Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne City Council
http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/

City of Newcastle upon Tyne
Geography
Status:	Metropolitan borough, City (1882)
Region:	North East England
Ceremonial County:	Tyne and Wear
Traditional County:	Northumberland
Area: - Total	Ranked 229th 113.44 km²
Admin. HQ:	Newcastle upon Tyne
ONS code:	00CJ
Demographics
Population: - Total () - Density	Ranked / km²
Ethnicity:	93.1% White 4.4% S.Asian
Politics
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:
MPs:	Nick Brown, David Clelland, Jim Cousins, Doug Henderson

For other places named "Newcastle" or "New Castle", see Newcastle (disambiguation).

Newcastle upon Tyne, often shortened to Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough situated on the north bank of the River Tyne, in North East England. This northernmost city in England was founded in Roman times under the name Pons Aelius, with the current name being adopted from 1080 onwards.

The city is the 20th most populous in England and the Tyneside conurbation is the 5th most populous conurbation in England, and as such Newcastle is one of England's core cities.

Technically, people from Newcastle are Novocastrians (a Latin term which can equally be applied to residents of any place called Newcastle), although the term Geordie is now more commonly used.

History

Early development

Newcastle, known at the time as "Pons Aelius" was founded by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, whose Wall is still visible in parts of Newcastle, particularly along the West Road. The course of the "Roman Wall" can also be traced eastwards to Wallsend (Segedunum). After the Roman withdrawal from Britain, Newcastle became part of the powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria and was known throughout this period as Monkchester. After a series of conflicts with the Danes and the devastation north of the River Tyne inflicted by Odo after the 1080 rebellion against the Normans, Monkchester was all but destroyed. Because of its strategic position, Robert Curthose, son of the Conqueror, erected a wooden castle there in 1080 and the town was henceforth known as Novum Castellum or Newcastle.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Newcastle was England's northern fortress. A 25 foot high stone wall was built around the town to defend it from invaders during the Border war against Scotland. The Scots king William the Lion was imprisoned in Newcastle in 1174, and Edward I brought the Stone of Scone and William Wallace south through the town. Newcastle was successfully defended against the Scots three times during the 14th century and around this time became a county corporate.

King Charles bestowed upon Newcastle the East of England coal trading rights. This monopoly helped Newcastle prosper, but it had its impact on the growth of near-neighbours Gateshead and Sunderland, causing a North of Tyne/South of Tyne and a Tyne-Wear rivalry that still exists. During the English Civil War, Newcastle supported the king and in 1644 was stormed ('with roaring drummes') by Cromwell's Scots allies, based in pro-Parliament Sunderland. The grateful King bestowed the motto "Fortiter Defendit Triumphans" ("Triumphing by a brave defence") upon the town. Ironically, Charles was imprisoned in Newcastle by the Scots in 1646-7.

For a short time in the 17th century, Newcastle exported large quantities of urine down the coast to Ravenscar, North Yorkshire, to be used in the production of alum (a dye fixative) for the textile industry The urine was collected from public urinals or barrels in the city and it has been suggested that this may be the origin of the popular (though mildly offensive) English phrase [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/take_the_piss "taking the piss".

In the 18th century, Newcastle was the country's largest print centre after London, Oxford and Cambridge, and the Literary and Philosophical Society of 1793, with its erudite debates and large stock of books in several languages predated the London Library by half a century. Newcastle also became the greatest glass producer in the world. Newcastle's development as a major city, however, owed most to its central role in the export of coal.The phrase taking coals to Newcastle was first recorded in 1538. In the nineteenth century, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were central to the city's prosperity; and the city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. Innovation in Newcastle and surrounding areas included the development of Safety lamps, Stephenson's Rocket, Lord Armstrong's artillery, Joseph Swan's electric light bulbs, and Charles Parsons' invention of the steam turbine, which led to the revolution of marine propulsion and the production of cheap electricity.

Heavy industries in Newcastle declined in the second half of the twentieth century; office and retail employment are now the city's staples.

Urban development

Notable architecture

The city has an extensive neoclassical centre, largely developed in the 1830s by Richard Grainger and John Dobson, and recently extensively restored. Grey Street, which curves down from Grey's Monument towards the valley of the River Tyne, is often cited (A favourite of John Betjeman, as well as being voted in a survey by BBC Radio 4 listeners) as England's finest street. A portion of Grainger Town was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Eldon Square shopping centre. The erroneous image of Newcastle as a grey, aesthetically displeasing city of the Industrial Revolution is finally disappearing. Visitors to Newcastle are often surprised by the wealth of beautiful architecture and history to be discovered in the 2000-year-old city.

