here in 1850. What a great start in life ... but it soon went downhill for him and his poor, unfortunate family. Maybe I'll tell you all about him one day.