Newcastle upon Tyne

Sister cities

• Newcastle
• Henan
• Hainan
• Haifa
• Nancy
• Little Rock
• Bergen
• Atlanta
• Singkawang
• Lagos
• Durban
• Gelsenkirchen

History

The first recorded settlement in what is now Newcastle was Pons Aelius ("Aelian 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 Segedunum, a Roman fort in Wallsend – the "wall's end" – and to the separate supply fort of Arbeia in South Shields, across the river from Hadrian's Wall. The extent of Hadrian's Wall was , 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, and probably not as a fighting line for a major invasion. However, it seems that the Vallum stopped just west of Newcastle, where its role as a secondary line of defence was performed by the River Tyne. After the Roman departure from Britain, completed in 410, Newcastle became part of the powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, and was known throughout this period as (sometimes modernised as Monkchester). Conflicts with the Danes in 876 left the settlements along the River Tyne in ruins. Because of its strategic position, Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror, erected a wooden castle there in the year 1080. 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. to defend it from invaders during the Border war against Scotland.…

Geography

Since 1974, Newcastle has been a part of the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. The city is located on the north-western bank of the River Tyne, approximately south of the border with Scotland. The ground beneath the city is formed from Carboniferous strata of the Middle Pennine Coal Measures Group — a suite of sandstones, mudstones and coal seams which generally dip moderately eastwards. To the west of the city are the Upper Pennine Coal Measures and further west again the sandstones and mudstones of the Stainmore Formation, the local equivalent of the Millstone Grit. In large parts, Newcastle still retains a medieval street layout. Narrow alleys or 'chares', most of which can only be traversed by foot, still exist in abundance, particularly around the riverside. Stairs from the riverside to higher parts of the city centre and the extant Castle Keep, originally recorded in the 14th century, remain intact in places. Close, Sandhill and Quayside contain modern buildings as well as structures dating from the 15th–18th centuries, including Bessie Surtees House, the Cooperage and Lloyds Quayside Bars, Derwentwater House and House of Tides, a restaurant situated at a Grade I-listed 16th century merchant's house at 28–30 Close. The city has an extensive neoclassical centre referred to as Tyneside Classical, largely developed in the 1830s by Richard Grainger and John Dobson. More recently, Newcastle architecture considered to be Tyneside classical has been extensively restored. Broadcaster and writer Stuart Maconie described Newcastle as England's best-looking city and the German-born British scholar of architecture, Nikolaus Pevsner, describes Grey Street as one of the finest streets in England. In 1948 the poet John Betjeman said of Grey…

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  17,065
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  14,353
• Herring Gull

  Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 · Aves
  14,254
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,438
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  13,405
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,876
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,141
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  10,640

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2020-01-23
  1 km NW of Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom
• M 3.6 — 2011-01-03
  5 km S of Masham, United Kingdom
• M 2.5 — 2008-05-28
  12 km WNW of Penrith, United Kingdom