Parks and open space

Immediately to the northwest of the city centre is Leazes Park, established in 1873 after a petition by 3,000 working men of the city for "ready access to some open ground for the purpose of health and recreation". In one corner of this is St James' Park, the stadium home of Newcastle United F.C. which dominates the view of the city from the south.

Another green space in Newcastle is the vast Town Moor, lying immediately north of the city centre. It is larger than Hyde Park and Hampstead Heath put together and the freemen of the city have the right to graze cattle on it. Unlike other cities where similar rights exist, they often take advantage of this, leading to the somewhat bizarre sight of cattle grazing within yards of the city's town hall or "Civic Centre". The right incidentally extends to the pitch of St James' Park, Newcastle United Football Club's ground, though this is not exercised). Honorary freemen include Bob Geldof, Nelson Mandela and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Hoppings funfair, said to be the largest travelling fair in Europe, is held here annually in June.

The wooded gorge of the Ouseburn in the east of the city is known as Jesmond Dene and forms another popular recreation area, linked by Armstrong Park and Heaton Park to the Ouseburn Valley, where the river finally reaches the River Tyne.

Recent developments

The development of the city in the 1960s and 1970s saw the demoliton of part of Graingertown as a prelude to the modernist rebuilding initiatives of T. Dan Smith, the leader of Newcastle City Council. A corruption scandal was uncovered involving Smith and John Poulson, a property developer, and both were jailed. Echoes of the scandal were revisited in the late 1990s in the BBC TV mini-series, Our Friends in the North.

The Tyne gorge between Newcastle (on the north Bank) and Gateshead (an administratively separate borough) on the south, is famous for a series of dramatic bridges, including the Tyne Bridge of 1928 and Robert Stephenson's High Level Bridge of 1849, the first road/rail bridge in the world. Large-scale regeneration has replaced former shipping premises with imposing new office developments; an innovative tilting bridge, the Gateshead Millennium Bridge was commissioned by Gateshead and has integrated the older Newcastle Quayside more closely with major cultural developments in Gateshead, including the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Norman Foster-designed Sage music centre. NewcastleGateshead Quayside is now a thriving, cosmopolitan area with an abundance of bars, restaurants and public spaces. As a tourist promotion, Newcastle and Gateshead have linked together under the banner "NewcastleGateshead", but otherwise remain separate.

Notable Newcastle housing developments include Ralph Erskine's the Byker Wall designed in the 1960s and now Grade II-listed. It is on UNESCO's list of outstanding 20th century buildings.

Newcastle's thriving Chinatown lies in the northwest of Grainger Town, centered on Stowell Street. A new Chinese Arch, or paifang, providing a landmark entrance, was handed over to the City with a ceremony in 2005.

Science city

The UK's first Biotechnology Village, the "Centre for Life" is located in the City Centre close to the Central Station. The village is the first step in the City Council's plans to transform Newcastle into a Science city ^*.

Geography

Newcastle is situated in the North East of England, in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear. The city itself is located on the northern bank of the Tyne Valley at a latitude of 54.97N and a longitude of -1.62W.

The geology of the area is most famous for its large deposits of coal. Whilst the local bedrock consists mainly of carboniferous rocks, millstone grit and oolite are also present.

Climate

The climate in Newcastle is temperate, although significantly warmer than some other locations at a similar latitude due to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream (via the North Atlantic Drift). Being in the rain shadow of the North Pennines, it is among the driest cities in the UK. The prevailing winds are south-westerly due to the North Atlantic Current.

Law and government

Newcastle is governed using the leader and cabinet system, and the executive is currently Liberal Democrat, as they have 48 councillors against the Labour Party's 30. No other parties hold seats on the city's council. ^*

Administrative districts

Newcastle has 26 electoral wards. ^*

Benwell and Scotswood
Blakelaw
Byker
Castle
Dene
Denton
Gosforth (East and West)
Elswick
Fawdon
Fenham
Heaton (North and South)
Jesmond (North and South)

Demographics

Population

According to the UK Government's 2001 census ^*, the unitary authority of Newcastle has a population of around 259,500. However, the metropolitan boroughs of North Tyneside (population c.190,000), South Tyneside (population c. 150,000) and Gateshead (population c.200,000) are also part of Newcastle's conurbation, giving the Newcastle-Gateshead metropolitan area a population of 799,000. According to the same statistics, the average age of people living in Newcastle is 37.8 (the national average being 38.6). 93.1% of the population are of White ethnic background (the national average being 91.3%). Other ethnic groups in Newcastle, in order of population size, are Pakistani at 1.9% and Indians at 1.2%. There are also small but significant Chinese and Jewish populations.

