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Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and metropolitan borough in
Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...
, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is also the most populous city of North East England. Newcastle developed around a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
settlement called Pons Aelius and the settlement later took the name of a castle built in 1080 by
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
's eldest son, Robert Curthose. Historically, the city’s economy was dependent on its port and in particular, its status as one of the world's largest ship building and repair centres. Today, the city's economy is diverse with major economic output in science, finance, retail, education, tourism, and nightlife. Newcastle is one of the UK Core Cities, as well as part of the Eurocities network. Famous landmarks in Newcastle include the Tyne Bridge; the Swing Bridge; Newcastle Castle; St Thomas’ Church; Grainger Town including Grey's Monument and the Theatre Royal; the Millennium Bridge; St James' Park; and Chinatown. Culturally, Newcastle is famed for its nightlife; bakery chain Greggs; television personalities Ant & Dec; the Great North Run half-marathon; and Newcastle United Football Club. Newcastle was historically part of the county of
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...
until 1400, when it became a county in its own right separate from Northumberland. Newcastle and the North Tyneside area of Northumberland, along with some of
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...
south of the city, created the county of Tyne and Wear in 1974. Newcastle is locally governed by Newcastle City Council, part of the North of Tyne Combined Authority.


History


Roman

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 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 Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This ...
—the "wall's end"—and to the supply fort
Arbeia Arbeia was a large Roman fort in South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, now ruined, and which has been partially reconstructed. It was first excavated in the 1870s and all modern buildings on the site were cleared in the 1970s. It is managed by T ...
in South Shields. The extent of Hadrian's Wall was , spanning 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, not as a fighting line for a major invasion.


Anglo-Saxon and Norman

After the
Roman departure from Britain The end of Roman rule in Britain was the transition from Roman Britain to post-Roman Britain. Roman rule ended in different parts of Britain at different times, and under different circumstances. In 383, the usurper Magnus Maximus withdrew tr ...
, completed in 410, Newcastle became part of the powerful
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
kingdom of
Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
, 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 was all but destroyed by Odo of Bayeux. Because of its strategic position, Robert Curthose, son of
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
, 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 the city today dates from this period.


Middle Ages

Throughout the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, Newcastle was England's northern fortress. In 1400 Newcastle was separated from Northumberland and made a
county of itself A county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for local government in England, Wales, and Ireland. Counties corporate were created during the Middle Ages, and were effectively small self-governing county-empower ...
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 in 1589. A high stone
wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the s ...
was built around the town in the 13th century, to defend it from invaders during the
Border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...
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.


16th to 19th centuries

From 1530, a royal act restricted all shipments of coal from Tyneside to Newcastle Quayside, giving 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 Timothy Dexter (January 22, 1747 – October 23, 1806) was an American businessman noted for his writing and eccentricity. Biography Dexter was born in Malden in the Province of Massachusetts Bay. He had little schooling and dropped out of sch ...
, regarded as an eccentric, defied this idiom. He 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 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 Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...
, 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 the epidemic; this may also have been the most devastating loss in any British city in this period. During the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...
, 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 was eventually stormed ("with roaring drummes") and sacked by Cromwell's allies. The grateful King bestowed the
motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. M ...
"''Fortiter Defendit Triumphans''" ("Triumphing by a brave defence") upon the town. Charles I was imprisoned in Newcastle by the Scots in 1646–7. In the 18th century, Newcastle was the country's fourth largest print centre after London,
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, and the Literary and Philosophical Society of 1793, with its erudite debates and large stock of books in several languages, predated 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 Flint glass is optical glass that has relatively high refractive index and low Abbe number (high dispersion). Flint glasses are arbitrarily defined as having an Abbe number of 50 to 55 or less. The currently known flint glasses have refractiv ...
. 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 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 Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to bef ...
and heavy engineering were central to the city's prosperity; and the city was a powerhouse of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. This revolution resulted in 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 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 the world to be lit up by the
incandescent lightbulb An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows. The filament is enclosed in a glass bulb with a vacuum or inert gas to protect the filament from oxida ...
. 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 Stephenson's ''Rocket'' is an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement. It was built for and won the Rainhill Trials of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR), held in October 1829 to show that improved locomotives would be m ...
, Lord Armstrong's artillery,
Be-Ro Be-Ro is a food manufacturing business, formerly based in Newcastle upon Tyne. History The Company was founded by Thomas Bell as a grocery and tea company in Longhorsley north of Newcastle in 1875. Bell had experimented with rising agents on fl ...
flour, Lucozade, Joseph Swan's electric light bulbs, and Charles Parsons' invention of the steam turbine, which led to 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.


20th and 21st centuries

Newcastle's public transport system was modernised in 1901 when
Newcastle Corporation Tramways Newcastle Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Newcastle upon Tyne between 1901 and 1950. History Services began on 16 December 1901. A fleet of twenty ‘A- Class’ tramcars built in 1901 by Hurst Nelson and Co. Ltd. of Mothe ...
electric trams were introduced to the city's streets, though these were replaced gradually by trolley buses from 1935, with 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 The Hatton Gallery is Newcastle University's art gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is based in the University's Fine Art Building. The Hatton Gallery briefly closed in February 2016 for a £3.8 million redevelopment and reopened in ...
(now part of Newcastle University), opened in 1925. With the advent of 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 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 The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
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 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 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 , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills ( Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_cha ...
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 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 The North Tyneside Steam Railway and Stephenson Steam Railway are visitor attractions in North Tyneside, North East England. The museum and railway workshops share a building on Middle Engine Lane adjacent to the Silverlink Retail Park. The ra ...
in 1986. The Military Vehicle museum closed in 2006. New developments at 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 Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
s (the first in 1910 and the most recent in 1955) and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969. They broke the world transfer record in 1996 by paying £15 million for Blackburn Rovers and
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
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 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 the UK.


Geography

Since 1974, Newcastle has been a part of the metropolitan county of
Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcas ...
in North East England. The city is located on the north-western bank of the River Tyne, approximately south of the border with Scotland. The ground beneath the city is formed from
Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carboniferou ...
strata of the Middle Pennine Coal Measures Group — a suite of
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
s, mudstones and
coal seam Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...
s which generally dip moderately eastwards. To 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 In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
street layout. Narrow alleys or '
chare A chare, in the dialect of North-east England, is a narrow medieval street or alley. Newcastle upon Tyne Chares and much of the layout of Newcastle's Quayside date from medieval times. At one point, there were 20 chares in Newcastle. After the g ...
s', most of which can only be traversed by foot, still exist in abundance, particularly around the riverside. Stairs from the riverside to higher parts of the city centre and the extant
Castle Keep ''Castle Keep'' is a 1969 American comedy-drama war film combining surrealism with tragic realism. It was directed by Sydney Pollack and starred Burt Lancaster, Patrick O'Neal, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Bruce Dern, and Peter Falk. The film appear ...
, 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 Bessie Surtees House is the name of two merchants' houses on Newcastle's Sandhill, near to the river, that were built in the 16th and 17th centuries. Though commonly referred to solely as Bessie Surtees House, the property actually consists of ...
, 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 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 Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, '' The Buildings of England'' ...
, describes Grey Street as one of the finest streets in England. In 1948 the poet John Betjeman said of Grey Street, “As for 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 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...
listeners. In the Google Street View awards of 2010, Grey Street came 3rd in the British picturesque category. A portion of Grainger Town was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the
Eldon Square Shopping Centre Eldon Square (stylised as EldonSq.) is a shopping centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in 1976 and was built on the site of Old Eldon Square, a famous part of Georgian Newcastle designed by John Dobson in about 1824. This redevel ...
, 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 is St James' Park, the stadium home of
Newcastle United FC Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...
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 St James' Park is a football stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is the home of Premier League club Newcastle United F.C. With a seating capacity of 52,305 seats, it is the eighth largest football stadium in England. St James' Park ...
, Newcastle United Football Club's
ground Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the surface of the Earth not covered by water * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical c ...
; this 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 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.


Ouseburn

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 the
Ouseburn Valley The Ouseburn Valley is the name of the valley of the Ouseburn, a small tributary of the River Tyne, running southwards through the east of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The name refers particularly to the urbanised lower valley, spanned by thr ...
, 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.


