Northumberland Yesterday And To Day by Jean F. Terry (read aloud books .txt) 📖

Favourite Phrase Would Imply; Much Of

It Is Doubtless Regrettable And A Very Little Of It Perhaps Inevitable;

But No One Will Deny Either The Modernity Or The Beauty Of Grey Street,

One Of The Finest Streets In Any English Town; Or The Fine Appearance Of

Grainger Street, Blackett Street, Eldon Square, Or Any Other Of The

Stately Thoroughfares With Which Grainger And Dobson Enriched The Town

Within The Last Eighty Years--No One, That Is, Who Has Learned To "Lift

His Eyes To The Sky-Line In Passing Along A Thoroughfare" Instead Of

Keeping Them Firmly Fixed At The Level Of Shop Windows.

 

The Grim Old Building Which, When It Was New, Gave Its Name To The Town,

Is One For Which No Search Needs To Be Made; Its Blackened And Time Worn

Walls Are Seen From The Train Windows By Every Traveller Who Enters The

City From The South. So Near Is It To The Railway, That In The

Ultra-Utilitarian Days Of Sixty Or Seventy Years Ago, It Narrowly

Escaped The Ignoble Fate Of Being Used As A Signal-Cabin. It Was

Rescued, However, By The Society Of Antiquaries, And Carefully Preserved

By Them--More Fortunate In This Respect Than The Castle Of Berwick, For

The Platform Of Berwick Railway Station Actually Stands On The Spot Once

Occupied By The Great Hall Of The Castle.

 

The Site Of The New Castle, On A Part Of The River Bank Which Slopes

Steeply Down To The Tyne, Had Been Occupied Centuries Before By A Roman

Fort, Constructed By Order Of The Emperor Hadrian, Who Visited Britain

A.D. 120. He Also Constructed A Bridge Over The Tyne At This Spot, Fort

And Bridge Receiving The Name Of Pons Aelii, After The Emperor (Publius

Aelius Hadrianus). This Became The Second Station On The Great Wall

Erected By Hadrian's Orders Along The Line Of Forts Which Agricola Had

Raised Forty Years Before. This Station Shared The Fate Of Others On The

Abandonment Of Britain By Its Powerful Conquerors, Who Had Now For More

Than Two Hundred Years Been Its No Less Powerful Friends And Protectors.

Pons Aelii Fell Into Ruins; But So Advantageous A Site Could Not Long Be

Overlooked, And We Read Of A Saxon Settlement There, Apparently That Of

A Religious Community, From Which Fact It Was Known As Monkchester. All

The Records Of This Period Seem To Have Perished, For We Hear Nothing Of

The Settlement During The Danish Invasions; But A Saxon Town Of Some

Kind Was Evidently In Existence At The Time Of The Conquest, Though In

1073 Three Monks From The South Who Came To York, And, Obtaining A Guide

To "Muneche-Cester," Sought For Some Religious House In That Settlement,

Could Find None, And Were Prevailed Upon By The First Norman Bishop Of

Durham, Walcher, To Stay At Jarrow. The Years From 1069 To 1080 Were

Evil Years For Northumberland, For At The First-Named Date The Conqueror

Devastated The North, And Left Neither Village Nor Farm Unscathed; And,

As The Desolated Land Was Beginning To Recover Again, Odo Of Bayeux And

Robert Of Normandy Relentlessly Laid It Waste Once More, Partly In

Revenge For The Murder Of Bishop Walcher At Gateshead, And Partly To

Punish Malcolm Of Scotland For His Invasion Of Norman Territory.

 

It Was On His Return From This Expedition, Which Had Penetrated As Far

North As Falkirk, That Robert, By His Father's Orders, Raised A

Stronghold On The Tyne On The Site Of The Old Roman Fort, In The Year

1080. His Brother, William Rufus, Erected A Much Stronger And Better

One, The Keep Of Which, Re-Built By Henry Ii., Stands To-Day Dark And

Grim, Looking Out Over River And Town, As It Has Stood Since The Red

King Ruled The Land, And, Like His Father, The Conqueror, Found It

Desirable To Have A Stronghold At This Northern Point Of His Turbulent

Realm, Around Which A Town Might Grow Up In Safety.

