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Millennium Bridge, Gateshead Click to View Virtual Tour

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The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne in England between Gateshead on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank. The award-winning structure was conceived and designed by architects Wilkinson Eyre and structural engineers Gifford. The bridge is often referred to as the ‘Winking Eye Bridge’ due to its elliptical shape and its rotational movement.

The bridge was lifted into place in one piece by the Asian Hercules II, one of the world’s largest floating cranes, on 20 November 2000. It was opened to the public on 17 September 2001, and was dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II on 7 May 2002. The bridge, which cost £22m to build, was part funded by the Millennium Commission and European Regional Development Fund. It was built by Volker Stevin.
Already acclaimed worldwide for its physical and aesthetic beauty, it has fast become a significant tourist attraction in its own right. The bridge was the focus of a Spencer Tunick installation on 17 July 2005.

Six 45 cm diameter Hydraulic rams (three on each side, each powered by a 55 kW electric motor) rotate the bridge back on large bearings to allow small ships and boats (up to 25 m tall) to pass underneath. The bridge takes as little as 4.5 minutes to rotate through the full 40° from closed to open, depending on wind speed. Its appearance during this manoeuvre has led to it being nicknamed the “Blinking Eye Bridge”.

The bridge has operated reliably since construction, opening to allow river traffic to pass. It also opens periodically for sightseers and for major events such as the Northumbrian Water University Boat Race and the Cutty Sark Tall Ships’ Race. Its reputation was untarnished until October 2004 when the failure of a £200 circuit board prevented the bridge from opening.

Gateshead Council, official website

Millennium Bridge, Wikipedia

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Sycamore Gap, Hadrians Wall Click to View Virtual Tour

History of Hadrian’s Wall

Hadrian’s Wall (Latin Vallum Aelium, Italian Vallo di Adriano) is a stone or turf and timber fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of what is now northern England. Begun in 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall in what is now Scotland. Hadrian’s Wall is the best known of the two because its physical remains are most evident today.

Opinions differ, but the growing consensus is that the Wall was built as a readily defended fortification which clearly defined the northern frontier of the Roman Empire in Britain (Britannia). It would also improve economic stability and provide peaceful conditions in the frontier zone.

The wall was the most heavily fortified border in the Empire. In addition to its role as a military fortification, it is thought that many of the gates through the wall would have served as customs posts to allow trade and levy taxation.

A significant portion of the wall still exists, particularly the mid-section, and for much of its length the wall can be followed on foot by Hadrian’s Wall Path or by cycle on National Cycle Route 72. It is the most popular tourist attraction in Northern England, where it is often known simply as the Roman Wall. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. In 2005 it became part of the larger “Frontiers of the Roman Empire” World Heritage Site which also includes sites in Germany.

English Heritage, a government organization in charge of managing the historic environment of England, describes it as “the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain”.

Dimensions
Hadrian’s Wall was 80 Roman miles (73.5 statute miles or 117 kilometres) long, its width and height dependent on the construction materials which were available nearby. East of River Irthing the wall was made from squared stone and measured 3 metres (9.7 ft) wide and five to six metres (16–20 ft) high, while west of the river the wall was made from turf and measured 6 metres (20 ft) wide and 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) high. This does not include the wall’s ditches, berms, and forts. The central section measured eight Roman feet wide (7.8 ft or 2.4 m) on a 10-foot (3.0 m) base. Some parts of this section of the wall survive to a height of 10 feet (3.0 m).

The Route
Hadrian’s Wall extended west from Segedunum at Wallsend on the River Tyne to the shore of the Solway Firth. The A69 and B6318 roads follow the course of the wall as it starts in Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle, then along the northern coast of Cumbria. The wall is entirely in England and south of the border with Scotland by 15 kilometres (9 mi) in the west and 110 kilometres (68 mi) in the east.

The above article is courtesy of Wikipedia: Read More

A new website – www.hadrians-wall.org – has a number of features including inspiring photography, new interactive maps, itinerary ideas and enhanced information on things to see and do.

More information is available on the Unesco website “Frontiers of the Roman Empire”: Read More

History
The Northumberland Coast is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) covering 39 miles of coastline from Berwick-Upon-Tweed to the River Coquet estuary in the north-east of England. Features include: Alnmouth, Bamburgh, Beadnell, Budle Bay, Cocklawburn Beach, Craster, Dunstanburgh Castle, the Farne Islands, Lindisfarne, Seahouses and Amble.

The coastal area is situated to the east of the A1 road. It is sparsely populated and includes sandy beaches, sand dunes, rugged cliffs and isolated islands. It includes two National Nature Reserves. Fortresses and peel towers along the coast are evidence of past conflicts between the English and Scots in this border area. Coal fields are nearby and ’sea coal’ is washed up on the beaches.