Quayside

The area around the
Tyne Tyne may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography *River Tyne, England *Port of Tyne, the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England *River Tyne, Scotland *River Tyne, a tributary of the South Esk River, Tasmania, Australia People ...
Gorge, between Newcastle on the north bank and
Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...
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 Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...
, 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 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 The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...
2011) and the Norman Foster-designed The Sage Gateshead music centre. The Newcastle and Gateshead Quaysides are now a thriving, cosmopolitan area with bars, restaurants, hotels and public spaces.


Grainger Town

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 Grainger Town is the historic commercial centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Incorporating classical streets built by Richard Grainger, a builder and developer, between 1824 and 1841, some of Newcastle's finest buildings and streets lie w ...
, Theatre Royal,
Grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be compos ...
Street, Grainger Street and Clayton Street. These buildings are predominantly four stories high, with vertical dormers, domes, turrets and spikes. Richard Grainger 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 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 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 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 Thomas Daniel Smith (11 May 1915 – 27 July 1993), also known by his nickname “Mr Newcastle”,"Southern Discomfort" (leading article), ''The Times'', 3 August 1993. was a high-profile British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who ser ...
, the leader of Newcastle City Council. A corruption scandal was uncovered involving Smith and John Poulson, a property developer from
Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...
, West Yorkshire, and both were imprisoned. Echoes of the scandal were revisited in the late 1990s in the
BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
mini-series, '' Our Friends in the North''.


Chinatown

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. Newcastle's Chinatown is one of five Chinatowns in the UK.


Housing

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 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, 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 Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
and
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...
, greater than
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
and
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
and below a handful of historic densely occupied, arguably overinflated markets in the local authorities:
Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa ...
, Cheltenham,
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
, inner London,
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
, Brighton and
Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks ...
. Significant Newcastle housing developments include Ralph Erskine's the
Byker Wall The Byker Wall is a long, unbroken block of 620 maisonettes in the Byker district of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. They were designed by Ralph Erskine and constructed in the 1970s. The wall is just part of the estate, which in total covers . D ...
designed in the 1960s, and now Grade II* listed. It is on
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
's list of outstanding 20th-century buildings.


Climate

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 on 3 August 1990 down to on 29 December 1995. Newcastle can have cool to cold winters, though usually warmer than 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, Denmark and southern Sweden. The nearest weather station to provide sunshine statistics is at Durham, about south of Newcastle City Centre. Durham's inland, less urbanised setting results in night-time temperature data about 1 degree cooler than Newcastle proper throughout the year.


Environment

The city is located within the centre of the North East Green Belt, also known as the Tyne and Wear Green Belt. The green belts stated aims are to: * ''Prevent the merging of settlements'' * ''Safeguard the countryside from encroachment'' * ''Check unrestricted urban sprawl'' * ''Assist in urban regeneration in the city-region by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land'' The green belt surrounds Brunswick Village, Dinnington, Callerton, Hazlerigg, Throckley, Walbottle, and
Woolsington Woolsington is a village in, and civil parish of, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is located north-west of the city centre, covering a large geographical area. It was also formerly an electoral ward, although the ward was slightly larger than th ...
. Popular locations such as Ryton Island, Tyne Riverside Country Park, the city's golf courses, Newcastle Racecourse, and Newcastle International Airport fall inside the green belt. The city has been recognised for its commitment to environmental issues, with a programme planned for Newcastle to become "the first
carbon neutral Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...
city" however, those plans have been revised and they now hope to be carbon neutral by 2050.


Culture


Nightlife

''The Rough Guide to Britain'' placed Newcastle upon Tyne's nightlife as Great Britain's no. 1 tourist attraction. In the Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice Destination Awards for Nightlife destinations, Newcastle was awarded third place in Europe (behind
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
) and seventh place in the world. There are many bars on the Bigg Market and its adjoining streets. Other areas popular for nightlife include Collingwood Street (commonly referred to as the 'Diamond Strip' due to its concentration of high-end bars). Neville Street, the Central Station area, Osborne Road in Jesmond and the wider Ouseburn area are home to a variety of younger metropolitan bars. “ The Gate", located on Newgate Street, has become a popular venue for late-night entertainment in the past decade and a half. Newcastle's ‘pink triangle’ is concentrated on Times Square, surrounded by the Centre for Life.


Food

Bakery chain, Greggs, was founded and is headquartered in Newcastle and has the greatest number of Greggs stores per capita in the world. Local delicacies include pease pudding and
stottie cake A stottie cake or stotty (Northumbrian dialect: ''stottie kyek'', IPA: ) is a type of bread that originated in North East England. It is a flat and round loaf, usually about in diameter and deep, with an indent in the middle produced by the b ...
. In 1967, London based Smith's Crisps created Salt & Vinegar flavour crisps which were first produced by their Newcastle based subsidiary Tudor Crisps and tested in Tudor's home market of north-east England before being launched nationally. In 2010, Osborne Road in Jesmond was awarded fourth place in the UK Google Street View awards for the "foodie" category. Newcastle is one of the seven UK cities with its own Chinatown, appropriately containing many Chinese restaurants. Additionally, the city has a wide variety of cuisines available including Greek, Mexican, Spanish,
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
, Italian, Persian, Japanese, Malaysian,
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
, Mongolian, Moroccan, Thai, Polish, Vietnamese and Lebanese. There has also been a noticeable growth in Newcastle's gourmet restaurant industry in recent years.


Theatre

The city has a proud history of theatre. Stephen Kemble of the well-known Kemble family managed the original Theatre Royal, Newcastle for fifteen years (1791–1806). He brought members of his famous acting family such as Sarah Siddons and John Kemble out of London to Newcastle. Stephen Kemble guided the theatre through many celebrated seasons. The original Theatre Royal in Newcastle was opened on 21 January 1788 and was located on Mosley Street. It was demolished to make way for Grey Street, where its replacement was built. The city still contains many theatres. The largest, the Theatre Royal on Grey Street, first opened in 1837, designed by
John and Benjamin Green John and Benjamin Green were a father and son who worked in partnership as architects in North East England during the early nineteenth century. John, the father was a civil engineer as well as an architect. Although they did carry out some commis ...
. It has hosted a season of performances from the Royal Shakespeare Company for over 25 years, as well as touring productions of West End musicals. The Mill Volvo Tyne Theatre hosts smaller touring productions, whilst other venues feature local talent.
Northern Stage Northern Stage is a regional non-profit LORT (League of Resident Theatres)-D professional theater company located in White River Junction, VT White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of H ...
, formally known as the Newcastle Playhouse and Gulbenkian Studio, hosts various local, national and international productions in addition to those produced by the Northern Stage company. Other theatres in the city include the
Live Theatre Live Theatre, formerly Live Theatre Company, is a new writing theatre and company based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. As well as producing and presenting new plays many of which go on to tour nationally and internationally, it seeks out an ...
, the People's Theatre, Gosforth Civic Theatre, and the
Jubilee Theatre The Jubilee Theatre, is a grade II listed building theatre. It opened in 1899 in St Nicholas Hospital, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. History The Victorian theatre was opened on 30 May 1900. It features a proscenium arch of Doulton ...
. NewcastleGateshead was voted in 2006 as the arts capital of the UK in a survey conducted by the
Artsworld Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
TV channel.


Literature and libraries

Newcastle has a strong reputation as a poetry centre. The
Morden Tower The Morden Tower in Back Stowell Street on the West Walls of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade 1 listed building. Since June 1964, Connie Pickard has been custodian of Morden Tower, and has made it a key ...
, run by poet
Tom Pickard Tom Pickard (born 1946, Newcastle upon Tyne, England) is a poet, and documentary film maker who was an important initiator of the movement known as the British Poetry Revival. Biography Pickard grew up in the working-class suburbs of Cowgate, New ...
, is a major venue for poetry readings in the North East, being the place where Basil Bunting gave the first reading of '' Briggflatts'' in 1965. The
Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne The Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne (or the ''Lit & Phil'' as it is popularly known) is a historical library in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and the largest independent library outside London. The library is still av ...
(popularly known as the 'Lit & Phil') is the largest independent library outside London, housing more than 150,000 books. Its music library contains 8,000 CDs and 10,000 LPs. The current Lit and Phil premises were built in 1825 and the building was designed by John and Benjamin Green. Operating since 1793 and founded as a 'conversation club,' its lecture theatre was the first public building to be lit by electric light, during a lecture by Joseph Swan on 20 October 1880. The old City library designed by Basil Spence, was demolished in 2006 and replaced. The new building opened on 21 June 2009 and was named after 18th century composer Charles Avison; the building was opened by Dr Herbert Loebl.
Seven Stories Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books is a museum and visitor centre dedicated to children's literature and based in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne, close to the city's regenerated Quayside. The renovated Victorian ...
, the National Centre for Children's Books, opened in 2005 in the
Ouseburn Valley The Ouseburn Valley is the name of the valley of the Ouseburn, a small tributary of the River Tyne, running southwards through the east of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The name refers particularly to the urbanised lower valley, spanned by thr ...
.


