May 30, 2010 George & Dragon War Memorial

St George & the Dragon can be found in Old Eldon Square in Newcastle and the new development of Eldon Square behind the statue actually used to be a pub called The George & Dragon.

The monument is a Grade II listed building and is made of Granite, Portland Stone and Bronze. It was created by Charles Hartwell and unveiled by Earl Haig in 1923.

It is actually one of a pair and the sister statue can be found close to Lords Cricket Ground in London , both statues were payed for by public subscription and are to commemorate men lost in the Great War.

St George is the patron saint of the Northumberland Fusiliers. It is Newcastle’s official war memorial.

May 29, 2010 Blackfriars

Blackfriars in Newcastle lies behind The Gate liesure complex and China Town in Stowell Street.
During the early years of the 13th century, orders of friars began to establish themselves in England. Newcastle came to have five friaries within its walls: Blackfriars (Dominican) established in 1239; Whitefriars (Carmelite) established in 1262; Austinfriars (Augustinian) established in 1290 (now the site of the Holy Jesus Hospital); Greyfriars (Franciscans) established in 1274 and the Trinitariansestablished in 1360. There was also the nunnery of St Bartholomew’s founded in 1086 near the present Nun Street.
During the Reformation begun by Henry VIII in 1536, the five Newcastle friaries and the single nunnery were dissolved and the land was sold to the Corporation and to rich merchants. At this time there were fewer than 60 inmates of the religious houses in Newcastle. The convent of Blackfriars was sold to the mayor and burgesses of Newcastle, who then leased it to nine of the town’s craft guilds, to be used as their headquarters. This probably explains why it is the only one of the religious houses whose building survives to the present day.

May 28, 2010 Grey's Monument

The magnificent Grey's Monument in Newcastle was erected in 1838 which makes it 172 years old and commemorates Earl Charles Grey II who was Prime Minister of the UK & Ireland from 1830 - 1834 and was the main architect in seeing the Reform Act through the House of Commons in 1832.
The Reform Act of 1832 saw the reform of the House of Commons and the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire in 1833.
The column is 135 feet high which is about 16 feet lower than Nelson's Column in London, however it is about 12 years older.

Earl Grey Tea blend is named after Earl Grey, who reputedly received a gift, probably a diplomatic perquisite, of tea flavoured with bergamot oil, taken from bergamot, a citrus fruit typical ofSoutheast Asia and grown commercially in Italy.

According to one legend, a grateful Chinese mandarin whose son was rescued from drowning by one of Lord Grey's men first presented the blend to the Earl in 1803. The tale has no basis in fact, as Lord Grey never set foot in China and the use of bergamot oil to scent tea was then unknown in China.

May 26,2010 Northumbria University Bridge

Northumbria University expanded across the central Motorway in Newcastle and the old standard footbridges was replaced with a state of the art new Bridge - this is the Central support you can see for the new cable stayed bridge which opened in 2007.

In 2007 City Campus was expanded with the building of the £100m extension at City Campus East. This purpose-built accommodation houses the Schools of Design, Law and Business. A stunning footbridge links City Campus East to the established site at City Campus West which is undergoing major renovation including the building of a new multi-million pound sports centre. Scheduled to open in 2010, this facility will contain a four-court hall, spectator seating for 2,500 people, 150-station fitness suite, exercise/dance studios, teaching rooms, squash courts, fencing room, a 40m sprint training track and a 6 lane 25-metre swimming pool.

May 25, 2010 The Laing Art Gallery

The Laing Art gallery is located on the East side of the City centre just near the new City Library.
Situated in the centre of Newcastle, the Laing is home to an impressive collection of art and sculpture. Its exhibition programme is renowned for bringing the biggest names in art to the North East and includes historic, modern and contemporary art.

This gallery has a Designated Collection of national importance and its permanent displays feature important 18th and 19th century paintings including dramatic landscapes by John Martin.

May 24,2010 The Gate

Reflections in The Gate Newcastle which include the new Eldon Square extension which opened in February this year. Inside The Gate you will find the Empire 12 screen Cinema as well as Aspers Casino and many Bars and restaurants including Nando's, TGI Friday's, Tiger Tiger, Opera, Beyond and Lloyds No1 Bar.
The Gate complex was built in on the site of the old Mayfair club which was famous throughout the North of England as a unique Rock Venue.

May 23, 2010 Beach Huts

 A colourful picture of Seaton Sluice beach huts which are on the sea front just south of Blyth.

