120-512: Newcastle station (also known as Newcastle Central and locally as Central Station ) is a railway station in Newcastle , Tyne and Wear , England , United Kingdom . It is located on the East Coast Main Line , around 268 miles (432 km) north of London King's Cross . It is the primary national rail station serving Newcastle upon Tyne and is an interchange for local services provided by
240-402: A domed ceiling and glass centrepiece. Often the ground-floor design includes a curved or bow end at one side of the house, like Nunnykirk Hall and Longhirst Hall. The quality of the stonework in all Dobson homes is superb, and it is believed that he regularly used the same team of stonemasons as he did with other craftsmen he employed. In 1824, several years before Richard Grainger did
360-613: A crossing of the Tyne was obviously going to be a lengthy process, so that he gave the construction of the general station a low priority. The Tyne crossing became the High Level Bridge . In February 1846, the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway exerted pressure for the general station to be built, and the architect John Dobson was appointed by Hudson to design it, in association with the engineer T E Harrison , and Robert Stephenson . Gibson Kyle
480-515: A financial shock. At a time of more difficult trading and a tighter money market, Hudson's personal dealings were exposed as shady. The York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway had been formed by merger of the previous smaller companies, and the YN&;BR wished to reduce the financial commitment to the Central Station substantially; hotel accommodation and the covered carriage drive were eliminated. One of
600-607: A further £34 million of UK Government funding for the project in January 2021 enables the necessary land to be purchased, detailed designs to be prepared and some early preparatory and site works to begin. In January 2021, it was anticipated that the UK Government would fund the remainder of the project cost, estimated at £166 million as of January 2021, once the final phase of design works were completed. However, in April 2021, it
720-596: A grand dinner attended by 2000 guests, and the Laing Art Gallery has a painting of this event. With the exception of the timber roof which was destroyed by a fire in 1901 and replaced by latticed-steel arches the Market is largely in its original condition. The Grainger Market architecture, like most in Grainger Town, which are either grade I or II listed, was listed grade I in 1954 by English Heritage. The development of
840-522: A half-hourly service to Edinburgh. One service is also provided each evening Monday - Friday from Newcastle to Sunderland . Rolling stock used: Class 800 , Class 801 Early-morning service, the Flying Scotsman is operated by LNER, it originates at Edinburgh Waverley, and terminates at London King's Cross. It calls at Newcastle only between these two stations, and arrives at London King's Cross at 09.40. As of 2024, no corresponding northbound service
960-487: A handful of historic densely occupied, arguably overinflated markets in the local authorities: Harrogate , Cheltenham , Bath , inner London, Hastings , Brighton and Royal Tunbridge Wells . Significant 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. The Byker Redevelopment has won
1080-427: A large sum of money for his work. Grainger attempted to reduce the indebtedness by charging Dobson £250 for a staircase and painted ceiling removed from Anderson Place. Dobson thought the amount was outrageous and an underhanded trick, expressing his indignation to Grainger in various surviving letters. It is believed these circumstances led to the final break of their professional relationship. Dobson married Isabella,
1200-530: A major redevelopment, including an £8.6 million project to regenerate the inside of the station, and a further £11.4 million to develop the area surrounding the station. The portico redevelopment was completed in April 2014. The redevelopment plans contained a number of changes, including: Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne , or simply Newcastle ( / nj uː ˈ k æ s əl / new- KASS -əl , RP : / ˈ nj uː k ɑː s əl / NEW -kah-səl ),
1320-538: A monopoly in the coal trade to a cartel of Newcastle burgesses known as the Hostmen . This monopoly, which lasted for a considerable time, helped Newcastle prosper and develop into a major town. The phrase taking coals to Newcastle was first recorded contextually in 1538. The phrase itself means a pointless pursuit. In the 18th century, the American entrepreneur Timothy Dexter , regarded as an eccentric, defied this idiom. He
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#17330855340791440-456: A narrow block that formed the arcade. The arcade's front façade had six fluted Corinthian columns, and its interior was 250 feet (76 m) long with an arched Grecian-style ceiling with several domed skylights. Although elegant, the Royal Arcade was not a commercial success. It was located too far from the town centre's main shopping areas. Demolition was considered as early as the 1880s, but
1560-443: A new meat market and vegetable market. The meat market was placed between two new streets, Grainger Street and Clayton Street, and the vegetable market was placed on the west side of Clayton Street. Both were designed by Dobson. The meat market had pilastered arcades , 360 windows, fanlights and wooden cornices , and four avenues each 338 feet (103 m) long. It contained 180 butchers ' shops when it opened. The vegetable market
1680-465: A number of commuter and regional services : Rolling stock used: Class 156 and Class 158 diesel multiple units Open-access operator Lumo provides services northbound to Morpeth and Edinburgh Waverley, and southbound to Stevenage and London Kings Cross. Rolling stock used: Class 803 Proposals to reintroduce passenger rail services between Newcastle Central Station and the communities of south east Northumberland have been discussed since
1800-586: A part of the City undergoing redevelopment. The slow demise of the shipyards on the banks of the River Tyne happened in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. During the Second World War, the city and surrounding area were a target for air raids as heavy industry was involved in the production of ships and armaments. The raids caused 141 deaths and 587 injuries. A former French consul in Newcastle called Jacques Serre assisted