Festivals and fairs

In either January or February, Newcastle's Chinatown becomes the focus point of celebrations for the
Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival () a ...
with carnivals and parades. The Newcastle Science Festival, now called
Newcastle ScienceFest Newcastle ScienceFest is a 10-day event at venues across NewcastleGateshead, with the principal aim of increasing the North East's enthusiasm for science and encouraging young people to consider a career in this area. Early history The first Scie ...
, returns annually in early March. The Newcastle Beer Festival, organised by CAMRA takes place in April each year.
Evolution Festival Evolution Festival was a music festival held annually across Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, England, from 2002 until 2013. The festival attracted tens of thousands of attendees every year and usually took place on the Quayside. Evolution ...
, a music festival that attracted tens of thousands of attendees, took place in May from 2002 until 2013 and was described as "the biggest festival Tyneside has ever staged". The This Is Tomorrow festival now takes place over the spring bank holiday and is in the same location. The biennial
AV Festival AV Festival is an international festival of contemporary art, film and music, based in Newcastle upon Tyne. A biennial event, the Festival is thematically curated across contemporary artistic practice and wider society. History AV Festival 2014 ...
of international electronic art, featuring exhibitions, concerts, conferences and film screenings, is held in March. The North East Art Expo, a festival of art and design from the regions professional artists, is held in late May. The Hoppings, the largest annual collection of travelling fairs in Europe, comes together on Newcastle Town Moor every June. The event has its origins in the Temperance Movement during the early 1880s, and coincides with the annual
race week Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
at High Gosforth Park. Newcastle Community Green Festival, which claims to be the UK's biggest free community
environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scal ...
festival, also takes place every June, in Leazes Park. The Cyclone Festival of Cycling takes place within, or starting from, Newcastle in June. The Northern Pride Festival and Parade is held in Leazes Park and in the city's Gay Community in mid July. The Ouseburn Festival, a family oriented weekend festival near the city centre, incorporating a "Family Fun Day" and "Carnival Day", is held in late July. Newcastle Mela, held on the late
August Bank Holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or ...
weekend, is an annual two-day multicultural event that blends drama, music and food from
Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
, Pakistani,
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
and
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
cultures. NewcastleGateshead also holds an annual International Arts Fair. The 2009 event will be in the Norman Foster designed Sage Gateshead Music and Arts Centre in September. In October, there is the Design Event festival—an annual festival providing the public with an opportunity to see work by regional, national and international designers. The SAMA Festival, an East Asian cultural festival is also held in early October.


Music

Newcastle's vernacular music was a mixture of Northumbrian folk music and nineteenth-century songs with dialect lyrics, by writers such as George "Geordie" Ridley, whose songs include one which became an unofficial Tyneside national anthem, " Blaydon Races". The 1960s saw the internationally successful rock group The Animals emerge from Newcastle night spots such as Club A-Go-Go on Percy Street. Other well-known acts with connections to the city include
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...
, Bryan Ferry, Dire Straits and more recently Maxïmo Park. There is also a thriving underground music scene that encompasses a variety of styles, including drum and bass, doom metal and post-rock. Lindisfarne are a folk-rock group with a strong Tyneside connection. Their most famous song, "
Fog on the Tyne ''Fog on the Tyne'' is a 1971 album by English rock band Lindisfarne. Bob Johnston produced the album, which was recorded at Trident Studios in Soho, London, in the mid-1971 and released in October that year on Charisma Records in the Unit ...
" (1971), was covered by Geordie ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne in 1990. Venom, reckoned by many to be the originators of
black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...
and extremely influential to the extreme metal scene as a whole, formed in Newcastle in 1979.
Folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exam ...
band Skyclad, often regarded as the first folk metal band, also formed in Newcastle after the break-up of
Martin Walkyier Martin Walkyier (born 20 September 1967) is an English singer, known for his participation in the heavy metal bands Sabbat and Skyclad.Detlef Dengler: ''Martin Walkyier''. In: ''Metal Hammer'', February 2009, p. 129. The late ''Metal Hammer'' j ...
thrash metal band, Sabbat. Andy Taylor, former lead guitarist of Duran Duran was born here in 1961. Brian Johnson was a member of local rock band Geordie before becoming the lead vocalist for Australian band AC/DC. Newcastle is the home of Kitchenware Records (c. 1982), previously home to acclaimed bands such as Prefab Sprout,
Martin Stephenson and the Daintees Martin Stephenson & the Daintees are a British rock/folk/pop band combining elements of "rockabilly, show tunes, rootsy pop, straight-ahead rock and punk". The band is fronted by songwriter/guitarist Martin Stephenson. Career The band were ...
and
The Fatima Mansions The Fatima Mansions were an Irish rock band formed in 1988 by Cork singer/keyboardist Cathal Coughlan, formerly of Microdisney. Career The original line-up consisted of Coughlan, Nick Allum, Jonathan Fell, Zac Woolhouse and Aindrias O'Gruama ...
. The members of Lighthouse Family met at Newcastle University; the music video for their hit single "
High High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...
" features the city's Tyne Bridge. The 1990s boom in progressive house music saw the city's Global Underground record label publish mix CDs by the likes of Sasha, Paul Oakenfold, James Lavelle, and
Danny Howells Danny Howells (born 24 November 1970) is an English producer and DJ. His music is often described as progressive house, though he prefers to associate more with tech house and is sometimes described simply as "deepsexyfuturistictechfunkous ...
recording mix compilations. The label is still going strong today with offices in London and New York, and new releases from Deep Dish and Adam Freeland. Newcastle's leading classical music ensemble is the Royal Northern Sinfonia, which was founded in 1958 and performed regularly at Newcastle City Hall until 2004. Nowadays it is based at
The Sage, Gateshead The Glasshouse is an international centre for musical education and concerts on the Gateshead bank of Quayside in northern England. Opened in 2004 as Sage Gateshead and occupied by North Music Trust The venue's original name honours a patron: ...
. ICMuS, Newcastle University's music department, has been a driving force for music in the region, producing innovative work, organising concerts and festivals, instigating the first degree programme in folk music in the British Isles, and engaging creatively with communities in the region.


Concert venues

The largest venue used for music concerts is St James Park, home of Newcastle United, which has also previously been used for Rugby League games and the Olympic Games. The second largest music venue in Newcastle is the 11,000-seat
Utilita Arena Newcastle The Utilita Arena Newcastle (formerly the Newcastle Arena, Telewest Arena and Metro Radio Arena) is a large indoor arena in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Owned and operated by ASM Global and sponsored by Utilita Energy, it hosts ...
, which opened in 1995 and hosts major pop and rock concerts. Newcastle City Hall is one of the oldest venues in the region and "attracts big names who are often legends of the past". Both of the city's universities have venues that mainly host indie and
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
bands. On 14 October 2005, the 2,000 capacity
O2 Academy Newcastle NX Newcastle, formerly known as the O2 Academy Newcastle, is a music venue in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in the former Majestic Ballroom building on 14 October 2005 as the Carling Academy, and was renamed for Telefónica Europe's ...
opened. It had previously been a music venue in the 1960s, hosting concerts by
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and
The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
. The new venue was headlined by The Futureheads on the opening night and known as the Carling Academy for a number of years. Since opening the venue has hosted performances by major bands and solo musicians including Adele, Arctic Monkeys, Katy Perry, The Libertines, Blondie and Amy Winehouse. The Riverside music venue on Melbourne Street, open from 1985 until 1999, notably hosted
Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...
's first European show in 1989. The venue also welcomed Oasis,
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
and The Stone Roses and was named Best Regional Venue by NME in 1993. Riverside has also been the subject of a book, ''Riverside: Newcastle's Legendary Alternative Music Venue''. In 2016 open-air concerts took place at Times Square for the first time, including performances from Maxïmo Park, Ocean Colour Scene and Catfish and the Bottlemen. The small music venue Think Tank? was a nominee for Best Small Venue in NME in 2015.
The Cluny The Cluny is a 300-capacity live music venue, pub and café, on Lime Street, in the Ouseburn Valley area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Based in a former flax spinning mill, The Cluny occupies part of the wider building at 36 Lime Street, shar ...
in
Ouseburn Valley The Ouseburn Valley is the name of the valley of the Ouseburn, a small tributary of the River Tyne, running southwards through the east of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The name refers particularly to the urbanised lower valley, spanned by thr ...
is "one of the most important venues for breaking bands in the region". Trillians Rock Bar is well-noted for its rock and
metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...
shows, and The Head of Steam is a 90-capacity basement venue described as "one of Newcastle's staple venues".