May 21, 2010 Town Moor

A different view of St James park taken whilst on the way home from a 50 cycle ride around Northumberland. This is the view from across the Town Moor which lies to the North of Newcastle.
The Town Moor is a large area of common land in Newcastle upon Tyne. It covers an area of around 400ha^[1], and is larger than Hyde Park and Hampstead Heath combined, stretching from the city centre and Spital Tongues in the south out to Cowgate/Kenton Bar to the west,Gosforth to the north and Jesmond to the east.
The freemen of the City have the right ot graze their cattle on the moor and although not in this shot, there were plenty cattle on the moor.

May 20, 2010 Jose Maria De Eca De Queiros

José Maria de Eça de Queiroz or Eça de Queirós (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈɛsɐ dɨ kejˈɾɔʃ] or[kɐiˈɾɔʃ]; November 25, 1845–August 16, 1900) is generally considered to be the greatest Portuguese writer in the realist style.^[1] Zola considered him to be far greater than Flaubert. Others rank him with Dickens, Balzac and Tolstoy. Eça never officially rejected Catholicism, but was very critical of the Catholic Church of his time, and ofChristianity in general (also Protestant churches) as is evident in some of his novels.

He used the old-fashioned spelling "Eça de Queiroz" and this is the form that appears on many editions of his works; the modern standard Portuguese spelling is "Eça de Queirós".

In 1998, the national airline of Portugal, TAP, dubbed one of its A-319 aircraft the "Eça de Queirós".

Eça worked in the Portuguese consular service and after two years' service at Havana was stationed at 53 Grey Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, from late 1874 until April 1879. His diplomatic duties involved the dispatch of detailed reports to the Portuguese foreign office concerning the unrest in the Northumberland and Durham coalfields - in which, as he points out, the miners earned twice as much as those in South Wales, along with free housing and a weekly supply of coal. The Newcastle years were among the most productive of his literary career. He published the second version of O Crime de Padre Amaro in 1876 and another celebrated novel, O Primo Basílio ("Cousin Basílio") in 1878, as well as working on a number of other projects. These included the first of his "Cartas de Londres" ("Letters from London") which were printed in the Lisbon daily newspaper Diário de Notícias and afterwards appeared in book form as Cartas de Inglaterra. As early as 1878 he had at least given a name to his masterpiece Os Maias ("The Maias"), though this was largely written during his later residence in Bristol and was published only in 1888. There is a plaque to Eça in that city and another was unveiled in Grey Street, Newcastle, in 2001 by the Portuguese ambassador.

May 19, 2010 Theatre Royal, Newcastle

Newcastle's Theatre Royal is a Grade 1 listed building situated on Grey Street in Grainger town and was designed by John & Benjamin Green, opening on 20 Feb 1837 with a performance of Shakespeares Merchant of Venice.
The Royal Shakespeare Company visits annually, and considers the Theatre Royal its northern base.
Newcastle's original Theatre Royal opened on 21 January 1788. Its location on Mosley Street, however, obstructed the plans for the redevelopment of the city centre (as it was on the route of Grey Street). One of the theatre's most successful managers at this time wasStephen Kemble of the famous Kemble family . He managed the theatre for fifteen years (1791–1806). The original theatre's final performance was on 25 June 1836.
The theatre has a proscenium stage, and accommodates a variable orchestra pit on 2 lifts - which reduces the stall seating. The audience is seated on four levels: stalls (501), grand circle (252), upper circle (249) and gallery (247).

May 18, 2010 Hadrian,s Bikeway

Yes that is my bike on the Hadrians Bikeway which runs through Wallsend alongside the original path of Hadrian's Wall - The cycleway runs right past Swan Hunters and Segedunum Fort. 

May 17, 2010 Spanish City

A run down and dilapedated looking Spanish City in Whitley Bay. Spanish City was an iconic and famous fairground and amusement park on Tyneside.

£60 million was earmarked by the government for a regeneration scheme in Whitley Bay.^{[citation needed]} At the heart of the scheme is the redevelopment of the Spanish City site with its iconic dome, which was completed in 1912. For many years it was home to a theme park with rides and attractions for holiday makers until falling into decay following the closure of the theme park in the 1990s.