1920-517: A passionate devotee of Grecian art and architecture, is thought to have strongly influenced Dobson, who adopted that architectural style in many of his future works. At the time, Dobson and Ignatius Bonomi in County Durham were the only practising architects between York and Edinburgh . The first building Dobson designed is unclear, but his daughter maintained it was North Seaton Hall, near Ashington , built in 1813 and demolished in 1960. Dobson
2040-455: A pupil with David Stephenson , the leading architect-builder in Newcastle and the designer of All Saints' Church and the original Theatre Royal on Mosley Street. Dobson completed his studies in 1810, when he was 23. He left Newcastle to study art in London as a pupil of the watercolourist John Varley . At first, Varley refused the offer of Dobson studying under him, saying he could not spare
2160-648: A reason it was accepted. In 1820, the Newcastle City Council authorized the demolition of the Chapel of St Thomas the Martyr at the north end of the Tyne Bridge so the road could be widened. The council chose Barras Bridge on Magdalene Meadow, belonging to St Mary Magdalene Hospital, as the location for the new chapel . Dobson designed it in the modified Gothic style in 1827, featuring a novel hollow tower. Construction
2280-478: A substantial amount of property in the two North East of England towns was destroyed in a series of fires and an explosion which killed 53 and injured hundreds. The status of city was granted to Newcastle on 3 June 1882. In the 19th century, shipbuilding and heavy engineering were central to the city's prosperity; and the city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution . This revolution resulted in
2400-569: A thriving, cosmopolitan area with bars, restaurants, hotels and public spaces. The historic heart of Newcastle is the Grainger Town area. Established on classical streets built by Richard Grainger , a builder and developer, between 1835 and 1842, some of Newcastle upon Tyne's finest buildings and streets lie within this area of the city centre including Grainger Market , Theatre Royal , Grey Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street. These buildings are predominantly four stories high, with vertical dormers, domes, turrets and spikes. Richard Grainger
2520-528: A vast portico having double colonnades and an Italianate tower at the east end. Behind this was an enormous train shed made up of three arched glass roofs built in a curve on an 800-foot (240 m) radius. This design won an award at the Paris Exhibition of 1858. Unfortunately, Dobson was forced to alter his plans to produce a much less substantial portico and remove the Italianate tower. The station
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#17330855340792640-664: Is Exhibition Park , which contains the only remaining pavilion from the North East Coast Exhibition of 1929 . From the 1970s until 2006 this housed the Newcastle Military Vehicle Museum; which closed in 2006. The pavilion is now being used as a microbrewery and concert venue for Wylam Brewery . The wooded gorge of the Ouseburn in the east of the city is known as Jesmond Dene and forms another recreation area, linked by Armstrong Park and Heaton Park to
2760-526: Is St James' Park , the stadium home of Newcastle United FC which dominates the view of the city from all directions. Another major green space in the city is the Town Moor , lying immediately north of the city centre. It is larger than London's Hyde Park and Hampstead Heath put together and the freemen of the city have the right to graze cattle on it. The right extends to the pitch of St. James' Park , Newcastle United Football Club's ground ; this
2880-524: Is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear , England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough , located on the River Tyne 's northern bank opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England . Newcastle developed around a Roman settlement called Pons Aelius . The settlement became known as Monkchester before taking on
3000-607: Is a constituent member of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority . The first recorded settlement in what is now Newcastle was Pons Aelius (" Hadrian 's bridge"), a Roman fort and bridge across the River Tyne . It was given the family name of the Roman Emperor Hadrian , who founded it in the 2nd century AD. This rare honour suggests Hadrian may have visited the site and instituted the bridge on his tour of Britain. The population of Pons Aelius then
3120-485: Is anticipated that the main construction phase might begin as early as June 2022, enabling an opening date in 2024. The station currently has 11 operational platforms. The former Platform 12 was mainly used by CrossCountry services terminating at Newcastle. It was closed in May 2023 to allow track and signalling modifications which enabled longer trains to occupy the adjacent platform 11. Plans were revealed on 30 April 2013 for
3240-628: Is estimated at 2,000. Fragments of Hadrian's Wall are visible in parts of Newcastle, particularly along the West Road. The course of the "Roman Wall" can be traced eastwards to the Segedunum Roman fort in Wallsend – the "wall's end" – and to the separate supply fort of Arbeia in South Shields , across the river from Hadrian's Wall. The extent of Hadrian's Wall was 73 miles (117 km), spanning
3360-551: Is magnificent inside for its spectacular combination of curves and outside for its sheer size and length". The train shed at Newcastle, the authors state, "was the first of the great arched roofs and represented a bold step forward which was copied by others". It was the first use of malleable rolled iron ribs – indeed the first large glass and iron vault in England, predating the Crystal Palace . Gibson Kyle , Dobson's nephew,
3480-671: Is not exercised, although the Freemen do collect rent for the loss of privilege. Honorary freemen include Bob Geldof , King Harald V of Norway, Bobby Robson , Alan Shearer , the late Nelson Mandela and the Royal Shakespeare Company . The Hoppings funfair, said to be the largest travelling funfair in Europe, is held here annually in June. In the south-eastern corner of the Town Moor
3600-615: Is provided. Rolling stock used: Class 800, Class 801 CrossCountry operates services north into Scotland, supplementing London North Eastern Railway services, and southbound there are two trains per hour to the CrossCountry hub at Birmingham New Street , from where they extend towards the South West and South Coast. Rolling stock used: Class 220 , Class 221 Newcastle is a terminus for TransPennine Express services to and from Manchester and also sees services from Liverpool call at