Religion

The city is largely Christian at 70.6%, with Islam (3.6%) the only other significantly practised religion. A large number (16%) have no religion.

Christianity

Newcastle has two cathedrals, the Anglican St. Nicholas, with its elegant lantern tower of 1474, and the Roman Catholic St. Mary's, designed by Pugin. Cardinal Basil Hume was born in the city in 1923. A statue (unveiled by the Queen), stands near St Mary's.

Judaism

No records exist of Jews being resident in Newcastle before 1830 although there is a tradition that the community dates from 1775. It is thought, however, that over 500 years prior to this Jews resided in Silver Street (formerly known as Jew Gate). Sir Israel Brodie, the first Chief Rabbi to be knighted, was born in Newcastle in 1895.

Health

Of the population, 11.8% described themselves as "not healthy" in the 12 months before the 2001 census, compared to a national average of 9.2%. Additionally, 21.6% of the inhabitants said they had a long-term illness, as against 18.2% nationally.

Newcastle Hospitals Trust One has one of the lowest mortality rates in the country and is ranked second in the country for confidence in doctors. Staffing levels are high - in the top 70 in England for doctors and the top ten for nurses. Newcastle has three large teaching hospitals: the Royal Victoria Infirmary, whose organ donor system has been featured on television; the Newcastle General Hospital and the Freeman Hospital, which is Britain's best transplant centre.

Transport and infrastructure

Air

Located on the northern outskirts of the city, near Ponteland, is Newcastle Airport, which has recently been rebranded as Newcastle International. The airport currently handles over five million passengers per year, and is the one of the fastest growing airports in the UK. As of 2006, more than 80 destinations are available world-wide.

Bus

Newcastle and the surrounding area has an extensive bus network that is coordinated by Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. Buses are operated mainly by Go North East, Arriva and Stagecoach North East. Quayside Transit, a £5m bus scheme using ultra low emission hybrid diesel-electric vehicles was launched in July 2005. Transport planners have been disappointed by slow take-up of the service.

Metro

In 1904, the North Eastern Railway built an electric suburban railway serving both banks of the Tyne, and the northern suburbs. This system has been transformed into the Tyne and Wear Metro which extends as far as Newcastle Airport, Tynemouth and South Hylton in Sunderland. The system is one of only four underground systems in the United Kingdom.

The Metro is usually described as Britain's first modern light rail system. It carries approximately 40 million passenger journeys per year, and is co-ordinated by the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. It is the second biggest metropolitan train system in the UK.

Rail

Newcastle Central station was the first covered station in the world and was much copied across the UK. It has a fine neoclassical frontage originally designed by the architect John Dobson and was constructed in collaboration with Robert Stephenson. The station was opened in 1850 by Queen Victoria, with the first services being operated by the North Eastern Railway company.

Today, the station is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line and Cross Country Route. Train operator GNER provides a half-hourly frequency of trains to London, with a journey time of a little less than three hours, while Virgin Trains, Northern Rail and Transpennine Express operate regular services to Birmingham, Bristol, Carlisle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool and Sheffield.

Road

Major roads in the area include:

A1 (Gateshead Newcastle western-bypass), stretching north/south between London and Edinburgh
A19 heading south past Sunderland and Middlesbrough to York and Doncaster
A69 leading west to Carlisle
A1058 "coast road" which runs from Jesmond to the east coast between Tynemouth and Cullercoats

Sea

Newcastle also has access to an international Ferry Terminal, located at nearby North Shields, offering services to destinations including Amsterdam, Kristiansand, Gothenburg, Stavanger, Haugesund and Bergen.

Sport

The City has a strong sporting tradition, being home to Premiership football team Newcastle United, and Guinness Premiership rugby union side Newcastle Falcons, for whom England player Jonny Wilkinson features.

The city's Metro Radio Arena is home to Newcastle Vipers ice hockey team, and Newcastle Eagles basketball team. The City's Speedway team Newcastle Diamonds are based at Brough Park in Byker, a venue that is also home to greyhound racing. Newcastle Racecourse at High Gosforth Park holds regular meets, including the prestigious race for the Northumberland Plate, first run in 1838, which takes place in June each year.