Independent cinema

Newcastle has multiple independent cinemas, including the famous
Tyneside Cinema The Tyneside Cinema is an independent cinema in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the city's only full-time independent cultural cinema, specialising in the screening of independent and world cinema from across the globe. The last remaining Newsreel ...
, located on Pilgrim Street. It originally opened as the 'Bijou News-Reel Cinema' in 1937, and was designed and built by Dixon Scott, great-uncle of film directors Ridley Scott and Tony Scott. The Pilgrim Street building was refurbished between November 2006 and May 2008; during the refurbishment works, the cinema relocated to the Old Town Hall, Gateshead. In May 2008 the Tyneside Cinema reopened in the restored and refurbished original building. The site currently houses three cinemas, including the restored Classic —the United Kingdom's last surviving news cinema still in full-time operation—alongside two new screens, and dedicated education and teaching suites. As well as this, the city is home to The Side Cinema and Star and Shadow Cinema which are both small venues which have built up cult audiences of film fans.


Museums and galleries

There are several museums and galleries in Newcastle, including the Centre for Life with its Science Village; the Discovery Museum a museum highlighting life on Tyneside, including Tyneside's shipbuilding heritage, and inventions which changed the world; the Great North Museum; in 2009 the Newcastle on Tyne Museum of Antiquities merged with the Great North Museum (Hancock Museum);
Seven Stories Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books is a museum and visitor centre dedicated to children's literature and based in the Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle upon Tyne, close to the city's regenerated Quayside. The renovated Victorian ...
, the National Centre for Children's Books; the Side Gallery with historical and contemporary photography from around the world and Northern England; and the Newburn Motor Museum. The Laing Art Gallery, similarly to other art galleries and museums around the world, has collections digitised on the Google Cultural Institute, an initiative that makes important cultural material accessible online.


Media


TV and film

The earliest known film featuring some exterior scenes filmed in the city is ''
On the Night of the Fire ''On the Night of the Fire'', released in the United States as ''The Fugitive'', is a 1939 British thriller film, directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Ralph Richardson and Diana Wynyard. The film is based on the novel of the same nam ...
'' (1939), though by and large the action is studio-bound. Later came '' The Clouded Yellow'' (1951) and '' Payroll'' (1961), both of which feature more extensive scenes filmed in the city. The gangster thriller '' Get Carter'' (1971) was shot on location in and around Newcastle and offers an opportunity to see what Newcastle looked like in the early 1970s. The city was also backdrop to another gangster film, the film noir '' Stormy Monday'' (1988), directed by Mike Figgis and starring
Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' T ...
,
Melanie Griffith Melanie Richards Griffith (born August 9, 1957) is an American actress. She began her career in the 1970s, appearing in several independent thriller films before achieving mainstream success in the mid-1980s. Born in Manhattan, New York City, ...
,
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...
and Sean Bean. As well as this, Newcastle was used as the location for I, Daniel Blake (2016) which won the Palme d'Or award at
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...
as well as the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film. The city has been the setting for films based around football; films such as '' Purely Belter'' (2000), '' The One and Only'' (2002) and '' Goal!'' have all been focused around Tyneside. The comedy ''
School for Seduction ''School for Seduction'' is a 2004 British film directed by Sue Heel. The plot involves an Italian temptress (played by Kelly Brook) who arrives at a school in Newcastle to teach a group of Geordies about the art of romance. Incidental music Mus ...
'' (2004), starring Kelly Brook was also filmed in Newcastle. The
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...
film ''
Hum Tum Aur Ghost ''Hum Tum Aur Ghost'' (; earlier titled as ''Kaun Bola?!'' ) is a 2010 Indian Hindi supernatural comedy-drama film directed by Kabeer Kaushik and produced by Arshad Warsi, starring Arshad Warsi and Dia Mirza in the lead roles. This unoffici ...
'' (2010) was shot on location in Newcastle's city centre and features key scenes in and around Grainger Town. The film ''
Public Sex __NOTOC__ Public sex is sexual activity that takes place in a public context. It refers to one or more persons performing a sex act in a public place, or in a private place that can be viewed from a public place. Such a private place may be a ...
'' (2009) was shot in and around Newcastle, and features several scenes under and around the Tyne Bridge. Crime drama '' Harrigan'' (2013) was filmed in the city as well as
Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...
and Teesside.


Print media

Local newspapers that are printed in Newcastle include Trinity Mirror's '' Evening Chronicle'' and '' The Journal'', the '' Sunday Sun'' as well as the '' Metro'' freesheet. '' The Crack'' is a monthly style and
listings magazine A listings magazine is a magazine which is largely dedicated to information about the upcoming week's events such as broadcast programming, music, clubs, theatre and film information. The BBC's ''Radio Times'' was the world's first listing ...
similar to London's ''
Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...
''. The adult comic '' Viz'' originated in Jesmond and includes many references to Newcastle, and ''The Mag'' is a fanzine for Newcastle United supporters.


Television

BBC North East and Cumbria is based to the north of the city on Barrack Road, Spital Tongues, in a building known as the Pink Palace. It is from here that the
Corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
broadcasts the '' Look North'' television regional news programme and local radio station BBC Radio Newcastle. ITV Tyne Tees was based at City Road for over 40 years after its launch in January 1959. In 2005 it moved to a new facility on The Watermark business park next to the MetroCentre in Gateshead. The entrance to studio 5 at the City Road complex gave its name to the 1980s music television programme, '' The Tube''.


Radio

Independent Local Radio stations include Metro Radio and sister station Greatest Hits Radio North East, which are both based on the north side of the Tyne Bridge. Capital North East broadcasts across Newcastle and the North East England region from its studios in
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This ...
. Heart North East and Smooth North East also broadcast from studios in the city. NE1fm launched on 8 June 2007, the first full-time
community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popu ...
station in the area. Newcastle Student Radio is run by students from both of the city's universities, broadcasting from Newcastle University's students' union building during term time. Radio Tyneside has been the voluntary hospital radio service for most hospitals across Newcastle and Gateshead since 1951, broadcasting on Hospedia online, and also on 93.6 FM since July 2018 also under a community radio licence. The city also has a Radio Lollipop station based at the Great North Children's Hospital in the Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary.


Public City WiFi

Newcastle was one of the first cities in the UK to have its city centre covered by free wireless internet access. It was developed and installed at the end of 2006 and went active in March 2007.


Economy

Newcastle played a major role during the 19th-century
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, and was a leading centre for coal mining, shipbuilding, engineering, munitions and manufacturing. Heavy industries in Newcastle declined in the second half of the 20th century; with office, service and retail employment now becoming the city's staples. Newcastle is the commercial, educational and the cultural hub of North East England. Today, Newcastle's economy contributes around £13 billion to the UK GVA. This figure is mostly produced by corporate activity in Newcastle's Central Business District, located in the centre of the city (bounded by the Haymarket, Central Station and the Quayside areas). The city's thriving nightlife is estimated to be worth £340 million per year, and consequently is seen as a major contributor to Newcastle's economy. The UK's first
biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...
village, the Centre for Life, is located by Central Station. The village is the first step in the City Council's plans to transform Newcastle into a science city.