3720-467: Is still on display. The early history of the locomotive is uncertain; it is probably a George Stephenson locomotive, and was probably built at Killingworth Colliery workshops around 1815–1820. In 1900 the North Eastern Railway started replacing the gas lighting in the station with electric arc equipment. Further use of electricity came from 1904 when several suburban lines were electrified using
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3840-589: Is well-nigh veiled in the mists of antiquity, and it was only by diligent enquiry that Mr Holliday, the Station Master, was able to learn a little of her antecedents. That "she" was constructed as far back as 1824 – 1826 is however certain, and on that score alone she is entitled to an introduction to such of the readers of the Railway Magazine as have until now been unaware of her existence. For about fifty-five years (until 1879) she performed good service, first at
3960-566: The London Library by half a century. Some founder members of the Literary and Philosophical Society were abolitionists. Newcastle also became a glass producer with a reputation for brilliant flint glass . A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of Fenham Barracks in 1806. The great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead was a tragic and spectacular series of events starting on Friday 6 October 1854, in which
4080-562: The Ouseburn Valley , where the river finally reaches the River Tyne . The springtime dawn chorus at 55 degrees latitude has been described as one of the best in the world. The dawn chorus of the Jesmond Dene green space has been professionally recorded and has been used in various workplace and hospital rehabilitation facilities. The area around the Tyne Gorge, between Newcastle on
4200-666: The Roman departure from Britain , completed in 410, Newcastle became part of the powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria , and was known throughout this period as Munucceaster (sometimes modernised as Monkchester ). Conflicts with the Danes in 876 left the settlements along the River Tyne in ruins. After the conflicts with the Danes, and following the 1088 rebellion against the Normans, Monkchester
4320-509: The Tyne and Wear Metro network whose Central Station is situated beneath the national rail station. It is the busiest station in Tyne & Wear, as well as the busiest in North East England . The main line serving the station is the East Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh via Berwick and Newcastle . TransPennine Express maintains a frequent service to Liverpool and Manchester , and CrossCountry provides services to
4440-786: The West Midlands and South West of England. The station is also on the Durham Coast Line which provides commuter connections to Gateshead , Sunderland , Hartlepool , Stockton , and Middlesbrough . Additionally, the station is served by the Tyne Valley Line to Hexham and Carlisle . Direct destinations from the station include London , Edinburgh , Aberdeen , Glasgow , Manchester , Liverpool , Leeds , Durham , York , Darlington , Bristol , Reading , Birmingham , Derby and Plymouth . The station opened in August 1850, as part of
4560-508: The development of Newcastle was a new street leading up from Dean Street to intersect with Blackett Street. Originally called Upper Dean Street, it was eventually renamed Grey Street . Dobson was originally credited for the whole street's design (by Pevsner for one), possibly due to his daughter's assertions. It is now believed that Dobson was responsible only for the east side from Shakespeare Street to Mosley Street, and architects from Grainger's office, John Wardle and George Walker, designed
4680-526: The third rail system, to form the Tyneside Electrics system, electric trains were introduced, using Central Station from 1 July 1904. The tracks on platforms 1 to 6 were equipped with electrified third rails, and platform 7 was later electrified to handle electric trains to South Shields . Another major development came on 1 October 1906 when the King Edward VII Bridge was opened, crossing
4800-444: The "Tynemouth Square". There was a separate booking hall for those local services. At this stage the roof covered seven and a half acres in area; there were fifteen platforms with a length of 3,000 yards (2,700 m). In 1901 an early steam locomotive was on display at the station: [The station] is further graced by a pedestal on which stands a curious old locomotive rejoicing in the name of "Billy". The true early history of "Billy"
4920-511: The 1830s by Richard Grainger and John Dobson . More recently, Newcastle architecture considered to be Tyneside classical has been extensively restored. Broadcaster and writer Stuart Maconie described Newcastle as England's best-looking city and the German-born British scholar of architecture, Nikolaus Pevsner , describes Grey Street as one of the finest streets in England. In 1948 the poet John Betjeman said of Grey Street, "As for
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5040-467: The 1920s, and the process continued into the 1970s, along with substantial private house building and acquisitions. Unemployment hit record heights in Newcastle during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The city's last coal pit closed in 1956, though a temporary open cast mine was opened in 2013. The temporary open cast mine shifted 40,000 tonnes of coal, using modern techniques to reduce noise, on
5160-478: The 1960s. A new island platform was provided, built around the southern wall of the station. The two platform faces are divided so as to provide four numbered platforms, 5 to 8, generally used for local trains. Newcastle is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line . The station is operated by London North Eastern Railway . London North Eastern Railway provides high-speed inter-city services southbound every half-hour to London (one fast, one semi-fast) as well as
5280-404: The 1990s. In the early 2010s, Northumberland County Council became interested in the proposals, commissioning Network Rail to complete the first study into the feasibility of the scheme in June 2013. This was followed by a more detailed study, commissioned in June 2015, which confirmed that the reintroduction of a frequent seven-day-a-week passenger service between Newcastle Central and Ashington
5400-465: The 19th century were a group of unrelated people who lived in and around the centre of Newcastle and its Quayside between the end of the 18th and early/mid 19th century. They are depicted in a painting by Henry Perlee Parker . Newcastle was the country's fourth 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