On 20 February 2007, North Tyneside Council announced plans to regenerate the Spanish City and Whitley Bay. The proposed £60 million scheme envisaged the full refurbishment of the Whitley Bay Playhouse and the creation of a cultural hub within the iconic Dome on the seafront although an alternative plan for regeneration [1] has been proposed by a group called The Culture Quarter. A new skatepark opened in the Panama Dip in 2008, following the creation of a new children's play park on Whitley Park the previous year. The swimming pool re-opened after a major refurbishment in March 2009 and the refurbished Playhouse re-opened in September 2009.

Plans for a new library and joint service centre on the site of Whitley Park have proved more controversial and are currently (March 2009) mired in the planning process. Plans for new housing on the site of the former Marine Park and Coquet Park schools, together with a site on the seafront presently occupied by two car parks, have fallen victim to the downturn in housing market and remain on hold.

May 14, 2010 Another Double Helix

This sculpture was created by artist Abigail Fallis and represents the DeOxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA) double helix just like the sculpture in yesterday's post from Time square in Newcastle.
This is situated on Central Square behind Central Station and next to the Telegraph pub and is called DNA DL90  and the trolleys represent the 21st Century consumer culture - artist Abigail is quoted as saying “I have always wanted to use shopping trolleys in a work, and this was the ideal opportunity,” says Fallis, who lives in London. She stacked 22 trolleys in the shape of DNA’s double helix, bolting the trolleys to “arms” that she welded to a pole.

May 13, 2010 Centre for Life

This is the Double Helix sculpture at Newcastle's Centre for Life taken yesterday evening without any polarising filter - the sky truly was that lovely deep colour !
The double helix DNA structure was of course discovered by Crick & Watson using X-Ray diffraction data at Cambridge University in 1953

The Centre for Life in Newcastle upon Tyne is a science village where scientists, clinicians, educationalists and business people come together to promote advancement of the life sciences. In the last decade, their combined efforts have produced spectacular results and have secured Life's reputation as a centre for world class science. Almost 500 people from 30 countries now work on site.

At the heart of the village is the award winning Life Science Centre. It's a bold, colourful and inspiring place. If you're curious about the world around you, you'll love Life! Step inside to find out about our changing programme of hands-on exhibitions and exciting activities. We cater for everyone from pre schools to grownups. We also deliver one of the biggest hands-on science education programmes in Europe.

May 12, 2010 Wor Jackie

This statue of Wor Jackie is located on the Central Boulevard and you can see St. James Park in the  background where Jackie used to grace.
James Edward Thompson (JET) Milburn won the FA Cup for Newcastle 3 times in the 1950s and his goal in the 1955 Final after 45 seconds was to remain the fastest ever in a Wembley Cup Final until Roberto De Mattheo scored after 42 seconds for Chelsea against the Boro in 1997.
Jackie Milburn grew up in the coal mining town of Ashington, Northumberland, 15 miles north of Newcastle, Milburn's employment as a fitter (repairing heavy machinery) had reserved occupation status during World War II, which meant that he remained in Ashington. He was the son of Alexander Milburn, the uncle of the four professional footballing Milburn brothersJohn ('Jack') Milburn b 1908 (Leeds United and Bradford City), George Milburn b 1910 (Leeds United and Chesterfield), James ('Jimmy') Milburn b 1919 (Leeds United and Bradford City), and Stanley ('Stan') Milburn b 1926 (Chesterfield, Leicester City and Rochdale), who were brothers of Jack and Bobby Charlton's mother Elizabeth 'Cissie' Milburn b 1912.

May 11, 2010 Redburn Dene

This is part of the rejuvenated Redburn Dene in North Shields which was rejuvenated after the Tyneside riots of the 1980s on the Meadowell Estate. This structure sits on top of a hill immediately behind the Wet & Wild water park which is the largest indoor water park in Europe.
The Dene links Chirton to the river Tyne at the North Shields Commisioners Quay where the North sea ferry to Ansterdam leaves from and the dene is well worth a walk.

May 10, 2010 Boldon Colliery

This is a reminder of the North Easts mining heritage - 'Coals to Newcastle' 

Boldon Colliery is just next to Jarrow and the mine even gave its name to the town - the Colliery itself closed just before the miners strike in 1983 - the Colliery was founded in  1878 when the first shaft was sunk.

Boldon Colliery pit shaft eventually went on to reach a depth of 1500 feet with numerous coal seams in the strata which were identified as follows  and showing the degrees of difficulty faced by the miners of Boldon.
The main seams were at 800 to 1500 feet below ground and were known as the Yard Coal Seam, the Bensham Seam, the Five Quarter Seam and the Final seam being called the Hutton Seam on  the Wear and the Low Main on the Tyne.

