TYNE AND WEAR |
| Arbeia Roman Fort |
Baring Street, South Shields |
A full-size reconstruction of a Roman gateway stands
beside the excavated remains of a fort dating from AD 163. Every detail of the gateway is
based upon authentic Roman features. In Roman times the fort guarded the eastern flank of
Hadrian's Wall. Uncovered are the foundations of the headquarters building, granaries and
barracks. A museum contains objects found during excavations. |
| Blackfriars |
In centre of Newcastle upon Tyne |
Founded in the 13th century, Blackfriars is one of the
most complete Dominican friaries surviving in England. After the Dissolution of the
Monasteries the building became a meeting place for craft guilds.The former Chapter House
contains an exhibition that follows the history of Blackfriars through its three phases -
as a medieval friary, its occupation by the guilds and its 20th century restoration.
Blackfriars now houses several craft workshops. |
| Castle Keep |
Quayside, Newcastle upon Tyne |
In 1080 the Normans built a 'new castle' to guard the
strategic crossing of the River Tyne. Its Keep, a four-square tower, still stands. As the
Normans intended, the view from the ramparts is panoramic, especially to the south where
Newcastle's six bridges span the river. The High-Level Bridge was built in 1846-9 to carry
the railway high enough above the river for for the tall ships to pass beneath it. The
Tyne Bridge, opened in 1928, has become Newcastle's most famous landmark. In Broad Chare,
the Trinity Maritime Centre is crammed with ship models which illustrate Newcastle's
maritime heritage. |
| Gibside Chapel |
Off A694, 6 miles south-west of Gateshead |
Designed by James Paine, the chapel looks more like a
Palladian villa than an 18th-century church. Its sandstone facade looks down an avenue of
Turkey oaks to the statue of British Liberty at the top of a 140ft column. The chapel and
the column are the only parts of an18th-century scheme of buildings on the Gibside estate
to remain intact. Under the chapel is the mausoleum containing the remains of the Bowes
family, and of the Bowes Lyon family, Earls of Strathmore. |
| Hancock Museum |
Claremont Road, Newcastle upon Tyne |
A late Victorian building has, for more than 100 years,
housed the museum of the Natural History Society of Northumbria. It takes its name from
two brothers, John and Albany Hancock. In the 'Magic of Birds' gallery, stuffed exhibits
are shown against natural backgrounds. Abel's Ark, a display of animal specimens, is aimed
mainly at children. Across the road from the Hancock Museum is the Museum of Antiquities,
where the emphasis is on Roman altars, tombstones and artefacts from excavations on the
sites of Hadrian's Wall. Almost 2000 years separate the Wall from Newcastle's Civic
Centre, whose tower rises to 156ft above the rest of the building. By the main entrance is
as 16ft high sculpture of the river-god Tyne. |
| Hylton Castle |
Off A1231, 4 miles south-west of Sunderland |
A Norman castle on this site was built to defend a ford
on the River Wear from the Scots. The present castle was begun in the 14th century by Sir
William Hylton, and its early 15th century keep-gatehouse survives. Its special glory is
the west facade, which is broken by four square turrets and topped by battlemented
parapets, and has an array of medieval heraldry. This includes canopied banners showing
the Arms of Henry IV, and those of the Hylton family and the Percys, Dukes of
Northumberland. |
| John George Joicey Museum |
City Road, Newcastle upon Tyne |
A 17th century almshouse, formerly the Holy Jesus
Hospital is the only surviving Jacobean brick building in Newcastle. On the ground floor
30 arches run along the entire length of the building, forming a covered walkway. The
building now houses a museum devoted mainly to the social history of the city. It also
includes an exhibition of relics of the Northumberland Hussars and the 15th/19th The
King's Royal Hussars. Display's illustrate include a sound and visual presentation of the
Tyne Flood of 1771 and the Great Fire of 1854. There are also exhibits featuring 19th and
20th century sporting guns. |
| Laing Art Gallery |
Higham Place, Newcastle upon Tyne |
The Laing Art Gallery is a building of lavish Baroque
detail and a perfect setting for the art treasures it contains. They include paintings by
Reynolds, Landseer and Burne-Jones, and displays of glass, pottery and Newcastle Silver. |
| North East Aircraft Museum |
Off A1290, 3 miles west of Sunderland |
The museum has a collection of over 25 aircraft,
including an Avro Vulcan bomber of the type used in the Falklands Campaign, as well as a
range of aero engines covering almost the full span of aviation history. It also displays
relics of Second World War planes that crashed in the north-east and an interesting range
of military vehicles. |
| Segedunum Roman Fort |
Wallsend |
The name Wallsend literally
means 'the end of the wall' - Hadiran's Wall - and the Roman museum is
located on the site of Segedunum Roman Fort. There is a multimedia museum,
a fully functional reconstruction of a Roman bath house and most of the
Roman fort has been excavated and is on public view. |
| St Paul's Monastery |
Church Bank, Jarrow |
The chancel of the present parish church of St Paul was
part of the very monastery church in which the Venerable Bede, 'Father of English History'
and one of the greatest scholars of the Christian world, first prayed when he came to
Jarrow more than 1300 years ago. The church has the oldest stained glass in Europe. The
monastery was destroyed by Vikings in AD 794, but remains of the cloisters survive. The
Bede Monastery Museum in Jarrow Hall, an 18th century house, has finds from the monastery
excavations. |
| St Peter's Church |
St Peter's Way , Sunderland |
This church was part of a monastery which was once one
of the world's greatest centres of Christian learning. The monastery was built in AD 674
by St Benedict Biscop, a Northumbrian nobleman who later founded St Paul's at Jarrow. The
main Saxon parts of the church still surviving are the tower and the west wall. Showcases
contain a selection of carved stonework, and there is an audiovisual display on the 1300
year history of the church. |
| South Shields Museum |
Ocean Road, South Shields |
This museum has re-created the frontage of part of
William Black Street, East Jarrow. Thousands of visitors every year make a literary
pilgrimage to the museum's Catherine Cookson Gallery to wander down the 'street'. There is
a reconstruction of the kitchen in which the authoress spent many of her childhood hours.
An additional attraction for children is Affleck's old-fashioned sweet shop. The museum
also has a maritime section with displays of local shipbuilding.. |
| Tynemouth Castle and Priory |
In Tynemouth, near North Pier |
The headland that forms the north side of the mouth of
the Tyne, was a site of great importance both as a religious centre and as a coast and
border castle from the 7th century onwards. It was regularly attacked by the Danes between
AD 800 and 1000. Near the castle and priory, at Spanish Battery, is the Watch House of the
Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade.Founded in 1864, the brigade was Britain's first Life
Brigade. |
| Washington Old Hall |
Off A1231, in Washington |
American presidents have visited Washington Old Hall,
the home of George Washington's direct ancestors for five generations and of the
Washingtons and their descendants for 430 years. The Hall is a typical example of a small
English manor house of the early 17th century. The sundial on the terrace is the gift of a
former American Ambassador in London, Mr Walter Annenberg, while the Jacobean woodwork in
the Panelled Room, from the Old Manor House, Abbots Langley, was the gift of Miss Mabel
Choate, in memory of her father who was once American Ambassador to Britain. |