5520-633: The German war effort by describing important targets in the region to Admiral Raeder who was the head of the German Navy. The public sector in Newcastle began to expand in the 1960s. The federal structure of the University of Durham was dissolved. That university's college in Newcastle, which had been known as King's College, became the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (now known as Newcastle University ), which
5640-570: The Great Exhibition of the North, the largest event in England in 2018. The exhibition began on 22 June with an opening ceremony on the River Tyne, and ended on 9 September with the Great North Run weekend. The exhibition describes the story of the north of England through its innovators, artists, designers and businesses. In 2019, various travel sites named Newcastle to be the friendliest city in
5760-468: The North . Newcastle's thriving Chinatown lies in the north-west of Grainger Town , centred on Stowell Street. A new Chinese arch, or paifang , providing a landmark entrance, was handed over to the city with a ceremony in 2005. The Tyneside flat was the dominant housing form constructed at the time when the industrial centres on Tyneside were growing most rapidly. They can still be found in areas such as South Heaton in Newcastle but once dominated
5880-638: The Springwell, and latterly at the Killingworth colliery, from which place she actually steamed into Newcastle in 1881 to celebrate George Stephenson's Centenary. An image of the locomotive in Bywell's article is captioned "Puffing billy" but it is not Puffing Billy of 1814, which is currently on display at the Science Museum in London. The locomotive in Bywell's article is known simply as Billy (Built in 1826). It
6000-506: The Tyne to the south-west of the station: Since 1850 East Coast Main Line trains had entered Newcastle from the south via the High Level Bridge to the south-east, this meant however that they had to reverse in order to continue their journey, which lengthened journey times and led to congestion at the busy junction east of the station. The four-track King Edward Bridge remedied this by allowing north–south trains to leave or enter from either side of
6120-478: The Tyneside suburban routes that had declined under British Railways management. The underground Central Station for Metro trains was constructed during the late 1970s underneath the main line station, and opened in 1981. Part of the porte-cochère was temporarily dismantled while excavation work took place. The Metro system was a considerable success; Many conventional rail services were transferred there, and several of
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#17330855340796240-594: The UK. Since 1974, Newcastle has been a part of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear in North East England . The city is located on the north-western bank of the River Tyne , approximately 46 miles (74 km) south of the border with Scotland. The ground beneath the city is formed from Carboniferous strata of the Middle Pennine Coal Measures Group — a suite of sandstones , mudstones and coal seams which generally dip moderately eastwards. To
6360-439: The arcade survived until the 1960s. In 1824, Richard Grainger commissioned Dobson to produce designs for Eldon Square . Dobson's clean Grecian-inspired design had three two and story terraces facing a central square . The east and west terraces had 27 bays of windows, and the north terrace had 39 bays. The first floors had continuous cast-iron balconies with Grecian honeysuckle decoration. Giant Doric pilasters at
6480-452: The authority is one of few authorities to see the proportion of detached homes rise in the 2010 Census (to 7.8%), in this instance this was coupled with a similar rise in flats and waterside apartments to 25.6%, and the proportion of converted or shared houses in 2011 renders this dwelling type within the highest of the five colour-coded brackets at 5.9%, and on a par with Oxford and Reading , greater than Manchester and Liverpool and below
6600-483: The city in the 1960s saw the demolition of part of Grainger Town 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 from Pontefract , West Yorkshire, and both were imprisoned. Echoes of the scandal were revisited in the late 1990s in the BBC TV mini-series, Our Friends in
6720-483: The city today dates from this period. Throughout the Middle Ages , Newcastle was England's northern fortress. In 1400 Newcastle was separated from Northumberland for administrative purposes and made a county of itself by Henry IV . Newcastle was given the title of the county of the town of Newcastle upon Tyne. The town had a new charter granted by Elizabeth I in 1589. A 25-foot-high (7.6 m) stone wall
6840-452: The cost of the roof ironwork, compared with cutting rectilinear plates to the curve. The station was lit by gas; a demonstration of electric arc-lighting was made, but was not at that date a practical possibility for the large station space. The platforms were positioned 15 inches above rail level. The station was shared from the beginning by the Newcastle and North Shields Railway , which abandoned its earlier terminus at Carliol Square to
6960-526: The curve of Grey Street, I shall never forget seeing it to perfection, traffic-less on a misty Sunday morning." The street curves down from Grey's Monument towards the valley of the River Tyne and was voted England's finest street in 2005 in a survey of BBC Radio 4 listeners. In the Google Street View awards of 2010, Grey Street came 3rd in the British picturesque category. A portion of Grainger Town
7080-562: The east end bays were closed and converted to car parking and other usage. The Carlisle line was diverted in 1982 to enter Newcastle over the King Edward Bridge of 1906, and a large out-of-town shopping development, the Metro Centre , was opened with a station on that line in 1987. The changing pattern of railway services meant that terminating trains were significantly fewer and through trains had increased. The emphasis on bay platforms at
7200-522: The east which had operated since 1839. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway started using Central station from 1 January 1851, and also abandoned its earlier terminus at Forth. In 1861, the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway had already merged with others to form the North Eastern Railway , and now it was desired to amalgamate with the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway too. The Corporation of Newcastle used
