A day in Newcastle

A day in Newcastle, and of course, across the river to Gateshead.

Linking the City of Newcastle with the town of Gateshead, the Tyne Bridge is the most celebrated of all the Tyne bridges. Though only opened in 1928, it quickly won a place in the hearts of local people. It is an icon, both a symbol of Tyneside's industrial past and its recent re-generation. It has featured in films, on television and been the subject of thousands of photographs. Ships from all over the world have tied up in sight of its massive steel arch and millions have passed over it, by car, lorry, bus, tram, motorcycle, bicycle and on foot.

There are other similar bridges, one at nearby Wylam and famous ones in Sydney and New York but none of these can match the Tyne Bridge in the affections of Tyneside's. A new bridge had been proposed many times but in 1923 serious plans were afoot in the two councils on either side of the river to obtain the necessary powers. The bridge was by then urgently needed to accommodate increasing vehicular and tram traffic, and providing employment for hundreds of men at a time of increased unemployment was also a factor. The corporations of Newcastle and Gateshead sought an Act of Parliament in 1924 and with government financial help construction began in 1925. Navigational clearance was always a factor to be considered in bridge building on the Tyne and this is reflected in its height above water. Dorman Long of Middlesbrough were the contractors and Mott, Hay and Anderson the designers, using a modified design based on the Sydney Harbour Bridge*, already under construction for 7 months by the time work commenced on Tyneside, and completed in 1932, over 3 years after the Tyne Bridge

Gateshead Millennium Bridge 

In 1996 Gateshead Council launched a competition to find a bridge that would link developments on both sides of the River Tyne and also complement the existing six bridges crossing the river.

There were over 150 entries. Gateshead residents voted for their favourite design from a shortlist of leading architectural companies.

It is estimated that 36,000 people lined the banks of the River Tyne to watch the bridge tilt for the first time on 28 June 2001

The idea of the BALTIC began in 1991 when Northern Arts (now Arts Council England North East) announced its ambition to achieve ‘major new capital facilities for the Contemporary Visual Arts in Central Tyneside’. 

Construction began in 1998: only the south and north facades of the original 1950s building were retained. It was a redevelopment from a flour mill into the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. 

A new structure consisting of six main floors and three mezzanines was secured between the facades which contained 3000 sqm of arts space (four galleries and a flexible performance space), artists' studios, cinema/lecture space, shop, a library and archive for the study of contemporary art and the Rooftop Restaurant on Level 6. An additional two-storey structure: The Riverside Building, was constructed to the west of the main building, providing the main entrance into BALTIC, which looks out across Baltic Square and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. 

The BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art opened on Saturday 13 July 2002. 

The Baltic Flour Mill or, as it is now, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art 

The Blacksmith`s needle - A slim cone-shaped tower of open metal-work, with cast-iron objects welded all over the frame. There are six layers to the 'Needle' and the objects are themed within each, according to a bodily sense. Finished in a lustrous blue patina, the 'Needle' is set on the walkway in front of contemporaneous office buildings and opposite the Baltic Flour Mills on the south bank of the Tyne. 

'Blacksmiths' Needle' was created from six sections made at public 'forge-ins' around the country. Each section represents one of the senses - including what was described as 'the mysterious sixth sense'. There are such a multitude of objects depicted that listing them becomes a game for passing families. However, the items have a predominately maritime theme, so the sculpture fits in with the overall concept for the quayside area. The 'Needle' was ceremonially inaugurated by the percussionist Evelyn Glennie, who clanked a bell that hangs inside it. The rope that made this possible broke off not long afterwards, but there is another bell attached to the outside which can still be used. 

Sage Gateshead is a concert venue and also a centre for musical education, located in Gateshead on the south bank of the River Tyne, in North East England. It opened in 2004 and is occupied by the North Music Trust.

The venue is part of the Gateshead Quays development, which also includes the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge. 

The Sage, Gateshead

I liked the top of this building which turned out to be Newcastle Civic Centre and is a local government building located in the Haymarket area of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the main administrative and ceremonial centre for Newcastle City Council. I believe we were on a bus tour when I took this shot. 

The "The Response" is a war memorial in the gardens by Newcastle Civic Centre, off Barras Bridge. The sculpture was designed by Sir W. Goscombe John and unveiled by the Prince of Wales on 5th July 1923. It depicts the Territorial Army "Pals" of the Northumberland Fusiliers marching off to the First World War. 

Another view of the Sage but this time from the Newcastle side of the Tyne. 

The Cathedral Church of St Nicholas is a Church of England cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Newcastle and is the mother church of the Diocese of Newcastle, the most northerly diocese of the Anglican Church in England, which reaches from the River Tyne as far north as Berwick-upon-Tweed and as far west as Alston in Cumbria.

Founded in 1091 during the same period as the nearby castle, the Norman church was destroyed by fire in 1216 and the current building was completed in 1350, so is mostly of the Perpendicular style of the 14th century. Its tower is noted for its 15th-century lantern spire. Heavily restored in 1777, the building was raised to cathedral status in 1882, when it became known as the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas. 

The first mention of a clock at the Cathedral was in 1565. There have been other clocks at the cathedral but the present clock was installed in 1895. 

It was made by William Potts & Sons of Leeds. It has the largest clock movement in Newcastle and is protected by glass doors. William Potts still maintain the contract for winding, regulating, oiling and maintaining the clock. It used to require winding every day until an electric motor was fitted in 1960. The dial measures six feet six inches in diameter. The clock uses four bells of the peal of twelve for the chimes and the Major Bell to strike the hour.

The clock has a white face, with black hands, Roman numerals and minute markers around the circumference of the dial, and is housed in an ornamental red wooden box with golden decoration and a sharply pointed roof.

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