The stretch around Bamburgh is notable for two reasons: the imposing Bamburgh Castle, overlooking the beach, seat of the former Kings of Northumbria, and at present owned by the Armstrong family and its association with the Victorian heroine, Grace Darling.

The extensive sandy beach to the east of Bamburgh was awarded the Blue Flag rural beach award in 2005. The Bamburgh Dunes, an area of sand dunes which are a Site of Special Scientific Interest, stand behind the award winning beach. Bamburgh is popular with holidaymakers and is within the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Bamburgh Castle, then called Din Guardi, may have been the capital of the Brythonic kingdom of Bryneich between about AD 420 and 547. In 547 the castle was taken by the invading Angles led by Ida son of Eoppa and was renamed Bebbanburgh by one of his successors, Æthelfrith, after Æthelfrith’s wife Bebba, according to the Historia Brittonum. From then onwards the castle became the capital of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia until it merged with its southern neighbour, Deira, in 634. After the two realms united as Northumbria the capital was moved to York.

Henry VI ruled all England (in name) from Bamburgh in 1464, during the Wars of the Roses. The castle was eventually reduced by artillery.
Thomas Malory considered Bamburgh to be Lancelot’s castle Joyous Gard. The Victorian poet Algernon Swinburne agreed and called it “The noblest hold in all the North.”

“They saw the help and strength of Joyous Gard,
The full deep glorious tower that stands over
Between the wild sea and the broad wild lands…”

Swinburne swam here, as did the novelist E. M. Forster who adopted the Forsters of Bamburgh as his ancestors.

The Geography
The most notable features of the region include The Whin Sill which is a tabular layer of igneous rock, or sill, in County Durham and Northumberland, in the northeast of England. It lies partly in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and partly in Northumberland National Park.

Formed of dolerite (a basaltic rock) 295 million years ago, the Whin Sill is part of a sheet of rock stretching from Teesdale, home of various waterfalls, along a northerly line to Berwick, home of the Farne Islands. Bamburgh Castle, Dunstanburgh Castle, Lindisfarne Castle and stretches of Hadrian’s Wall all strategically take advantage of high, rocky cliff lines formed by the sill.

The above article is courtesy of Wikipedia: Read More

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Prudhoe Castle, Northumberland Click to View Virtual Tour	The Chapel, Prudhoe Castle Click to View Virtual Tour
The Courtyard, Prudhoe Castle Click to View Virtual Tour	The Keep, Prudhoe Castle Click to View Virtual Tour

History of Prudhoe Castle, Northumberland

Archaeological excavations have shown that the first castle on the site was a Norman motte and bailey, built sometime in the mid 11th century. Following the Norman Conquest, the Umfraville family took over control of the castle. Robert d’Umfraville was formally granted the barony of Prudhoe by Henry I but it is likely that the Umfravilles had already been granted Prudhoe in the closing years of the 11th century. The Umfravilles (probably Robert) initially replaced the wooden palisade with a massive rampart of clay and stones and subsequently constructed a stone curtain wall and gatehouse.

In 1173 William the Lion of Scotland invaded the North East to claim the earldom of Northumberland. The head of the Umfraville family, Odinel II, refused to support him and as a result the Scottish army tried to take Prudhoe Castle. The attempt failed as the Scots were not prepared to undertake a lengthy siege. The following year William attacked the castle again but found that Odinel had strengthened the garrison, and after a siege of just three days the Scottish army left. Following the siege, Odinel further improved the defences of the castle by adding a stone keep and a great hall.

Odinel died in 1182 and was succeeded by his son Richard. Richard became one of the barons who stood against King John, and as a result forfeited his estates to the crown. They remained forfeited until 1217, the year after King John’s death. Richard died in 1226 and was succeeded by his son, Gilbert, who was himself succeeded in 1245 by his son Gilbert. Through his mother, Gilbert II inherited the title of Earl of Angus, with vast estates in Scotland, but he continued to spend some of his time at Prudhoe. It is believed that he carried out further improvements to the castle. Gilbert took part in the fighting between Henry III of England and his barons, and in the Scottish expeditions of Edward I. He died in 1308 and was succeeded by his son, Robert D’Umfraville IV. In 1314, Robert was taken prisoner by the Scots at Bannockburn, but was soon released, though he was deprived of the earldom of Angus and of his Scottish estates. In 1316 King Edward granted Robert 700 marks to maintain a garrison of 40 men-at-arms and 80 light horsemen at Prudhoe.

In 1381 the last of the line, Gilbert III, died without issue and his widow married Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland. On her death in 1398, the castle passed to the Percy family.

The Percies added a new great hall to the castle shortly after they took possession of it. Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland fought against Henry IV and took part in the Battle of Shrewsbury, for which act he was attainted and his estates, including Prudhoe, were forfeited to the Crown in 1405. That same year it was granted to the future Duke of Bedford, (a son of Henry IV) and stayed in his hands until his death in 1435, whereupon it reverted to the Crown.