7320-433: The eldest daughter of Alexander Rutherford of Warburton House, Gateshead . She had great artistic talent and was an excellent painter of miniatures . They had three sons and five daughters. His youngest son, Alexander, Ralph, Dobson born November 1834, inherited his father's artistic genius, gaining first prize in architecture at University College. He had just returned to his father's office full of enthusiasm to work when he
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#17330855340797440-489: The end of each terrace were faced with finely cut ashlar , more elegant and clean than the stucco used extensively in London at the time. Only the east terrace survives, as the other two were demolished by 1973 for the Eldon Square Shopping Centre . Grainger's plans for the development of Newcastle town centre involved the demolition of the existing flesh market . Grainger, therefore, offered to build
7560-633: The epidemic; this may also have been the most devastating loss in any British city in this period. During the English Civil War , the North declared for the King. In a bid to gain Newcastle and the Tyne, Cromwell's allies, the Scots, captured the town of Newburn . In 1644, the Scots then captured the reinforced fortification on the Lawe in South Shields following a siege and the city was besieged for many months . It
7680-543: The first Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design in 1988. Newcastle has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). Data in Newcastle was first collected in 1802 by the solicitor James Losh . Situated in the rain shadow of the North Pennines , Newcastle is amongst the driest cities in the UK. Temperature extremes recorded at Newcastle Weather Centre include 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) set in July 2022 down to −14.0 °C (6.8 °F) on 29 December 1995. Newcastle can have cool to cold winters, though usually warmer than
7800-501: The frequency to be doubled to half-hourly. In August 2020, it was reported that these four proposed phases might be merged into a single one. The Department for Transport allocated an initial grant of £1.5 million towards the project costs in January 2020 which was supplemented by an allocation of £10 million of funds from Northumberland County Council the following month. This funding enabled detailed on-site ground investigation works to begin in October 2020. The allocation of
7920-420: The keels, boats that were used to transfer coal from the river banks to the waiting colliers , for export to London and elsewhere. In the 1630s, about 7,000 out of 20,000 inhabitants of Newcastle died of plague , more than one-third of the population. Specifically within the year 1636, it is roughly estimated with evidence held by the Society of Antiquaries that 47% of the then population of Newcastle died from
8040-760: The line as a possible candidate for a future reintroduction of passenger services. More detailed plans were announced in July 2019 which would have split the project into four phases to reduce the initial cost of the scheme. The initial phase, at an estimated £90 million, would have seen the creation of new or reopened National Rail stations at Northumberland Park (for interchange with the Tyne and Wear Metro), Newsham , Bedlington and Ashington and several other infrastructure upgrades undertaken to allow an hourly passenger train to be provided between them and Newcastle. Two further stations, at Seaton Delaval and Blyth Bebside were to be added in Phase 2 and other infrastructure upgrades would follow in Phases 3 and 4 to enable
8160-427: The motor car, Newcastle's road network was improved in the early part of the 20th century, beginning with the opening of the Redheugh road bridge in 1901 and the Tyne Bridge in 1928. Efforts to preserve the city's historic past were evident as long ago as 1934, when the Museum of Science and Industry opened, as did the John G Joicey Museum in the same year. Council housing began to replace inner-city slums in
8280-428: The name of a castle built in 1080 by William the Conqueror 's eldest son, Robert Curthose . It was one of the world's largest ship building and repair centres during the Industrial Revolution . Newcastle was historically part of the county of Northumberland , but governed as a county corporate after 1400. In 1974, Newcastle became part of Tyne and Wear . The local authority is Newcastle City Council , which
8400-406: The north bank and Gateshead on the south bank, is the famous Newcastle-Gateshead Quayside . It is famed for its series of dramatic bridges, including the Tyne Bridge of 1928 which was built by Dorman Long of Middlesbrough , Robert Stephenson 's High Level Bridge of 1849, the first road/rail bridge in the world, and the Swing Bridge of 1876. Large-scale regeneration efforts have led to
8520-475: The north bank. They opened this line and a temporary station at Forth, and passenger trains started using that on 1 March 1847. Hudson, known as the "Railway King" was concentrating on connecting his portfolio of railways so as to join Edinburgh with the English network. His Newcastle and Berwick Railway obtained its authorising Act of Parliament in 1845, but for the time being it was to use the Newcastle and North Shields Railway's station at Carliol Square. Building
8640-436: The opportunity of the necessary Parliamentary Bill for the amalgamation to insist on construction of the abandoned porte-cochère, and this was designed by Thomas Prosser and completed in 1863. In the 1860s, the passenger train service was increasing considerably, especially as branch lines opened, six platforms were increased to nine in 1871 and to twelve in 1877, and then to fifteen in 1894: an additional through island platform
8760-762: The replacement of former shipping premises with modern new office developments; an innovative tilting bridge - the Gateshead Millennium Bridge - integrated the Quayside more closely with the Gateshead Quayside, home to the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art (the venue for the Turner Prize 2011) and the Norman Foster -designed The Sage Gateshead music centre. The Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides are now
8880-415: The revolution of marine propulsion and the production of cheap electricity . In 1882, Newcastle became the seat of an Anglican diocese , with St. Nicholas' Church becoming its cathedral. Newcastle's public transport system was modernised in 1901 when Newcastle Corporation Tramways electric trams were introduced to the city's streets, though these were replaced gradually by trolley buses from 1935, with
