The Newcastle Castle occupies a strange position in the city centre. So strange that some people can’t believe we have a castle in town at all! Buildings have stood on the site for centuries, dating back to the Romans and their Pons Aelius fort. But the Newcastle Castle was originally founded in 1080 by Robert […]
Newcastle
Who or what is the Vampire Rabbit of Newcastle upon Tyne?
Newcastle sometimes gets a raw deal here in the UK. Nearly all talk of the so-called ‘Northern Powerhouse’ forgets there’s still a whole swathe of England north of Manchester. People form their opinion of its inhabitants based on photos of scantily-clad clubbers tottering through the snow in 6-inch heels. It completely ignores our Roman history, […]
What is the dark secret beneath Newcastle’s Black Gate?
Walk south along St Nicholas’ Street in Newcastle and you’ll spot a medieval building on your left. Surrounded by the behemoth of Milburn House and the engineering of the railway arches, it seems out of place. But the Black Gate once stood as the entrance to the formidable Castle Keep. This 13th-century barbican repelled invaders […]
Want to See Inside All Saints Church, Newcastle upon Tyne?
All Saints is one of the four original parish churches of Newcastle upon Tyne. Along with St Andrew’s, St Nicholas’, and St John’s, it provided spiritual sustenance for the old medieval city. But given it fell into disuse in the late 1950s, many people wonder what the old Georgian church looks like inside. Thanks to the […]
Charles Dickens in Newcastle upon Tyne
Charles Dickens is more commonly linked with the great city of London. Throughout his career, he immortalised its dark streets and troubled inhabitants in his fiction. But you can also go looking for Dickens in Newcastle – and not just in his stories. The great man himself made appearances at the Music Hall during the […]
Bringing Spectacle back to Cinema
Ever since television became the must-have gadget in every living room, cinemas have been trying to devise ways to bring audiences back into theatres. They’ve tried Cinemascope, 3D (several times), surround sound, and IMAX screens, always peddling the idea that cinema gives you “the experience”, something you can’t quite capture with television. Even watching a widescreen […]