Retail

In 2010, Newcastle was positioned ninth in the retail centre expenditure league of the UK. There are several major shopping areas in Newcastle City Centre. The largest of these is the
Eldon Square Shopping Centre Eldon Square (stylised as EldonSq.) is a shopping centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It opened in 1976 and was built on the site of Old Eldon Square, a famous part of Georgian Newcastle designed by John Dobson in about 1824. This redevel ...
, one of the largest city centre shopping complexes in the UK. It has one of the largest John Lewis & Partners stores in the UK. This John Lewis branch was formerly known as Bainbridge, established in 1838, often cited as the world's first
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appe ...
. Emerson Bainbridge (1817–1892),Anne Pimlott Baker, 'Bainbridge, Emerson Muschamp (1817–1892)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, January 201
accessed 29 April 2011
/ref> a pioneer and the founder of Bainbridge, sold goods via department, a new arrangement of trade for that time. The Bainbridge official ledgers reported revenue by department, giving birth to the name department store. Eldon Square is currently undergoing a full redevelopment. A new bus station, replacing the old underground bus station, was officially opened in March 2007. The wing of the centre, including the undercover Green Market, near Grainger Street was demolished in 2007 so that the area could be redeveloped. This was completed in February 2010 with the opening of a Debenhams department store as well as other major stores including
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...
, Hollister and
Guess A guess (or an act of guessing) is a swift conclusion drawn from data directly at hand, and held as probable or tentative, while the person making the guess (the guesser) admittedly lacks material for a greater degree of certainty. A guess is als ...
. The main shopping street in the city is Northumberland Street. In a 2004 report, it was ranked as the most expensive shopping street in the UK for rent, outside London. It is home to two major department stores including the first and largest Fenwick department store, which houses some of the most luxurious designer labels, and one of the largest Marks and Spencer stores outside London. Both stores have entrances into Eldon Square Shopping Centre. Other shopping destinations in Newcastle include Grainger Street and the area around Grey's Monument, the relatively modern Eldon Garden and Monument Mall complexes, Central Arcade and the traditional
Grainger Market Grainger Town is the historic commercial centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Incorporating classical streets built by Richard Grainger, a builder and developer, between 1824 and 1841, some of Newcastle's finest buildings and streets lie w ...
. On Blackett Street can be found the silversmith Reid & Sons which was established in the city in 1788. Outside the city centre, the largest suburban shopping areas are
Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2001, it had a populati ...
and Byker. The largest Tesco store in the United Kingdom is located in Kingston Park on the edge of Newcastle. Close to Newcastle, the largest indoor shopping centre in Europe, the MetroCentre, is located in
Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...
.


Population

According to the ONS, Newcastle had a population of 293,000 in 2015. Tyneside (made up of Newcastle and the surrounding metropolitan boroughs of
Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...
, North Tyneside and South Tyneside) has a population of approximately 880,000, making it the eighth most populous urban area in the UK. The wider
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...
of Tyneside- Wearside has a population of approximately 1,122,000. Additionally, Newcastle is home to a large temporary population of students from Newcastle and
Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...
universities. Areas of suburban Newcastle with significant student populations include Jesmond, Shieldfield,
Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2001, it had a populati ...
, Sandyford, Spital Tongues and Heaton.


Demographics


Age

According to the same statistics, the average age of people living in Newcastle is 37.8 years, compared to the national average being of 38.6 years.


Religion

From the 2011 Census, two significant religions could be identified in the city: Christian and
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. 56.6% of Newcastle identified as Christian and 6.3% as Muslim. Over 28% stated they have no religious affiliation.


Ethnicity and nationality

According to the 2011 census, the metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne was predominately
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, representing 85.3% of the population (including non-British white).
Asians Asian people (or Asians, sometimes referred to as Asiatic people)United States National Library of Medicine. Medical Subject Headings. 2004. November 17, 200Nlm.nih.gov: ''Asian Continental Ancestry Group'' is also used for categorical purpos ...
made up 9.8% of the population (2.3% Pakistani, 1.7% ' Bangladeshi', 1.8% '
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
', 2.2% ' Chinese', 1.8% 'Asian other'). Black people make up a small proportion of the population (1.7% 'Black African', 0.1% 'Black Caribbean' and 0.1% 'Black other'), as do mixed race groups at 1.6% (0.6% 'Asian and White', 0.3% 'White and Caribbean', 0.3% 'White and African', 0.4% 'White and Other'). The last significantly sized ethnic community in Newcastle is '
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
' at 0.9%. The remainder of the population, 0.5%, represent other ethnicities. Large populations of ethnic minorities can be found in areas such as Elswick, Wingrove and Arthurs Hill. According to the 2011 UK Census, those born outside the UK were mainly from India (3,315), China (3,272), Pakistan (2,644),
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
(2,276), Poland (1,473), Germany (1,357), Nigeria (1,226), Iran (1,164), Hong Kong (1,038) and Ireland (942). In the North East, Newcastle was the most ethnically diverse district followed by Middlesbrough. There are also small but significant Chinese, Jewish and
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...
an populations. The
International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations agency that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers. The IOM wa ...
states there are estimated to be between 500 and 2,000
Bolivians Bolivians ( es, Bolivianos) are people identified with the country of Bolivia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Bolivians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
in Newcastle, one of the largest populations in any city in the UK.


Geordies

The regional nickname for people from Newcastle and the surrounding area is Geordie. The
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
term ''Novocastrian'' can equally be applied to residents of any place called Newcastle, although it is most commonly used for ex-pupils of the city's Royal Grammar School.


Dialect

The dialect of Newcastle is also referred to as Geordie. It contains a large amount of vocabulary and distinctive words and pronunciations not used in other parts of the United Kingdom. The Geordie dialect has much of its origins in the language spoken by the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
populations who migrated to and conquered much of England after the end of Roman Imperial rule. This language was the forerunner of Modern English; but while the dialects of other English regions have been heavily altered by the influences of other foreign languages—particularly
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
and Norman French—the Geordie dialect retains many elements of the old language. An example of this is the pronunciation of certain words: "dead", "cow", "house" and "strong" are pronounced "deed", "coo", "hoos" and "strang"—which is how they were pronounced in the Anglo-Saxon language. Other Geordie words with Anglo-Saxon origins include: "larn" (from the Anglo-Saxon "laeran", meaning "teach"), "burn" ("stream") and "gan" ("go"). According to the
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...
, "Locals insist there are significant differences between Geordie and several other local dialects, such as
Pitmatic __NOTOC__ Pitmatic (originally: "Pitmatical", colloquially known as "Yakka") is a group of traditional Northern English dialects spoken in rural areas of the Northumberland and Durham Coalfield in England. The separating dialectal developmen ...
and Mackem. Pitmatic is the dialect of the former mining areas in County Durham and around Ashington to the north of Newcastle upon Tyne, while Mackem is used locally to refer to the dialect of the city of Sunderland and the surrounding urban area of Wearside". "Bairn" and "hyem", meaning "child" and "home", respectively, are examples of Geordie words with origins in Scandinavia; ''barn'' and ''hjem'' are the corresponding modern Norwegian and Danish words. Some words used in the Geordie dialect are used elsewhere in the Northern United Kingdom. The words "bonny" (meaning "pretty") and " stot" ("bounce") are used in Scots; "aye" ("yes") and "nowt" (IPA://naʊt/, rhymes with ''out'', "nothing") are used elsewhere in
Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...
. Many words, however, appear to be used exclusively in Newcastle and the surrounding area, such as "canny" (a versatile word meaning "good", "nice" or "very"), "hacky" ("dirty"), "netty" ("toilet"), "hockle" ("spit").


