Blog City Newcastle Coal, ships and steel

Strategically placed at a narrow point along the wide and navigable Tyne, Newcastle was always destined to play an important role in the development of Great Britain. Once an important fort in Hadrian's Wall, Newcastle became an Anglo-Saxon stronghold when the legions melted away. When William the Conquerer led his Normans north he faced stiff resistance from the people here and forces responded by burning, pillaging and generally depopulating the entire region. Soon after a castle was built to cement Norman rule over the lands (from which Newcastle gets its name). The imposing Castle Keep, which continues to dominate the city's skyline, was a newer castle built a bit later. This castle played an important role in the Middle Ages, often acting as England's front line in the continual wars against the Scots. In the succeeding centuries it was coal that would come to define Newcastle. The black rock became a popular source of heating Northumbria had no shortage of the stuff. Soon Newcastle became a byword for coal and the phrase "Taking coal to Newcastle" became synonymous with saturation. Colliers plying the 'Coaly Tyne' were the region's economic engine and the wealth and population of England's north finally began to recover after the devastating Harrying of the North of the Norman Period. It is hardly surprising then that Newcastle became a central focus of Britain's transformative Industrial Revolution. The Tyne rapidly became crowded with shipyards, steel mills and coal export terminals. Key developments in railways and locomotives were pioneered by Geordies, as Newcastle's inhabitants became known. A seemingly trivial invention, George Stephenson's mining lamp, revolutionized coal mining and helped spur more rapid extraction of this increasingly valuable resource. The pace of development quickened. In the 1840s the High Level Bridge was built, the first major two-decked bridge in history which, along with the castle keep, continue to dominate the city's skyline to this day. The shipyards along the Tyne churned out cruisers, dreadnoughts, battleships and aircraft carriers, the standards of global power. Virtually all the ships of the Japanese Navy that defeated the Russians at Tsushima in 1905 were forged on the Tyne. In the 1820s a partnership between the builder Richard Grainger and the architect George Dobson saw the creation of much of what we know as Newcastle today. The Royal Arcade, Eldon Square, the Central Exchange and Grainger Market all owe their existence to this famous duo. Newcastle increasingly saw itself in competition with London, and rowers from the Tyne competed for glory with those from the Thames. As the 20th Century wore on the shipyards, armaments works and coal mines that characterized the region fell into decline. Deindustrialization hit Newcastle as hard as any city in Britain. Controversial building schemes in the 1960s saw the destruction of large tracts of historic architecture in the city centre. The once bustling quaysides became derelict. Yet ambitious building plans in the 1990s and 2000s have given the city a new lease on life. The quays are now home to upscale shopping areas, restaurants, office blocks. Today the city is renowned for it's universities, night life, and environmental activism. I for one loved my short stay in Newcastle, as well as the communities at the mouth of the Tyne, and hope I get an opportunity to return.

Then and Now Photos