 

The Roof And Battlements Of The Keep Are Modern, But The Rest Of It--The

Walls, 12 To 18 Feet Thick; The Dismal Dungeon, Or Guard Chamber, With

Iron Rings And Fetters Still Fastened To The Walls And Central Pillar;

The Beautiful Little Chapel, With Its Finely-Ornamented Arches; The

Little Chambers In The Thickness Of The Walls; The Well, 94 Feet Deep,

Sunk Through The Solid Masonry Into The Rock Beneath; The Arrow Slits In

The Walls; The Stones In The Roof Scored With Frequent Bolts From The

Besiegers' Crossbows, One Of Which Bolts Is Firmly Embedded In The Wall

Opposite One Of The Narrow Windows; The Ancient Weapons And Armour--All

These Breathe Of The Days When The Red King's Castle Took Its Part In

The Doings Of Our Hardy Ancestors In Those Stormy Times In Which They

Lived And Fought.

 

The Last Time The Old Keep Was Called Upon To Act As Fortress And Refuge

In Time Of War Was In Stuart Days, After The Ten Weeks Siege Of

Newcastle By The Scottish General Leslie, Earl Of Leven, In 1644, When

Brave "Governor Marley" And His Friends Held Out In The Castle For A Few

Days Longer, After The Town Was Taken. In Memory Of This Stout Defence

And Long Resistance King Charles Gave To The Town Its Motto--_Fortiter

Defendit Triumphans_, Which Bates Gives As Having Originally Been

_Fortiter Defendendo Triumphat_--"She Glories In Her Brave Defence."

 

Two Of The Original Fireplaces Still Remain In The Castle, And There Are

Besides Many Objects Of Great Interest Which Have Been Bestowed There

From Time To Time For Safe Keeping; And Many More Are To Be Seen At The

Black Gate, Formerly The Chief Entrance To The Castle Hall And Its

Surroundings. The Great Hall Of The Castle, In Which John Baliol Did

Homage To Edward I. For The Crown Of Scotland, Stood On The Spot Now

Covered By The Moot Hall. The Black Gate, The Lower Part Of Which Is The

Oldest Part Of The Building, Which Has Many Times Been Altered And

Repaired, Is Now Used As A Museum. There Were Nearly A Dozen Rooms In

It, And Not So Many Years Ago The Corporation Of Newcastle Let These Out

In Tenements, Until This Building Also Was Rescued From Degradation By

The Newcastle Society Of Antiquaries, Who Took Down Most Of The Dividing

Walls, And Converted It Into A Museum. Here May Be Seen Stored Many

Sculptured Stones, Altars, And Statues, Which Have Been Brought From The

Various Roman Stations In The North.

 

Around The Walls Of One Room Are To Be Seen Facsimiles Of The Famous

Bayeux Tapestry; There Is Also A Model Of The Castle As Originally

Built, And There Are Many More Exhibits And Loans Of The Very Greatest

Interest.

 

Of The Walls Of Newcastle Only Fragments Remain, The Most Considerable

Portion Being Found Between Westgate Road And St. Andrew's Churchyard;

Here Are Also Remains Of Several Of The Watch-Towers That Stood At

Intervals Around The Walls--The Heber Tower, The Mordaunt Or Morden

Tower, And The Ever Tower. Between The Two First Named Towers May Be

Seen A Little Doorway, Walled Up, Once Used By The Friars, Who Obtained

From Edward Ii. Permission To Make The Doorway In Order That They Might

The More Easily Reach Their Gardens And Orchards Outside; But They Had

To Be Ready To Build It Up At A Moment's Notice On The Approach Of An

Enemy. One Of The Towers--The Carliol Or Weaver's Tower--Was Pulled Down

To Make Room For The Central Free Library, Opened In 1881. Many Little

Fragments Of The Castle Wall Are To Be Seen Near The High Level Bridge,

Incorporated In Other Walls, As Far As The South Postern Of The Castle,

Which Is Said To Be The Only Remaining Norman Postern In England And Is

The Oldest Remaining Part Of The Castle.

 

The Old Streets Of Newcastle Are Fast Disappearing To Make Room For The

Ever-Increasing Needs Of Commerce; At The Moment Of Writing It Is Being

Proposed To Pull Down More Of The Historic Street Called The Side, To

Make Room For New Printing Offices. At The Head Of This Curious Old

Street, Which Curves Downward From The Cathedral To The River, Stood The

Birthplace Of Cuthbert Collingwood, Who Was To Become Admiral Lord

Collingwood, And Second In Fame Only To Nelson Himself. Both This House

And The One Where Thomas Bewick Had His Workshop, Near The Cathedral,

Have Gone To Make Room For New Buildings.

 

At The Foot Of This Street, Where It Curves To The River Front, Is The

Sandhill, Facing The Swing Bridge. Here Are Several Old Houses

Remaining, With Many-Windowed Fronts, Looking Out On The River. One Of

These Was The House Of Aubone Surtees, The Banker, Whose Daughter

Bessie, In 1772, Stole Out Of One Of Those Little Windows, And Gave

Herself Into The Keeping Of Young Jack Scott, Who Was Waiting For Her

Below. The Adventurous Youth Became Lord Chancellor Of England, And Is

Best Known As Lord Eldon; His Brother William Became Lord Stowell, And

Was For Many Years Judge Of The High Court Of Admiralty.