Health

According to research from 2011, public health and levels of deprivation in Newcastle upon Tyne was generally worse than average in England. As levels of deprivation is considerably higher than the nationwide average, sociologists argue that as a result, the
life expectancy Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time an organism is expected to live, based on the year of its birth, current age, and other demographic factors like sex. The most commonly used measure is life expectancy at birth ...
for both men and women is lower than the nationwide average. There is significant discrepancy between life expectancies in wealthy areas and deprived areas, with life expectancy up to 14.3 years lower for men and 11.1 years lower for women in deprived areas than in wealthy areas. From 2015 to 2019 Newcastle became relatively more deprived according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation. From 2001 to 2011, as with all UK cities all-cause mortality rates have fallen, life expectancy has increased. Early death rates from cancer and from heart disease and stroke have fallen but remain worse than the England average. Almost 21.9% of Year 6 children are clinically obese. In 2014/5, 35.9% of 10 to 11-year-olds were classified as overweight or obese, in comparison to a national average of 33.2%. 54.9% of pupils meet the recommendation of at least three hours each week on school sport. Levels of teenage pregnancy are higher than the nationwide average. In 2011, GCSE attainment amongst school children was worse than the England average. Estimated numbers of adults 'healthy eating' are lower than the England average. Rates of smoking-related deaths and hospital stays for alcohol-related harm are higher than average. Newcastle remains one of the few major cities in England to supply
fluoridated water Water fluoridation is the controlled adjustment of fluoride to a public water supply solely to reduce tooth decay. Fluoridated water contains fluoride at a level that is effective for preventing cavities; this can occur naturally or by adding ...
; this scheme is directed by Northumbria Water plc. Newcastle has two large teaching hospitals: the Royal Victoria Infirmary and the Freeman Hospital, which is also a pioneering centre for
transplant surgery Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organs may be transpo ...
. In a report, published in early February 2007 by the Ear Institute at the
University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...
and
Widex Widex A/S is the world’s sixth largest hearing aid manufacturer. In close collaboration with international audiological researchers and specialists, the company has developed a wide range of digital hearing aids. They introduced the world's firs ...
, Newcastle was named as the noisiest city in the whole of the UK with an average noise level of 80.4 decibels. The report claimed that these noise levels would have a negative long-term impact on the health of the city's residents. The report was criticised, however, for attaching too much weight to readings at arbitrarily selected locations, which in Newcastle's case included a motorway underpass without pedestrian access. As well as numerous parks, open spaces, and extensive riverside areas, puzzlingly the report also overlooked the 1000-acre Town Moor at the heart of the city. Larger than London's Hyde Park and Hampstead Heath combined, and even larger than New York's
Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
, the town moor dates back to the 12th century, with the land tenure and its use being regulated by an Act of Parliament.


Sport

The city has a strong sporting tradition. Football club Newcastle United has been based at St James' Park since the club was established in 1892, although any traces of the original structure are now long gone as the stadium now holds more than 52,000 seated spectators, being England's seventh largest football stadium. The city also has non-League football clubs, Newcastle Benfield, West Allotment Celtic, Team Northumbria and Heaton Stannington. There is a women's football team, Newcastle United Women's Football Club, founded in 1989. Newcastle United WFC currently has 40 ladies aged between 16 and 29 years signed or associated with the club, and plays in the FA Women's Premier League (North). The Newcastle Falcons are the only
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
team in north-east England to have played in the Aviva Premiership. They play at Kingston Park Stadium in the northern suburb of Kingston Park. 1996 Pilkington Shield winners Medicals RFC are also based in Newcastle. Newcastle Thunder (formerly Gateshead Thunder) are a professional
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
club based in the city who now also play at Kingston Park Stadium. They currently play in the Kingstone Press League 1. Since 2015, the Super League Magic Weekend has been played annually in the city at St James' Park. Newcastle has a
horse racing course This is a list of currently active horse racing venues (Thoroughbred racing and harness racing), sorted by country. In most English-speaking countries they are called "racecourses"; the United States and some parts of Canada use "racetra ...
at Gosforth Park. The city is also home to the Newcastle Eagles basketball team who play their home games at the new Sport Central complex at Northumbria University. The Eagles are the most successful team in the history of the British Basketball League (BBL). The city's speedway team Newcastle Diamonds are based at Brough Park in Byker, a venue that is also home to greyhound racing. Newcastle also hosts the start of the annual Great North Run, the world's largest
half-marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...
in which participants race over the Tyne Bridge into
Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...
and then towards the finish line away on the coast at South Shields. Another athletic event is the
Blaydon Race The Blaydon Race is a athletics race from Newcastle upon Tyne to Blaydon, in England, that is steeped in local tradition. It takes place on 9 June every year and starts off with the singing of the "Blaydon Races" -- with the words as the basis ...
(a road race from Newcastle to
Blaydon Blaydon is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, and historically in County Durham. Blaydon, and neighbouring Winlaton, which Blaydon is now contiguous with, form the postal town of Blaydon-on-Tyne. The Blay ...
), which has taken place on 9 June annually since 1981, to commemorate the celebrated Blaydon Races horse racing. The 2012 London Olympic committee selected Newcastle as one of the UK host venue cities, with the stadium St James' Park hosting 9 matches in both the men's and women's football. The Newcastle Warriors were a professional
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...
team that played the 1995–96 season in the
British Hockey League The British Hockey League was the top-flight ice hockey league in the United Kingdom from 1980 until 1996 (with a short break between 1981 and 1982), when it was replaced by the Ice Hockey Superleague and the British National League. The league ...
. The Newcastle Vipers were also a professional ice hockey team in the British National League from 2002 and then the
Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hocke ...
between 2005 and 2011 (when the team folded). Newcastle upon Tyne was one of the 11 host cities for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. St James' Park hosted three matches; * South Africa v. Scotland (3 October 2015) * New Zealand v. Tonga (9 October 2015) * Samoa v. Scotland (10 October 2015)


Transport


Air

Newcastle International Airport is situated on the northern outskirts of the city at
Woolsington Woolsington is a village in, and civil parish of, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is located north-west of the city centre, covering a large geographical area. It was also formerly an electoral ward, although the ward was slightly larger than th ...
, near to Ponteland. It is the largest and busiest airport in North East England and the second largest and busiest in
Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...
(behind
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
), handling over five million passengers per year. It is also the tenth-largest, and the fastest growing regional airport in the UK, expecting to reach 10 million passengers by 2016, and 15 million by 2030. , Newcastle Airport operates flights to 90 destinations worldwide. The airport is serviced by numerous airlines including
British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
,
Jet2 Jet2.com Limited is a British low-cost leisure airline offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK, behind EasyJet and British Airways. Jet2 is also offi ...
,
easyJet EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate air ...
,
Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country * Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir ** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf ** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates * The Emirat ...
, Ryanair,
Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...
,
TUI Airways TUI Airways Limited (formerly Thomsonfly and Thomson Airways) is a British charter airline, offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom and Ireland to destinations in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The airline is t ...
, Loganair,
KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
and Eurowings. The airport is connected to Central Newcastle by the Tyne and Wear Metro, with an average journey between
Central Station Metro station Central Station (also known as Central) is an underground Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving the Grainger Town area of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. It joined the network on 15 November 1981, following the opening ...
and
Newcastle Airport Metro station Airport (also known as Newcastle Airport) is a Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving Newcastle International Airport, Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England. It joined the network as a terminus station on 17 November 1991, following the o ...
taking approximately 20 minutes.


Rail

Newcastle Central Station is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line and
Cross Country Route A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...
. It is one of the busiest stations in Britain. Train operator London North Eastern Railway provides a half-hourly frequency of trains to
London King's Cross King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the busiest stations in the United Kin ...
, with a variable journey time of between two and three hours, and north to Scotland with all trains calling at Edinburgh Waverley and a small number of trains extended to Glasgow Central,
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
and Inverness. CrossCountry links Newcastle with destinations in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, the Midlands and the
South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
. TransPennine Express operates services to the North West.
Northern Trains Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT), after the previous operator Arriva Rail N ...
provide local and regional services. Additionally, ScotRail offer an infrequent service to Glasgow Central. In 2014, work was completed on the station's historic entrance. Glazing was placed over the historic arches and the Victorian architecture was enhanced; transforming the 19th century public portico. The station is one of only six Grade One listed railway stations in the UK. Opened in 1850 by
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
, it was the first covered railway station in the world and was much copied across the UK. It has a neoclassical façade, originally designed by the architect John Dobson, and was constructed in collaboration with Robert Stephenson. The station sightlines towards the Castle Keep, whilst showcasing the curvature of the station's arched roof. The first services were operated by the North Eastern Railway company. The other mainline station in Newcastle is Manors, exclusively served by
Northern Trains Northern Trains, branded as Northern, (legally Northern Trains Limited) is a publicly owned train operating company in England. It is owned by DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT), after the previous operator Arriva Rail N ...
.


