We step back albeit briefly to the Newcastle of 1968 in our striking film clip.
It comes from a piece of footage titled Newcastle upon Tyne: Regional Capital , and is the latest offering specially curated for ChronicleLive by the North East Film Archive. The film, captured by the well-known Turners Film Productions, was intended as a promotional tour of the city, and took a look at the city’s architecture and facilities.
For those living in Newcastle in 1968, it was a year when the new Civic Centre became the city’s seat of government. The British rock band Led Zeppelin - who would become the world’s biggest group in the 1970s - made their UK debut at Newcastle’s Mayfair ballroom. Fans of Newcastle United had something to cheer about. Supporters dug out their passports as United qualified for European football through the Inter Cities Fairs Cup for the first time in the club’s history. Against all odds, the Magpies would go on to life the trophy in Budapest, Hungary, the following year.
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Our two-minute clip begins with panoramic views of the Tyne Bridge, River Tyne and city centre as viewed from Gateshead. In Newcastle, the viewer then enjoys a visual tour which takes in the Guildhall, the Groat Market with the now-demolished old Town Hall and former Thomson House offices of Newcastle Chronicle and Journal, looking down towards the St Nicholas' Cathedral and the Castle Keep, rebranded these days as Newcastle Cathedral and Newcastle Castle.
The remainder of the silent, colour footage from 54 years ago shows us the new Swan House complex, Grey Street and the Theatre Royal, Market Street, Grainger Street and Grey's Monument, the bottom of Westgate Road and the church of St John the Baptist, and finally Percy Street and the Hancock Museum and the new buildings of Newcastle University.
If you would like to watch more archive footage like this, but in DVD form, Newcastle On Film has been specially produced by NEFA. Presented and narrated by Pam Royle - latterly of ITV Tyne Tees News fame - it pays homage to life on Tyneside and features lots of wonderful archive film footage.
The DVD Newcastle On Film is priced at £12 (including postage and packing), and all profits from the sale go back into the valuable work of the North East Film Archive. Buy it here. See more from the North East Film Archive at www.yfanefa.com
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