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Newcastle History |
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Time has dealt
Newcastle some interesting hands over the centuries, as
the city has found itself enjoying the highs of celebrated
success as well as the lows of extreme poverty. The history of the North East begins in Roman times with the building of a long wall by the Emperor Hadrian. Built in 122AD, this ‘Hadrian’s Wall’ marked the boundary of Roman Britain. While building the wall the Romans bridged the River Tyne and built a fort, called Pons Aelius to protect it. Soon a village developed nearby and together these were the beginnings of Newcastle as we know it today. The Roman’s left the area around the 5th century AD and the next inhabitants of the area are believed to be a community of monks which lead to the area being known as Monkchester. It was not until Anglo-Saxon times that the area became important again, when William the Conqueror’s oldest son, Robert Curthose built his castle on the old Roman fort in 1080. Curthose called this his “new castle” and this went on to become the name of the town itself. From here on, the town of Newcastle grew in population as well as in military importance. Walls were built around the town, some of which can still be seen in the city, for example at Stowell Street. And during the Middle Ages trades like salt, wool, rope making, shipbuilding and glass making developed in the area. Mining and the export of coal soon followed, and Newcastle quickly became the foremost exporter of coal during the reign of Elizabeth I. Over the next few centuries, Newcastle thrived on all the wealth the various industries brought in, particularly when the iron and steel industries came to the town. The area had a pioneering role to play in the industrial revolution with inventors coming to the fore like George Stephenson (father of the railways), Sir Joseph Swan (inventor of the lightbulb, born in Sunderland), Humphry Davy (inventor of the safety lamp which enabled miner to go deeper) and Sir Charles Parsons (inventor of the steam turbine). The city was also home to the world’s first locomotive builder Robert Stephenson & Company. Meanwhile the city itself moved away from its reliance on the Quayside and moved upwards towards the main town. In the 1830s the city centre was cleared to make way for Victorian architects and businessmen like Richard Grainger, Thomas Oliver and John Dobson to construct the broad thoroughfares of Grey Street and Grainger Street, and impressive buildings like the elegant Theatre Royal and grand Central Station to show off Newcastle’s prosperity and in the process create the best-designed Victorian town in England. Three of the city’s notable bridges followed, the High Level Bridge being the world’s first road and railway bridge designed by Robert Stephenson and opened in 1849. 27 years later came the Swing Bridge. Built by Sir W.G. Armstrong, this bridge sits on the site of the Roman bridge at Pons Aelius. Then came what was is arguably the city’s most well known bridge, the Tyne Bridge. This was the prototype for the world famous Sydney Harbour Bridge and in 1928 when it was completed, it was the largest span bridge in the world. The 1930’s brought the Great Depression to Newcastle and the area was hit hard with massive unemployment that subsequently lead to poverty for the once very prosperous city. This decline prompted the Jarrow March, an influential 300-mile protest march to London by 200 men from Jarrow, which drew attention to the hardships brought on by the depression. In recent years the city has more than found its feet, its pioneering spirit helping to re-establish Newcastle as an important centre of the North East, not only in terms of industry but culture and entertainment as well. |
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