Workmen employed by Newcastle Corporation were busy carrying out preservation work on remains of the old Town Wall in the west of the city 90 years ago.
Our display photograph dates from late July, 1932. The appreciation and conservation of significant ancient structures was a relatively recent advance. In the middle of the previous century - the 19th - Newcastle's by-then decrepit Castle Keep had only just avoided being forcibly demolished to make way for a new railway line. And across Northumberland, sections of Hadrian's Wall had been plundered for building materials for centuries.
It's fascinating to think old Newcastle was once surrounded and protected by a mighty wall, around 20 feet high and seven feet thick. Today, a handful of sections of the Town Wall are still visible around the city.
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For anyone who’s ever strolled up to St James’ Park, via Bath Lane, or enjoyed a Chinese meal on Stowell Street, you’ll probably have noticed the nearby remains of the wall and its towers. Another substantial portion of the wall stands north of Hanover Street, adjacent to Orchard Street, behind Newcastle Central Station.
The Town Wall was built as a defence during the 13th and 14th centuries during a troubled age when England was fearful of the separate and hostile kingdom of Scotland to the North. Later, in the 1500s, one visitor declared: “The strength and magnificence of the walling of this town far passeth all the walls of the cities of England, and most of the towns of Europe.”
Surrounding the whole town – apart from a short section alongside the natural defence of the Quayside – the walls were two miles long. They stood around 20 to 25 feet high. They were around seven feet thick.
There were six main gates (the West Gate and New Gate might sound familiar), and there were 17 towers, six of which survive. Sections of the wall also had the added protection of a deep ditch outside the walls. Between the towers were rectangular turrets, with loopholes for archers.
The wall enclosed the Castle and its Black Gate, as well as the main medieval commercial district along the Quayside, and all the town northwards up to St Andrew’s Church. Inside the walls, Newcastle was divided into 24 districts, with residents of each district responsible for the defence of a particular gate.
The town’s defence was broken only once – after a lengthy siege by a 30,000-strong Scottish army during the English Civil War in 1644. When the Town Walls and some of the gates were finally breached by explosives, the Scots poured in with bitter hand-to-hand fighting taking place.
In later centuries, after hostilities ceased, the walls fell into disrepair and were largely demolished – while the towers were often given over to trades guilds who would meet there. Had it still existed today, the likes of Northumberland Street, Percy Street, the RVI and St James’ Park would all have been outside the Town Walls.
Walk past Grey’s Monument, along Blackett Street and past Eldon Square today, and that’s where the Northern section of the 20ft high wall would have run.
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