The Percies regained ownership of the Prudhoe estates in 1440, after a prolonged legal battle. However, Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland fought on the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses and was killed at the Battle of Towton in 1461. In 1462 Edward IV granted Prudhoe to his younger brother George, Duke of Clarence. The latter only possessed the castle briefly before the king granted it to Lord Montague.

The castle was restored to the fourth Earl in 1470. The principal seat of the Percys was Alnwick Castle and Prudhoe was for the most part let out to tenants. In 1528 however Henry Percy 6th Earl was resident at the castle as later was his brother Sir Thomas Percy. Both the Earl and Sir Thomas were heavily involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 and both were convicted of treason and executed. Following forfeiture of the estates the castle was reported in August 1537 to have habitable houses and towers within its walls, although they were said to be somewhat decayed and in need of repairs estimated at £20.

The castle was once again restored to Thomas Percy, the 7th Earl in about 1557. He was convicted of taking part in the Rising of the North in 1569. He escaped, but was recaptured and was executed in 1572.
The castle was thereafter let out to many and various tenants and was not used as a residence after the 1660s. In 1776 it was reported to be ruinous.

Between 1808 and 1817, Hugh Percy, 2nd Duke of Northumberland carried out substantial repairs to the ancient fabric and replaced the old dwellings within the walls with a georgian mansion adjoining the keep.
In 1966 the castle was given over to the Crown and is now in the custody of English Heritage and is open to the public.

The castle stands on a ridge about 150 feet (46 m) on the south bank of the River Tyne. It is partly enclosed by a deep moat. The ground to the north falls away steeply to the river. The castle entrance is on the south side and is flanked by a mill pond on the left and a ruined water mill on the right. The castle is entered by a barbican dating from the first half of the 14th century. The gatehouse, dating from the early 12th century, leads into the outer ward, which contains the remains of several buildings. At the north side, against the curtain wall, are the remains of the Great Hall, measuring 60ft by 46ft (18m by 14m), built by the Percies when they took over the castle. At the end of the 15th century a new hall was built to the west to replace the existing one.

On the west side of the outer ward is the manor house, built in the early 19th century, and containing a visitor’s shop and exhibition rooms. At the south end of the manor house is a gateway leading into the inner ward. The main feature of the inner ward is the keep, dating from the 12th century. The keep has walls 10 feet (3.0 m) thick and its internal dimensions are 20ft by 24ft (7.3m by 6.1m). It originally consisted of two storeys beneath a double-pitched roof.

Read more: Prudhoe Castle (English Heritage), official website
The above article is courtesy of Wikipedia: Read More

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The Stalls, The Theatre Royal Click to View Virtual Tour

The Circle, The Theatre Royal Click to View Virtual Tour

History of The Theatre Royal

The Theatre Royal is a Grade I listed building situated on Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne. It was designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green as part of Richard Grainger’s grand design for the centre of Newcastle, and was opened on 20 February 1837 with a performance of The Merchant of Venice.

Following a performance of William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, a huge fire destroyed the interior of the building in 1899. It had its interior redesigned by Frank Matcham and reopened on 31 December 1901. The theatre’s restaurant is named after Matcham. Externally, the building is exactly as it was when it was first built.

It underwent a major refurbishment and restoration in the latter part of the 1980s, reopening on 11 January 1988 with a performance of A Man For All Seasons starring Charlton Heston.

The theatre hosts a variety of shows, including ballet, contemporary dance, drama, musicals and opera. The Royal Shakespeare Company visits annually, and considers the Theatre Royal its northern base. The Christmas pantomime is also very popular.

Almost all of the shows that come to the Theatre Royal are part of a national British tour, and in a typical year the theatre will have 30 to 35 visiting shows. For the annual pantomime, and any visiting musicals and opera performances, there is a sizeable orchestral pit available. This can seat 60 musicians if necessary. The stage itself is also of substantial size, and can house 50 singers, dancers, actors and musicians.

Over 100 people staff the theatre, most of whom work behind the scenes. The theatre is reputedly also home to a resident ghost (supposedly a very friendly lady from the 19th century nicknamed ‘The Grey Lady’). (She apparently committed suicide in the main theatre hall by jumping off the gods’ circle) But details of this are hard to come by, and she certainly hasn’t been seen recently. Theatre literature and leaflets do, however, mention her.