Metro

The city is served by the Tyne and Wear Metro, a system of suburban and underground railways covering much of Newcastle and the surrounding metropolitan boroughs. It was opened in five phases between 1980 and 1984, and was Britain's first urban light rail transit system. The network was developed from a combination of existing and newly built tracks and stations, with deep-level tunnels constructed through Central Newcastle. A
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...
was built across the Tyne, between Newcastle and Gateshead, and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1981. Extensions to the network were opened in 1991 and 2002. It is operated directly by
Nexus NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at border ...
, carrying over 37 million passengers a year. In 2004, the company Marconi designed and constructed the mobile radio system to the underground Metro system. The Metro system was the first in the UK to have mobile phone antennae installed in the tunnels. The Metro consists of two lines. The Green line begins at Newcastle Airport, goes through Central Newcastle and into the City of Sunderland, terminating at
South Hylton South Hylton () is a suburb of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. Lying west of Sunderland city centre on the south bank of the River Wear, South Hylton has a population of 10,317 ( 2001 Census). Once a small industrial village, South Hylton (w ...
. The yellow line starts at St James, runs north of the river alongside Byker towards Whitley Bay, before returning to Central Newcastle, then connecting to Gateshead Interchange before finally terminating at South Shields. The system is currently undergoing a period of refurbishment and modernisation, entitled ' Metro: All Change.' The programme has replaced all ticket machines and introduced ticket gates at the busiest stations – part of the transition to smart ticketing. All Metro trains are being completely refurbished and most stations are undergoing improvement works (or in some cases complete reconstruction, for example North Shields). In addition; tracks, signalling and overhead wires are also being overhauled. Longer-term plans include the procurement of an entirely new fleet of trains and further extensions to the system. Proposed routes include to Newcastle's west end, to the Cobalt Business Park in North Tyneside, to the Metrocentre in Gateshead and to additional locations in Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland. Several of the proposed routes would require trams as opposed to the current light rail trains.


Road

Major roads in the area include the A1 (Newcastle Gateshead Western Bypass), stretching north to
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and south to London; the A19 heading south past Sunderland and
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...
to
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and
Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
; the A69 heading west to Carlisle; the A696, which becomes the A68 heads past Newcastle Airport and up through central
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...
and central Scottish Borders, the
A167 The A167 and A167(M) is a road in North East England. It is partially a trunk road and partially a motorway, where it is commonly referred to as Newcastle Central Motorway. Most of the road’s route was formerly that of the A1, until it was ...
, the old "Great North Road", heading south to
Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...
,
Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea ...
, Durham and Darlington; and the A1058 "Coast Road", which runs from Jesmond to the east coast between Tynemouth and Cullercoats. Many of these designations are recent—upon completion of the Western Bypass, and its designation as the new line of the A1, the roads between this and the A1's former alignment through the Tyne Tunnel were renumbered, with many city centre roads changing from a 6-prefix to their present 1-prefix numbers. In November 2011 the capacity of the Tyne Tunnel was increased when a project to build a second road tunnel and refurbish the first tunnel was completed. Bus Bus services in Newcastle upon Tyne and the surrounding boroughs part are coordinated by the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. Stagecoach North East is the primary bus operator in the city, running city services between both the West and East ends, with some services extending out to the MetroCentre, Killingworth,
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This ...
and Ponteland. Go North East provides the majority of services to and from the south of the Tyne, linking Newcastle with
Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...
, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...
. Arriva North East runs numerous services to the north of city, North Tyneside and
Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...
. Additionally, QuayLink connects Newcastle and Gateshead to the Quayside. Newcastle Central coach station is the city's main hub for long-distance services, such as those operated by National Express. Other major bus departure points are Pilgrim Street (for buses running south of the Tyne via
Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...
), and Blackett Street/Monument for services to the East and West of the city. Many bus services also pass Newcastle Central Station, a major interchange for rail and metro services.


Cycling

Newcastle is accessible by several mostly traffic-free cycle routes that lead to the edges of the city centre, where cyclists can continue into the city by road, using no car lanes. The traffic-free cycle route runs along the north bank of the River Tyne, enabling cyclists to travel off-road to North Shields and Tynemouth in the east, and westwards towards Hexham. Suburban cycle routes exist, which use converted trackbeds of former industrial
wagonway Wagonways (also spelt Waggonways), also known as horse-drawn railways and horse-drawn railroad consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam-powered railways. The terms plateway, tramway, dramw ...
s and industrial railways. A network on Tyneside's suburban Victorian waggonways is being developed. A network of signed on-road cycle routes is being established, including some designated on-road cycle lanes that will lead from the city centre to the suburbs of
Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2001, it had a populati ...
, Heaton and
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This ...
. Newcastle has a growing culture of bicycle usage. Newcastle is also home to a cycling campaign, called the 'Newcastle Cycling Campaign.' The ideal of the organisation is to model other European cities like
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
and Copenhagen. The aims of the organisation, within the constitution are: To raise the profile of cycling, especially utility cycling around the city; to educate decision makers over the benefits of cycling; to promote equality. Following guidelines set in the National Cycling strategy, Newcastle first developed its cycling strategy in 1998. , the city council's social aims and objectives for cycling include: highlighting the usage of cycling to cut city congestion and educating that cycling promotes healthy living The authority also has infrastructure aims and objectives which include: developing on road cycle networks on quieter streets; making safer routes on busier streets; innovating and implementing contraflows on one way streets; developing the existing off-road cycle route networks and improve signage; joining up routes that are partially or completely isolated; Increase the number of cycle parking facilities; working with employers to integrate cycling into workplace travel plans; link the local networks to national networks.


Water

DFDS, DFDS Seaways runs a ferry service to IJmuiden, near
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
in The Netherlands, from Newcastle International Ferry Terminal (located in North Shields). The Newcastle–Bergen–Stavanger ferry, DFDS ferry service to Gothenburg, Sweden, ceased at the end of October 2006 and their service to Newcastle–Bergen–Stavanger ferry, Bergen and Stavanger, Norway was terminated in late 2008. The company cited high fuel prices and new competition from Low-cost carrier, low-cost air services as the cause. However, since summer 2007, Thomson cruise lines have included Newcastle as a departure port on its Norwegian and Fjords cruise.


Government and politics


UK Parliament

Newcastle is represented by three elected Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. All the current MPs are from the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, which is on the centre-left politics, centre-left of the British political spectrum. The United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituencies of Newcastle upon Tyne Central (UK Parliament constituency), Newcastle Central, Newcastle upon Tyne East (UK Parliament constituency), Newcastle East, and Newcastle upon Tyne North (UK Parliament constituency), Newcastle North are all considered to be Labour safe seats.


Local government

Newcastle is locally governed by Newcastle City Council, a member of the North of Tyne Combined Authority. The council operates using the Executive arrangements, leader and cabinet system. The Labour Party (UK), Labour Party has the most seats and therefore controls the council, with a large majority of fifty councillors. In opposition (politics), opposition, there are twenty Liberal Democrats (UK), Liberal Democrats councillors, one Newcastle Independents councillor and three Independent politician, independent councillors. No other parties have any councillors, including the Conservative Party (UK), Conservatives. For the purposes of City Council elections, Newcastle is divided into 26 Ward (electoral subdivision), electoral wards. Each ward elects three councillors. Following the boundary changes in 2016, the wards are as follows: * Arthur's Hill * Benwell and Scotswood * Blakelaw * Byker * Throckley, Callerton and Throckley * Castle, Newcastle upon Tyne, Castle * Chapel House Estate, Chapel * Jesmond Dene, Dene and South
Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2001, it had a populati ...
* Denton and Westerhope * Elswick * Fawdon and West
Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2001, it had a populati ...
*
Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2001, it had a populati ...
* Heaton * Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Kenton * Kingston Park South and Newbiggin Hall * Lemington * Manor Park * Monument, Newcastle upon Tyne, Monument * North Jesmond * Ouseburn * Parklands, Newcastle upon Tyne, Parklands * South Jesmond * Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne, Walker * Walkergate * West Fenham * Wingrove


EU referendum

In the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Newcastle voted for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union, with a ratio of 51:49 in favour of remain, compared to a national ratio of 48:52 in favour of leave.