Newcastle also hosts the start of the annual BUPA Great North Run, the world's largest half-marathon in which participants famously race over the Tyne Bridge into Gateshead and then towards the finish line 13.1 miles away on the coast at neighbouring South Shields. Another famous athletic event is the 10k Blaydon Race, which has taken place annually in nearby Blaydon, since 1981, on June 9 to commemorate the celebrated Blaydon Races horse races.

Education

The city has two universities, the Newcastle University which earned the coveted Sunday Times University of the Year award in 2000 and the newer Northumbria University that was established in 1992 and was voted 'Best New University' by the Times Good University Guide 2005.

There are eleven LEA-funded 11 to 18 schools and seven independent schools with sixth forms in Newcastle. There are a number of successful state schools, including Gosforth High School, Heaton Manor, St Cuthbert's, Kenton School and Sacred Heart. Newcastle College is the largest general further education college in the North East, and there are two smaller colleges in the Newcastle area. Newcastle College is also one of the select few beacon colleges in the United Kingdom.

Some 45% of Newcastle's school pupils live in wards which are amongst the 10% most deprived in England.

Culture

Dialect

The local Geordie dialect is a rich, living dialect that reflects the city's virtues and vices. The Geordie dialect is more than an alternative pronunciation of English. There is a large amount of vocabulary that does not exist in other parts of England, and words often have different meanings. Much of the dialect can be traced back to the Old Norse and Old English languages and certain words are very similar to their equivalents in modern Swedish.

Entertainment

Bars and clubs

Newcastle has a reputation for being a fun-loving city with many bars, restaurants and nightclubs. More recently, Newcastle has become popular as a destination for Stag and Hen parties. Newcastle was also given 7th place in the 'Worldwide best places for a Night-Out', in 2000. Also 'The Rough Guide to Britain' has placed the nightlife in Newcastle upon Tyne as the top attraction in Great Britain for tourists ^*

The majority of drinking venues in Newcastle are located in one of three main areas. The oldest of these is the Bigg Market, long-established as a favourite haunt for locals, followed by the trendy Quayside area, a spectacular mix of modern and traditional architecture which creates a fantastic backdrop for a sometimes frantic Saturday night. However over recent years these have become the haunts of Charvers and the visiting Stag Hen parties. Many locals now prefer the bars along Collingwood Street, Neville Street and the central station area as well as the bars and restaurants of Osborne Road in the Jesmond area of the city.

Another new area is "The Gate", which is a new indoor complex consisting of bars, upmarket clubs, restaurants and a 12-screen Empire multiplex cinema.

The city also boasts a vibrant and growing gay 'scene' located around the Centre for Life area west of central station.

Outdoor pursuits

The Hoppings, reputedly the largest travelling fair in Europe, takes place on Newcastle Town Moor every June. The event had its origins in the Temperance movement during the early 1880s and coincides with the annual race week at High Gosforth Park.

A new music festival, the Hi Fi Festival took place in May 2006, at Matfen on the outskirts of the City. May also sees Newcastle and Gateshead host the Orange Evolution, which culminates with the Freevolution free music festival held on the Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides over the Spring Bank Holiday, with performances from well known and up and coming acts from the world of Rock, Indie and Dance Music. Surrounding Tyneside has many festivals, including MOTFest (The Mouth Of Tyne Festival) and the Gosforth Gathering, held at Gosforth Park Racecourse on 5 August and 6 August.

Shopping

There are several major shopping areas in Newcastle city centre. The largest of these is the Eldon Square shopping centre, which incorporates the largest Fenwick department store in the UK and a John Lewis store (formerly known as Bainbridge), which is often cited as the first department store in the UK.

The main shopping street in the city is Northumberland Street. In a 2004 report, it was ranked as the most expensive shopping road in the UK for rent, outside London. Other shopping centres in Newcastle include the relatively modern Eldon Garden and Monument Mall complexes, the Newgate Centre, Leazes Arcade and the traditional Grainger Market. The largest suburban shopping areas are Gosforth and Byker. The largest indoor shopping centre in Europe, The MetroCentre in Gateshead is also nearby.

Theatre

A growth in theatre culture has taken place in recent years, centred on the impressive Theatre Royal on Grey Street, which for over 25 years has hosted a season of performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company. Other theatres in the City include the Tyne Opera House, the Newcastle Playhouse (which is currently undergoing redevelopment), the Live Theatre, the People's Theatre and the Gulbenkian Studio. There are several other venues in and around Newcastle, such as Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle Arena and The Sage Gateshead.