9000-619: The riverside to higher parts of the city centre and the extant Castle Keep , originally recorded in the 14th century, remain intact in places. Close, Sandhill and Quayside contain modern buildings as well as structures dating from the 15th–18th centuries, including Bessie Surtees House , the Cooperage and Lloyds Quayside Bars, Derwentwater House and House of Tides, a restaurant situated at a Grade I-listed 16th century merchant's house at 28–30 Close. The city has an extensive neoclassical centre referred to as Tyneside Classical, largely developed in
9120-437: The rural areas around it, and the winters are often compensated for by warm summers, with very long daylight hours in the summer months, longer than all other major English cities. Newcastle upon Tyne shares the same latitude as Copenhagen and southern Sweden. John Dobson (architect) John Dobson (9 November 1787 – 8 January 1865) was a 19th-century English neoclassical architect . During his life, he
9240-417: The same, Dobson presented plans to the council to purchase and develop Anderson Place in Newcastle's centre. Dobson proposed a Mansion House as a "civic palace" with grand squares linked by wide tree-lined streets . Dobson's scheme called for an elegant city centre, but it was hugely expensive, and he lacked financial backing. Grainger's later Newcastle plan was not as grand but showed greater business acumen,
9360-627: The station heading towards Edinburgh . With the electrification of the Manchester to Liverpool Line , from May 2014 a new timetable was introduced which is made up an hourly express service between Newcastle and Liverpool via Leeds and Manchester reducing journey times to Liverpool to three hours as part of the Northern Hub scheme. Services to Leeds/York are also supplemented by London North Eastern Railway and CrossCountry. Rolling stock used: Class 802 bi-mode multiple units Northern Trains operates
9480-465: The station was no longer appropriate. The opportunity was taken in conjunction with the East Coast Main Line electrification scheme, inaugurated in 1991 by British Rail , to extend the station southwards to provide more through platforms. This encroached on to land occupied by through tracks previously used by goods trains, which had seen little use since the withdrawal of many goods services in
9600-564: The station. The train shed was, jointly with the Lime Street station in Liverpool, the first to be designed and built in Britain using curved wrought iron ribs to support an arched roof. The large section of the ribs was fabricated using curved web plates specially rolled using bevelled rolls; the novel technique was created by Thomas Charlton of Hawks Crawshay, and was estimated to have saved 14% on
9720-562: The station. The triangular junction at the Gateshead side also allowed for greater flexibility, allowing trains from Sunderland to use the new bridge if necessary. In 1909, Central station became Newcastle's only major city-centre station when the former Blyth and Tyne Railway 's terminus at Newcastle New Bridge Street was closed, and its trains diverted to Central station via a new connection to Manors station. The Tyne and Wear Metro system opened in 1980, taking over and improving many of
9840-406: The station; in addition a large expansion to the east took place, with additional bay platforms there on the north side of the former bays. The original through track was blocked to form east and west bays, so that there were still only three through platform lines. This work was completed in 1894. The new group of bay platforms at the east end had their own concourse quadrangle, known at the time as
9960-518: The statue, and the monument plinth was designed and built by Benjamin Green. The Grainger Market replaced an earlier market originally built in 1808 called the Butcher Market. The Grainger Market itself, was opened in 1835 and was Newcastle's first indoor market. At the time of its opening in 1835 it was said to be one of the largest and most beautiful markets in Europe. The opening was celebrated with
10080-495: The streetscape on both sides of the Tyne. Tyneside flats were built as terraces, one of each pair of doors led to an upstairs flat while the other led into the ground-floor flat, each of two or three rooms. A new development in the Ouseburn valley has recreated them; Architects Cany Ash and Robert Sakula were attracted by the possibilities of high density without building high and getting rid of common areas. In terms of housing stock,
10200-477: The then Newcastle & Carlisle Railway and York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway . Now a Grade I listed building, it is located in the city's Grainger Town area, to the west of the Castle Keep . In Simon Jenkins ' Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations , the station was one of only ten to be awarded five stars. A scheme for a central station was proposed by Richard Grainger and Thomas Sopwith in 1836, but
10320-399: The through platforms was also removed from the plan. As built the site covered three acres and the length of the platform faces was 830 yards (760 m). The train shed proved faster to construct and on 29 August 1850, Queen Victoria visited the station by train and formally opened it. The day was declared a public holiday in Newcastle. The following day YN&BR trains were diverted into
10440-435: The time. However, upon seeing his disappointment, he agreed to give him lessons and quickly developed a mutual rapport. During his time in London, he formed lasting friendships with the likes of J. M. W. Turner , William H. Hunt , William Mulready and Robert Smirke . His Friends strongly encouraged him to stay and work in London, but he was back in Newcastle by 1811 assisting Sir Charles Monck design Belsay Hall . Monck,
10560-521: The tram service finally coming to an end in 1950. The city acquired its first art gallery, the Laing Art Gallery in 1904, so named after its founder Alexander Laing, a Scottish wine and spirit merchant who wanted to give something back to the city in which he had made his fortune. Another art gallery, the Hatton Gallery (now part of Newcastle University ), opened in 1925. With the advent of
10680-541: The turn of the 21st century included the Life Science Centre in 2000 and Millennium Bridge in 2001. Based at St James' Park since 1886, Newcastle United F.C. became Football League members in 1893. They have won four top division titles (the first in 1905 and the most recent in 1927), six FA Cups (the first in 1910 and the most recent in 1955) and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969. They broke