Education


Schools and colleges

Newcastle has 74 primary schools and 20 secondary schools, of which 13 are Local education authority, LEA-funded and 7 are fee-paying independent schools. There are a number of critically acclaimed state school, state secondary schools, including Walker Riverside Academy, Gosforth Academy, Jesmond Park Academy, St Cuthbert's High School, St Mary's Catholic School, Newcastle upon Tyne, St Mary's Catholic School, Kenton School, Sacred Heart Catholic High School (Newcastle upon Tyne), Sacred Heart, Excelsior Academy, Walbottle Academy and Benfield School. The largest co-educational independent school is the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne, Royal Grammar School. The largest girls' independent school is Newcastle High School for Girls. Both schools are located on the same street in Jesmond. Newcastle School for Boys is the only independent boys' only school in the city and is situated in Gosforth. Other independent schools include Dame Allan's School, Newcastle upon Tyne, Dame Allan's School. Newcastle College is the largest general further education (FE) college in North East England and is a Beacon Status college. There are also two smaller FE colleges in Newcastle.


Universities

The city has two major universities – Newcastle University and Northumbria University. Newcastle University has its origins in the Durham University School of Medicine and Surgery, established in 1834. It became fully independent on 1 August 1963, forming the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (now simply Newcastle University). It is a red brick university and is a member of the Russell Group, an association of research-intensive UK universities, often considered to represent the best UK universities. It won the Sunday Times University of the Year, ''Sunday Times'' University of the Year award in 2000. It was awarded the Gold Award in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), one of only ten Russell Group universities to achieve the Gold TEF rating. Northumbria University has its origins in Newcastle Polytechnic, established in 1969 and becoming the University of Northumbria at Newcastle in 1992 as part of the UK-wide process in which polytechnics became new universities. Northumbria University was voted 'Best New University' by ''The Times'' Good University Guide 2005. It holds the Silver TEF Award.


Religious sites

Newcastle has three cathedrals, the Anglican Newcastle Cathedral, St Nicholas‘, with its elegant lantern tower of 1474, the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne, St Mary's designed by Augustus Welby Pugin and the Coptic Orthodox Church in Britain and Ireland, Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Fenham. All three cathedrals began their lives as parish churches. St Mary's became a cathedral in 1850 and St Nicholas' in 1882. Another prominent church in the city centre is the Church of St Thomas the Martyr which is the only parish church in the Church of England without a parish and which is not a Royal Peculiar, peculiar. One of the largest Evangelicalism, evangelical Anglican churches in the UK is Jesmond Parish Church, situated a little to the north of the city centre. Newcastle is home to the only Baháʼí Faith, Baháʼí Centre in North East England; the centre has served the local Baháʼí community for over 25 years and is located close to the Civic Centre in Jesmond. Newcastle was a prominent centre of the Plymouth Brethren movement up to the 1950s, and some small congregations still function. Among these are at the Hall, Denmark Street and Gospel Hall, St Lawrence. St Andrew's Church, Newcastle upon Tyne, The Parish Church of St Andrew is traditionally recognised as 'the oldest church in this town'. The present building was begun in the 12th Century and the last addition to it, apart from the vestries, was the main porch in 1726. It is quite possible that there was an earlier church here dating from Saxon times. This older church would have been one of several churches along the River Tyne dedicated to St Andrew, including the Hexham Abbey, Priory church at Hexham. The building contains more old stonework than any other church in Newcastle. It is surrounded by the last of the ancient churchyards to retain its original character. Many key names associated with Newcastle's history worshipped and were buried here. The church tower received a battering during the History of Newcastle upon Tyne#Stuart period, Siege of Newcastle by the Scots who finally breached the Town Wall and forced surrender. Three of the cannonballs remain on site as testament to the siege.


Notable people

Charles Avison, the leading British composer of concertos in the 18th century, was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1709 and died there in 1770. Basil Hume, Archbishop of Westminster, was born in the city in 1923. Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, was born in the city. Ironmaster, metallurgist, and member of parliament Sir Lowthian Bell, 1st Baronet, Isaac Lowthian Bell was born in the city in 1816. Other notable people born in or associated with Newcastle include: engineer and industrialist William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, Lord Armstrong, engineer and father of the modern steam railways George Stephenson, his son, also an engineer, Robert Stephenson, engineer and inventor of the steam turbine Sir Charles Parsons, inventor of the incandescent light bulb Sir Joseph Swan, actor and comedian Rowan Atkinson, industrial designer Jony Ive, Sir Jonathan Ive, who studied at Northumbria University, Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University), modernist poet Basil Bunting, and Lord Chief Justice Peter Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth, Peter Taylor. Portuguese writer Eça de Queiroz was a diplomat in Newcastle from late 1874 until April 1879—his most productive literary period. Former Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva, was born in the city. Composer Agustín Fernández Sánchez, Agustín Fernández has been based in the city since 1995, teaching at Newcastle University and occasionally collaborating with Royal Northern Sinfonia. Musicians Cheryl (singer), Cheryl, Eric Burdon,
Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...
, Mark Knopfler, the Lighthouse Family, Jeffrey Dunn, Brian Johnson, Alan Hull, Sakima (singer), Sakima, and Neil Tennant lived in Newcastle. Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch were both former pupils of Rutherford Grammar School. Actors Charlie Hunnam and James Scott (actor), James Scott, entertainers Ant & Dec and footballers Michael Carrick and Alan Shearer were also born in Newcastle. Multiple circumnavigator David Scott Cowper, List of Nobel laureates in Physics, Nobel Prize winning physicist Peter Higgs, who researched the mass of subatomic particles, and wrestler Adrian Neville, Neville were born in the city. John Dunn (bagpipe maker), John Dunn, inventor of the keyed Northumbrian smallpipes, lived and worked in the city. Kathryn Tickell, the celebrated Northumbrian piper and composer, has longstanding associations with Newcastle as a resident, frequent performer at Sage Gateshead and teacher at Newcastle University. Marc Smith (palaeographer), Marc Smith (born 1963), French palaeographer, was born in Newcastle. Freddy Shepherd, former chairman of Newcastle United F.C. for ten years, lived in Newcastle upon Tyne until his death in 2017.


International relations


Twin towns – sister cities

Newcastle upon Tyne is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with: * Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, Australia * Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. (1977) * Groningen (city), Groningen, Netherlands * Bergen, Norway, Bergen, Norway (1968) * Gelsenkirchen, Germany (1948) * Haifa, Israel * Nancy, France, Nancy, France (1954) * Taiyuan, China (1985, unilaterally terminated by Newcastle upon Tyne in 2022)


Other agreements

Newcastle has a "friendship agreement" with the American city of Little Rock, Arkansas. Since 2003, it has had a "special cooperation agreement" with the Swedish city of Malmö. Furthermore, Newcastle participated in the 1998 summit of worldwide Newcastle (disambiguation), cities named Newcastle, which led to friendship agreements with the following places: *Neuburg an der Donau, Germany *Neuchâtel, Switzerland *Neufchâteau, Vosges, France *New Castle, Delaware, United States *New Castle, Indiana, United States *New Castle, Pennsylvania, United States *Newcastle-under-Lyme, England *Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa *Shinshiro, Japan


Foreign consulates

The following countries have consulate, consular representation in Newcastle: Denmark, Finland, Romania, Belgium, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Norway, and Sweden.


See also

* List of tallest buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne * List of public art in Newcastle upon Tyne * List of Freemen of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne * Duke of Newcastle


References


Citations


Sources

* ''Tyneside: A History of Newcastle and Gateshead from Earliest Times'', Alistair Moffat and George Rosie, Mainstream Publishing (10 November 2005), *
Tyneside Neighbourhoods: Deprivation, Social Life and Social Behaviour in One British City
', Daniel Nettle, Open Book Publishers, (2016), * ''History of Northumberland and Newcastle-upon-Tyne'', Leslie W. Hepple, Phillimore & Co Ltd (1976),


External links


City of Newcastle upon Tyne website
(Newcastle City Council)
Official NewcastleGateshead Tourism Site

BBC Tyne
BBC Local website {{DEFAULTSORT:Newcastle Upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, Cities in North East England Metropolitan boroughs of Tyne and Wear Populated places established in the 2nd century Port cities and towns in North East England Port cities and towns of the North Sea Ports and harbours of Tyne and Wear Staple ports County towns in England Towns in Tyne and Wear Trading posts of the Hanseatic League