Read more: The Theatre Royal, official website
Read more on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Click on an image below to view more scenes at Hexham Abbey

Hexham Abbey, interior Click to View Virtual Tour

Hexham Abbey, exterior Click to View Virtual Tour

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Click on an image below to view more scenes at Bamburgh Castle

The Kings Hall, Bamburgh Castle Click to View Virtual Tour	View from the Dunes, Bamburgh Castle Click to View Virtual Tour
The Court Room, Bamburgh Castle Click to View Virtual Tour	The Cross Hall, Bamburgh Castle Click to View Virtual Tour

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Click on an image below to view more scenes at Six at The Baltic, Gateshead

Entrance Hall, The Baltic Click to View Virtual Tour	The Viewing Lounge, Six at The Baltic Click to View Virtual Tour
View from Millennium Bridge :: Gateshead Quayside Click to View Virtual Tour	The Baltic by night , Gateshead Quayside Click to View Virtual Tour

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Click on an image below to view more scenes at Dunstanburgh Castle

Dunstanburgh Castle Click to View Virtual Tour

Rocky Shoreline, Dunstanburgh Castle Click to View Virtual Tour

Dunstanburgh Castle lies on a spectacular headland on the coast of Northumberland in northern England, between the villages of Craster and Embleton.
The castle is the largest in Northumberland and the site shows traces of much earlier occupation before the erection of the castle was started in 1313 by the Earl of Lancaster.

Recent evidence suggests that the site of the castle was occupied in prehistoric times: however, the principal remains date from the 14th century. In 1313, Earl Thomas of Lancaster, cousin of Edward II of England began construction of a massive fortress. By the time of his execution in 1322, the castle was substantially complete. John of Gaunt improved the castle in the late 14th century as the Duke of Lancaster.

The castle did not play a significant part in the border warfare against Scotland. In the Wars of the Roses the castle was held for the Lancastrians in 1462 and 1464. The damage done was not made good and the castle fell steadily into decay. A report in 1538 mentioned it as being a “very reuynus howsse and of smalle strength” and another source in 1550 described it as in “wonderfull great decaye”. It continued to deteriorate and was robbed of stone for the building of other places in the area. The last private owner Sir Arthur Sutherland donated the castle to the Ministry of Works in 1929. The castle is now owned by the National Trust and in the care of English Heritage. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade I listed building. It lies within the Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Turner painted Dunstanburgh many times, usually rising at dawn to do so. One of his oil paintings of the subject is in the Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Another is in the National Gallery of Victoria.

The castle occupies a prominent headland about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Craster. On the south side there is a gentle slope towards the castle. The northerly approach is much steeper and the northern perimeter juts into Embleton Bay forming a 150-foot (46 m) cliff. The headland itself is part of the Great Whin Sill, a geological formation stretching across Northumberland.

There are signs of medieval rig-and-furrow on the slopes near to the castle – possible evidence of subsistence farming for the castle inhabitants.

The present castle encloses the entire 11 acres (4.5 ha) headland. The southern approach is protected by a long enceinte wall punctuated by two rectangular towers (the Constable and Egyncleugh towers), two turrets and a large twin-towered gatehouse at the western corner. From the gatehouse, the wall carries northward along the hilltop to a rectangular turreted watch tower, known as the Lilburn Tower.

The twin-towered gatehouse served as the principal residential block of the castle. Under John of Gaunt, the gateway was blocked, and the entrance to the castle carried around to the left via a mantlet wall and tower, rendering the gatehouse a more secure traditional keep. The area at the rear of the twin-towered gatehouse was enclosed in a courtyard by walls and a tower to form an inner ward, with access on the east side.

Composed of two tall D-shaped towers, the gatehouse-keep is a masterpiece of 14th century castle design. Each tower was of four stories, and was originally capped by four turrets about 80 feet (24 m) above ground level. The long gate passage was protected by gates at each end and two soldiers’ barracks line the passage at ground level. On the first floor the gatehouse was divided into three rooms, with the central one controlling the portcullis mechanism. On the second floor above ground level there was a large room running across the entire width of the gatehouse, comprising a hall and chambers. The arrangements of the other stories and above have not survived.

The castle has a very high standard of masonry, comfort and design, and was likely intended to house Earl Thomas and his entire retinue. Well-lit residential chambers furnished with fireplaces may be found in the Lilburn and Constable towers as well as in the gatehouse. The large, apparently unused land in the middle of the castle may have served as a billeting area for troops.

Recent evidence suggests that there may have been an additional defensive enceinte of the castle, enclosing the low flat land around the foot of the main fort. Evidence has been found of a wall originating on the north near the Lilburn tower and extending around, anticlockwise, to the coastline on the east, where there may have been a medieval port

Dunstanburgh Castle
Craster, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 3TT
Telephone: 01665 576231

Read more: Dunstanburgh Castle, National Trust official website
The above article is courtesy of Wikipedia: Read More

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The Silk Room, Chillingham Castle Click to View Virtual Tour	The Plaque Room, Chillingham Castle Click to View Virtual Tour
The Courtyard, Chillingham Castle Click to View Virtual Tour	The Entrance, Chillingham Castle Click to View Virtual Tour