10800-471: The urbanisation of the city. In 1817 the Maling company, at one time the largest pottery company in the world, moved to the city. The Victorian industrial revolution brought industrial structures that included the 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (4 km) Victoria Tunnel , built in 1842, which provided underground wagon ways to the staithes . On 3 February 1879, Mosley Street in the city, was the first public road in
10920-590: The west of the city are the Upper Pennine Coal Measures and further west again the sandstones and mudstones of the Stainmore Formation, the local equivalent of the Millstone Grit . In large parts, Newcastle still retains a medieval street layout. Narrow alleys or ' chares ', most of which can only be traversed by foot, still exist in abundance, particularly around the riverside . Stairs from
11040-416: The west side of Grey Street, as well as Grainger Street, Clayton Street and Market Street. Dobson's daughter, Jane, confused crediting by claiming her father did the work of other architects. For instance, she claimed that Dobson designed Leazes Terrace and Leazes Crescent, although Thomas Oliver actually designed them. In 1841, Grainger, unknown to Dobson, had serious financial difficulties and owed Dobson
11160-471: The west side. Richard Grainger exercised close control over the master plan for Grainger Town and the quality of the work. John Dobson is given much of the credit for the detailed design, but other architects made significant contributions, especially Thomas Oliver and John and Benjamin Green . Substantial work was also done by two architects in Grainger's office, John Wardle and George Walker. They designed
11280-640: The west. Dobson produced general plans for the station, now being referred to as the Central station , on a broad curve to front Neville Street so as to accommodate the alignment of the approaching railways at east and west. It was to a "Romano-Italien design with ornamental work of the Doric order". Two through platform lines were shown, with three west end bays and two at the east end. There were to be three train shed roofs with spans of 60 feet (18 m). Extensive offices as well as refreshment facilities were shown, and there
11400-562: The width of Britain; the Wall incorporated the Vallum , a large rearward ditch with parallel mounds, and was built primarily for defence and to prevent the incursion of Pictish tribes from the north, and probably not as a fighting line for a major invasion. However, it seems that the Vallum stopped just west of Newcastle, where its role as a secondary line of defence was performed by the River Tyne . After
11520-427: The world to be lit up by the incandescent lightbulb . Newcastle was one of the first cities in the world to be lit up by electric lighting. Innovations in Newcastle and surrounding areas included the development of safety lamps , Stephenson's Rocket , Lord Armstrong 's artillery, Be-Ro flour, Lucozade , Joseph Swan 's electric light bulbs, and Charles Parsons ' invention of the steam turbine , which led to
11640-503: The world transfer record in 1996 by paying £15 million for Blackburn Rovers and England striker Alan Shearer , one of the most prolific goalscorers of that era. In 2017, Newcastle was the venue for the 2017 Freedom City festival. The 2017 Freedom City festival commemorated the 50 years since Dr Martin Luther King's visit to Newcastle, where King received his honorary degree from Newcastle University . In 2018 Newcastle hosted
11760-469: Was all but destroyed by Odo of Bayeux . Because of its strategic position, Robert Curthose , son of William the Conqueror , erected a wooden castle there in the year 1080. The town was henceforth known as Novum Castellum or New Castle . The wooden structure was replaced by a stone castle in 1087. The castle was rebuilt again in 1172 during the reign of Henry II. Much of the keep which can be seen in
11880-523: Was born on 9 December 1787 in High Chirton, North Shields , in what is now the Pineapple Inn. He was the son of an affluent market gardener, John Dobson, and his wife Margaret. Educated in Newcastle, he had an exceptional gift for drawing as a young child. Aged 11, he took the role of Hournary Draftsman for a well-renowned local damask weaver producing designs and sketches. At 15, he was placed as
12000-618: Was built around the town in the 13th century, 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. From 1530, a royal act restricted all shipments of coal from Tyneside to Newcastle Quayside , giving
12120-514: Was clerk of works. By now the general alignment of Hudson's railways was becoming clear: a main line from the south via Gateshead would approach over the High Level Bridge and enter the general station from the east; the Newcastle and Berwick line would be extended from Carliol Square and also enter from the east; through trains from London to Scotland would reverse in the new station. Newcastle and Carlisle Railway trains would of course enter from
12240-528: Was completed by 1830, at the cost of £6,000. Dobson also designed the Watergate Building, Sandhill, which replaced the demolished Chapel of St. Thomas the Martyr. In 1849 the High Level Bridge was built over the River Tyne , bringing the railway to Newcastle and north to Scotland. A suitably impressive station was required for a thriving town such as Newcastle, and Dobson provided it in his plans. His original plan of 1848 showed an ornate façade with
12360-549: Was completed in 1850 without the planned portico, and it was not until 1863 that this was added. John Dobson argued for the role of the architect in building railway stations, and his Newcastle Central is regarded by many as the finest in England. According to Gordon Biddle and Oswald Nock in The Railway Heritage of Britain : "Undoubtedly it would have been one of the finest 19th-century classical buildings in Europe had it been completed... Even so, Newcastle Central today
12480-413: Was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Eldon Square Shopping Centre , including all but one side of the original Eldon Square itself. Immediately to the north-west of the city centre is Leazes Park , first opened to the public 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". Just outside one corner of this
12600-441: Was eventually stormed ("with roaring drummes") and sacked by Cromwell's allies. The grateful King bestowed the motto " Fortiter Defendit Triumphans " ("Triumphing by a brave defence") upon the town. Charles I was imprisoned in Newcastle by the Scots in 1646–7. Newcastle opened its first lunatic asylum in 1767. The asylum catered for people from the counties of Newcastle, Durham and Northumberland. The Newcastle Eccentrics of