Media

Music

=Bands and musicians

The 1960s saw the internationally successful rock group, The Animals, emerge from Newcastle night spots such as Club A-Go-Go on Percy Street. Other well-known acts with connections to the city include Sting, Dubstar, Dire Straits, Duran Duran, and more recently Maxïmo Park, The Sound Explosion, and milo. Neil Tennant, singer from the Pet Shop Boys, was schooled in Newcastle. There is also a thriving underground music scene that encompasses a variety of styles, including Drum and Bass, Doom Metal and Post-rock, the latter having produced such luminaries as Peace Burial at Sea in recent years.

Lindisfarne are a folk-rock group with a strong Tyneside connection. Their most famous song is "Fog on the Tyne" (1971), which was also covered by Geordie ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne in 1990. Venom, reckoned by many to be the originators of black metal, formed in Newcastle in 1979. The Wildhearts are another band with Newcastle roots.

=Venues

= The largest music venue in the city is the 11,000-seat Metro Radio Arena, which is situated in the south of the city centre near the Centre for Life. The 2,000-seat Newcastle City Hall holds a number of music events every month, particularly featuring solo artists. Both of the city's universities also have large performance venues (each holding in the region of 2,000 people).

On October 14 2005, the 2,000 capacity Carling Academy Newcastle opened, providing a new music venue in the city centre. The opening night was headlined by The Futureheads and the profile of the venue has attracted a greater variety of bands to play in the city. The Carling Academy Newcastle is the newest in a string of Academies to be opened across the UK.

=Music television

= The celebrated music programme The Tube, hosted by Paula Yates and Jools Holland, was filmed in the city.

Print

Local newspapers that are printed in Newcastle include Trinity Mirror's Evening Chronicle and The Journal, as well as the Metro freesheet. The Crack is a monthly style and listings magazine similar to London's Time Out. The adult comic Viz originated in Jesmond, Newcastle.

Television and radio

ITV Tyne Tees recently moved its headquarters from City Road to a new facility on The Watermark business park next to the MetroCentre in Gateshead. The entrance to the studio at the City Road complex gave its name to the 1980s television programme, The Tube.

The regional headquarters for the BBC is located on Barrack Road to the north of the city, from where the Corporation broadcasts the Look North television show and BBC Radio Newcastle.

Independent radio stations include Metro Radio, which is based in a building on the Swan House roundabout on the north side of the Tyne Bridge. Century FM is located in Gateshead, just south of the bridge. Galaxy 105-106 broadcasts across Newcastle from its studios in nearby Wallsend.

Newcastle also boasts its own internet radio station which has been broadcasting Worldwide on the internet since 1999. TNR Radio was previously known as Tyneside Net Radio, and broadcasts a wide range of genres and shows.

During the Summer, Youth Voice FM broadcasts across the city and North Tyneside. They are currently applying for a full-time license.

Gay Culture

Focused on the Times Square area near the Centre for Life, the "Pink Triangle" hosts approximately 12–14 bars and pubs, and two clubs, Powerhouse and The Loft. The community has seen much expansion in the past five years, with further growth planned in the future. The Pink Triangle was a planned development promoted by the Regional Development Agency.

Famous residents

Engineer and industrialist Lord Armstrong, entertainers Ant and Dec, and footballer Alan Shearer are a few of the many famous people associated with Newcastle. For a full list, see List of famous residents of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Museums and places of interest

Foreign consulates

The following countries have consular offices in Newcastle:

The Royal Norwegian Consulate: 14 Grey Street, NE1 6AE
Honorary Consulate of the Netherlands : The Cube, Barrack Road, NE4 6DB
Honorary Consulate of Sweden: 2 Osborne Road, Jesmond, NE2 2AA
Honorary Consulate of Italy: 63 High Bridge, NE1 1DU

Gallery

Image:NewCasteTyneBessieSurteesHouse.jpg|Bessie Surtees House (Quayside) Image:Newcastle_civic_centre.jpg|Civic Centre Image:Newcastle station.jpg|The interior of Newcastle Central station Image:MBN.jpg|The Millennium Bridge and Sage Music Centre (Quayside)

External links

City of Newcastle upon Tyne website (Newcastle City Council)
Tyne Bridge Publishing Books on the local history of Tyneside
Aerial photo of the bridges over the River Tyne at Newcastle, from Multimap
VR Newcastle Virtual Tour of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne
A brief history of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle Racecourse
Geordie Dialect
Livejournal Newcastle Community
Kay's Geography residential areas in Newcastle-upon-Tyne urban case study
A Newcastle Timeline

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