 

Opposite The Old Houses Of The Sandhill, Close To The River Bank, Is The

Old Guildhall, Greatly Altered In Appearance From The Time When John

Wesley Preached From Its Steps To The Keelmen And Fishermen Of The Town.

It Was Here That A Sturdy Fishwife Put Her Arms Round Him, When Some

Boisterous Spirits In The Crowd Threatened Him With Ill-Usage, And,

Shaking Her Fist In Their Faces, Swore To "Floor Them" If They Touched

Her "Canny Man."

 

This Spot, Where The Swing Bridge Unites The Lower Banks Of The Stream,

Seems Always To Have Been The Most Convenient Point For Crossing The

River, For The Present Bridge Is The Fifth That Has Spanned The Tyne At

This Point: Hadrian's Bridge, Pons Aelii; A Mediaeval Bridge Destroyed

By Fire In 1248; The Old Tyne Bridge, Swept Away In The Flood Of 1771;

The Successor Of This, Which Was Found Too Low To Allow Of The Passage

Of Such Large Vessels As Were Able To Sail Up The Tyne After The

Deepening Of The River Bed; And The Present Swing Bridge, Which Is

Worked By Hydraulic Machinery, The Invention Of Lord Armstrong. We Do

Not Know How Long Hadrian's Bridge Lasted, But William The Conqueror,

When Returning From His Expedition Into Scotland In 1071, Was Obliged To

Camp For A Time At "Monec-Cestre," As The Tyne Was In Flood, And There

Was No Bridge.

 

Some Ancient Houses Are To Be Found In Low Friar Street, One Of Which,

With Winged Heads And Dolphins Carved On It, Is Said To Be The Oldest

House In Newcastle. Turning Up An Opening On The West Side Of This

Street, All That Is Left Of The Ancient Blackfriars' Monastery May Be

Seen; Some Of Its Rooms Are Used As The Meeting Places Of Various Trade

Guilds, And The Rest Form Low Tenement Houses, In The Walls Of Which Are

Many Gothic Archways And Ancient Window-Openings Built Up. Over The Door

Of The Smith's Hall Is A Carving Of Three Hammers, And The

Inscription:--

 

  "By Hammer And Hand

  All Artes Do Stand."

 

This Hall Was Formerly The Great Hall Of The Monastery; And Here Edward

Baliol Did Homage To Edward Iii. For His Crown Of Scotland. Nun Street,

Leading Out Of Grainger Street, Reminds Us Of The Days When The Nunnery

Of St. Bartholomew Stood In This Part Of The Town, And The Nun's Moor

Was Part Of The Grounds Belonging To The Establishment. In High Friar

Street, Which Was Not Then The Dilapidated Lane It Now Appears, Richard

Grainger Was Born.

 

Another Part Of The Town Which Has Fallen From Its Former High Estate Is

The Close, Which Lies Along The River Front, Westward From The Sandhill.

Here, At One Time, Lived Many Of The Principal Inhabitants Of

Newcastle--Sir John Marley, Sir William Blackett, Sir Ralph Millbank,

And Others Equally Important; And Here, Too, Was The Former Mansion

House Of The City, Where The Mayors Resided, And Where They Could

Receive Distinguished Visitors To The Town. Amongst Those Who Have Been

Entertained There Were The Duke Of Wellington And The First King Of The

Belgians. But In 1836 The Corporation Of Newcastle Sold The House, With

The Furniture, Books, Pictures, Plate, And Everything Else It Contained.

 

Eastward From The Sandhill Is Sandgate, Immortalised In The "Newcastle

Anthem"--The Keel Row. Its Present Appearance Is Very Different From The

Green Slope And Sandy Shore Of Former Days; The Keelmen, Too, Have

Vanished, And Their Place In The Commercial Economy Of The Tyne Is Taken

By Waggon-Ways And Coal-Shoots. The Old Narrow Alleys Of The Town,

Called "Chares," Are Fast Disappearing; The Best Known Is Pudding Chare,

Leading From Bigg Market To Westgate Road. Many And Various Are The

Explanations That Have Been Offered To Account For Its Curious Name, But

The True One Does Not Seem Yet To Have Appeared.

 

Pilgrim Street Owes Its Name To The Fact That It Was The Route Of The

Pilgrims Who Came In Great Numbers To Visit The Little Chapel Or Shrine

Of Our