12720-463: Was feasible and could provide economic benefits of £70 million with more than 380,000 people using the line each year by 2034. Despite a change in the political leadership of Northumberland County Council following the 2017 local elections the authority continued to develop the project, encouraged by the Department for Transport's November 2017 report, A Strategic Vision for Rail , which named
12840-466: Was founded in 1963, followed by Newcastle Polytechnic in 1969; the latter received university status in 1992 and became the University of Northumbria at Newcastle (now known as Northumbria University ). Further efforts to preserve the city's historic past continued in the later 20th century, with the opening of Newcastle Military Vehicle Museum in 1983 and Stephenson Railway Museum in 1986. The Military Vehicle museum closed in 2006. New developments at
12960-461: Was given an open-plan layout, 318 feet (97 m) long, 57 feet (17 m) wide and 40 feet (12 m) high, with a fine timber roof. In 1835, to celebrate the opening of the markets, a grand dinner was given in the vegetable market, with 2,000 guests and presided over by the Mayor. Surprisingly, in the after-dinner speeches, no mention was made of Dobson. The crowning piece of Grainger's plan for
13080-476: Was killed aged just 19 in the great explosion on Gateshead quayside on 4 October 1854 whilst helping to extinguish the Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead. Dobson's wife, Isabella, died at 51 in 1846. Thirteen years later, in 1859, he was elected first President of the newly formed Northern Architectural Association at 72. He suffered a stroke , from which he never fully recovered, and retired in 1863. He lived for
13200-471: Was later publicly ruled out by Minister for Railways Chris Heaton-Harris ). Northumberland County Council submitted a Transport and Works Act Order application to the Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps on 26 May 2021, under which they would be conferred certain additional powers deemed necessary for the new stations to be constructed and the line upgraded to carry regular passenger services. It
13320-493: Was not built. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway had agreed to relinquish their insistence on exclusively using their Redheugh terminus on the south bank of the River Tyne . They agreed with George Hudson on a general station north of the Tyne, near the Spital. Instead of crossing the Tyne by a low level bridge and climbing to the Spital by a rope-worked incline, they would build an extension crossing at Scotswood and approaching on
13440-460: Was persuaded to sail a shipment of coal to Newcastle by merchants plotting to ruin him; however, his shipment arrived on the Tyne during a strike that had crippled local production, allowing him to turn a considerable profit. In the Sandgate area, to the east of the city, and beside the river, resided the close-knit community of keelmen and their families. They were so called because they worked on
13560-481: Was presented to Newcastle upon Tyne Corporation for preservation in 1881. Initially it was displayed on a plinth at the north end of the High Level Bridge, but was moved to the interior of Newcastle Central Station in 1896; it remained there until 1945, when it was moved to the city's Museum of Science and Industry; it was moved again in 1981 to the Stephenson Railway Museum in nearby North Shields, where it
13680-421: Was provided in 1871, occupying space formerly in use for stabling carriages. Increase in traffic continued, as also increasing train lengths and it was clear that a major extension of the station was essential. Newcastle had been given city status in 1882 and was supportive of the work, seeing it as a civic improvement. Forth Street was displaced southwards and two new trainshed roofs covered a southward extension of
13800-458: Was reported that government officials were seeking to reduce the cost of the project as part of the Department for Transport's Project SPEED initiative. It was reported that the cost-saving measures under consideration included and cutting initial service frequencies from two to one trains per hour and dropping the proposed Blyth Bebside station from initial project scope (although the latter option
13920-444: Was said to 'have found Newcastle of bricks and timber and left it in stone'. Of Grainger Town's 450 buildings, 244 are listed , of which 29 are grade I and 49 are grade II*. Grey's Monument , which commemorates Prime Minister Earl Grey and his Reform Act of 1832 , stands above Monument Metro Station and was designed and built by Edward Hodges Baily and Benjamin Green . Hodges, who also built Nelson's Column , designed and built
14040-430: Was the clerk of works on this project. In 1830, the Newcastle City Council rejected Richard Grainger ’s proposed corn exchange on a site at the bottom of Pilgrim Street, opposite Mosley Street. Grainger then built a Dobson-designed shopping arcade on the site, completed in 1832. Modelled after an elegant London shopping arcade, it had two office blocks facing Pilgrim Street and Manor Chare. The two were connected by
14160-617: Was the most noted architect in Northern England . He designed more than 50 churches and 100 private houses, but he is best known for designing Newcastle railway station and his work with Richard Grainger developing the neoclassical centre of Newcastle . Other notable structures include Nunnykirk Hall , Meldon Park , Mitford Hall , Lilburn Tower , St John the Baptist Church in Otterburn, Northumberland , and Beaufront Castle . Dobson
14280-517: Was to be a covered carriage drive on the Neville Street side extending from the porte-cochère at each end. On 7 August 1847 a contract was let for the main part of the work to Mackay and Blackstock, for £92,000 (equivalent to £10,620,000 in 2023). A considerable amount of groundworks was necessary on the large site prior to the actual building work. The work did not progress speedily, and in 1849 Hudson's collection of railway companies suffered
14400-623: Was very versatile and could design in Gothic or Tudor style if his clients desired, but Georgian was his preferred style. His country houses are not well-known, as they generally are privately held, not large enough to be open to the public, and landscaped behind parkland and trees. Architectural features of Dobson country houses include the use of golden sandstone , Corinthian or Ionic pillared entrance porticos , elegant staircases with beautiful ironwork balustrades leading to an upper gallery with matching iron balustrades, and an entry hall with
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