137 Feet --- COAL 2 inch deep

238 Feet --- COAL, mixed with stone 1 foot deep 

275 Feet --- COAL 6 inch deep 

489 Feet --- COAL 1 foot 8 inch deep

502 Feet --- COAL 10 inch deep

535 Feet --- COAL 8 inch deep

588 Feet --- COAL 1 foot 5 inch deep

                    Grey Metal band 3 inches

                    COAL 1 foot 4 inch deep

719 Feet --- COAL 1 foot 8 inch deep

                    COAL 8 inch deep

                    COAL, mixed with stone 3 inches deep

769 Feet --- COAL 8 inches deep

                    Band 1 inch

                    COAL 5 inches deep

                    Band 1 inch

                    COAL 11 inch deep

814 Feet --- COAL 5 inch deep

833 Feet --- COAL 5 inch deep

890 Feet --- COAL 5 feet 4 inch deep

953 Feet --- COAL 1 foot 8 inch deep

1066 Feet --- COAL 1 foot 3 inch deep

1111 Feet --- COAL 3 feet deep

1223 Feet --- COAL 2 feet 6 inch deep

1246 Feet --- COAL 5 inch deep

1296 Feet --- COAL 9 inch deep

1300 Feet --- COAL 9 inch deep

1327 Feet - COAL 3 feet 4 inch deep (YARD COAL SEAM)

1384 Feet - COAL 5 feet 6 inch deep (BENSHAM SEAM)

1412 Feet - COAL 1 foot deep

1427 Feet - COAL 7 inch deep

1453 Feet - COAL 2 feet 6 inch deep (FIVE QUARTER SEAM)

1526 Feet - COAL 4 feet 9 inch deep (HUTTON SEAM (Wear) - LOW MAIN (Tyne))

May 09, 2010

Another view across the mouth of the Tyne from North Shields looking towards the groyne at South Shields and the pier beyond. The foreground buoy is an old navigational aid removed from the river and now used to mark the route of the National Cycle Network Route 72.
NCN 72 is Hadrians Cycleway and runs from Ravenglass in Cumbria to Tynemouth.

May 07, 2010 Newcastle Breweries

This Foundation stone used to stand at the corner of Corporation Street and Heber Street on the side of Newcastle Breweries. The stone itself dates back to 1770 and was moved from the breweries original location in Gateshead to Newcastle in 1884.

The stone was taken across to Federation Breweries when the Newcastle Site closed 5 years ago however it may be about to make a second move to Newcastle. as I have been in touch with the Planning Department responsible for the building work which is Science City that is currently being built at the former Brewery Site. The planning Office have suggested they are interested in returning the stones and settong them into the new Site as a heritage reminder.

May 06, 2010 Byker Wall

Part of the Byker Wall just near Byker metro station as if  you couldn't guess.
The Byker Wall housing development to the East of Newcastle was designed by the Swedish architect Ralph Erskine in 1969-82. It was built to re-house the working class community that had grown up around the shipyards and factories along the banks of the Tyne. They had lived in terraced houses but in the late 60s the City Council decided to redevelop the area. Byker Wall is designed in a recognisably Post Modernist style and is indicative of Post Modernism as a reaction to Modernism. There are a variety of forms, colours and materials in contrast to the pristine uniformity of Modernism. The uneven outline gives a variety in level and scale, overcoming the monumentality and monotony of Modernism.

May 05, 2010 Segedunum

Segedunum was the Roman fort at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall in Wallsend. The Wall is 80 miles long and runs from Bowness on Solway on the Solway Firth across to Wallsend onn the North bank of the River Tyne.
The Wall was began in AD122 and Segedunum is the  most-excavated fort is a must-see: spectacular reconstructions (including the bath house and a section of Wall), original Wall, computer-generated history tour and a 35-metre high viewing tower.

Open: 1 Apr-31 Oct Mon-Sat 10am-5pm daily, 1 Nov-31 Mar 10am-3pm daily; closed 25-26 Dec, 1 Jan 

May 04, 2010 Shakespeare Street

This is in fact the side of a house on South View West in Heaton in Newcastle's East End and try as I might there's no explanation on thw web as to why it's there or why it was built.

May 03, 2010 William Lisle Blenkinsopp Coulson

William Lisle Blenkinsopp Coulson (1840-1911) was a prominent figure in the area, known for his 'untiring efforts for the kindly treatment of animals' and for the unusual plaid that he habitually dressed in. Born in Haltwhistle, he served in the army from 1860 to 1892, retiring as a colonel. Subsequently he served as a magistrate and on the boards of many charities concerning themselves with child and animal welfare. He toured schools and borstals throughout the country giving lectures on morality, and published essays on the welfare of children and women, and 'Musings on Moor and Fell'.(1)He died in Newbrough, Northumberland, leaving a wife and daughter.
This statue is situated at the eastern end of the Quayside at Newcastle near the top of Horatio Street and the view is looking east along the Tyne - the large white building you can see in the distance is Spillars Mill which stands on Spillars Wharf which is a large area of Quayside which has been used for mooring the Tall Ships at the Tall Ships Race as well as navy ships on visits. It also hosts the Evolution Music Festival along with the Baltic Square in Gateshead which is an annual Music Festival along the riverside and takes place on May 30th & 31st  and features The Futureheads, Paolo Nutini, Calvin Harris, De La Soul, Donovan,Enter Shikari, The Horrors, Hadouken!, Frankmusik, Tinchy Stryder,Ellie Goulding, Delphic, Benga, Field Music, Slow Club, Dananananaykroyd, Rusko,Example, Fake Blood, Filthy Dukes, King Creosote, Scratch Perverts, James Hunter,Lissie, I Blame Coco, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, Everything Everything, LoneLady,Cosmo Jarvis, Frankie & the Heartstrings, Egyptian Hip Hop, The Unthanks, Mirrors,Minnaars, Ben Howard, SMOOVE & TURRELL, John Smith, Baskery, Danny And The Champions Of The World, Jaymo, Doorly, BeardyMan, Twenty Twenty, Jaymo & Andy George, People Get Real, Retriever, Po Girl, Polarsets, Eskimo Twins, Natalie Findlay,Let's Buy Happiness, JT Nero and DawnLandes

May 02, 2010 Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Company

An old sign on Newcastle Quayside which is a small reminder of former times on the River Tyne when the River was the highway of the City and very much busier than today.The Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Company was Formed in 1864 by the amalgamation of W. D. Stephens, Tyne and Continental Steam Navigation Co and the Newcastle, Antwerp and Dunkirk Steam Shipping Co. Regular cargo and passenger services were made between Newcastle and London, Dunkirk, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hamburg. A service to Hull was added soon afterwards. Temporary routes were added as required - Newcastle to Copenhagen 1874-1877 for instance and the Dunkirk route was closed in 1868. In 1875 they took over the Yarmouth Line with their two ships, but the trade to Yarmouth ceased in 1880. By the 1890s, the number of passengers carried annually had risen to over 20,000. In 1904 the company combined with the Tees Union Shipping Co, Furness Withy Coastal and the Free Trade Wharf Co. to form the Tyne-Tees Steamship Co. 

May 01,2010 Hebburn Marina & Segedunum

This is the view from the marina at Hebburn looking across the river towards Wallsend and the Segedunum Roman Museum which has been built on the site of the Walls End at Wallsend !
Segedunum Roman Fort is the eastern most fort on the Wall and this part of the site is dedicated to it. Roman history in this country is one of the most interesting periods of time to study simply because of the vastness and wealth of their empire, the fascination of the folk and their life’s habits who ultimately lived and died during that time and of course the wonderful archaeology they leave behind for us. The sheer majesty of their architecture and the scale of it. The brutality that went alongside it all. Their legal system, the elections, the different levels of society, their entertainment. Virtually everything they had can be drawn as a parallel to our society today! The ultimate willingness of the locals to welcome the habits and living standards of Rome’s own people eventually helped this tiny little outpost which lay at the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall become a major defence frontier. Now, of course, it is a major tourist attraction and rightly so. While other sites along the Wall were being excavated and finds were being dug up by their hundreds poor little Segedunum lay almost lost because of a total lack of funds to do anything about it. 

Tower and Restaurant

But, the millennium was creeping up on us all and the ’Let's do something for the year 2000...’ cries were being heard and so, now, Segedunum takes its rightful place among the best sites to visit along the whole stretch of the Wall. Enjoy your visit to Segedunum here on this site and someday hopefully to Segedunum itself.

April 30, 2010 The Low Lights

The Original Low Lights at North Shields can still be seen from inside the Harbour Walls which were originally inside the olld Cliffords Fort which can also be found nearby.
Built inside Clifford's Fort 1727-33 and extended 1775. Its white gable was painted black and its light window blocked to obscure it as a navigational landmark when converted to Almshouses in 1806-8